Star Wars: Revelations (2005 Video) User Reviews

It's a fan film -- judge it on those standards

[lcwells_98 · 6/10 · 5 May 2005]

If you judge this by the standards of a professional film, you're doing it a disservice. If you judge this to most fan films -- then it is an excellent film.

While some of the acting is stiff, and the dialogue is clumsy, there is the feeling of emotional bonds here between the characters. Some original thought went into creating "Revelations" and the plot shows it.

The special effects are very good (especially for a fan film.) Could it been tighter? Yes. Should it have been longer? Probably not. But is it worth the 47 minute download? I think so if only to see what might be coming in the future from such dedicated filmmakers and Star Wars fans.

I wouldn't underestimate the team behind "Revelations." They probably have a future in film-making.

Great FX, so-so story, horrible acting

[AGale10495 · 5/10 · 1 August 2005]

I'm trying real hard to judge this movie based on the fact that's it's fan-film and had virtually no budget, but it's tough.

Impressive special effects, the story is OK i guess, and plenty of cool costumes. But trying to watch this movie amidst the horrible acting and dialogue is definitely a test of patience. If I were making a film like this, I wouldn't be in it - because I know i suck at acting. I would find some friend or family member who at least semi-decent and cast them. I'm sure the fame and fortune would be enough to make up for the non-existent salary ;) But seriously, I appreciate the film for what it is - but I can't give it more than 5/10 stars.....

Worth it for the Star Wars Factor

[chrisjmain · 6/10 · 3 May 2005]

I downloaded this in about half an hour via bit torrent.

The forty minutes i spent watching were not wasted, don't get me wrong - it's no Empire Strikes Back - but is worth watching. It follows the more of the same route that most die-hard fans lust after. More space fights, more glib dialogue and more lightsabers.

Much of the dialogue will be instantly recognisable to fans of the original movies. Having said that, it does not detract too much from the overall feel of the film as it feels familiar.

The plot sits fairly well within established parameters but of course is not part of the official star wars universe.

Don't go into this expecting a lucasfilm production but it'll raise a few smiles. Let's be honest - for twenty grand this is an amazing piece of work.

Enjoy (it is free after all!).

Surprisingly good

[spaniard-2 · 5 May 2005]

I didn't expect much from this film, because I understood it to be a low-budget fan film, created by amateurs. I must also note that I liked the first three films, but haven't really enjoyed the last two all that much.

Revelations was a hell of a lot better than I expected. The fight scenes were fun to watch, the pacing was tight (it's only forty minutes long, but they pack a lot of action into that time frame), and the special effects were jaw-droppingly good. I was very impressed with the cityscapes, chase scenes, and CGI/actor interaction. Later, while watching with commentary, I learned that a number of elements that I'd assumed were real-world were, in fact, computer-generated.

The acting? Well, what the hell, it's not like the last couple of movies set the bar really high... But I thought it was okay. Oscar-worthy? Well, what do you think? Come on, it was shot on weekends for thirty grand. By volunteers. But, I got to confess, the characters grew on me. Some of the performances were obviously done in front of static screens, but some of them were really effective. And Christ, that one guy sounded just like Vader.

Costumes were astounding, the banter had some really good ANH-style one-liners in it, and the DVD was laid out professionally. The full-size MOV download is about 350 megs, but it's so worth getting the DVD version and watching it on a big TV with the sound turned up (sound design was excellent -- the lightsabers sounded perfect, and the music was well done).

Few low-budget movies cause people to pound the arm rest and laughingly yell obscenities at their friends, then shake their heads. This was one of them. Impressive!

Nice effort ... good things, and bad things

[rick7475 · 5/10 · 12 July 2005]

Well, first off I would just like to say that it was a very good effort. I hope they continue and improve. Things look very promising.

First, the good.

I loved the special effects. Not quite Lucas, but very few professionals ever are! Light saber duels looked convincing enough, though not as fast as in the professional movies.

Declan's ship. Nice design. It was a cool looking space vessel, even Lucas should take notes on this one.

The city, party scenes, storm troopers, all well done. Some quick clips obviously borrowed from the movies, with the tie fighters and pilots, but the whole layout had the look and feel of a professional movie. The sets, backdrops, and locations all looked professional.

