Even more Notes! I know you are editing these to fit with your revamped Book 5… so as usual take what works here and discard what you don’t need!
Book 4:
Ahsoka fight is awesome. Music works well with the tone you set, and the fight is quickly paced.
“Surrender…” cut seems sudden. Consider slightly slowing down the witch’s reaction to extend by a few frames.
Has Ahsoka been color-corrected here? She’s way more orange than in her own tv show. Looks more like the cartoon (in a good way).
I hate to say it but I miss the downtrodden townsfolk that Mando originally interacted with. They helped showcase the dathomir witch as evil, our new character (Ahsoka) as good, and our protagonist as conflicted (we are in Kurosawa territory, after all). This version does not demonstrate that as clearly. We might not need the whole B story- but just seeing that guy in the stocks helps our heroes journey. (And gives us a 1-second explanation of that guy getting a jacket once the town is liberated as that scene was kept)
6:18 - this cut is too rapid. Took me out of it. It’s a fast cut to a stopped door, which doesn’t work for some reason.
46:15 - Fennec is trapped, Mando hops in (with flute). We don’t see her get surrounded, so the buildup of these troops running is unclear. So the first reaction we see Fennec is that she’s surrounded is immediately when Mando drops in. This pacing doesn’t give us time to breath so the save does not feel earned. (I rarely critique the fight edits, but this one needs mentioning)
Music for Bill Burr and Mando arriving at the base: Hate it. Could we use a more imperial/foreboding sound? They are safe but still in danger. Even triumphant imperial music could work! Anything but the Mando victory song.
1:14:56 The cutaway from Mando at the terminal is too rapid, the audio seems weird, and is one of the few times I can tell this is an edit.
I do not like the shortening of the drink with an officer scene. This may be one of the best scenes in the ENTIRE show.
^^^
I had a big paragraph rant about this- but I looked at your response to similar comments- and you make a great point. This is saving the face reveal for the finale. In a show this works great- but in our film we see Mando’s face in like 15 minutes. It DOES undercut your film climax and for that reason, I can see why you made the choice you did.
So that being said- the more of this scene we can keep the better. This scene absolutely drips with character and world building, and for the first time in a while it makes us fear the power of the Empire. Plus the idea of raising a toast with such a scumbag is visceral and well acted. BUT WE CAN’T USE MANDO’S FACE!.. So I have a suggestion:
How can I convince you to CG that helmet back on Mando’s head to salvage more of this scene? (The same way you edited out Grogu 😄 )
1:22:08 - The transition is weird- the circle doesn’t seem to fully close during the wipe?
Boba Fett says “that planet has been turned to glass” and Bo Katan’s response “You are a disgrace to your armor” doesn’t seem to match. Writing is weird here. VO opportunity to have Boba Fett drop a MUCH nastier, old school Boba line.
When Boba Fett hijacks the shuttle it plays the Mando theme. This should be the Boba theme to stay consistent with our multiple hero narrative.
SOUND EFFECT! When Cara Dune enters with the machine gun it sounds SOOOO underwhelming. Full on weak. This gun should drop the bass.
You made some minor cuts in the finale like Gideon being disarmed before being knocked out. I agree it’s a little weird in choreography- but it’s very obvious where it was cut. Additionally- this DOES remove two important notes on these characters. Gideon would rather die than bring satisfaction to his enemy, and Cara’s lines have been about taking him alive. This brief interaction actually helps both characters.
In this deep into the finale- I don’t think I would cut a single thing.
What about the force theme for Luke? I’ve seen some SOLID edits here, and they would add a ton to the mythical element of this part of the film. We are witnessing a WIZARD save the day- so let’s have it be magical.
Any way to use better deepfake fanedits for Luke? There are a variety out there.
The final shot is a good ending moment.