Star Wars: Episode III - Labyrinth Of Evil

Damn...This edit is the kitties titties. With the exception of the "NOOOOO" everything I liked was still in the film, both video and audio cuts were seamless, and this is almost worthy of the OT in terms of quality. Loved what you did with the opera scene and the duel with Mace and Anakin's turn was far better. If you make a version 1.1 or something I think you should remove the dialogue from the scene where he is put in the suit, but still keep the nice shot of him rising with "Birth of the twins/Padme's Fate" in the background. Ideally I would make it the last shot, but that is just personal preference.

The HAL 9000 prequel trilogy was my first dip into Star Wars fan edits so all this was very new to me and I didn't know what to expect. I spent quite some time looking over other popular fan edits and it seemed to me that Hals have been the most well received so I decided to give them a try. I ended up watching all 3 prequels with my best friend and I must say this was the most enjoyable of the bunch! (Its also 7am as of writing this so sorry if my wording isn't perfect.)

I never really had much of a problem with Episode III but was open to anything that could improve it and was looking forward to viewing this edit the most. I was thoroughly impressed at what I watched, but I have some small nit picks of my own.

The editing was seamless and very VERY well done! I mean, top notch work from Hal. Some deleted and added scenes were a little obvious if you've viewed the film many times before, but its nothing that will break immersion.

Audio was top notch as well! No syncing issues or any distortion. A very clean and clear audio mix.

I feel like taking away some of the "fluff" that was in the original to illustrate Anakins move to the dark side was a great idea as it showed much more of an internal struggle rather than an external force pushing him. Absolutely loved him killing Dooku on his own rather than being told to among other more subtle changes.
The editing of the final battle between Vader and Obi Wan was even better than before! Gone are the pointless cuts of dialogue and lightsaber flailing and with it comes one smooth, flawlessly edited epic duel! (Though my roommate wanted me to mention he missed the force struggle part)
Also the added Qui-Gon and Dagobah scenes were FANTASTIC!

I only really have a problem with two things. One was the removal of the "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" line. I feel this way because I could really feel the emotional weight in Ewan McGreggors delivery of the line. Like in his mind, that is the moment he realized that Anakin Skywalker was dead and there was no going back. (I also use the line a lot when messing with friends, so its one of those cemented in my head Star Wars lines)

And two has to do with Padme surviving. I really like how it fits into the cannon and changes the Emperors statement to Vader into a lie that further illustrates his deceit, but the addition of the scene from The Other Boleyn Girl really stands out from the rest of the film. Its not a terrible edit by any means and I really like the idea of working in a scene from another movie, but its just so obviously not from a Star Wars movie that I can't help but be bothered by it.

Overall this was a fantastic edit and I highly HIGHLY recommend it. To me, this will be my go-to cut of Episode III! If in the future you make another cut with my suggestions in mind then I'd go out and buy a bluray burner and slap this thing on my shelf!

So here's my review on the third prequel in HAL9000's series.

I have watched Stankpac' version a few years ago and more recently L8wrtr's. So I tend to compare these two against each other.

HAL keeps the buzz droids sequence from the beginning of the movie. L8wrtr eliminates it and I think it works better. Get to Grievous ship already. HAL keeps Dooku's exchange with Anakin about fear and anger. It's a nice parallel to Ep VI with Luke and the Emperor. Missing in L8wrtr's version but it does flow faster, IMO. Overall, in comparing these two edits side-by-side, it appears to me that L8wrtr is more ruthless in deleting one-liners than HAL is.

Here is one of the most egregious examples of that: HAL keeps the "Hold me Anakin, like you did on Naboo, when all we had was our love." This atrocious line is in HAL's version and not in L8wrtr's and to be honest, that alone is major minus points for me for this edit.

This version is improved from the theatrical release, no doubt.

The biggest thing L8wrtr did for me was something really cool with Anakin's and Obi-Wan's fight at the very end, and it worked very well and my eyes popped open when I saw his solution. No "high-ground" chatter and it made complete sense in terms of action and what these characters would do. Obi-Wan jumps from the floating device on to land and Anakin's jumps a second later after him and Obi-Wan cuts him up. Effin' brilliant.

HAL made an interesting creative choice in having Padme survive and use footage from Natalie Portman from another movie, crying and holding a baby. So that is brilliant in terms of undoing Lucas' destroying continuity in SW VI. But my question as a viewer was: Padme just allows the kids to be separated? Dramatically that seems off, I think in a movie you wouldn't skip the scene where that drama unfolds.

So based on what I saw in L8wrtr's edit of that moment, his is my go-to version for Ep III.

There are singular moments in this fanedit which I like better than the same singular moment in L8wrtr's version, for example, HAL has Obi-Wan cut off one of Grievous' hands right off the bat and it worked well. But overall, there are more noticeable edits that I think work better in L8wrtr's Dawn of the Empire than what HAL chose. I suspect he may be more attached to the original prequels than either me or L8wrtr, based on how old he was when watching the prequels when they first came out and being familiar with them before the original trilogy (I assume).

So to summarize: Ep I: L8wrtr, Ep II HAL9000, Ep III L8wrtr.

These are the versions I will show friends from now on who want to see Star Wars for the first time. Or whenever I rewatch them.

I convinced my friends to watch a Star Wars marathon with me and then spent a lot of time determining the edits we'd watch. I decided on Machete Order, with Harmy's DeSpecialized Editions for the Original Trilogy and Hal 9000's edits of Episodes II and III.

By the end of Episode III, everyone was stunned. It's so much better than the original release.