The plot, I thought, was also well written. The names nicely thought out. The sophistication was there and the ideas interesting.

Very well done.

Now the bad.

The first thing I noticed was the actors. Now, I am no actor, and I am no Harrison Ford or Ewan Mcgreggor, but the actors and actresses just did not look convincing or anywhere close to professional. Now, don't get me wrong, I know this is an amateur production, but if they spent all that effort with the set designs, CGI, artwork, and realistic light saber duels and ship to ship combat, they should have also perhaps thought about better actors.

OK, I know I'll get flamed for this, but the actors were a little pudgy and not as attractive. The first scene cuts to Taryn in her ship. I am sorry, and I apologize to the actress, but she is just not visually stimulating. In fact, she looks so amateur in appearance that I shut off the clip and came back to it later after deciding to give it another chance. The make-up looked amateur, and she was just not .... charismatic. Yeah, I know, they are amateurs. But surely in the Stars Wars fan base there are better looking people and better actors who would jump at the chance for recognition. Of course, if it were just a garage project for fun, I could understand casting friends and neighbors, and I could accept that ... but, then there are those awesome special effects, CGI, space battles, space ships, so to even it out, they really needed attractive and charismatic actors. Maybe I am asking too much, but I thought that was what it lacked. There were extras who certainly looked more attractive.

Also, the main actors all looked a little flabby or less muscular than I believe a Jedi would look. I envision Jedi knights, or warriors, to be in a little more shape. Declan's beer gut was bulging, but then again perhaps this was realistic for a space smuggler type, though Harrison Ford was certainly the opposite.

The acting, at times was fair, and could pass as a low budget movie, but I have seen better acting in college plays and acting school productions.

I don't want to be two harsh, but what I see is a great effort with the look and feel, but a let down with the main characters due to their visibly amateurish abilities.

I compare this to Troops and IMPS where I thought the acting was definitely a step up, but then again they all wore armor and helmets! But, with better trained actors, this could turn into something! Looking forward to more from these people.

Fanmade != Exempt From Criticism

[futtbucker-1 · 1/10 · 20 May 2007]

While I love the Star Wars universe, as well as independent film, but even understanding that this was clearly a labour of love created by fans, that doesn't exempt it from criticism. And good lord is there a lot to criticize.

Acting. I can honestly say I've seen high-school productions with better skilled actors/actresses than what I was subjected to in this short. I won't make some retarded comment about the actors' physical appearances or aesthetic visual qualities, as honestly that sort of idiocy is completely irrelevant (not to mention infantile). What I will comment on is the fact that there really was no acting in this short, merely people reading lines without even an amateur understanding of the craft itself. I could barely manage to sit through the entire thing without having to fight the urge to turn it off every 5 minutes.

Writing. While the plot itself was passable, the dialogue is "Lucas-esque" in it's quality level. Don't misunderstand though, that's not a compliment. Combined with the acting skills of the cast, the result is nothing short of a train wreck and could quite readily be used as a case study in how not to make a film.

The one redeeming factor is in the visual effects area (specifically in the realm of CGI). It's quite good considering the quality level of everything else in this short. It's certainly not professional level, but could easily be used as a showcase for portfolio material (especially in the rigging and motion criteria).

Overall, I have to give the people involved in this short a hearty pat on the back for effort, especially when you consider the amount of time and effort that they obviously put forth to make something of this nature (something not many can lay claim to). At the same time, time and effort do not equate to quality nor praise when the result is what looks more like a garage play put on by children in capes (with impressive CG).

Sadly, this short is only marginally worse than episodes 1-3.

FB

Noooo

[petenickx74 · 1/10 · 6 July 2006]

People shouldn't judge independent films like they would the special Olympics, all movies must be held to the same standards. I watched about a half hour of this crap before becoming so angry that i couldn't continue.

The actors were ugly and talentless and i couldn't identify or empathize with them at all. I don't care if you have a zero dollar budget, you find people who are believable and have some charisma and presence.

The CG was on par with a PC game from 1996, so i don't know why everyone was raving about it.

The direction was the second worst part of the movie (the first being the actors), i guess some people have no artistic vision. That in combination with the shi**y editing made it look like a horrible commercial of sorts.

set design, costumes, and everything else just failed to resemble anything star wars.

