Star Wars: Episode I - Cloak Of Deception

This is one of my first Fan Edits, but I must say I was blown away by how much the cuts made to this movie changed it from one of my least favorites, to actually being fun to watch. I really enjoyed the less childish Anakin (still the cringe worthy "are you an angel" bit, but you can only do so much I guess), and Jar Jar was much more tolerable, although still a little too derpy for my tastes. I saw nothing in the sound or visual departments that seemed out of place, and every edit seemed to fit well.

I still want to watch l8wrtr's and Q2's prequel trilogies before I decide which is my favorite overall, but I can definitely say that this is a solid replacement for the original film, and a joy to watch. Thank you for taking your time to do this!

Showed to my friends as their first exposure to fan edits. They were really impressed.

I was shocked to find myself liking Anakin, his mom (maybe she feels better now that her son isn't annoying), and even Jar Jar. This edit did a great job of fixing these characters.

The only issues my friends had were:
1: Jedi super speed should be removed from the start since Obi Wan fails to use it later when it would have really helped.
2: Scene with kid showing up to tow the Pod Racer looks like unfinished effects and felt out of place.
3: Friend noticed one cut when the combat was going on outside in the city with the droids.

One friend had seen Ep1 last year and was noticing dialogue bits removed and found it much smoother. I asked him if he noticed a large piece missing but he didn't notice the Gungan city missing until 2/3rds of the way through, "guess it was really important... ;) "

The other friend still felt Ep1 was pointless in that not much happens (Sidious gets a bit more power). But with the Anakin changes it is a much better intro to his character, he feels more like a main character.

I had to decide between this, seciors, and L8wrtr Star Wars edits. If anyone else is considering this, here was my reasoning:

Removing Sidious is good idea but I feared it would be too jarring to my friends. This edit does not do that.

This edit removed the idea of the "too old to train" and removed younglings. This is a great edit to make the Jedi not a creepy cult. Also when they talk about fear in this edit you get a sense that it is unreasonable fear / obsessiveness and not just that caring about your family that is wrong.
This edit changed the ending so destroying the drone ship was important.

HAL 9000 has finished edits of Ep2 and Ep3, so that is a benefit of having a continuation of the same ideas.

Ok. So this is really really weird for me to review.

First let me start off with some back story on myself.

I was born in 1991 and grew up on Star Wars. I think I watched Star Wars and Empire about a billion times (My dad didn't have Jedi oddly enough) and would always get the toys and books and things like that. So in 1999 when a new Star Wars film was coming out I completely flipped out! I remember watching it for the first time and loving it to death. I don't know what it was, but I thought it was just a treat to watch. I swear I must have wore my old tape down to near nothing as many times as I've watched it.

Sooooooo. I was very surprised to find a few years later that everyone hated it. I didn't understand why and defended it like it was my child or something. Even years later and after seeing it again when released in 3D, I just loved The Phantom Menace!

So I was very very curious to see what Hal could do to change for the better a film that my childhood self adored. Well Hal, you did one thing for me. You opened my eyes and made me realize the only real reason that I enjoy watching this film.

Pure childhood nostalgia.

-End painfully long back story-

SO! I should start by saying that the video quality was top notch! Everything looked crisp and clear and even the added scenes looked just fine. There were no obvious cuts and everything fit together seamlessly.

Audio was fantastic as well. I really liked the added music to the podrace, but I still can't decide if I like the new music over the silent tension of the original.

I like how taking out the Gungan city in the beginning really made the opening flow better and help you to understand what exactly Qui-Gon and Obi Wan were doing.
Losing the droid dialogue to make them seem more intimidating was a fantastic choice as well!
And all the cheesy/weird dialogue really helped to make the film more coherent.

But at the end of the day I feel like stripping away all of Episode I's goofy antics and fluff really showed me how hollow and frankly terrible this movie really is. It was a drudge to watch, and this is no way due to your edit! Its just that now that the nostalgia goggles are off I realized that there is zero character development and nothing that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Its like the whole film was made as a spectacle film meant to be viewed with eyes open and ears shut. Its like the film was just a bunch of random scenes mashed together with a cool lightsaber fight at the end with Star Wars slapped onto it.

So at the end of the day I feel this is most definitely the go-to version of Episode I for me, but all the fantastic edits in the world can't really make this a good film. Just a watchable more coherent one.
Props to Hal9000! Fantastic job!

The currently best edit of the new trilogy. I hated the original version so much as I love this edit. I've been waiting for this version all these years. Thank you HAL 9000.

Ok, where to begin. I like many other children of the seventies i grew up on star wars. Then we waited years for a continuation and got prequels. Then we had to watch in horror as all was lost from our childhoods with Lucas intent on drafting terrible scripts, with dreadful direction coupled with actors - Lloyd & Christensen, who couldn't act!!

**Rant over**

Hal9000 has done what i considered impossible - make me like and enjoy ep 1. I read the prior reviews, considered other versions but liked the points made that the pacing was about spot on. The thought of a rushed edit was not for me, so i watched with an open mind and about half way through realised i hadn't made my tea. Oh my god i actually felt connected and sympathetic towards Anakin and thought Hals version nailed it. Jar Jar? Unobtrusive yet he almost ground the film in his 'everyman' role - being swept up in some grand adventure.

I'm blown away and frankly chuffed that i can actually watch TPM without forwarding to certain scenes or watching the clock - amazing work.

Criticisms - none. The pod race was awesome and i loved the new mix of music which i felt fitted and linked it soooo nicely to the original trilogy. The AV was perfect, the cuts were seamless and and i really liked the insertions of alternate scenes - very clever and illuminating.

10/10 for the lot - i owe Hal9000 a pint :)