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Thank you for making and sharing these! Overall I think they are superb. I really enjoyed watching them, the first time I’ve rewatched Mando season 2 and Book of Boba Fett since they first came out, so I don’t remember exactly what’s been cut, I am watching them more as a new experience. I’d watched earlier cuts of your book 1 and 2 and they were great, but 3, 4 and 5 are a step up. What you’ve done is a really well put together way of watching the stories unfold, taking the good stuff and cutting around the ‘less good’ stuff!
You’ve made Boba Fett’s story way more compelling, and less cringe, and the overall storyline of the Mandalorian is punchy and enjoyable.

I just got done watching all 5 books and I would like to offer some comments and suggestions. There’s lots of things I’d like to comment on after 20 hours of content…! but for the sake of everyones time I won’t write a massive essay!

Overall I found some of the transitions between Mando and Boba to be a bit abrupt/jarring. Not all, but some. Sometimes it might be as simple as a bit more lead in on whichever its cutting to - an establishing shot, or a bit more room to breathe, or using a few more Lucas style wipes like the one 6 mins into book 2 works as a wipe, but the Mando scene it wipes to needs a bit more of a run in, a shot of the ship from outside perhaps.

My recollections are below, in roughly chronological order… I’ve tried to give ideas not complaints!

Book 1 - Kill going back to get IG11 is great to bring earlier but feels misplaced. Can it go to directly after Mando leaves Kuills planet?

Book 1 - brilliant, having Mando go and do a job without Grogu then realise how much he misses him. excellent idea and well executed.

Book 2, 9 mins - Grogu looking at stars fade to boba tied to a tree. if you could find a night sky to transition to, so the fade is from one night sky to another, then use the shot of boba, that might be smoother. Music wise, the fade is uncomfortable. Run the music from Mando longer into the boba scene? add generic fire noise over the top to mask the transition into Boba Fett audio?

book 2, 1hr 14. its all waaaay too dark in this whole scene. I couldn’t see a thing!

Book 2, the end - the cut from Mando making the pile of stone for Kuill is an emotional moment, but its undercut a lot by then cutting back to Boba and Fennic with tense music can this be moved to another point?

Book 2, also the end - Gideon getting out of his ship before Mando casually leaves the planet sort of undermines Mando ‘beating’ him.

Book 3, at 47 minutes - do we need the scene with Kara dune being given the Marshall badge, now that there is no payoff to it? could be an easy cut.

Book 3 - I love the idea of boba sniping Mando’s speeder out. Really well done. but I do miss the logic slightly of how he knew and got there, and was wondering where Fennic was. is there any cut elements you could repurpose to help this? any any ideas to maybe send Fennic off to do an errand to cover why she’s not with him when she’s been pretty permanently with him until this point…?

I love the transition from Mando to boba at 48 mins. Music works perfectly!

Sorry but the music at the end of book 3 (montage and credits) is not good. It really took me out of it, it sounds like from a cheap RPG game from a decade ago. The music from Mando is so progressive and such a unique character and this didn’t fit at all. Please can you consider looking for an alternative to this 😐

Book 4 - no notes. awesome work. One thing though, Boba reclaiming his throne would be such a great ending to this. I felt it got a bit muddled and lost in bobas dream at the start of book 5. Could work really well as a final scene of book 4, after a fade to black of Luke leaving with Grogu… fade up on an establishing shot of Tatooine jabbers palace then use that scene. Sets up the next film really well, rather than boba just hyper spacing off at the end of this one.

Book5 - great job with tricky source material here. Huge fan of what you’ve cut and spliced together.

book 5 - 31 minutes, cut from boba scenes to Mando scenes the music transition isn’t fitting too well

Book 5 - I know the source material isn’t there, but Mando disappearing suddenly midway through the end battle with no payoff is strange. can anything be pulled together to help? Ai voice, cut shots etc to give a final dialogue?

Book 5 - Boba Fett vs Cad bane - I can’t remember what was there originally, but there feels like something big was cut from Cad kneeling over boba - to suddenly boba on his feet kicking Cad’s ass. its a bit abrupt.

Book 5 - the first part of music at the end scenes, over Mando and Ahsoka, then Luke and Ahsoka, doesn’t work it’s too loud and feels like two song playing over each other and competing. really distracting. I do like the little use of OT music for the following scene though, but then the weird strings over the 'what should I do about him scene is again very distracting. not every scene needs music, maybe parts can go back to being quiet?

