Rogue One: The Battle of Scarif

The first scene works very well like this, it’s a nice change of pace.

I’d be in favor of removing / chaining the edit’s introduction to K-2SO (first time talking to Jyn), in particular him saying “Cassian said I had too”, it makes no sense here. The change of Jyn’s speech before the battle actually works, I thought that was one of the things I’s miss but apparently the original is not that special.

Regarding Chirrut’s scene, I’m not 100% sold on the new score (that was the only point of contention to me in the audio of this edit), I might have preferred the idea of lowering the audio. This would create a moment of quiet in the middle of all the chaos, although in this we still have such a moment later with Baze Malbus. So, I’m not sure what would work the best.

What I am sure is I hate the giant “cigar cutter” during Jyn’s climb. It is utter ridiculous in the original. That could be cut for sure.

The change in score is superb. I could feel the rising tension on several scenes due to new songs, they add a lot of color.

Thanks for this!

Wow...just, wow! The moment I saw the runtime of this edit and read the reasoning behind this, I was intrigued beyond words. Although I knew that it will probably not be my go to version, unless I don't find some other, less aggressive, edit that suits me. But I will explain this later.

First of all, I have to tell you my opinion for the original. I found it ok. Not bad, like Solo, but certainly not great, just because it was something different from what we had seen back then, as a lot of people said. My enjoyment factor for the original was around 5.

Now about the edit. Well done for a nearly flawless audio and visual editing! 'Nearly' because of some very tiny issues that other reviewers have mentioned already with the audio. But the biggest credit of all, in my book, goes for the fact that the editor managed to cut 83(!!!) minutes of the film's runtime and it still made perfect sense, in combination of course with the opening crawl. I can't stress enough my congratulations to eldusto84! I couldn't believe that something like this was possible.

Now, why my enjoyment factor is a 7 and it isn't my go to version if everything is so perfect? Character building or the lack of. Obviously I knew that will happen and anyone who sees that the runtime is that of an episode of a tv series, knows that character development will take a big hit. So, my issue was that although everything made sense, excellent action sequences etc, I couldn't shake the fact that I was just watching a bunch of people I know nothing about, so I don't care at all, running around, fighting and dying with no impact on me whatsoever. I mean, the edit ends with the protagonists dying holding hands, for crying out loud, and I felt nothing. And since I am a person that likes character development, even if it is basic, I couldn't enjoy it much.

The reason I recommend it though, is because if you didn't like the original and if you take this, as the editor says, as a supplement episode before Star Wars IV, then it is a great addition to your future Star Wars marathons!

Thank you eldusto84, thanks everyone for reading my review and may the force be with you!

I loved this edit. It felt fun, and like a "Star Wars Short" or something, which is what i was looking for for Rogue One. The theatrical versions seems to force the need to be as important as the other Star Wars films, but it just isn't. This movie cut to the chase without trying to create a reason there was a weak spot on the Death Star. Instead, it just focuses on the rogue team sacrificing their lives to get the plans to the Death Star. Short and sweet. No need for deep character development. Just a quick fun ride, which is what Star Wars should be IMO - fun.

So this take on R1 is a little love/hate scenario for me, personally.
Do i recommend this edit? For sure!

To explain myself a bit more in depth:
I was very fond of the theatrical cut of R1 even with its slow pace and some unnecessary "plot" points, so i thought: "how interesting is that, a cut only to take place in the last hour?" I´d had to adapt to this cut and see it as it is intended - a fast firework before a anh. Once i did, quite awesome.

Only let down was the audio as mentioned from other reviewers.

Pros:
- No boring beginning and middle parts of the movie. You start right at the good part!
- No boring characters. They aren't important to the overall story of Star Wars.
- One of the best battle scenes in Star Wars shown at its best.
- Great way to lead into A New Hope. See it as an Add-on to Episode 4.

Cons:
- Vader has 1 voice line that sounds much worse compared to his other words/sentences.
- Sometimes the music is to loud, you can barely hear the voice acting.

Conclusion:
This is one of the best ways to watch Rogue One in my opinion. It's short, it's sweet and it's EPIC! It really shows you what the WAR in Star Wars stands for. It kind of reminds me of the good parts of the Clone Wars, but better! All in all, give this one a watch. With a playtime of around 50 minutes, this one should be on anyone's watch list.