Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Phantom

The Phantom Editor did a spectacular job with this edit, while his first one isn't that good, this one improves the film SO MUCH. Many of the cuts are very subtle and contribute to actual character development and storytelling. The Phantom Editor truly understands characters and storytelling, the romance is handled perfectly and I highly recommend listening to his commentary track which is very in-depth and laid out in an intriguing way. Many things about the movie that I hate were still left in but in the end, this edit is one of the few that fixes storytelling and character development.

Wow, The Phantom Editor is a legend in the world of fan editing, and deservedly so. The fact that you changed the worst Star Wars movie of all time into a good movie is like magic. I listened to the commentary and it has helped me to become a better editor. Your pure skill at analyzing a movie down to the individual shots is breathtaking.

This is a genius edit because it is the best of both worlds between fan editing (cutting out parts you don't like) and fan re editing (re editing the film). You cut a lot out whilst still retaining great narrative, and I actually liked Anakin Skywalker (MOST OF THE TIME).

Anakin is much better in this version however there are some scenes which I think still could have had stuff taken out a bit more. For example the scene when Padme is packing her things and Anakin is
talking. Great job until that last little bit when he still gives her that creepy look. Same thing on the balcony, its great until he touched her up; the creepy vibe is reduced but still there (But the transition just after the kiss was great).

The edits on Tatooine make it the best thing in the entire movie, but I still think that the sand people slaying is incredibly psychotic. You should have either cut him killing the sand people entirely and just had him coming home with a corpse (and also getting rid of the garage scene) or just cut him saying he killed the women and children.

The editing was fantastic most of the time, but there was 1 cut which seemed out of place.
This was when Anakin is talking to Jar Jar, and then the next shot Obi Wan appears in the frame. I know you couldn't really help this, but you said in the commentary you had alot of advanced equipment such as After Effects and etc, so you could have found a way to make that work.

I need to also point out that the new Phantom Menace music cues worked very well and not only increased the quality of the score but also gave a sense of continuity.

The last thing I have to say is I really think the Yoda lightsaber fight should have been left out. You have done a splendid job with this so I can only really point to negative things. It a fantastic edit and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Phantom Editor you are a genius.

Review by havok1977 — June 14, 2010 @ 8:25 pm

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by Tpiom — August 24, 2011 @ 1:46 am

It’s a bit sad that he left the Yoda vs Dooku in it… I think it ruined the film, and could have easily been cut out as he originally wanted to. But it’s still a great edit!

Review by Radi0n — August 21, 2010 @ 12:50 pm

-During the first half of the film, Anakin is still too arrogant. Too much of Christensen’s horrid “performance” still shines through.
-After Zam Wessel takes a hard left turn in her ship, and Obi-Wan and Anakin keep flying straight ahead, they suddenly both end up at the bar in the next shot.
-Obi-Wan still sounds as if he has a cold and a blocked nose when replying to Anakin when the latter says Zam went into the bar. That could have gone too. Obi-Wan isn’t supposed to catch a cold until on Kamino [sic].
-The Death stick sequence should have been dropped altogether.
-The “Jedi-business” line still sounds amazingly arrogant.
-Anakin still looks like a creep when looking at Padmé ‘like that’, although that can’t be fixed.
-It’s still remarkably funny, and a little bit stupid, to hear the bartender shout “Hey, no droids in here” at R2, while he is in fact one himself.
-While it doesn’t exactly improve the film’s pacing, the scenes at Padmé’s house with her family are great additions to the love story.
-Along with the raid on the Raider’s encampment (pun intended), the Speeder bike scene is probably Christensen’s finest moment.
It could have something to do with him not having any dialogue there, but I’m not sure.
- Although it’s imperative to the plot, Anakin’s crazed rant when returning from the Tusken camp has terrible dialogue AND acting, which I think cannot be fixed without cutting up half the scene, or the entire scene, if necessary.
- NO Star Wars film should contain Lucas family cameos. Apparently, this cut no longer does, which is a VERY good thing.
- Another point of grief, although few will know her by name, is the presence of Sarrissa Jeng left intact in the film.
- Natalie Portman still looks hot in her outfit.
- Windu’s fight with Jango should have been flipped. Windu starts out on the left, and engages Jango from the right side to center screen in the next shot.
The final fight could have been trimmed down to not include the light show display by Dooku and Skywalker, as well as Yoda’s interference, which should have been reduced to a Force power display only.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

VIDEO:
noticed no hard cuts, hiccups or jumps of any kind.
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

AUDIO:
same as above, nothing wrong here.
Overall: 5out of 5 stars

PRESENTATION:
as with TPE, another great menu in the style of the original, with a funny little intro by Yoda. Excellent.
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

IMPROVEMENT OVER THE ORIGINAL:
Although better than TPM, and only ever so little, it’s still a horrid film. This edit couldn’t change all that much.
Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

FINAL SCORE: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Adds up to a fanedit score of:
8 out of 10 stars
(If you’re wondering why 4.5 times two doesn’t make 9 here, check ‘improvement over the original)