Star Wars - Rogue One: Where Rebels Dare

Watched the MP4 today, and had a very entertaining time.

I am not a Star Wars guy, though I do have a deep nostalgic fondness for the original trilogy and this fan edit does elicit a more classic Star Wars feel without being too fan oriented. It is amazing how by simply (well, not simple from a technical stand point -- well done as always TM2YC) creating an original style opening immediately put me in the Star Wars zone. But TM2YC does more than this of course.... his reordering/restructuring of scenes creates a more fluid narrative and the additional/alteration of music cues/score (TM2YC always does FANTASTIC music work and Rogue One is another shining example of his master craftsmanship) creates a more emotional connection to the story and it's characters. While still not a perfect movie, TM2YC has done an exemplary job and for me has elevated the film above it's original cut.

My only nit pick observation, the time passage title card says "13 years later" but Jyn states in her interrogation with the Rebels that it has been 15 years since she last saw her father. Unless I missed a detail...? lol

Otherwise, another excellent edit by the ever exceptional TM2YC.

Thumbs Up.

The edit starts very strong with the opening crawl followed by the pan down. What a technical wonder, I loved it. The prologue is great like this, it makes a lot more sense now.

Throughout the film, the reordering of a lot of scenes improves the narrative. Still, I’d have preferred for more scenes the be removed on the 1st act, so the pacing can improve. Also, both on the 1st and 2nd acts, it may have been possible to trim / remove some of the subplots and characters (thinking of Saw Gerrera…). As it has been said by other reviewers, I’m also fully in favor of removing the Bor Gullet scene, it brings nothing but cringe and it interrupts the flow of the narrative.

Overall, the edits were seamlessly done on both audio and video, never noticed any misplaced cut. The new / improved sound effects bring a lot of color and variety, they are a great choice.

Cheers!

Pros:
- 3rd act is the best part of the film, and it is mostly intact from the original.

Cons:
- Boring character stories and arcs left intact.
- Saw Gerrera... just his character... ugh!
- The Rebellion/Resistance comes over as a bunch of whiners.

Conclusion:
In my honest opinion, the Fan Edit "The Battle of Scarif" is a better fit for this movie. I just can't get through the first 2 acts of this movie. This is not the fault of the Editor, but of the Creators of the movie itself. The characters are bland and boring, the story is to convenient and nonsensical, and last but not least, this movie didn't need to exist. It's a badly explained plot that just derails the Epic Battle in the final act. The editor did his best to make the movie watchable, and for some it has become just that... watchable. That is not enough for me.