Fighting...what fighting? the actors seemed confused here. why are there so many ugly women pretending that they know how to even begin to fight.

I am filled with much anger and disgust, and also filled with thoughts of genocide.

Amazing for a piece of fan work.

[jameson6063 · 7/10 · 1 May 2005]

Since there is no data when I write this, I guess I should add something.

This is a fan-produced movie with professional production values, currently downloadable from the produces.

The story takes place in the time between Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, and Episode 4: Star Wars - A New Hope. It is based around fugitive Jedi being hunted down by Darth Vader and other Imperial agents.

The video is available in a number of file sizes and formats, and as a 3.5GB DVD image that can be burned to DVD and played on a normal DVD player.

I spent the 2 days downloading the DVD image and burning it to disk, and was well worth the time.

The DVD looks as professional as any I've bought at the store, with a full (and perfectly animated) menu, choice of directors or SFX commentary tracks, and even subtitles for all three.

The video effects and CGI are as good as many professional movies. The space scenes are flawless and fit into the Star Wars universe perfectly, and the landscapes, cityscapes and interior shots are equally well done. Many of the CGI sets look completely convincing, nd even when the director's commentary tells you what is real and what is not, you feel like arguing.

The acting ranges from good to fair, for the main cast. Some of the extras are not up to par. The voice acting for Darth Vader does not compare well, and the Emporor is unconvincing both in voice and costume. Fortunately there are only a few scenes with that issue, and the acting for the main part is good enough for most 40-minute big-budget TV shows.

I hope they fill the details out here soon. In the mean time, start up your BitTorrent and grab the DVD image. You'll not regret it, so long as you don't pay for internet by the minute!

This film is VASTLY overrated!!

[jediexile1986 · 1/10 · 13 November 2005]

This film is terrible. It's a true abomination to the Star Wars universe. I was really excited when I saw a promo pic and a trailer for it but I was utterly disappointed when I finally confronted the real thing. Words fail me in terms trying to find a level of garbage this movie has reached. The special effects are amazing, I will give credit where it's due. However, like so many other fanfilms, this movie is made just so the special effects team behind it could show off and likely that someone wanted to look cool with a lightsaber. I have been watching the Star Wars movies religiously ever since I was a youngling and I know when someone does credit to the Star Wars Universe (Even if Episodes I and II didn't, lol) and this movie does not. I would advise anyone even thinking of watching this movie to stay away and save yourself the time wasted on this mockery of that which we, the fans, hold so dear to our hearts. Please, if you are a die-hard Star Wars fan and truly love the saga, then I would say don't waste your time. The story is cheap and artificial. The acting is atrocious and the dialogue is even worse. Avoid at all costs!!

A new era in film...

[urantiafox1 · 7/10 · 23 July 2005]

The advent of readily available CGI technology now allows many people to produce, with some effort and some expense still, I might add films/ videos of the calibre of big budget films.

The most interesting aspect, aside from the film itself (on which I shall comment further) is the question it raises about the huge amounts of finance that 'need' to be poured into Hollywood films. On the strength of this work by a relatively few dedicated people working for NOTHING and with a budget (insofar as I know) of AROUND $24000, the glaring disparity becomes clear, how much money is simply being poured down the toilet? how many millions? where is it all going? can actors still be justified in receiving pay packages of millions per film? No, not really, and a production such as this one will make people more aware of this fact. So well done for that.

To the film- Bad points: Cheesy props ( the holocron), some awful attempts at voice impressions ( the emperor )- when will people learn that an American cannot dub the voice of an Englishman?! Especially with villains such as grand moff tarkin, count dooku and any sith with the exception of Darth vader , but then again James earl jones accent is very correct anyway and the voice is distorted. But an American 'drawl' Doesn't work! it's about as evil as a rubber chicken.

TIE fighter pilots in awful choreography.

Peoples hair is much too clean and well cared for (Declan) in fact most things could have done with being a bit more worn looking.

Otherwise, Good points: Great costumes, amazing CGI, as good as a 'Proper' cinematic release, Costumes are great, nice park lightsabres popping out and going zummmmm, and the MUSIC is, well GREAT!!! Lightsabre fighting isn't that amazing however.

It doesn't really rise much above the standard of TV series such as 'xena' and 'hercules' but for a fan film, thats amazing.

