Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith: Rebalanced

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.

This is it, folks. The definitive edition of Revenge of the Sith. A bold pronouncement, but one I believe in unflinchingly and wholeheartedly.

With the Skywalker Saga just months away from coming to an end, I'd recently endeavored to find the very best fan edits of the Star Wars movies as part of my quest to have a definitive, cohesive, enjoyable, and consistent Saga that can be viewed in chronological order as one complete 9-part story. Once I got to ROTS, I sampled a variety of edits, but ultimately settled on ROTS Rebalanced v 1.4 by Noah Bronstein/Siliconmaster.

Why is this the definitive version of ROTS?

I think ROTS is not only one of the best of the prequels, but in fact one of the better Star Wars movies overall. From beginning to end, it has just the right amount of action and drama, and the space battle at the beginning is one of the best openings of any Star Wars movie IMO. Nevertheless, there's plenty that's *off* about the film.

Rebalanced takes the best of HAL9000's excellent edit, and steers the film in a direction that's both fresh and true to the original. Living up to what's advertised, NOTHING in this edit appears like an edit at all; every change is 100% "invisible" in that regard.

What really stands out (beyond brilliant dialogue trims and tightening up the story and action) is the way Anakin's fall is so fundamentally shifted. Despite subtle edits, this version gives us a VASTLY more satisfying Dark Side seduction for Anakin than the clumsy, implausible version we got in the original film (Anakin becoming a murderous villain for no other reason to save Padme always rang hollow). In this version, we get a much better characterization of Anakin from the very beginning; there's no hesitation to kill Dooku, no unrealistic whining in front of the council. In this truly clarifying edit, Anakin's fall is about his own desire for power, his sincere belief that the Jedi are using him and seeking to take power via a coup, and his alliance with Palpatine. It's Palpatine's promise of power combined with the Jedi betrayal that puts Anakin across the threshold more than anything else. In this version, it's ultimately about power, not love; Even the vision of Padme's death and Palpatine mention of "saving his wife" can ultimately be seen within this context.

Of course, there's so much more; you can look at the change list yourself. Suffice it to say that these edits are fantastic, without exception, and make ROTS a much stronger film. From my perspective, the most important thing I can convey is how much more satisfying, believable, and coherent Anakin's fall is here. Watching ROTS in the context of the 8 films we have so far (watching all my chosen edits back-to-back in chronological order) makes for a far superior transition between Episodes III and IV.

My only minor quibbles:
- The scene with Vader, Palps, and Tarkin watching the Death Star under construction is just cringey and has nothing whatsoever to do with the events of ROTS. Always hated it and was disappointed to see it kept here.
- The robot saying that Padme is "medically, perfectly healthy" (or whatever) is extreme cringe. I think it would have been much better to just trim it to "She's dying" or even "For reasons we can't explain, she's dying."

Nevertheless, this is the best version of ROTS available.
It can't be emphasized enough. You owe it to yourself to see this.

Fantastic edit! Love this edit most of all others. Drastic reediting making this movie a totally new experience surrounding Anakin and his very emotional journey to the darkside. Many expressionistic scenes re-cut and re-ordered create a whole new vibe to this movie. Highly recommended.

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?)

Siliconmaster's take on Episode III tightens everything up in the best way possible, I viewed Version 1.4 for this review.

All of their changes are well thought out and expand upon choices that were very successful for others. The attention given to the editing makes for a strong seamless viewing experience. I can't even begin to express how much I appreciate their changes to do with the Mustafar fight, it just feels so much more satisfying. Siliconmaster goes above and beyond with this project. It will be replacing the original release's blu-ray on my shelf at home.

Somewhat off topic but while reading through the special thanks section I learned that HAL9000's releases have fan editor commentary tracks! Will have to check those out.