Star Trek Vengeance

An excellent effort by TM2YC. I hadn't revisited the theatrical cut of this film since it first came out on video. I liked it okay but never really felt compelled to revisit it. Thanks to this fanedit, it has been improved a lot in my opinion.

A/V Quality - 10/10 - Looked spectacular, just as good my BD to my eye. Using the IMAX version was really smart and added grander scale to some shots.
Visual Editing - 10/10 - No noticeable cuts to me. It wasn't just that stuff was excised, it's that shots were repurposed and used for different effect. The Kirk/Spock argument was a great example of this, as well as the bar scene. Glancing at the cutlist after was pretty impressive; there were so many little touches and tweaks that were invisible.
Audio Editing - 10/10 - Everything sounded great. I'm not sure there was a lot changed but the score felt more continuous than I remember. I think the main theme was used a bit more, I think.
Narrative - This is where the edit shines. Khan is still not a great character but his exposition dumps are as limited as can be. Kirk and Spock's relationship tracks a lot better for me. Kirk isn't fired and then given command back right away for no real reason (and in this Kirk's dressing down works much better). Uhura's not a bundle of emotional nerves for no real reason at a time where it makes no real sense. There's no tacked on Vulcan talk and cameo. Carol is a lot less awful. Spock's raging bloodthirst now makes more sense (it's emotional AND logical now. Perfect for a Vulcan.) All of these benefits are basically at the cost of Uhura's role being reduced (sucks but I'd rather have her reduced and with some dignity) and Carol feeling like a walking plot device (that doesn't pay off). But in the original she was basically a walking plot device that doesn't pay off while also stripping and acting terribly. So, the character's big moment didn't play in the original really, either.
Enjoyment - 9/10 - TM2YC has turned a 6.5 for me into a 9. There are some inherent flaws in the script that really can't be changed, but I think the editor improved just about everything that could be improved.

Oh, and I didn't even mention the color grade. Huge improvement for me. It's fascinating what a little vibrancy can do to the tone of a film. I also have a shit eye for colors so take that with a huge grain of salt. :)

What can I say that hasn't already been said? I enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness when it first came out, and have watched it since and enjoyed it as much, with only a few quibbles, all of which have been addressed here:
- Alive Eve no longer strips down in front of Kirk for fanservice is gone.
- Spock's cheesy (but rather understandable in the heat of the moment) KHAAAAAN is gone.
- Leonard Nimoy's cameo is gone.

I didn't follow the ITW thread for this edit, so I can't rightfully say where extra FX work was done, but given that it went unnoticed in the first place speaks volumes about TM2YC's work here. The color correction was great, no stray frames or any other errors in video editing. Bionicbob noted a pretty major audio sync issue with Scotty, but I never noticed it (I in no way mean to discount Bob's review - I simply never noticed).

Narratively, the film works very well. Nothing feels over-explained, and while I do think that Spock and Uhura's character arc felt a bit weak because the conflict between them was more or less eliminated, but then again, not every film needs a romantic subplot.

The A/V quality of the Blu-ray was great, pretty damn close to the retail disc. As a note, I really loved that TM2YC used the IMAX version from the Compendium release (which I also own) as a base for the edit. The expanded ratio looks amazing. The stereo audio track was great as well, nothing sounded out of place and levels were good. No complaints there.

Overall, I really enjoyed the edit and this is my go-to version. With 15 minutes cut, I only noticed a few significant things cut, but not due to poor editing. This is a solid edit and I highly recommend it.

A labor of love for the editor, who took painstaking care of using everything at his disposal to transform an uneven and careless picture into a much tighter and interesting action adventure.

I personally was a bit skeptic on how much could be salvaged but was pleasantly surprised to discover the film becomes something else once so much junk and nonsense has been ejected.

I really recommend it as the definitive version of the film (forget the other one) and as a fix for those who felt that the original had something going but never got around to materialize it.

The characters are definitely improved here.
Uhura’s annoying tantrums are gone, Spock just has a cleaner arc and Kirk doesn’t jump between an adult and a child all the time. The heavily edited new scene for Scotty is impressive, the entire sequence just looks so professional and clean.
Even Carol is improved, regardless of the appalling acting skills Alice Eve has.

Kirk's death is better executed (pun!). The overall flow of the film is tighter and crispier, I can only imagine the number of hours the editor worked on this…

The video cuts are perfect as expected. The audio cuts are also great, there were just a few that were noticeable, but with all this audio mixing and splicing, what an incredible job to get to this final version!

So I liked the original film well enough, Im a huge Star Trek fan and a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. But the movie always was off for me, particularly how it treated Uhura and Carol. The gratuitous strip tease from Carol is gone, which I appreciated since it did nothing for the plot or character AT ALL. And a lot of the "nagging Uhura" lines are gone, which really does a lot of good for her character (since I actually LIKE her character) Another welcome change I never knew I needed was the elimination of Kirks demotion. It was always weird to me that he was figuratively put in a corner for five minutes and then let back out when Pike was killed. This way he still got reprimanded for his actions but it made more sense plot wise. While I do love the iconic "KHAANNNN!" moment, the lack of it doesnt harm the movie in any way.

I think the only issue I have with this edit, which is one I can easily fix myself and its not really that distracting, is that the movie will switch from full screen to wide screen at some points. Im not sure why, as the scenes arent deleted or anything. (Keep in mind Im new to the site so I might have used the wrong file)