You call this a star wars movie?

[agent_js03 · 2/10 · 21 November 2005]

Considering all the praise this movie received, I was deeply disappointed. It doesn't look or feel like a star wars movie at all. I felt like I was watching some cheap 80's excuse of an action movie made in Mexico. One thing that really turned me off is the music. It's not even real music- it's like a midi alternative! I mean it comes up with STAR WARS and a midi sequence of the star wars song. How extremely cheap!

The next thing is the characters. None of them were star wars like at all. The emperor's hand made me nauseous. She looked like some Gothic chick at a local high school. There is nothing to make her look like she is from the star wars galaxy. I know I sound sexist in this next comment but I'm really not. There are too many female roles in this film! Whoever made it must be really up on girl power or something. And the female roles are done poorly. In the star wars movies, they were mainly either politicians or Jedi, all dressed in a very star-warsish way, most of them some other form of aliens. None of them were wearing loads of makeup, kinky clothes, or anything like that. Plus how could you have a female play an evil sith? only a male character would properly fill that role. I don't have anything against women, but it just doesn't produce the right effect. Especially one of those hot-stuff, "I'm a girl with an attitude" kind of characters. They just don't exist in star wars. It's like trying to make a big burly guy play the role of a fairy princess, only without the humor.

ANd there are too many human characters and not enough aliens. put some effort into costumes!

Even Star Wars: Broken Allegience is a better fan-made film than this, and that one sucked too. At least Broken Allegience was pretty on-point as far as the star wars feeling is concerned, but it seemed more like a power-ranger episode as the show progressed. This one was no better.

That was the biggest waste of 20,000 dollars to make it, people, and a waste of download time on my part.

Star Wars: Revalations

[sdflipper · 10/10 · 31 May 2005]

Impressive!! With you budget, you definitely have the talent...It looked like you spent hundreds of thousands. I really hope G. Lucas recognizes your talents and recruits you all for more Star Wars installments; such as the upcoming TV series. I think there is a lot of story and fun out there between the 3 and 4 movies. For you all that watch "fan films" this one is perfect! Not even comparable to about 10 I have looked-not saying they are awful (ok some were), but yours looks like a true feature-in studio-experienced film. Please do another!!! I would have paid full price for this movie. I did share this with a buddy who is a Star Wars fanatic; even though he said it was unusual to have 2 evil figures looking for the emperor's favor; I thought it was well done-and not unthinkable. Now, I need to figure out how to put it on DVD... Thanks a million, Loyal fans of San Diego. LAJB

Terrific Job! Well worth viewing. Inspiring.

[errant_rogue · 7/10 · 20 May 2005]

I thought the cast and crew did a brilliant job and achieved exactly what they've stated was their intent (From their official web site): "The goal has always been to push the limit of independent film making and show what can be done with a dedicated cast/crew... and the affordable solutions in today's market in terms of film and video." Bravo to the whole production.

The story was well thought through and drove the action. Acting was somewhat uneven, but much higher quality by far over most films in a similar budget range. It does support the theory that a film is like a chain and only as strong as its weakest link (e.g. the extras in the delegates party scene? brought the energy down for a short time), but the final analysis is that this is a good short film. Don't miss it.

Heresy

[pjmac-3 · 1/10 · 13 January 2007]

God i wish there was a 0 option in the Vote box. I can't believe that this was a sanctioned movie. People thought that Jar-Jar was heresy. This was 47 min of pure drivel and the makers should be burned at the stake. No matter what the budget, no one should make a Star Wars movie that is this bad. The only difference between this and the bigger budget movies is the writing. The effects are fine but what makes this suck is the writing and bad acting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I just can't believe that any self respecting Star Wars fan would ever make this film. It is god awful and should be buried with anything Carrot Top. Do not see this movie you will fall asleep as i almost did.

