This week I re-watched all three parts of
@marni1971's excellent Ultimate Tribute to SSE. That Irons version was so....epic. The descent especially was just awe inspiring - with the Cronkite version being a close second.
There's a lot to love about the current version - the score is great, Dench does a great job with a less than stellar script, the upgraded animatronics are awesome, but the Irons version was just the complete package from start to finish.
I'd rate the versions in this order, from best to worst.
1. v3 (Irons)
2. v2 (Cronkite)
3. v4 (Dench)
4. v1 (Dobkin)
I wonder where v5 will land in that ranking?