Review Detail

The main takeaway here is that this is a sleek, pared down version of a relatively boring and slightly bloated dystopia flick. I enjoyed it quite a bit more than the original, and Panzer has honestly improved it almost to the point where it's as good as it can be.

There were two audio edits that were noticeable, one at 40:18 and one at 1:09:09, but outside of that I don't think anything stood out. All visual edits were also really well done.

The new narrative is where it really shines. Off the top of my head the new death for Jodie Foster and her new non-treasonous motivation, Frey and Max's backstory as kids, and the removal of the kid's cancer are the major changes. With their removal comes a bit of an empty space. Why was that Carlyse transporting such insanely sensitive data? Why is Kruger involved? Why does he kill Jodie Foster? Why does Max care if Frey's kid lives?

I think there are some gaps that can be filled in with just "that's the way things happen, roll with it." which I can get behind. I don't think everything needs explicit motivation. The only one that could be improved is Max's motivation to save Frey's kid, by including more of them together as children, build that emotional connection.

Overall it's a massive improvement and I really enjoyed it, and if I ever feel like watching this movie again it will be this cut. Great work!