Review Detail
7.6 7 10
(Updated: September 10, 2012)
Enjoyment
8.0
Review by thefaneditcritic — May 23, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
There was never a film as hyped as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It was a phenomenon hard to be beaten. Everybody had to see the film, huge lines were formed outside theaters within months of the film’s release. The expectation for the film was unique. So was the disappointment. It came as quite of a shock when fans worldwide were greeted with a deeply flawed, silly slapstick version of the saga they loved most. The Phantom Menace was a box-office disaster, but it left everyone with a bad taste in their mouths.
Cut to 2009. The movie is now ten years old (time does fly by!) and Lucas sort of made up with fans with a satisfying closure to the Anakin/Darth Vader story in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (although, let’s be honest, the best sci-fi blockbuster of this decade is JJ Abram’s Star Trek). The time is just right for a fan-edit. ModernKnife’s recut of the film is a infinitely more satisfying adventure than the original film, although it doesn’t go without its flaws. STAR WARS EPISODE 1: PHANTOM EDIT REDUX is the version that should’ve been released in theaters 10 years ago, a crisp, highly entertaining sci-fi adventure that would please both new and old fans alike. ModernKnife’s editing is top notch: even with a ton of scenes removed, the new version is only 3 minutes shorter than the original. As it stands of now, Episode I becomes an enjoyable space matinee that is more in the tone of Lucas’ original trilogy. It’s a true testament to the talent of ModernKnife that he managed to transform an epic blunder into a top-notch blockbuster.
**** out of *****
There was never a film as hyped as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It was a phenomenon hard to be beaten. Everybody had to see the film, huge lines were formed outside theaters within months of the film’s release. The expectation for the film was unique. So was the disappointment. It came as quite of a shock when fans worldwide were greeted with a deeply flawed, silly slapstick version of the saga they loved most. The Phantom Menace was a box-office disaster, but it left everyone with a bad taste in their mouths.
Cut to 2009. The movie is now ten years old (time does fly by!) and Lucas sort of made up with fans with a satisfying closure to the Anakin/Darth Vader story in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (although, let’s be honest, the best sci-fi blockbuster of this decade is JJ Abram’s Star Trek). The time is just right for a fan-edit. ModernKnife’s recut of the film is a infinitely more satisfying adventure than the original film, although it doesn’t go without its flaws. STAR WARS EPISODE 1: PHANTOM EDIT REDUX is the version that should’ve been released in theaters 10 years ago, a crisp, highly entertaining sci-fi adventure that would please both new and old fans alike. ModernKnife’s editing is top notch: even with a ton of scenes removed, the new version is only 3 minutes shorter than the original. As it stands of now, Episode I becomes an enjoyable space matinee that is more in the tone of Lucas’ original trilogy. It’s a true testament to the talent of ModernKnife that he managed to transform an epic blunder into a top-notch blockbuster.
**** out of *****
T