Star Wars: Rise of the Empire

Review by juk — June 8, 2008 @ 12:27 am

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

Review by Sunshine1970 — July 8, 2008 @ 4:22 am

I stumbled upon this by accident a few weeks ago. Finally got around to watching it yesterday. This is my first fanedit to watch. I think I’m hooked on them.

This version actually made me LIKE Jake Lloyd’s young Anakin. I also found the podrace quite exciting, as opposed to completely boring in the official version.
Episode III was always the weakest version for me. I find it boring. By the time the final duel happens I don’t really care what happens to any of the characters. But, by editing out a lot of the junk, adding many of the deleted scenes back in, I found myself engrossed in the battle.

I find Jar Jar a much more likable character, now.

Although there are some annoying spots, as SirMavins points out, especially Jar Jar’s dialogue, I wasn’t too bothered by it. It was still an improvement. I also agree about the cutting of Episode II, but IMHO, what this proved is that Episode II was pretty much not even needed. I do admit that the original Episode II is my favorite movie in the trilogy mainly due to Boba & Jango Fett in it so to see all the cuts was maddening at times. One huge improvement, though, is the chase of Obi-Wan and Slave I. To not have any of the dialogue between father & son, and instead concentrate on the chase really brought a lot of tension to the scene which it was missing originally.

There were also some cuts here & there that felt a bit abrupt but the overall story was not affected. It was much improved, and well done. Highly enjoyable, and one that will sit proudly next to all my Star Wars DVDs & videos.