George Lucas has no need to feel threatened

[mentalcritic · 3/10 · 4 May 2005]

Independent film-making has a long and proud history. Lately, online film productions such as Revelations have attracted a lot of publicity, even being publicised as the future of independent film-making. If this is the future of independent film-making, then independent film-making is, quite frankly, doomed. I spent several hours trying to download the ISO DVD image of this fan flick on BitTorrent. Then I gave up on its unrealistic expectations on how I should configure my internet connection and tried FTP instead. It took me a little under a day to download the complete ISO image of the main feature. I wish, having sat through the whole thing, that I had not bothered. The plot is threadbare, the production values non-existent, and the video presentation was unwatchable. About the only thing it has in its favour is the fact that the people who made it did so with next to no money (supposedly), and did so for the sheer joy of making it rather than for commercial gain. Given that commercial gain tends to translate into the Lowest Common Denominator, as the recent Hitchhiker's Guide adaptation proved, this is a strong positive.

The plot, unfortunately, is hardly enough to sustain a forty-seven minute film. It revolves around a device that reads tags a Jedi marked certain apprentices with. He did this on the pretext that tracking failed apprentices and making sure they did not turn to the dark side seemed like a good idea. Now, in the midst of the Sith taking over the galactic government, multiple identities within the galaxy seek to find what amounts to a record of every living Jedi the order has trained. Everyone from Darth Vader to an overweight-looking Emperor's Hand is looking for this database, and our hero is one of the few surviving Jedi who dares to use her skills in public. Not that there is the shortage of Jedi that one would expect from this kind of environment. In fact, there are more light sabers shown in this forty-seven minute short than the entire original trilogy combined. And sometimes one gets the feeling, however small, that the plot took a back seat to this.

When Star Wars: Revelations is showing the nuts and bolts of an exterior universe, it excels apart from one detail I will talk about later. The Star Destroyers do look a little too up-to-date to be in the proper continuity, and there are some deviances from what one would expect from the standard model, but these are well-done enough for it to not matter. The sight of TIE Fighters launching from the Star Destroyers is sufficient to put a big old smile on the face, and the wreckage yard shown near one planet is enough to give the section of the universe displayed in this film a feeling of width. Which was something certain hundred-million-dollar productions definitely lacked. Unfortunately, when one gets into the interior sets, something goes awry. The Emperor looks like someone threw paper maché at his face and left it to stick. Most of the more spaceport-like locations are so undetailed that it makes the next problem look suspicious indeed. And, truth be told, the dialogue is almost as bad as was the case in what I like to call Attack Of The Clods.

The worst aspect of this presentation was the video transfer I encountered on the DVD image I downloaded. While it is not the worst I have ever looked at, it is very much at the bottom of a long list. The image is so dark that aside from our heroes, very little can be made out. In some scenes, skin tones are posterised and macro-blocked, while the grain-like compression effect known as mosquito noise sometimes runs rampant. Since the entire film was recorded digitally, at least as far as I can tell, exactly why the DVD presentation wasn't given the benefit of 16:9 enhancement is beyond me. Then again, more resolution (and yes, a 1.66:1 presentation has more resolution when 16:9 enhanced) means that the flaws in the image are easier to make out. Not that anything is, in fact, easy to make out in this picture. It looks as if it was animated by the old Commodore Amiga pixel-by-pixel painters before being blown up to DVD resolution. A sheer mess, in other words.

While I commend the makers for the independent spirit in which they made this film, I wish they would not state their goal on their web site as being to prove what they can do on no budget. El Mariachi was made on no budget, as was the original Mad Max. To call Star Wars: Revelations an example of the spirit behind El Mariachi or Mad Max is to call a half-baked meat pie in the same spirit as a veal schnitzel with lemon juice and salt. For that reason, I gave Star Wars: Revelations a three out of ten. I certainly hope that what Panicstruck Productions makes next is an improvement.

In the world of Fan Films, this is one of the better ones - so far.

[rkimble-1 · 4/10 · 26 February 2007]

