| Fanedit Name | Date Reviewed | | |
| Anastasia: Lost Princess Of Russia | 24th June 2024 | [Copy of my review from IFDB, may not reflect any updates if they have been made]The film was very clean in it's presentation and delivery, and I didn't really notice the cuts made to it. Jerick did a very good job keeping the tension intact and removing some of the harshest points of occult practices.
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| The Clone Wars: Refocused | 24th June 2024 | [Copy of my review from IFDB, may not reflect any updates if they have been made]This was a slightly difficult review, as I both wanted to be fair but also truthful. I really struggled to determine how many points to take off for issues, but that's partially due to the sheer scale of this edit. Sure, I noticed issues every once in a while, but how numerous were they in relation to the total number of edits?
So, here's the review: this edit is the best way to watch this show. Start to end, it strengthens the weak points and highlights the existing strengths. It cuts out a lot of fat and is, for the most part, seamless in its edits. It's what those of us who love the show already remember watching, and what those who couldn't get into it needed in order to have a chance to get into it.
To begin, some favorite bits:
- The decision to use the Mandalore story as a narrative spine is very good - it is definitely already a central story of the show (as evidenced by the finale), so this decision makes that more evident.
- The structure of each season is a huge improvement over the original show.
- It's just... fun to watch this way. So much of it just feels like how the show should have been, so it's almost hard to find individual things to highlight because when the edit is at its best, you're not noticing it.
However, I have the following criticisms:
- There are a few really harsh edits - some of them visual, but most often audio (especially at the ends of episodes). The audio edits are definitely far more noticeable than the video edits. I definitely understand how difficult some of the edits are to make, but I really hope we see some improvements in future versions! These are what hold the edit back from feeling completely polished.
- I'm not a big fan of the use of the Cinematic Captures video for the Anakin/Obi discussion. I find it very distracting to have such a huge shift in animation style in-episode. This isn't a deal-breaker at all, but I would love an alternate cut.
- I would love an extended cut of the Mortis arc. I know it's not for everyone, but I think too much was cut out, to the point where it almost feels more like watching a recap than the actual story.
- Others have mentioned it, but the Domino to Rookies cut is a little abrupt. This is easily my smallest complaint (as, on the flip side, it actually does a much better job than the original show at making it clear these are the same clones).
- The senate hostage inclusion in the holocron heist doesn't completely make sense to me. I know this isn't the only edit to combine them in this way, but it left me a little confused. Why did Cad Bane bother with the hostages? If it were a distraction, why weren't the different operations going on at the same time? I know that the reason is "these are separate episodes that were combined", but it'd be nice if this could be a little cleaner somehow.
I want to be as clear as possible that the above criticisms are not reasons to not watch this edit. This is the best way to watch the show - the flaws of this edit are, frankly, nowhere near as significant as the flaws of the original show. Further, this edit is still ongoing! I just checked the document today and noticed there was a brand new hour-long episode available. I'm confident that this edit will be near flawless by the time EddieDean hangs up his hat. I will return to this review when we reach that point!
To EddieDean: thanks for your hard work on this! I can't imagine the hours that must have gone into this project, but they have surely paid off.
NOTE: EddieDean responded to this with some good insight, but his response was too long to include here :)
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| Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi - The Spence Edit | 7th October 2023 | [Copy of my review from IFDB, may not reflect any updates if they have been made]This is the closest to a perfect score I've ever given. Honestly, I struggled to identify where things were cut as the edit is so seamless and tells the complete story without many compromises. The only reason I took a point off of the visual editing was due to a couple of harsher-than-normal cuts. Otherwise, it's very difficult to find flaws. Thanks for the great edit, Spence!
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| Star Wars - Episode I: Shadow of the Sith | 24th September 2023 | [Copy of my review from IFDB, may not reflect any updates if they have been made]This edit is absolutely phenomenal - perhaps the best version of the film possible. We can all agree that The Phantom Menace leaves much to be desired, but watching l8wrtr's edit restored some of the joy from the original trilogy. So, what made this edit so great?
- Jar Jar is.... bearable? His presence is so limited, and all of his foolishness is removed. Now, he comes across as a competent, if a little odd, alien who comes from a clan of warriors. While he can still annoy us with his speech patterns and ridiculousness, he doesn't come close to ruining our experience.
- THE PACE. The film just keeps moving, and this movie needed a bit of a boost. I can't get over the fact that I was enjoying myself as the movie started, because all of the needlessness was gone.
- The villains. The Neimoidians felt like a part of the villainy this time around. I didn't realize how much they hurt the film, but when they are willful participants they increase the stakes of the movie.
Unfortunately, while there are many improvements, nothing can save the acting in this movie. It's just as dreadful as it always was, but this time... there's less of it.
Nobody can make The Phantom Menace as good as the originals, nor as good as what Disney releases now. l8wrtr sure does his darndest, though, and boy does it pay off.
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| Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Episode I: Army Of The Republic | 24th September 2023 | [Copy of my review from IFDB, may not reflect any updates if they have been made]Smudger9 has done what I had previously thought impossible: He made the earlier parts of The Clone Wars TV series into an enjoyable viewing experience. I have frequently expressed my deep-seated hatred for the beginning of the series, and was really surprised by what was done in this wonderful edit. I'll go through my favorite things about the edit before I get to my minor complaints.
Pros:
-What I really like in this edit is how smudger9 took multiple arcs and was able to mesh them into a single cohesive story.
-I found myself much more attached to characters (specifically the clones of Domino Squad) due to his editing.
-Some really awful story arcs were cut (Jabba's son, anyone?)
-Ashoka wasn't pushed to the front. While I have nothing against her, she wasn't important to the story of this edit and would've detracted from the plot.
-Most of the editing was extremely well done. It was barely noticeable mostly.
Cons:
-There were a couple of points where you could tell a conversation had been modified. It would have a slightly noticeable visual and audio glitch when it happened. However, it was rare.
-There was a poor ratio of action vs. character development, but I can understand this since most of the character development happens in cut story arcs. However, it would've been nice if a little more could've been preserved.
All in all, a wonderful edit that created a movie worthy of any Star Wars collection.
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