Star Wars: Episode III - Labyrinth Of Evil

I´ll make this short: love your projects overall. Episode III is much more enjoyable your way. Thank you for that!

The concluding movie in Hal's revamped prequel trilogy really packs a punch. I don't think it's as polished as his episode 2 edit, but this was a damn banger of a conclusion to a trilogy of edits which somehow conjured up some goodwill in me towards these movies.

In my reviews of the previous edits I said that these were more conservative edits in the sense that they kept the same continuity as the original movies and that they shouldn't really contradict any of the currently existing expanded universe/legends material. Basically, they're not radical edits. While that is still true, I've since devised a more accurate description, one that will need a bit of a tangent to explain.

A new hope's rough cut was disastrous. Lots of completely useless, slow scenes with agonizing dialogue, some terrible effects, and awful pacing. It's not hard to compare it to the prequels, really. But, in a pleasant twist of fate, the editors of that film took Lucas' beast and crafted a masterpiece, and now all these awful scenes are merely a curiosity to gawk at. Cringworthy dialogue was trimmed, scenes were rearranged to allow a satisfying flow of information, and the plot was tightened and even enhanced (fun fact: the plot point where the death star was preparing to imminently attack the rebel base during the battle of yavin was completely invented by the editors, and is only implied through edited-in visuals and off-screen voices). It's amazing what a job they did.

This is what Hal's edits feel like. They don't feel like radical alterations that are the products of years of hindsight, fan backlash and other fanedits. They, of course, are exactly that, but they don't FEEL like it. They feel like the original editors had all the footage in front of them and, free of Lucas' control, they took an objective, unobstructed view at what the movies were and improved them as far as humanly possible in an even and smooth way. They aren't looking to satisfy fans or an expanded universe or a higher up, it's just an earnest effort to make treasure from trash.

Anyway, on to the actual review. As i said in the intro, i prefer the episode 2 edit, because that just felt like a fun romp through the galaxy without any glaring distractions. This edit is more technically impressive, but it does have a few holes. It might be a byproduct of the original movie being too ambitious; instead of just a fun adventure story, it was trying to be a dark character study and political drama, without being written or acted well enough to pull it off. The structure is too heavily embedded in these genres to make it truly feel like another great star wars story, but hal polishes it to the best of his ability, not as a star wars story, but the best possible episode 3 that it can be.

Anakin's motivations are simultaneously my biggest problem and the greatest achievement of this edit. The political side of his motivations are so spot on it hurts. The jedi counsel is both just but also does some questionable things; their treatment of Anakin is sometimes justified but also sometimes unreasonable. Palpatine is kind of obviously evil but nevertheless it is believable that his promises would tempt Anakin. Anakin's political fall to the dark side is very believable, gradual and well paced. My problem with it is the other side of his motivations; his love for his wife. While it's true that the political elements of this edit are actually pretty engaging, in a stark contrast Padme's impending death is not emphasized enough.
The biggest problem with the original movie is that Anakin goes from a good jedi to child-murderer pretty much overnight and that's even less believable with all the emphasis that the movie puts on Padme's imminent death, but this edit goes too far in the other direction. Palpatine constantly tempts Anakin with the power to save his wife, but with a single brief nightmare scene early in the movie I had long forgotten that Padme dying was ever a consideration, and I was so invested in the drama with the Jedi counsel that to spend so much time talking about Padme felt kind of irrelevant. I feel that some of the Padme dying stuff could have been reinstated to make the narrative better, because in order to remove that plotline too much good stuff would have to be removed, if it was even possible.

As for a lesser problem, C3P0 and R2D2's role was trimmed too much. I hate their inclusion in this trilogy, but I kept thinking how odd it was that they were in this movie, because it wasn't adequately explained. 3po and r2 removal was executed very well in the previous edits, but it was in this edit that I just couldn't parse why they were here and what their role in the movie was. Even if it was just for arbitrary reasons or nostalgia reasons, some of these scenes should have been retained for narrative clarity. This might just be a personal thing though, so your mileage may vary.

