Spectrometer

May the fourth be with you!

Well, I only had time to watch the TPM part for now, my comments on it are:

• I liked the idea of cutting all the first part, but the transition from the diplomatic ship being destroyed to the podracing scene is a little jarring. Perhaps including some seconds of the droid army invading Naboo could help transition the plot better.

• Introducing Anakin’s story at the “He has no father” scene works really well. Good choice, it also establishes quickly one of the main plots of the trilogy.

• I think there is some echo in the “A Jedi’s life is hard” scene,

• I think cutting the Naboo plains battle was also a right choice, as it contributes little to the plot. Without it, the third act of TPM flows really well.

• There is a little audio glitch in the score at 39:54, when the Trade’s Federation ship is exploding.

Overall I think it’s a really nice edit that higlights the good parts of TPM, and it’s interesting as an alternate view of the Prequels. I’ll watch the AOTC part when I have time.

Thanks!

Hello, could I have a link?

Glad you liked the review! I said that I’d just write some things and ended up with a super long analysis lol. I hope it serves you well for V3.

Well, I just finished watching the edit and I liked it, although I think there are things that can be improved, here are my thoughts in things I remember:

• While the original intro on Mustafar was good, starting the film with the Falcon and Sinta Glacier makes these scenes so much more impactful and important, now they serve to present the pace and style of the film, and not just to show a plot point (the Resistance obtaining intel from a spy). So very good decision there.

• In general I liked the intertwined sequence between Kylo and Rey training, but IMO it creates some confusion on the viewer with Palpatine and Leia: the film shows you Leia’s death and pushes you to mourn her, then immediately cuts to the Emperor reveal; it’s kind of an emotional dissonance, you don’t have enough time to “contemplate” Leia’s death. As these scenes must happen somewhat close, I don’t know if there is an easy way to fix this, but I wanted to point it out.

• I liked the little trims of jokes, like “they fly now”, now the movie mantains a better balance between humor and seriousness, specially in the first act.

• I liked that you cut the scene in which Chewbacca appears before the protagonists discover he is alive, it helps to build suspense.

• One problem I had is with the scene of Hux’s betrayal. Cutting to Rey firing the stormtroopers is fine (even aesthetic), but without the part in which Hux kills the firing squad, the film cuts to him helping the team escape for no reason; you kept the scene in which Finn asks Hux why was he helping them, but it’s still confusing. I hope in V3 you restore that scene of Hux firing the stormtroopers.

• I have a mixed opinion on the Duel of the Fates theme. On one hand, it adds to the epic feeling to an already good duel, on the other, when the chorus starts it reminds me too much to The Phantom Menace, which makes it seem a little out of place. But this is just a personal opinion, obviously.

• I think the cut from Finn seeing Rey escape to Kylo thinking in the cliff is a bit disrupting, but I guess there is no way to change it. Likewise, the transition from the Han and Kylo scene to Palpatine issuing orders is too sudden, as Palpatine voice appears before the scene transitions. Maybe you were trying to mirror the prequel style transitions, but in this case I think it cuts Kylo’s scene short. The decision to add the image of the Final Order fleet rising at that point, however, was a good one, it mantained the mystery about Exegol until that point and made its introduction more epic.

• I really liked all the elements kept from Ascendant (the purple saber, the force ghosts, the final shot).

• In particular, I loved how you moved the chess/dejarik scene to the end (which now I realize is a change from Ascendant). Final films in a saga usually have these comic reliefs about the characters finally living a normal life after the final battle, and I think that little scene conveys that emotion well.

So, in general, I liked the edit and the ideas behind it, but I think the execution of it (how much to cut, how to place the dialogue lines, how to transition from a “mood” to another) needs more polishing, but I think that is what you are aiming for in V3. Congratulations!

Hello, having watched Ascendant, I really like the ideas in this edit, can you give me the link to the latest release?