honestabe said:
I watched through this edit. I expected it to be very good as I skimmed through the changelog. The effort level was clearly there. Personally, I watched this specifically looking for a movie that connects the dots with the rest of the Star Wars universe. I was not specifically interested in a story about the Bad Batch. The only Bad Batch content that I watched previously were the opening scene involving Caleb/Kanan and the Ryloth saga to connect with Rebels. (Leaving out the Ryloth portion was the correct decision as it was too far off to be a necessary inclusion, but for those interested I recommend watching Rebels Recut by g00b).
This edit far and above exceeded my expectations. I really believed I watched a highly entertaining, emotionally compelling, and strong character-driven story.
I was very skeptical of the Bad Batch characters as they were portrayed briefly in the Clone Wars. Therefore, leaving the Clone Wars bit out was clearly the correct decision. To my own surprise, I found myself loving all of the characters. They came across wonderfully, warts and all other shenanigans. The edit really put in strong character development.
Considering I have not watched most of the material beforehand, I felt the story flowed very smoothly. Not once did I scratch my head and wonder what was going on despite all the cuts, transitions, and rearranged material. The story really flowed smoothly. From the opening crawl all the way to the ending, I was engaged the whole way through - I never found myself even a bit bored. This was an action-packed, fast paced movie that goes by quickly in spite of the nearly 3 hour length.
The edit without question gave me what I wanted going in. That is, I wanted to see the story of the transition from the clones to professional recruits, and I was not disappointed in the slightest in that regard. I also liked the bit involving the bounty hunters who were recruited by the Kaminoans with competing visions.
The only issue I have, and this is not something an edit can fix, is the whole concept of the inhibitor chip. I was never a big fan of it. I would have always preferred more of the concept of free will, which is why I really loved Crosshair removing the inhibitor chip and choosing to be evil voluntarily, including the massacre of innocent civilians. This is very dark, but it humanizes the clones.
Overall, this is an A+ edit and I think it can enjoyed by people who are not Star Wars fans who simply want a good story. I highly recommend everybody in this forum to take a crack at this one.
Wow, thanks for the amazing review honstable. The most useful feedback is from people watching the material for the first time. When i’m editing a series together I get to know the story so well that it’s easy to lose sight of what is needed for the plot to make sense. Your desires aligned perfectly with my aims for this edit. To stick to the core plot that connects with the rest of the Star Wars universe. There is some amazing content in the Bad Batch that helps bridge the PT-OT gap, but also a lot of boring and repetitive episodes.
Overall my TV edits are intended to be an engaging summary of the main plot presented in the form of a Star Wars movie that has rewatchability (just like the movies) and also allows casual fans to enjoy the series without having to sit through the whole show.
I’m currently storyboarding season 2. It’s even more unbalanced than season 1. Some amazing and emotional episodes mixed with some really monotonous episodes. It’s shaping up to be another really good movie!