Star Wars - Episode II: The Republic Divided

This is a close 2nd for my go to Episode II edit, although I may have to watch Hal9000's again to be sure.

Quality was good, but not quite as good as I'd expect for a blu ray, though still better than dvd. Some other edits just seem crisper.

Editing was top notch bar a couple of things. At the start of the film there were a few odd issues that I noted:

- Strange green lines flash just after disclaimer
- 20th Century Fox logo flashes just after L8wrtr logo
- Backdrop for open Star wars logo is very pixelated
- A ghost of the starting crawl flashes up at around 2:27 (blink and you'll miss it)

Other than that there was just one jarring transition - the very short scene with Anakin and Padme in the fire lit lounge.

On a personal level I missed the action sequence between Jango and Obi-Wan, Padme shouldn't say "... Truly, deeply..." and the droid factory is a visual abomination.

Narrative seemed more cohesive than in most edits, though due to the source material it can never be perfect.

Overall, highly enjoyable. Something L8wrtr nails with this and Phantom Menace is pacing. Both are mercifully short without there being anything particularly noticeable missing. The films just plod along in a very entertaining manner despite the absence of an interesting plot and before you know it they're over - and you feel relatively satisfied.

Good stuff. Now, onto Episode III...

this is the best in L8 edits of the Star Wars prequels greatly improving the original. Anakin is less of a sulking teenager and a lot more likeable. the deleted scenes as with EP III are a welcome inclusion as they improve the romance between Anakin and Padame.

as others have said they are some niggling errors that are frustrating. I felt the subtitle to the dying shape shifter (her name I don't know) was too quick, and as another viewer committed a little more detective work by Obi-Wan would have improved the story.

Anakin and Padame seem to know C3-PO rather well considering this character was somewhat shortened in EP 1

the fire place scene really didn't need to be there, without this scenes the balcony scene would have worked as a kind of have they / haven't they slept with one another. as it is it's forcing the issue that they have just slept with one another but it's done in such a clumsy manner

I wondered if the scene between Anakin and Padame after he's returned could have been removed, one of main problems with the prequels is the fact that Padame knows that Anakin is a killer yet she still falls in love with and even marries him. this narrative would have worked well with the viewers knowing what our main character has done while Padame doesn't

the final 30min are fantastic, once again listening to the commentary track you beginning to realise just how much has been cut without ever realizing. bobba fett picking up his dead dad's head would have been a welcome cut.

overall like with all three edits I feel to much has been cut while the other two edits only slightly improved the originals this maybe the version I’ll continue to watch

my original EP II score 6/10
my fanedit EP II score 8/10

Before you kill me for not giving this a good score, just let me explain.
I actually don't mind Episode II. It has many problems, but I can enjoy it for the sum of it's parts. Now, if you had asked me what I thought of this cut about a month ago, I would have said it was the best AOTC edit out there and recommended it without question. But then I had a closer look at The Phantom Editor's cut, and found it made many more creative choices than this. Then I watched Seciors, and saw, again, many more creative choices. Then, finally, I watched Trooperman's workprint edit, and really feel sorry for other edits, because his is so damn good and creative, it blows all other edits out of the water automatically, regardless of how good they are. So anyway, one thing I noticed in L8wrtr's edit was lack of originality. Most cuts here don't radically change up the story, or even the individual scenes themselves. I kind of just felt bored, seeing things taken out, with no re-arranging and dialogue changes.
Aside from lack of creativity, I also think some more cuts should have been made. For example, Zam's description of being a changeling was left in, as was Yoda sensing Anakin's pain. The garage scene is a hard edit to take in. I would either leave it in completely, or cut it out completely. The reason I would leave it all in is because the way L8wrtr edited it, it feels anticlimactic. He just says he killed them calmly and that's it. There's no drama. It feels worse than before.
The video quality was good, not great. It was nowhere near as good as the official Blu-Ray's and suffered from nasty pixelation from time to time.
Audio cuts were sometimes good, but sometimes hard to stomach. The transition between Palpatine's office and the bus landing was sudden. You could hear the audio fade out in the transition to the Dooku deleted scene. The transition between "aggresive negotiations" and the other Jedi was also really rough.
At the end of the day, it is a good edit, but feels like another forgettable cut, with no changes to the overall story. It also is a let down from Shadow of the Sith, my favourite Episode I cut.