IFDB Review: Pulp Empire:

[MCP]

Let me get a few things out of the way first. I've watched this fanedit six times. Before it was released I was a previewer and gave njvc private detailed feedback 19 pages long. I've put a lot of thought into reviewing this fanedit. I watched the workprint 5 times and the final cut once.I am very biased when I watch this edit because I'm a Tarantino fanatic. I can't help but compare it to his films and think "how would Quentin have done that scene?" Is it fair to do that? No.This is not a positive review but I'm going to try my best to be constructive and compliment the goods as much if not more than the bads.Lastly, I love njvc to death. He is a great friend, a talented musician and editor and has a beautiful beard.On with the review!Audio/Visual Quality: DVD5 was great quality, haven't watched it in HD yet but I'm sure it's all good. 10/10Visual Editing: First the bad, then the good.There is an overkill of slow motion. The editor relied on that Twixter plugin way too much. Some of the dissolves/transitions felt out of place. Too much style over substance.But damn njvc does some cool stuff. A lot of marvelous skill on display here. Some of the hero moments and montages have nicely composed visuals. Great split screen effects. Many wonderful stylistic nods to Tarantino. 8/10Audio Editing: First the bad, then the good.I felt that the editor was lazy in his choice of music. There was too much reliance on Tarantino music in my opinion. The genres and styles of music change so often and it lacked an overall theme or throughline to the soundtrack. At times it felt like watching Empire Strikes Back with a Tarantino soundtrack playlist on shuffle playing over it.There were like 40 different songs in a 90 minute movie. Some of it clashed together, Chapter 5 in particular felt cacophonous. Chapter 2 had the best selection, the different styles worked well there.But there were many wonderful musical moments all throughout. Chapters 1 & 2 were absolutely perfect musically. Chapter 3 was almost perfect. Chapter 5 had some great moments. Slaughter and L'Arena were my favorite choices. And despite the fact I previously told njvc that he raped Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold, the audio editing in that Vader fight is fucking awesome.7/10Narrative: Great first half, falls apart in second half.Prologue through Chapter 3 was dope. Pre-credits sequence is best moment. Yoda chapter first was brilliant. The non-linear aspect worked well in the first half.Chapter 4 was too rushed. The Space Oddity montage ruined pacing for me and felt completely out of place. Chapter 5 felt too long by itself. Chapter 6 starts off nicely but then it gets to the big moment.Ending was terrible. You fucked up the greatest movie ending ever. Sorry for the bluntness.5/10Enjoyment: Despite all my criticisms there was a lot I enjoyed about it. It's obvious the editor had a blast making this and put a lot of blood sweat and tears into it. It's meant to be a fun remix. I really enjoyed some of it. And others have said how much they love it, I'm in the minority here. For me this is not a case of the good outweighing the bad. I wanted to see "The Empire Strikes Back directed by Quentin Tarantino". This was not it. I was disappointed, maybe too much hype had built up for it. My enjoyment is purely based on my own tastes and personal viewpoints about movies.6/10Recommend?For Star Wars fans who don't care for Tarantino or people who think Kill Bill is Tarantino's best.

More...