Star Wars - Episode II: The Republic Divided

Since I'm waaay too late to the party, these edits have been around for ages, I'll just say that after having watched at least 3-4 fanedits of this movie (like HAL's, Spence's, Octoroxx etc.), this version is the one that became my go to version of the movie. I didn't like it almost at all, with the exception of some redeeming qualities like older Obi-Wan, some action sequences and parts of the plot, so I needed an aggressive edit. This one did the job perfectly!

Also, I have to make a special mention to how great the editor managed to make the love story an endearing one and not a creepy, forced one that was the original. Excellent editing skills on this part alone!

I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an aggressive edit of Episode 2 and a good love story and I assure you it will be your go-to version in the future!

Thank you L8wrtr for all your hard work and thanks to anyone who read my review!

Wow.

In my opinion this doubles the quality of the original. It's kind of sad how much better with this movie works with so many of the original ideas just "deleted".

Dancing Yoda and flying R2 are not missed at all.

The magic of making Padme and Anakin's relationship feel almost organic is the real genius here.

The original is not really good enough to be saved but this edit does as much as it can to make it more watchable. Very good work.

Amazingly, even after trimming 49 minutes, my one complaint would be to trim even more lol.

Pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this, it didn't feel like a fanedit at all.

This is my definitive go to version of Episode II. To me, this edit makes me see the underlying message of what the movie tried to accomplish in the first place. It actually triggers emotions and I care now about the movie and the characters and consider it truly worthy of being part of the canon. Thank you so much! :)

Recently I decided to revisit the Star Wars prequels again, after a good 2 or 3 years of having not watched them. However, I knew that I wouldn’t want to watch the theatrical cuts again, so I thought I’d give L8Wrtr’s prequel trilogy another watch.

Of all the prequels, Attack of the Clones is probably the film I have the most problem watching. The theatrical cut is full of terribly written dialogue which makes the love story between Anakain and Padme a complete failure, plus Lucas’ handling of the teenage Anakin is clumsy at best and he comes across as unlikeable and basically a pain in the ass.

L8wrtr’s fanedited version is a complete revelation , it really is. Not only does he somehow manage to make the romance between Anakin and Padme more natural and almost believable, he also manages to bring out more from Hayden Christensen’s performance. More is indeed less when it came to the dialogue that he had to deliver, so the fanediting here is quite sublime and adds considerable weight to the characters and their plight.

There are so many intricate nips and tucks here that it’s impossible to mention them all, but basically trimming down the action sequences and excising needless plot exposition are two of the key factors here. The story is still convoluted, but is far easier to follow and appreciate than it was in the theatrical cut. Plus, the droid factory sequence is hugely improved and as for the Yoda/Dooku scene – that now works a treat and feels more natural.

The only real downside here is just one edit which involves Padme and Anakin when they are looking longingly into each other’s eyes in front of the fire… it’s so quick that the scene just doesn’t work and in my humble opinion should have been removed altogether. Such as shame, as the rest of the edit is basically perfect.

The Republic Divided is an excellent fanediting achievement though and is the only way I like to watch Episode II now. Great work L8wrtr.