Since I don't believe it is possible or fair to consider this film without at least an introduction to the Fan Film Universe, I decided to visit the many Fan Films sites and view as many of the hundreds of fan films as was bearable. In the surprisingly large catalog of this genre, Star Wars Revelations is among the best. One has to cite what most others already have: good costumes, good CG, good sets, a decent core plot idea (unless you are a canonical Star Wars fan) and a very good score by Chris Bouchard. Bouchard uses a few of the standard Star Wars pieces as jumping off points to some fine musical work of his own that nicely weaves known themes throughout in addition to adding excellent new character leitmotifs. One of the things overlooked in some of the other comments is that the director did quite a decent job staging shots, especially in staging the crowd scenes, which is unusual in the Fan Film World, though the fight scenes near the end are weak and the pacing was slow. I do have to agree that the acting is the weak point, but I think one has to be at least a bit forgiving of that, due to this being a production done gratis by a group of Star Wars fans, likely acting in front of a green screen for the first time in their lives. Take a look at Gwyneth Paltrow attempting to act in front of an effects screen in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" to see how difficult or impossible that can be, even for seasoned performers. Far from being a good movie, one should still consider this a good fan film and applaud all involved for their effort. I would also encourage people to view some of the other fan films out there. As has been noted already, there are some very good ones available (look for "Grayson" as one example).

worst worst worst

[cbinside · 3/10 · 6 March 2006]

I saw other movies more bad, anyway for me it's just a cheap try to make a SF movie. Even first Star Wars movies are better. Actors are very ugly and they play like a bunch of kids. Talking about kids play, I remember when I saw "Alien VS Predator", I was very impressed about special effects but very bad impressed about actors. It's like I start myself to do a movie and instead professional actors I use the neighbors from my street. Special effects are good, nothing to comment but the rest???? I like so much SF movies and I don't want to be ruud but this one it's just crap... Am I wrong...... or it's just a parody........

Cornel (Cat Best)

Stupid plot, great atmosphere

[eldergod-1 · 7/10 · 4 June 2005]

This is the first fan "Star Wars" movie I have watched and I was quite pleased. Truly, the plot is a little bit stupid, because Vader is clearly the Emperor's hand, not this invented Zhanna and the whole "Revelations" thing was quite naive. Still, the movie has the special "Star Wars" atmosphere and this is the most important. The lighsaber duels were very cool and the actors who portrayed Darth Vader and especially Emperor Palpatine were very cool. The main heroine is also cute and likable. Overall, a good movie and great fun if you are wondering what to do after "The Revenge of the Sith". I hope that Lucas will use the people who made this film in the upcoming Star Wars series.

no force with this one

[son_of_skywalker · 3/10 · 17 May 2005]

no no no no no no no!!! Oh my what a let down, promising trailer till you hear one of the actors speak, then its worse than your daytime soap. The film ain't much better, on the plus side the CGI effects are first rate, from ships to Lightsabers, the extras in their Stormtrooper costumes look the part (at times), made for 20 grand, doesn't look it, they should really stop boasting about this , there's a lot of film makers who could make a very good feature for the same amount, I'm a star wars fan, and love watching the fan movies, but I've seen far better done with far less. only saving grace is the CG, thumbs up to the production house who done them, and biggest crime is to see the great john Wlliam's music being used. Complete let down. avoid!!! (sorry bout all the bashing)

As far as fan films go, a visual masterpiece

[bootlegcopy · 7/10 · 29 May 2005]

The space fights, the sets, the costumes all look great with the exception that the Jedi don't wear the traditional robes we've seen in six official films. They put an immense amount of work into this, for something they know they could never legally get a distro deal (without Lucas' permission and him taking a cut financially). Story-wise, this is dry and leaves you feeling a little confused. The dialogue is Lucas-caliber, so no one should complain about the poor writing. Delivering the lines is something totally different, and you can tell the actors were never really comfortable with their lines. There are a couple of light saber battles, but the sets are dark and it's hard to see who is who. The other thing I noticed is I can't tell if some light sabers are green or yellow, and if they are yellow, then it goes against what Lucas set forth years ago (though Samuel L Jackson asked for and got a purple saber, but Lucas didn't grant the permission right away). Still, it's fun to watch and nice to look at. Check out IMPS for another drab but visually stunning fan film.

Really Enjoyed It!

[shadow_muse2003 · 11 June 2005]

Hey, I really, really, really liked Star Wars: Revelations. I got the hint that it probably takes place right after Revenge of the Sith, or at least, that's where I suspect it takes place. But the entire movie was quite interesting. Everything was like the Original Trilogy and the Prequels. The costumes were practically authentic, the special effects were Incredible, and it was GREAT to watch. Although, I had to admit it kind of took a slight detour off the original plot-line. Considering it focused more on original characters than the ones from the actual story. Even though, near the end they do mention 'Senator Bail Organa, being sympathetic to their cause'. Also, Darth Vader is in it, as well. But overall, this was really GREAT to watch and you simply have to admit the plot-line was good, and the characters were interesting. The person who wrote, and directed this movie is obviously talented. Not to mention, the actors, and actresses who participated in this, as well. Obviously were great in portraying the characters of this story. This movie is certainly worthy to stand with the other installments of STAR WARS. Most Definitely a really good movie to see.

