| The Acolyte: Episode II - A Tale of Two Sides | 19th August 2024 | The Acolyte - Episode II: A Tale of Two Sides — ReviewA/V Quality
While it is difficult to determine with a streaming copy there were no obvious insufficient bitrate or compression artifacts detected in my viewing of The Acolyte - Episode II: A Tale of Two Sides. It plays exactly as one would expect of an official release. The Aurebesh warning message, red-graded title sequences, and even a trailer for another project are fun touches that greatly enhanced the overall viewing experience.
10 out of 10
Audio Editing
The audio elements of an edit can elevate an otherwise mediocre project or just as quickly dismantle the most carefully crafted visuals. In this edit the overall audio quality is consistently high. There were no major synchronization or clarity issues—nothing that sounded of low quality or was improperly or poorly mixed. The only aspect that sounded off is a series of steps starting around 31:23 that have some sort of comb filtering causing a slight, phase-y sound that is somewhat distracting. Perhaps it’s as simple as a track segment that was duplicated and ever so slightly offset?
9 out of 10
Visual Editing
It’s no small feat to sift through 8 episodes worth of content and distill it into a seamless, feature-length presentation in such a way that it does not readily betray its hacked together nature. With a few exceptions that may never bother another soul save myself that is exactly what this edit has achieved.
8.7 out of 10
Narrative
This is honestly some kind of magic trick or minor miracle. Is it my favorite Star Wars thing ever? Certainly not. But it’s got the goods, so to speak. It is a smartly focused narrative that is engaging throughout. The characterizations and motivations are clear and logical and the handling of the various threads all the way through to the epilogue feels very intentional.
10 out of 10
Enjoyment
The fact that I can enjoy this at all after the disappointment of the initial release is a testament to the value of fan editing as a whole. On some basic level it brings joy. It’s like the fulfillment of a promise. That is what I’m chasing when I seek out a particular edit and this particular edit—delivers.
10, 11, no 20 out of 10
Overall Score
11.54 out of 10 (that’s just the math; I don’t make the rules)
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