Star Wars: Episode III - Labyrinth Of Evil

Absolute gem of an edit. Anakin's downfall is more in-line with the way the OT explained, and removing Obi-Wan's "DEMOCRACY" line, which was hysterically over-the-top, was a nice addition too. I too am glad to see Padme live, though weakened and broken-hearted, it is again more in line with what the OT had elaborated on. Labyrinth of Evil streamlines and adds nuance to something that felt a little too overcooked, and establishes that, with some fine-tuning, the only good SW prequel becomes one of the best in the saga.

Another fantastic edit, I must say this one really sold Anakin's fall far better than I thought possible within the constraints of existing footage, and I really loved the Padme lives idea. This edit really showed the best side of Palpatine as well, as he cleverly manipulates Anakin, where as before it seemed like Anakin was more resistant. I would have liked some type of confrontation between Palpatine and Yoda, but the existing one was just so... silly, I understand why it had to go.

From an A/V stand point, the movie was very impressive, Including some of the whipe transitions that Lucas is so proud of. Great job!

This is definitely one of the better edits of Episode III that I've seen, and one of the most professional looking. The visuals and audio editing are flawless.

There are a few things I maybe would've cut, but overall this flows the best and feels like a proper ending to the trilogy. I especially like the way Padme's death (or lack thereof) was handled, and also the integration of the deleted scenes. Anakin's turn to the dark side works much better here and feels more natural. Some of the inappropriately dark stuff has been removed, which frankly I appreciated. I felt the killing of younglings was just too bleak for Star Wars, so having that removed was nice.

Overall one of the best Episode III edits. I haven't seen Hal9000's other Star Wars edits, but I intend to go back and view them after enjoying this one.

I have been a Star Wars fan, and obsessive, for as long as I can remember. Despite the glaring flaws inherent within the prequel trilogy I have still seen each of them more times than I care to count and this edit far surpasses the highest hopes I had for it.

All three prequels have been missing a subtlety that HAL 9000's 'Labyrinth of Evil' perfectly captures. I write this review without seeing either of the other '9000 series' edits (although look forward to seeing the other two) and when reviewing this final entry the main point I need to get across is that we finally get to see the descent and fall of Anakin that we have always wanted. Thanks to some seamless and intelligent editing we are given an autonomous protagonist that wrestles with his feelings, duty and fear of loss without any support system to help. With Obi-Wan pursuing Grievous Anakin must wrestle with his fear that he may loose Padme as he lost his mother, as well as his growing disillusionment with the Jedi order, alone. The manipulation by Palpatine is done subtly using Anakin's vulnerability and fear to lead him to dependency. Due to the subtlety with which this is done you get much more of a sense of Anakin's inner turmoil and as such his fall is both much clearer and emotionally impacting. Anakin's political allegiances also come after this dependency is established as oppose to before which really serves well to emphasise that his choices were motivated by his fear of loosing Padme above all else.

As well as Anakin's descent we also get to see the political aspects of the prequel trilogy finally take an intriguing and important shape. Before this edit I didn't have much time for this aspect of the trilogy but I can now see it's value a lot clearer. Not only does it serve to show Palpatine's masterful deception and grand scheme but it also adds a great deal of depth to the role of Padme. She too is made more autonomous within this edit and now appears more dimensional instead of merely being presented as Anakin's love interest.

Obviously as a die hard fan there are some things that I missed and some things that I wish weren't there but they're not worth mentioning as overall the narrative of 'Revenge of the Sith' is now made more compelling, the motivations of the characters and the inner turmoil they struggle with is now captivating and the pace keeps your attention firmly on the screen.

There were some slight changes made to the narrative and I have to say that I love that somebody finally fixed the plot hole with Leia remembering Padme! The Qui-gon voice over was brilliant (no idea where that came from...?) and the omission of the Sidious/Yoda duel worked incredibly well!

And easy ten stars from me and I will be looking forward to any fanedit's from HAL 9000 in the future.

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.