IFDB Review: Star Wars: Episode I - Cloak Of Deception:

I'm in the camp that pretty much believes the only way to ever make the prequels anywhere near as good as the originals, is to completely redo them. That being said, I still find some things about the films to be pretty enjoyable. I was a kid when the Phantom Menace came out, but believe me when I say, I was a huge fan of the originals at that time. I watched Empire like once a week back then. Sorry to drag on....I've not been much of one to give the prequel edits a good chance. I usually dismiss them as something damaged beyond repair, but something made me decide to watch it again. I thought the best way to watch it after at least 5 or so years was to try out a fan edit. The decision was between this newest version and other highly rated ones. The inclusion of the SOTE soundtrack and visual tweaks made me opt for this.I don't care how much work you do to the film, if it's the pink tinted HDTV or DVD releases as your source, you've already lost my interest. What can I say about the editing that somebody will most likely say better? I liked it. I found myself actually enjoying the film. Sure, there are things I would've still changed, but I don't think you'd have much of a film left if you cut every single little problem out. Hal 9000 cuts out huge chunks of what I consider, boring filler. Sure, I do think the underwater segment has some cool visuals, but cool visuals do not always make a great movie. Avatar anyone?I didn't watch this on a 50 inch flatscreen, but opted for a 32 inch CRT. I just love that TV. So, I'm not your best judge on how the grain looked or all that jazz, but Hal's got a fan over here. It played beautifully on my television and not once did I encounter any problems in picture.His cuts to the story were well justified, even though I still cringe at some of the things left in. Most notably the "are you an angel" scene. You can't fix a bad script with editing. I also felt Anakin appearing pissed at the jedi meeting was something that also needed fixing. I see a touch of evil early on.Now, Anakin being the space hero, instead of accidentally going to battle was my absolute favorite bit. It's a taste of "The best star pilot in the galaxy". Hey George, why didn't you do that in the first place? Forgive my review if it's not informative, but I really enjoyed this edit, and recommend it!

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