Some highlights: Padme has things to do! Her character doesn't just sit around waiting for Anakin to show up while she slowly gets pregnant. And the seeds for the rebellion in the Original Trilogy are sown, which greatly improves continuity. The lead-up to Anakin's turn to the dark side felt much more realistic with less of the prophecy being referenced. His battle with Obi Wan on Mustafar had less flips and jumps and called to mind Luke's lightsaber fighting style. Honestly, the last half of this movie far outshines the first half, as Hal 9000 does everything in his power to get the trilogy on track with a compelling end to the series and lead-in to the next, including sourcing dubs and scenes from other movies.

I have the same thing to say about this technical side as I did with Hal 9000's edit of Episode II: Seamless. Music and audio played over everything just fine - no choppy bits anywhere. Visuals were great as well, with some clever filters to fix up colors in many areas. Some good side-wipes were used to eliminate certain actions from scenes, these sorts of edits were only noticeable if you're familiar with the original cut.

Some notes: One of my friends cried during Padme's passionate appeal to Anakin - their relationship and his frustration are much more believable. Geminigod reviewed that "I have the high ground" was left in - that phrase is actually not in this edit, perhaps this is a newer version that I'm watching.

Some odd things: When Yoda's earlier fight scene was so skillfully done to remove lightsaber shenanigans, why include the later scene where he uses the lightsaber to defend himself after Order 66? The Darth Vader suit reveal should have been cut shorter; as is, that particular scene feels overwrought and out of place for Star Wars.

Absolutely recommend watching this, especially when seeking continuity with the Original Trilogy. These edited prequels are fantastic for marathons, and the emotional payoff when Luke is forced to confront Darth Vader and the Emperor in Return of the Jedi is amazing now that we've seen a great version of Anakin's turn to the dark side.

Edit (7/11/2019): I have changed my score because Hal9000 has released an "alternate ending" cut of his edit that retains Padme's death. This essentially fixes my main gripe I had with it. Thank you, Hal. This is a phenomenal edit.

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Whereas I believe HAL9000's TPM and AotC are the definitive go-to edits of the PT, somehow he really dropped the ball on RotS, and his final effort doesn't even come close to what L8wrtr accomplished with the same material.

The biggest problem is that this edit is where HAL9000's philosophy of maintaining continuity with the OT really fails him. The whole edit is overall inferior to L8wrtr's, but most of the problems occur at the end. Leia mentions in passing in RotJ that she retains memories of her mother from when she was young. Thus, HAL9000 bends over backwards to make it so Padme lives, and he literally breaks the movie in the process, going so far as to add footage from an entirely different movie (The Other Boleyn Girl). Unfortunately, even the few seconds or so that he uses is completely jarring because the respective films look and feel nothing alike. Also, in the theatrical release of RotS, and illustrated even better in L8wrtr's edit, Anakin joins the dark side to prevent Padme from dying, yet his descent is what ultimately leads to her death. This powerful irony is completely lost in HAL9000's edit. I'm sorry, but an enjoyable film experience is more important than continuity in this case. In the end this is George Lucas' movie, not ours. Making nips and tucks is one thing, but changing the overall plot of the story is not the job of an editor.

HAL9000's edit also includes Vader's "NOOOO!!!!!!" at the end and him throwing a hissy fit, whereas L8wrtr's scene is much more graceful and subdued...perfect, really. The original ending of RotS had a bloated ending and didn't know when to quit, and HAL9000 kept too many of these elements. On the other hand, after the climax in L8wrtr's edit, he ties things up nice and quick.

HAL9000's effort is noble but misguided. It is an okay edit, but there is nothing it does that L8wrtr's doesn't do better. Perhaps the problem is that with L8wrtr's edit of RotS, there really isn't much room for improvement, whereas with the other two prequel films, there was still a lot that needed fixing. I wish I could say that HAL9000's three PT edits constituted the definitive trilogy, but I can't. I recommend watching HAL9000's edits of episodes I and II, and L8wrtr's edit of episode III if you want the optimal experience watching the PT.

This edit gets a 4.0 largely for breaking the movie, which I find unforgivable, although there are a few niggling problems with cuts not being as seamless as they could be.

EDIT: I feel like I need to say more to defend why I gave this edit such a low score. Perhaps the fundamental problem is that the editor's efforts come from a place of contempt, not love. HAL9000 has said on the forums: "I think the prequels would be utterly forgettable were they not Star Wars films. They're obligatory more than anything else." I feel completely differently. I love the PT. I love the pre-empire universe created by it. I love The Clone Wars TV series. I would take Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan over Luke, Leia, and Han any day (yes, you read right). I was a teenager when the PT came out, and warts and all, I'm willing to embrace it as the Star Wars of my generation. I hope HAL9000 comes to realize that his efforts are important, not just to those who value the original trilogy, but to those who treasure the prequel trilogy as well. That's why I think breaking RotS in service of RotJ is such a travesty. RotJ is still good regardless of whether or not Luke and Leia's mom dies in childbirth. The challenge RotS faces is that everyone knows how it ends...Anakin ultimately turns to the dark side. So George Lucas re-indroduces the element of surprise by injecting a dose of irony in that Anakin inadvertently causes the very thing he's trying to prevent, i.e., Padme's death. I like Anakin because he's actually George Lucas' most nuanced character (despite giving him terrible dialogue at times). He's a good guy, but he can't endure loss, which runs contrary to his Jedi training. He loses his mother--yes, she DIES--and he vows not to let it happen again. He's so determined not to lose Padme, that she actually DIES AT HIS HANDS as a consequence of his efforts. This irony is so fundamental to the story--GL starts to set it up in AotC in fact--that I can't believe HAL9000 would do this. Sheer contempt, it seems.