Diabolical

[siu98sas · 1/10 · 28 July 2005]

Sounded interesting, plausible idea, but sadly lacked any merit of an actual Star Wars 'fill in'. You can clearly see that a bunch of star wars conventionists have joined forces to create this farcical 50 minute long drivel. The only thing it has going for it is the CGI, which is on par with the sort of CGI you would expect to see in a PC game dialogue, between levels. The acting is the worst I've seen on the small screen, throw in a few wooden chairs and the film wouldn't have suffered in the least. It was as if the main characters were reading off the Biro marks on the back of their hands with emoticons telling them what sort of expression to pull "Thats. the. bounty. on. my. head. trippled" *Grimmace* Its like a porn style acting but without the porn.. although Cade looks like he should be in one.

You cannot warm to any characters in the film, the Emperor looks like he's piled on the pounds after taking over the galaxy, and glued some green weetabix to his eyebrows in his megalomaniac rage. Taryn Anwar's characters about as believable as Jar Jar Bink's becoming an intellectual and winning some sort of Nobel prize in literature "mesa do doo doo on your head!" Declan looks like he should run a video store on Alderan, knowing off heart all the movies in store of by heart, and have the universes largest collection of Gungan comic books. Cade apart from looking like a failed porn-star could out-scowl the most miffed of people. And finally, Zhanna's got some scary chin issues. Even though its free, its still a waste of 50 minutes of your life, So save your bandwidth and avoid this fanfic. If curiosity is still getting the better of you, watch the first 5 minutes and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Better than many movies you have to pay for

[pantros · 10/10 · 23 May 2005]

This is worth the time and effort to acquire, assuming you aren't sitting in front of your PC the whole time while the file downloads.

Took me a couple tries to get it.

If you go into this looking for a top-notch Hollywood budget sci-fi experience, you just might be disappointed. At the same time, you may not be. The special effects are very well done. The lighting through the film is a little dark, but it does fit with the mood of the film.

The acting, script, plot and story are all remarkable. Again, not consistently big-budget Hollywood quality, but some parts are as good if not better than what comes out of Hollywood for a hundred million these days. The story is good, with enough understory exposed to give the plot a little depth. Some of the story details are inconsistent with what the purest fans would expect from jedi, but we never really know how the purge changed the jedis who lived during it. The story does take place during the jedi purge following ep III.

The actors are clearly not professional, but this didn't bother me.

As far as CGI and special effects, the movie excelled. In this area, I was left wondering why this stuff is always so expensive on the big budget films.

THe only real problem is an inconsistent sound level. Oh, well. Not too bad. Definitely worth the ticket price, anyway.

good not great

[grimster85 · 6/10 · 5 May 2005]

I have been a fan of star wars for a long time and I believe that any fan film type project is worth watching for its own sake. Most of the CG in this film can hold its own against a production from a studio also the chase scene leaving corellia is superb however as with most fan films the acting is not really comparable to film but then they really don't have the time to get "into" character. My biggest problem is with the action the saber fights are terrible most films achieve a better quality of action. Most serious fan films really don't work well as serious films but this one is probably the best I have scene. If you like fan films "Troops" and "Star dudes" are the films to watch.

So Bad, It's Funny

[toddaway · 1/10 · 19 April 2008]

I was going to give it a 2 for the computer graphics, which were the only redeeming quality of this "movie". But, it is just so bad, that I had to give it a 1.

Terrible acting. Unappealing and ugly characters. Boring fight scenes where it was obvious the actors were waiting for the next move of their opponents. And the plot was less interesting than bowling.

It should not get props just because it was an independent, low-budget film. It should be judged solely on its entertainment value. There are sketches on youtube made by 15 year olds with cheap camcorders that are far more entertaining than this pig slop.

Darth Vader's voice was really good though. And the hologram effect was decent. Other than that, it was a major disappointment.