Review Detail

Edit (7/11/2019): I have changed my score because Hal9000 has released an "alternate ending" cut of his edit that retains Padme's death. This essentially fixes my main gripe I had with it. Thank you, Hal. This is a phenomenal edit.

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Whereas I believe HAL9000's TPM and AotC are the definitive go-to edits of the PT, somehow he really dropped the ball on RotS, and his final effort doesn't even come close to what L8wrtr accomplished with the same material.

The biggest problem is that this edit is where HAL9000's philosophy of maintaining continuity with the OT really fails him. The whole edit is overall inferior to L8wrtr's, but most of the problems occur at the end. Leia mentions in passing in RotJ that she retains memories of her mother from when she was young. Thus, HAL9000 bends over backwards to make it so Padme lives, and he literally breaks the movie in the process, going so far as to add footage from an entirely different movie (The Other Boleyn Girl). Unfortunately, even the few seconds or so that he uses is completely jarring because the respective films look and feel nothing alike. Also, in the theatrical release of RotS, and illustrated even better in L8wrtr's edit, Anakin joins the dark side to prevent Padme from dying, yet his descent is what ultimately leads to her death. This powerful irony is completely lost in HAL9000's edit. I'm sorry, but an enjoyable film experience is more important than continuity in this case. In the end this is George Lucas' movie, not ours. Making nips and tucks is one thing, but changing the overall plot of the story is not the job of an editor.

HAL9000's edit also includes Vader's "NOOOO!!!!!!" at the end and him throwing a hissy fit, whereas L8wrtr's scene is much more graceful and subdued...perfect, really. The original ending of RotS had a bloated ending and didn't know when to quit, and HAL9000 kept too many of these elements. On the other hand, after the climax in L8wrtr's edit, he ties things up nice and quick.

HAL9000's effort is noble but misguided. It is an okay edit, but there is nothing it does that L8wrtr's doesn't do better. Perhaps the problem is that with L8wrtr's edit of RotS, there really isn't much room for improvement, whereas with the other two prequel films, there was still a lot that needed fixing. I wish I could say that HAL9000's three PT edits constituted the definitive trilogy, but I can't. I recommend watching HAL9000's edits of episodes I and II, and L8wrtr's edit of episode III if you want the optimal experience watching the PT.

This edit gets a 4.0 largely for breaking the movie, which I find unforgivable, although there are a few niggling problems with cuts not being as seamless as they could be.

EDIT: I feel like I need to say more to defend why I gave this edit such a low score. Perhaps the fundamental problem is that the editor's efforts come from a place of contempt, not love. HAL9000 has said on the forums: "I think the prequels would be utterly forgettable were they not Star Wars films. They're obligatory more than anything else." I feel completely differently. I love the PT. I love the pre-empire universe created by it. I love The Clone Wars TV series. I would take Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan over Luke, Leia, and Han any day (yes, you read right). I was a teenager when the PT came out, and warts and all, I'm willing to embrace it as the Star Wars of my generation. I hope HAL9000 comes to realize that his efforts are important, not just to those who value the original trilogy, but to those who treasure the prequel trilogy as well. That's why I think breaking RotS in service of RotJ is such a travesty. RotJ is still good regardless of whether or not Luke and Leia's mom dies in childbirth. The challenge RotS faces is that everyone knows how it ends...Anakin ultimately turns to the dark side. So George Lucas re-indroduces the element of surprise by injecting a dose of irony in that Anakin inadvertently causes the very thing he's trying to prevent, i.e., Padme's death. I like Anakin because he's actually George Lucas' most nuanced character (despite giving him terrible dialogue at times). He's a good guy, but he can't endure loss, which runs contrary to his Jedi training. He loses his mother--yes, she DIES--and he vows not to let it happen again. He's so determined not to lose Padme, that she actually DIES AT HIS HANDS as a consequence of his efforts. This irony is so fundamental to the story--GL starts to set it up in AotC in fact--that I can't believe HAL9000 would do this. Sheer contempt, it seems.