Star Wars - Episode I: Shadow of the Sith

FINALLY! I have been searching for the perfect fanedit of THE PHANTOM MENACE for years. When THE PHANTOM EDIT was first released, it was a breath of fresh air. I had never seen anything like it and I thought it was the perfect edit. Watching it years later, I started to notice lots of things that were still in the film that I hated. Since then, I have downloaded several MENACE edits and none of them have gone far enough … until now. Simply put, L8WRTR’s edit is brilliant. I was smiling from ear to ear as I watched this, as L8WRTR made almost every single cut that I had wanted. Seriously, it was if he somehow got into my brain and made this cut just for me. This is, far and away, the greatest MENACE edit available. That being said, there are still a few small issues. The last line of the opening crawl is clumsy and unnecessary. It ruins what I thought was an otherwise excellent opening crawl. There are still a few too many annoying Jar-Jar and Anakin moments / lines (“Yousa thinking yousa people gonna die?”, “They all brokey”, “Are you an Angel?”, “I’m a person and my name is Anakin!”, Anakin’s woo-hoo as he exits the exploding Droid Control Ship). Also, I don’t like the virgin birth angle but I get that L8WRTR will be utilizing this sub-plot in future prequel edits. Going out on a positive note, L8WRTR’s editing of the end battles is amazing. The best part, by far, is Darth Maul’s death. He no longer dies like a little bitch! That has always bugged me and I’ve never seen it addressed in a fanedit. Bravo, sir! If you’re like me and hate the movie but feel the need to watch it during complete STAR WARS marathons, this is the only edit worth your time. Also, give the commentary a listen. It’s really informative and L8WRTR is very knowledgable and entertaining.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Overall I really enjoyed L8wrtr’s take on The Phantom Menace. Though some of the cuts seemed obvious to me, this could be because I’m so familiar with the original that exorcised material just stands out to me. I don’t think it’s anything technical. This version moves along at a brisk pace, a most welcome change. The ending is very well done and never gets boring like in the original. I only have a few minor gripes:

- Droid dialog removed when sent to check on the Jedi in the beginning. We still have the head nods, something I don’t think they need to do.
- When the ship is destroyed in the hanger in the beginning we still have the awful dialog, “Captain! Look!” “Shields!” IMO this should have been cut.
- When Anakin brings his guests home and they have their conversation at the table, there are some pauses that could/should have been cut to help it flow just a bit better.
- While I’m happy to see the end parade gone, the transition to the credits seems abrupt. Perhaps a fade up on the preceding music to ramp up the crash into the standard end credit music.

These minor problems aside it’s a strong cut and worth checking out.

*This rating was given before reviews were required*