Star Wars: Abridged III - The Resistance

You did something I thought was impossible - making a version of the sequel trilogy that I didn't hate. This actually felt like a true Star Wars sequel (and not having terrible represenations of the original trilogy characters helps). The only thing I would change, is cut down on the amount of Canto Bright stuff (but then the ending with broomstick boy would have to be removed). Well done regardless.

The Sequel Trilogy feels oddly like films made for people who haven't seen Star Wars before. They are big, and bombastic, and bloated. However, although the story was for the most part a sad deconstructionist reimagining of the Original Trilogy, I did find some enjoyment in the outdoor shots, the effects, and the setpieces. Subjectzero's 3-in-1 takes the deconstructionism out of the trilogy and leaves its strengths mostly intact with a new story that works pretty well. It feels very experimental and there is room for improvement (was very distracted by a grammar mistake in the opening crawl), with some out-of-place shots here and there and some framerate stutters. That said, there were some great, inspired ideas here, and I enjoyed this edit more than I do the originals. Would love to see a '2.0' or 'revisited' version if it ever happens.

I started in the middle of SubjectZeros Abridged series because i wanted to watch a shorter version of episode 4,5,6 and while that one i would consider an 'Abridged' version of the trilogy, this one is a complete RE-WRITE of the script and changes the entire trilogy. So if you want to watch a NEW Star Wars movie this is it! If you want a trimmed down cut of the original story you won't find that here.

With that being said. I was very much entertained watching this version. It's cleverly edited, however rough in some spots to completely rewrite the narrative. The new story is pretty good, i was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. It flows pretty well and ends well.

It does need some polish, it has a few audio issues, at least from my perspective. i.e. music cutting off at a bad time and a gap of silence where it didn't feel right. Most the video editing was good but could possible be smoothed out.

Fantastic work by SubjectZero on this monumental task of streamlining the 3 sequel films into 1. I loved the bold choices, the editing was great and the narrative worked ...mostly. The film moved so fast that sometimes it was hard to follow what was going on. Part of that is due to the source material (i.e. Episode 9 already moves at a light-speed pace), part of that is due to taking bits and pieces of scenes to try to re-create a new plot. I only wish that there was more time to enjoy the new story (because it is fantastic) but the editor can only work with what he has. Overall, this edit is super creative and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Subjectzero brings his unique alternate narrative of the Star Wars trilogy to a close with a reinvention of the sequel trilogy, taking all three of the divisive films and rearranging key sequences into a new and inspiring tale of broken trust, looming threats, different destinies, and more.

Rey is now defined by a different blood relation and very much already a big part of the resistance from the off-set. Starkiller Base is the big threat to the stability of the galaxy, Luke's big arc from Last Jedi is entirely scrubbed, thus sparing his character a lot of needless deconstruction and propping him up as a guiding light, very much the hope he embodies in the Star Wars mythology.

The film moves at a brisk pace and thanks to some audio and visual mixing, you don't feel like there's any senselessness to the choices made, the plot is cohesive, and it truly does feel like you could have told a linear sequel story in half the time and with only one film.

It is not a perfect edit. The version I saw saw some moments where the video slowed down in places, which was unfortunately a recurring glitch (I'm very familiar with this from some versions of my editing projects), there's also a scene where Subject tries to get Rey to utter rearranged lines and the audio doesn't quite synch up with her mouth movements.

Those niggles aside, which I'm sure he'll comb over and fix in later versions, this is a very special edit, part of the most creative SW trilogy I've ever seen undertaken in the community...from a certified genius who's ambition runs away with him, and, I'm glad to say, he's got no problem taking you on the ride with him