Star Wars: Episode III - Labyrinth Of Evil

This is a very good edit of a fairly good movie. That's how I'd sum up my thoughts. Revenge of the Sith is easily the best Star Wars prequel, but it is not without its faults. Minor faults (but major annoyances) are the overabundance of CGI and bad dialogue. Fan edits can't really fix the first (not yet at least), but they can certainly remedy the second. Hal9000 does that with this edit, which is, of course, a big plus. Already the film is better. But the movie has major faults too, ones not as easily fixed.

So I'm willing to forgive Hal if I'm torn on whether or not he's fixed Anakin's fall to the dark side. (Before I get to much into it let me say Hal's handling of everything else in this edit is exemplary, so I won't talk about that stuff.) Anakin's fall as presented in the theatrical film is clearly flawed. Is he really seduced by the dark side, or does he just want to save Padme? Does he really believe the Jedi are evil, or does he just want to save Padme? Does he actually have any reason to turn to the dark side besides saving Padme?

Hal9000 has a smart way to answer yes to that last question. By playing down the Padme dying in childbirth angle, it definitely feels like Anakin has some ulterior motivation for turning to the dark side, with the Padme thing being more of a subtle push to bring him over the edge. But what is that ulterior motivation? We suppose it's because the Jedi are tricksters and keeping Anakin out of everything. Whether or not there's enough here to support that, I'm not sure. Hal does the best he can with what he's got (we all know it's really Lucas to blame for this). Ultimately, either way, it's clear that Anakin has turned to the dark side because he has become disillusioned with the Order, so nice work by Hal for that.

He accomplished what he set out to do in regards to the Anakin debacle, so in that case I'd say Hal has done a great job. There's a nagging part of me that says L8wrtr did this better, but I'm not sure if that's true. To be honest, I'm getting kind of tired of these movies (which is why I've spent most of this review on a digression of sorts). The more I critique the less I enjoy it seems. So even if Anakin's fall didn't totally work for me this time around, I know it did when I viewed this edit's work print the first time around, and I wouldn't be surprised if it worked for me the next time I watch this. Even if it doesn't, the other aspects of this edit are enough for me to say this has become my go-to Episode III. Thanks Hal9000, for making my preferred prequel trilogy!

Now I believe the Jedi when they say there is always hope. I'm new to fan edits, and I watched seciors edits of SW Episodes I and II recently. I was stunned to find that these were salvageable movies, and in fact quite enjoyable when cut with an adult focus in mind. Since seciors has not edited episode III, I chose to watch HAL's (though I still have a distrust of talking computers). So what did I think of SW Ep III by HAL?

Audio/Video Quality: Great picture, even on my humble PC monitor. I noticed so much detail, it was outstanding. I used some pretty nice headphones and the audio was sweet.

Visual Editing/Audio Editing: It's been a very long time since I saw Star Wars Ep III, and I think that was helpful with this review. I cannot think of a single scene change that left me going "huh?" Same with audio. Basically, I felt like I was watching the movie for the first time. I later looked at the cut list details and realized just how top notch the editing really was.

Narrative: HAL has molded a serious, heart wrenching, depressing epic sci-fi movie - my favorite kind! My young daughter watched a bit with me and thought it was too sad to keep watching, so that says much! I want Star Wars movies that most kids don't want to see, and this is it. Clearly this was the best of the prequels even in the original format, which provided some pretty good material to work with, and this helps any edit. Really some cool light saber duel action, and decent CGI.

Enjoyment: I closed myself off in the office in the dark and really dug this movie. My wife wanted to watch hunger games 2 and I blew her off to finish this. I can honestly call this my second favorite Star Wars movie (episodes IV and V are tied for first). So why not a 10? Well the movie does have a few shortcomings that no edit can fix - in particular some acting that occasionally is not so stellar. And I'm just stingy with 10s, keep them for something that really blows me away.

I'm sure there are other good edits of Ep III, but I have trouble believing they would live up to this one. A MUST SEE!

This is both the strongest and weakest of Hal9000's prequel edits in that he absolutely elevates core of the film by making Anakin & Padme's arcs work so much better, but his cuts to the first and third act are too extreme, which robs the film of a lot of its fun and spectacle.

ROTS is perhaps the only Star Wars prequel that doesn't demand a fan edit, but alas, here we are.
Audio/Video quality gets a 10/10 this time from me. Again, the deleted scenes are noticeable, but if I didn't know any better they MIGHT get past me.
Visual and audio editing are 10s as well. At this point, if it has Hal's name attached to it, expect nearly flawless execution.
The Narrative loses a couple of points for a few reasons. This is obviously subjective but in my opinion, Anakin's fear of Padmé dying isn't emphasized enough and adds unnecessary confusion, Palpatine's deformation is too sudden and doesn't make as much sense to me, and Padmé living creates conflict with current canon. Hal has been a dear and provided a version with an alternate ending in which Padmé dies, but I'm basing this review off of the version most consistent with his original vision. Also, the narrative jumps around A LOT in the second half, but I can't remember if that is Hal's doing or not, so I won't factor it into the score.
Finally, Enjoyment. The insertion of deleted scenes give Padmé something to do and sets up the Rebellion - exciting stuff! The film is much more focused than the original and kept me engaged. If I had the skill, I imagine a few additional tweaks of Labyrinth of Evil would result in my perfect edit. Therefore, 9/10.

HAL9000 gives us a perfect conclusion to the trilogy. After his excellent Parts I and II, this Part III edit elevates the entire trilogy to a higher level through the Boleyn inclusion.
Does this make the Prequels a great story? Nope. Does this make a *better* story? Yes! HAL9000's Prequel trilogy is the only one you need.