Dark Knight Saga Recut, The - Part I

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19 reviews
 
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11%
5-7 stars
 
0%
3-5 stars
 
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1-3 stars
 
0%
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.9(19)
Audio Editing
 
9.7(19)
Visual Editing
 
9.7(19)
Narrative
 
8.9(19)
Enjoyment
 
8.8(19)
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19 results - showing 1 - 5
1 2 3 4
Ordering
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
This is a tough one. Batman Begins is, I think, the best movie of the three: coherent, tightly edited, with heart.
But njvc showss that BB can be tweaked. No major cuts here, just little nips and tucks everywhere which, for the most part, greatly improve the film.

First, the negatives:
I missed "SWEAR TO ME!" - I think it's funny, but no biggie.

But these next cuts make the edit a companion piece rather than a replacement to the original:
Cutting Bruce's hesitant response to Rachel and de-emphasising the "it's what you dooo" weakens the link they have. His soul is laid bare in the "it's not what you see, it's underneath" - you see the deep connection Rachel has for him - she is his link to normalcy. Removing it removes his link to normalcy, which considerably weakens not just this film but the next two as well.
It also makes her realisation that he's Batman really random. In the original their interaction sticks out in your mind - his vulnerability is so unusual. In the edit the scene is forgotten - so much so that at the kiss at the well I thought "huh? how did she know he's Batman!"
The kiss is also very weird. I know Holmes delivery is iffy, but without the dialogue their reactions are just extremely odd. She needs to tell him that his mask is his normal face - because that's a major theme (will the Bat consume the Man?), which is also a callback to "hwo I am underneath" (which is probably why you removed it?)-
A v2 re-inserting all three scenes "it's me underneath" "it's what I dooo" and stregnthens the characters immensely and would replace BB (for me, at least!).
I'd also either cut Flass threatening the kids or put back the voodoo-vision for him - at the moment it just seems that he's going to randomly murder some kids. I know he's an ass, but he wasn't THAT bad!

Then the positives:
Wow. Just wow. Nipped and tucked and tweaked - this edit is amazing. Lots of tiny, flawless trims to dialogue.
The Mr Earl sideplot, although amusing, is easily disposed of and strengthen the movie.
Ra's is more threatening with the removal of acres of exposition. Now he's focussed, brutal, to the point.
The weird voodoovision is flawlessly removed - and the movie is SO much better for it.
The editing is amazing!

Audio: There was one point when I noticed a flutter in the music (the 10,000 cowl's scene), otherwise flawless to my ears. Impressive.
Video quality is superb (watched HD mkv).

I rated BB a 8/9 originally. This edit is better in so many ways, but because of the Rachel /Bruce scenes mentioned above I can't replace BB. So it comes in as a solid 8.
For those who aren't bothered by those scenes- you will never watch the original again.
Outstanding work njvc.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply August 18, 2014

Thanks for the review dangermouse. I can understand your feelings around the Bruce/Rachel dialogue. Personally, I found the sentiment in those scenes a bit on the nose, and preferred a more subtle approach to their interactions. Likewise with "Swear to Me!", I realise many fans enjoy that line. For me, it is an example of the OTT shouty voice that doesn't fit with my preferred version of the character. Regardless of these points, I was pleased to read that you enjoyed the edit overall!

Report this review Comments (1) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
(Updated: September 29, 2014)
Overall rating
 
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
8.0
Narrative
 
7.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
Thank you NJVC! :]X

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Digital
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Top 500 Reviewer 20 reviews
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(Updated: August 18, 2014)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This won't be a long review. I watched the entire trilogy this weekend and thought that NJVC made all the right cuts from all three.

Audio / Video quality was superb and I detected no problem cuts whatsoever.

When I'm itchin' for some Dark Knight this is what I will watch.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply August 18, 2014

Thank you for the short and sweet review Fanedit! Glad you enjoyed it.

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(Updated: August 24, 2014)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This edit is an almost perfect cut of Batman Begins. The video and audio quality is superb, and the editing is expertly performed. I thought the pacing was a lot more streamlined and never felt like it dragged.
The removal of the whole DA and Wayne Enterprises subplots really gets the narrative moving and is certainly not missed. Regarding the character of Carl, I thought that the scene between him and Rachel was rather unnecessary, as it may confuse first-time viewers as to who he is (especially since we never see him again). It's only a minor criticism, and it doesn't affect the overall film, but it's just a slight criticism :)
As far as the colour correction is concerned, I too always disliked the yellow/brown filter, so this fanedit is supreme in that it fits in perfectly with the colour scheme of the later films; brilliant idea!
I think the shortened version of the dialogue between Bruce and Rachel strangely works, so no complaint on my part.

Overall, amazing job! I look forward to watching the next two films :)

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply August 24, 2014

Thanks for the review ad_phoenix! Great to get some feedback on the colour correction, that was always a sticking point with BB for me. Cheers for watching :)

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(Updated: May 13, 2021)
Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This was a very enjoyable watch. I didn't read the cut list and haven't watched Batman Begins for a while, so I couldn't tell what had been removed, bar the fear toxin parts. That's a testament to how good the editing is. The one thing that I would've kept in were the hallucinations/fear toxin scenes, I thought those were great. Otherwise, looking over the cut list, this edit chose all the weak points to remove, a lot of cheesy dialogue, and a ton of pointless exposition. Really great stuff here, rather than taking a cr*p film and polishing it, njvc has taken a great movie and made it even better. If the fear toxin scenes had been kept in, this would easily replace Batman Begins for me. I look forward to watching the next two parts.
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