As with Hal's other edits, this is paced beautifully, never getting boring, never going too fast; it's a dream. Like with his episode 2 edit, trimming so many bad scenes and bits of dialogue elevate the rest of the movie. The opera house scene, the scene of anakin finding out padme was pregnant, the scene of anakin just silently thinking in the jedi chambers; there are so many wonderful scenes paced so beautifully that this movie just about achieves that same phenomenon that the original trilogy achieves where all the weird bits of shoddy acting practically fall into the background unnoticed because the whole experience is so smooth and seamless.

If there was a singe thing that I could switch back to the original version of is Padme's death. I'm in the camp that thinks that padme should have died rather than lived. While editing wise, it's integrated seamlessly, I really believe that the dramatic irony of Anakin killing the one he set out to save is far more beneficial to the movie than a single plot hole with a small bit of dialogue from the OT. In fact, this new ending brings up an even bigger and more distracting plothole; why did luke get seperated from padme when she was perfectly fine to raise leia on Alderaan? I get that they were seperated for safety during order 66 but if she was going to keep one then why not just stay with them both on a remote planet or send both away? The whole point of separating with family is so that even if they find one of you the others would live, and keeping leia kind of destroys the purpose of that. Again, ymmv on how annoyed you are by this but it's at least just as big plot hole as her dying.

Even if this review was filled with complaints, they really are just nitpiks of a fantastic edit. I only prefer episode 2 more because that was a simple star wars adventure without any huge narrative holes or weird genre/style changes in it in the first place. With a more complex narrative comes more complex problems, but Hal manages not only to make a good movie from a bad one, but makes it good through it's own style and merits, rather than bending it into something it isn't. Good on you Hal, I can now watch the prequels without the existential dread of this series never being good again.

All of the prequel edits by HAL9000 are brilliantly done and my favorite of those that I've seen. This honestly beats out every other cut of these movies by far.

This movie in particular does a great job of creating a more believable and troubled Anakin as he finally succumbs to the dark side. Palpatine feels much more like a master manipulator, the jedi feel more naive and less idiotic, Padme gets to be a character, Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship feels more natural, and the politics are at the forefront whre I think they belong in this trilogy. While I know not everyone will enjoy it, the final scene of this movie (no spoilers) is great in my opinion and a very creative idea. A fantastic end to this new definitive version of the prequels.

Well, it's been a long search for the perfect edit for ROTS. I'm now with Hal9000's indefinitely. There is so much that is so right here that I forgive the moments I'd take out, myself.....ROTS is a tough one to edit and please everyone, and some of the other attempts I've seen at editing this film try way too hard, others not hardly at all. This one finds a comfortable ground with familiar edits while at the same time delivering one of THE whopping masterstrokes of fanediting that I've ever seen.

Incidentally, I like pairing this film with L8wrtr's TPM and AOTC edits. That's my current "go-to" trilogy unless some mindbending new edit comes out.

The good:
***Of course, the economy of the edit takes out the corn and the silliness, and what's not to like there? There are a LOT of small cuts, but they all work and if you're not familiar with ROTS you'll not know they're gone. My personal favorite? The eternal dismissal of Obi-Wan's "...for DEMOCRACY!!!!!!" I remember laughing out loud in the theater when he said that.
***The 2nd-boldest move of the movie is the face-off between Windu and Palpatine. That's another scene with some got-to-go GL silliness ("HE'S the traitor, arrrrgghhh!") I get EXACTLY what Hal was going for here, and it does indeed work. It does sound odd, but I like the guts Hal had to try and realize the vision. That scene had far too much filler, dialogue, and needless suspense for my taste in its original form. Now we get right down to it.
***The focus on politics being Anakin's primary motivation for the turn works very, very well. I thought the Padme thing was always way too obvious and predictable, but with politics at the forefront his change becomes far more realistic and believable. Certainly politics has put people on weird sides of one another, especially during wartime. Padme's element is delightfully downplayed, to the point that when Palpatine says that line ("...save your WIFE from certain death") it has a huge impact, because we're so focused on the politics it makes Anakin's one dream seem trite, but then suddenly very important. Especially when Palpatine reads Anakin's trouble a little too accurately. Later on, when Anakin leaves Padme in the dust after the chokehold and rambles on to Obi-Wan about this and that, it fits right in with the Padme motivation being minimal against the power he craves. When Vader asks the Emperor post-surgery about Padme, it fits even better with the minimized arc - in other words, he feels guilty as hell.
***Padme as one of the instigators of the rebellion? Giddy-up! Why Lucas chose to delete this subplot is mystifying, but makes sense here in light with the above political motivations.

