It's so great to see that you're still encouraging suggestions this late in the game, AND (unlike some of the other fan editors out there) you aren't so intoxicated with your own ego that you disregard any input from the people who will actually be watching this thing. Instead you welcome it, and that's extremely rare. You are a truly unique individual indeed, Trooperman, in the best possible sense of the word, and I applaud you for it.

One thing I'd like you to keep in mind for the project as a whole is that emotion is probably one of the most, if not THE most important aspect in the 2nd act of a 3-act structure, and this is the 2nd act of the prequel trilogy. It's the emotions which create the motivation which leads the characters to act. The audience should never have to question why a character is making a decision to do something. Their actions should be absolutely true to who they are and what they're feeling.

What made ESB such an emotionally satisfying picture for the audience is the fact that Irvin Kershner (as he points out in the DVD commentary) was totally focused on SHOWING the emotions of all the characters, both verbally and non-verbally, especially the incoherent characters like R2 and Chewie. The 1st act established who they are, now we have to know how they feel. The display of Human emotions is what made those characters beloved, and unfortunately, critics and fans agree, that's one of the things the Prequel trilogy is sorely devoid of (even in the Human characters!). It's all in the editing. Watch ESB again with that in mind and you'll notice there's hardly any wasted film whatsoever. Every frame either moves the plot forward or reveals character.

As it is now, the dramatic structure of AOTC and the other prequels seems more like Lucas was strategically moving archetypal cardboard cut-outs through a board game. The characters are largely uninteresting (with few exceptions), have no real depth or contradictions, and don't seem to be motivated by much more than chance and convenience, and the occasional monster or pit of doom they have to death-defyingly escape from. But... I know... I'm preaching to the converted. It's just such a great example of how NOT to do things, and something to keep prominently in your mind while crafting your edit.

So, hopefully EMOTION is something you'll inject into this film, and with it may come a breath of life and hope for the prequels after all.

I've been impressed with everything I've seen on this project up to this point, Trooperman. So, I'm more than confident you'll pull it off.