Review Detail

This review will be somewhat random and unorganized so...deal with it. First off, as always top notch DVD menu design from LastSurvivor. I know some people don't care too much about that stuff but I appreciate the little things (and its the little details that make this fanedit so awesome IMO!)

So right away the viewer gets an "LS Network" logo/intro/music (station identification?) going on and it is awesome. Fits the 80s vibe and good voiceover work by LastSurvivor.

Episodes 1

The opening montage was very well done and gets you up to speed. I hesitate to say whether or not I'd completely know what's going on if I was a viewer who'd never seen the Rambo movies (because of the action starting mid-chase) but you could make the argument that not all movies or tv shows unfold completely linearly and sometimes the audience doesn't have all the information right away. Anyway, over the course of the Episodes 1 and 2 the viewer gets the complete picture of what led up to Rambo's battle with the sheriff's department.

*Opening Credits Sequence! WOW! Just wow! Expertly done. I had a huge smile on my face as the music and sequence of images was playing. I definitely felt like I was watching a TV Show.

The transition to the TV Spots was cool maybe a wee bit hokey with the freeze frame zooming out into nothing but hey, it is kinda 80s-ish. And the bit of music that LS used with the transitions to the TV Spots worked well.

So, as faneditors I think we are all aware and hypervigilant of errors (maybe to a fault) but I'd be remiss if not to mention one technical flaw (keep in mind this did not ruin the viewing experience or take me out of the moment or anything) was there did seem to be a flash frame right around the 16 minute mark of the first episode right after David Caruso says "I knew there was something about that guy." Anyway, not a big deal and the remaining 99.9% of this edit was flawless from a technical perspective!

I like how the end credits were done as way as stills from different scenes throughout the episode. This along with the opening credits sequence were really well done and add to the feeling of watching a TV show.

Episode 2
So some nice ADR work by LS's girlfriend. It was fresh in my mind from LS's initial post in his True Fanedit thread that he had thanked his better half for some ADR work. I also knew that Chuck Norris wasn't really Delmar Barry and that these scenes were from the MIA movies, but honestly had I not been familiar with the MIA movies and not know that Delmar Barry (although we never see him in First Blood, only his family) is supposed to be African-American, I wouldn't have batted an eye at that ADR. It worked perfectly IMO. I also did a quick check and turned on the commentary to hear what LS had to say about it.

Either way, nice job and that ADR along with the intercut footage and b&w flashback scenes in this episode and the previous episode, you get a nice fun addition to the story with the special appearance by Chuck Norris.

Episode 3
So I totally forgot that Martin Kove was in First Blood Part II. You could have had an epic crossover/side plot with the Karate Kid! AND Julia Nickson as Co, not sure how many remember the movie Sidekicks, but Chuck Norris was in that too, the possibilities to go absolutely insane were limitless (luckily LS is not as crazy as me ).

Episode 4
Lance Henriksen - Millenium lol! Awesome little fake teaser announcement (one of many by LS) during the LS Network introductions. Although, I sadly have to admit the earlier one concerning Stargate went over my head, I had to check the commentary to fill me in.

Episode 5
This episode had an excellent intro/pre-credits sequence.

Episode 6
I'll have to find out from other viewers but was I the only one who thought that little kid was annoying?! It's been awhile since I've seen Rambo III.

Episodes 7 and 8
Although the previous six episodes were great, good editing, good technical quality, excellent storytelling, I think these last two episodes were my favorite. I can't really put my finger on why but regardless this was entertaining.

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What more can I say? Excellent job all around, this was pure fun. Again, for me, it was the little things that pushed this edit over the top for me. I'm sure it took tons of time, planning and experimenting to cut down each movie into sets of 2 episodes that were ~40 minutes each. But the "LS Network", the opening credits sequence, the TV spots, all this stuff really added a ton to the experience, for me anyway.

Props to everyone who contributed all the TV Spots. They were all great (special mention goes to Adabisi for his Last of the Mo'ricans and Under Construction TV Spots!)

Lastly, I haven't watched the episodes with commentary just yet but plan on taking my time doing that (i expect a lot of moments where I go, "oh crap that was a cut right there!")

Excellent job LastSurvivor! This was more than worth the wait.