Review Detail

In my mind, there were two major problems with AotC – the dire love story and the confused Machiavellian plotting of the Sith. This edit successfully resolves both of these issues.

A number of romance scenes that I always hated (me and most editors!) are retained, but by removing the worst of the dialogue, no longer do I think those scenes are beyond saving. Instead, some clever editing (including the insertion of the under-rated deleted scenes with Padme’s family) has improved the love story tenfold.

The editing of the Clone army story is simple, but extremely effective. The ridiculous Sifo-Dyas plot point is removed. In this edit, it is clear that Count Dooku is the ex-Jedi behind the secret development of the Clone army. Also, the revised first scene establishes Dooku as the villain of the movie (in league with a mysterious master dark lord). The movie benefits greatly from this improved clarity of storytelling, whilst successfully retaining the mystery of the exact identity of Darth Sidious (thereby increasing the impact of his reveal in Episode III).

There is some very clever dialogue replacement - something I have never considered for this movie, but it is done with skill and works extremely well.

Technically, you get no complaints from me. The sound is crystal clear and I’m always blown away by how beautiful these movies look in HD. The transitions (audio and video) can sometimes be a little abrupt, but I understand this just comes with the territory when editing a Star Wars movie.

All-in-all, another success from one of my favourite fan editors. Well done, Seciors!