Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith: Rebalanced

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3-5 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
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Overall rating
 
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.9(11)
Audio Editing
 
9.9(11)
Visual Editing
 
9.9(11)
Narrative
 
9.6(11)
Enjoyment
 
9.4(11)
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(Updated: October 21, 2019)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I always liked the "Revenge of the Sith" and Hayden Christensen's Anakin always worked for me (in the "attack of the Clones," too). Sure, there were some quibbles with ROTS. The slapstick was not great, nor were the Jar-Jar cameos, but these were not a deal-breaker. It was, I felt and still feel, the best of the PT movies.

For me the problem in ROTS was not Anakin, or Padme, or Palpatine, or Jar-Jar. It was always the Jedi Council, as it waffled and whinged and seemed unable to see what was going on in front of its collective nose, leaping off to far-flung star systems at the drop of a hat, while ignoring the threat across town and the Sith Lord who pops in for chats. To be fair, this problem did not start in ROTS, but it seemed more starkly obvious in the context of the ROTS narrative, which exuded dread and doom. It's hard, reading the script again, to find exactly the exact words and moments when this image of the Council emerged. Perhaps it was partly the result of the bloated exposition that dragged the film to a crawl at times. Perhaps it was partly a carry-over from the preceding prequels, where no one seemed to get a sense that Anakin's problems went a lot deeper and were a lot more serious, than a dash of fear and anger. After all, Luke had both in spadefuls, but they did not translate into paranoia, rage, jealousy, massacres, almost strangling a pregnant wife etc. The whole "Chosen One" narrative was never an adequate cover for this ongoing inability to read the situation -- something everyone does at times, but not altogether what you might except of a powerful military-mystical order with thousands of years of experience, an endless war with a dangerous rival, top-ranking military generals and a big dose of precognitive abilities.

Well, this fan-edit nails the problems. It pounds along at a relentless pace, it's clear upfront and from day one that the Jedi know Palpatine is a serious danger and don't trust Anakin, and are actually taking action. There is more silence, more brooding, less spelling everything out in triplicate. Palpatine is more subtle, Anakin is darker from the start, Yoda and the Council are more dynamic, Padme is tragic. The descent of Anakin is more subtle, too: his fears entail far more than the possible loss of his wife and child, his motives likewise are more complicated. Rages and paranoia burst out of him, and are clearly framed as way more than a doting dad-to-be worried about his wife's upcoming labour or someone with a bit of work stress, and passed over for a promotion. His descent includes thinking, really believing, that what he does in the end -- an apprenticeship, a coup, massacres of friends and children and allies -- is necessary but still awful. It is not just a means to an end. This complexity and contradiction, also on display at times in the OT, makes him more than a cartoon villain. He is sincere in his horrors.

Last, the spectacular set-pieces stand out with crisp cutting ... and let me say here, wow, this is a smooth edit, immersive, really just incredible.

What can I say, I loved this version! Miss it at your peril! Now if only I could see the "Sanded Down" AOTC fanedit, which some have called a worthy companion to this masterly job.

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Yes
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Digital
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Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
7.0
I disagree with the edit on principle, which is why enjoyment and narrative are relatively low here. It's technically perfect, and if you want the different motivations for Anakin, this is as good as it gets. It's not for me, but if you're unhappy with theatrical ROTS, I'd definitely recommend.

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Yes
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Digital
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I think this is a practically perfect edit. Padme doesn't get enough to do in ROTS, especially in the first half, and that problem remains in this cut. I can understand SiliconMaster's decision to leave her subplot out, as they can bog an edit down and (unlike some) it still clocks in at two hours. A fan can always hope for an Extended Edition, right? A lot of the changes I barely noticed until I went back and compared, as they're so subtly and well executed. (unlike order 66 — too soon?)

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Yes
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Blu-Ray
R
1 reviews
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(Updated: May 21, 2019)
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This rendition is the definitive version of Revenge of the Sith for me. I could hardly tell I was watching a fanedit, and the changes made make this a movie I'd watch again. It serves as a great lead in to the OT, and makes the other two prequels more watchable given this as a conclusion. In particular, I watched this as part of a machete order (4, 5, 2, 3, 6) viewing of Star Wars, and feel this set up Return of the Jedi brilliantly.

The pacing of the edit is excellent, never getting dull but still allowing for some quieter moments.

There were a few moments where cuts were somewhat noticeable. They were not prevalent nor were they noticeable enough to significantly detract from the film. They may have been noticed simply because I was expecting the lines from the original cut, not because they were egregious. I'm waffling between a 9 and 10 for both of the editing ratings, and am just erring on the side of caution.

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Yes
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Digital
Z
1 reviews
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Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
I've seen EP III so many times before, and I think it is one of the best star wars movie.
This cut just simply makes it better! It is more serious than others.
Seamless, convincing and exciting watch!

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Yes
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Digital
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