Overall
I really appreciate some of the cuts you made all the way through, particularly to book of Boba Fett. Just got done watching book 5 so these are fresh in my mind… don’t miss at all boba getting cuddled to death in his pants, the mods stupid scooter chase, but I do miss a bit of the iconic moments I remember… Book 5 for example, Boba Fett wrist rocketing the assassin guy on the building as he’s running away, Boba making his gaffi stick etc. I feel like there was a really good campfire chat between Boba Fett and Fennic about their motivations that I miss too, did I remember that right?

I hope some of that is useful for you…!

Outline and reasoning sounds absolutely spot on. This I want to see!!!

Hello,

I’ve finally finished up watching through your edits - Super nice. Thanks Acbagel for the incredible amount of work you’ve put into these. I really enjoyed the experience of seeing Mando and book of Boba Fett with fresh eyes. Boba’s revised characterisation in particular is about as well done as it can be with the source material. Less of the sad sack and more of the taciturn bad ass! The way you’ve tightened up Mando without losing any of the main beats is very well handled too.

A few comments from my side on the edits. Others have gone into lots of excellent detail so here’s just a few observations. (I haven’t watched the standard versions in a while so some of this might not be possible…!)

Book 1.
I miss a little bit of the Razorcrest from the start. If there’s a way to put in one of the killer shots of it from the ice planet, without the monster?

30;57 did the shot of the tracking fob on the ground get changed / stretched - looks weirdly photoshopped / fake somehow like its not sitting on the ground.

1:16.30 I feel like a beat longer on Cara dune after the grogu bowl shot would help, its a bit too abrupt a cut for the moment to land.

1:19. The conversation with Mando and the two villagers talks about them needing to pay him for a job. then they hang out at the village and there’s no mention of the job again, just a montage of them training for… something? not sure how better to fix it with what’s available tho, except cutting the montage and the guys saying ‘we’ve got money’ etc.

Book 2
Opening - I always felt that the waking up and exiting the Sarlacc pit was too abrupt. is there any way that one or two heavily processed shots from return of the Jedi can go in here as Boba is semi conscious in the sarlacc? he’s flashing back to childhood, but not to how he actually got there which seems a shame. the shots of him falling in, with no audio only music, something that could feel like POV shots of the battle? could any wide shots of the wrecked sail barge /sarlacc pit from later be inserted to extend the scene? big ask.

0:50. the cutting from Bobas (excellent) storyline to Mandos feels too abrupt and confusing. takes a while to click in to what’s going on. Can we somehow fade into Mando and Grogu having a calmer moment before the action starts?

1:22. I feel like it would help to put back in the shots of Boba finding and crouching down beside fennec before she wakes up by the fire. They can be processed to be coming in and of focus to lead into the out of focus fireside Fennec POV shot. Sort of gives a little bit more of Fennecs (groggy) POV of someone finding her.

1:26. the day leading into night of Boba and Fennic scoping out the palace almost works, but needs a dusk establishing shot of the palace in the middle to suggest time passing and them watching for the day. its a bit abrupt the way it cuts from day to night. or perhaps cut the daytime watching entirely. Logic wise, why would they watch all day then say ‘let’s take a closer look’ and send in the drone?

1:32. I personally would cut the ratchcatcher / kitchen stuff entirely… its a bit cringe… have them come in, react to and kill OOM-9 and the chef then cut to 1:32.27 shot ‘Lets go’

1:42. can bobas grunting be cut and wind noise foley’d over it as he pulls himself out the sarlacc and up the rope… its a bit old man…!

Will write some comments on 3,4 and 5 when I get time gotta run now.

with regards the discussion above about waiting until season 3 before making another round of edits / tweaks - I think that’s a wise idea. time away will also help you see it with fresh eyes!

Hello! This sounds really cool, can I have a link please?

Can I have the link too please? 😃

Just got done watching this edit - WOW. Superb work. Genuinely a good film. Really enjoyed the additional restructuring and edits you made - bravo. Somehow the characterisations work so much better.
This is 100% the to version of the film now for me.

May I also please have the link to this? sounds excellent!

Hi,

I watched and very much enjoyed V1 of your edit - I’ve just seen that there is a version 2. exciting! the updates sound great, Would you mind sending me a PM to download it?