The hmmmmm.....(all minor nitpicks)
***OK, there are some lines that could still be easily excised. One of the most self-rightesouly laughable moments in the entire PT is Padme's "thunderous applause" bit. Spare us, please!
***Also, not the fault of our intrepid editor, but shouldn't 3PO's line be "I feel so.....USELESS?" Not "helpless"? Anyways, Hal, since you boldly dubbed the droid at the end, how about that line? I bet Anthony Daniels would do it for scale ;) That said, I love the battle droid voice removal. Now we have to tackle the entirety of the Clone Wars...
***I think it's OK to have more Wookies, and Yoda's interaction w/ Chewbacca definitely helps set the table for ANH and Obi-Wan "randomly" finding Chewbacca at the bar.
***Showing Obi-Wan sneaking onto Padme's ship in the closer shot works as in the original cut....there's no need for a surprise reveal.
***I wouldn't mind a little more dialogue to imply Obi-Wan's fate on Tatooine. While this would be tricky to edit around Padme's now non-demise, I liked that interaction.

and....the balls-out bold:
***That footage of Padme alive and cradling her infant daughter is amazing and I was bowled over at the audacity of the decision. It works even without the motivation being the plot hole fix from ROTJ. I like how so much is implied and the myth driven by images, not dialogue, in the film's final moments. Hal using his own voice for the mid-wife droid - again, bold and a hopeful sign of things to come with our wonderful editors and their tasteful decision-making. That finale, again, with Padme, is beautiful stuff. And...isn't it telling how Natalie Portman suddenly becomes a great actress when out fo the hands of GL?

Lots to admire overall in the cut. Lots of attempts have been made at ROTS, but I'm very pleased to have this one as my go-to. Again, quibbles are nitpicks, as the overall arc of the film is extremely powerful (especially when viewed after the Clone Wars).

I think that the most improved film in the prequel trilogy of Hal9000's edits is Attack of the Clones. But by a landslide, episode 3 is the best one in his trilogy. I truly believe this to be a genuinely great Star Wars movie. I think that in his prequel trilogy, episodes 1 and 2 go from bad to enjoyable. But with episode 3, I'd say it goes from good to great with this fanedit :) I'll just list off the amazing things done to episode 3 by Hal:

-He restructured the narrative so that Anakin experiences his political/philosophical motivations for joining the dark side first and THEN we see him have his vision of Padme dying. This makes his fall to the dark side more believable and logical. It provides a more solid foundation upon which all of his brutal actions take place. So when Anakin begins murdering Jedi in this fanedit, as an audience member it is far more logical because of the reordering of some scenes.
-He reinstated the subplot of deleted scenes with Padme and her fellow senators. This adds political tension between her and Anakin and gives Padme something to do for this third entry in the prequel trilogy.
-Anakin never murders children. This makes his fall more gradual and makes Padme look like less of an idiot. Great change.
-All awful dialogue/scenes are removed. This speaks for itself. It helps quicken the pace of the movie and improves the experience.

But for all these great things I disagree with Hal on one decision he made in the end. That is of keeping Padme alive. I totally understand where him and many other faneditors are coming from. It completely solves the plot hole in Return of the Jedi. But it brings about issues that I can't ignore. The addition of footage from a separate film is distracting because of the distinct color grading differences. It also has us lose the tragic irony of Anakin killing exactly who he was trying to save. And we lose the awesome moment of Padme taking her last breath and Vader taking his first. Again, this ain't a problem with the edit. It's done very well, I just disagree.

But in conclusion, this edit is an absolute home run. I really enjoy popping this in and watching such an improved version.