Review Detail

Okay... wow. Impressive this edit is.
I have been wracking my brain to try and create a super-cut goodbye to the OT characters using the Sequel films. But... the best I could come up with... is a montage for each character showing them older and what they would visually look like while using text to recap some of their larger accomplishments. Anything more than this becomes very difficult due a lack of necessary pieces. But man... this edit by Lt.Dan has a whole other vision that accomplishes much of what I was hoping to do. The difference is that he wanted to salvage a story OUT of the ST, while I was hoping to ignore it altogether. And much to my disbelief, I think his vision is far more satisfying.
This edit accomplishes three major things that actually make for an enjoyable experience in viewing the story of the sequels.

1. It focuses on our old heroes from the OT. Understand, this is not a changing of the story type of edit. The same major beats play out. If you didn't like the fate of the major characters, not much changes here. But the achievement, is that it doesn't feel like the OT characters are being shuffled off to make room for the inferior new ones. Instead, it feels like, no matter what else happened in the galaxy after ROTJ, no matter what other adventures they went on, this is the final capstone on the lives of Luke, Han, and Leia. As the editor stated (and he succeeds wildly here): this is a film giving us the ability to say goodbye.

2. It simplifies the story and shrinks it to a level that actually ELEVATES the drama and characters being presented on screen. With the Republic being aloof to much of what's going on, Leia becomes a daring "head of the spear" in the fight against a radical terrorist organization looking to overthrow all the efforts of our heroes in the OT. Therefore, this re-emerging of 11th hour villain (Palps) feels like this crazy desperate act... as opposed to bad writing trying to reveal a great big master plan. This also allows (no matter what failings Luke, Han, and Leia have here) our older heroes to not have their legacy and heroics wiped out. They took down the empire and restored the republic. The OT is no longer a meaningless wash as the republic still stands... and the small battles here are about wiping out any threats against it. To this end, Han is the ever loyal and loving man fighting for his family and trying to singlehandedly stop the developing threat before it really gets going. Gone are his days of "loser dead beat dad" smuggler rehash arc. And FINALLY, Luke gets some much-needed attention. His arc is essentially the same... but he feels less like an afterthought. With less attention on everything else, Luke has a ton of screentime. And even better... this movie feels like Luke's story in some sense. He is the narrator of the whole movie (using AI voice). The effect is certainly not perfect... but I don't even care. The results work so well that I can easily forgive the "not quite" Mark Hamill voice lines. By doing this, Luke gains the status of ongoing steward of the Jedi legacy; something like a chronicler or caretaker... guiding Rey, heir of the Jedi order, to her destiny.

3. Rey, Rey, Rey. This is the crowning achievement of the edit. Rey is a likable character. She's not perfect. A little shallow. But that's not the editor's fault at all. By stripping away all of the mystery box crap... all of the "my parents" nonsense, and all of the obnoxious Mary Sue garbage, Lt. Dan has given the character a whole new lease on life. Again, this is a brief epilogue story focusing on our OT heroes. So, it makes sense that Rey is not a super deep and developed character. She is, simply put, "next gen Jedi student" of Luke and Leia. Period, and it works so well.

This is a very enjoyable watch, and probably now my go to way of watching the sequel story. Hats off to Lt.Dan.

I didn't give it a perfect score though. And I do want to address some of my hangups. Maybe Lt.Dan can address why some of the choices were made to help me understand his intention for the story.
1. There are some GREAT things that were accomplished in the ascendant cut of TROS that should almost be mandatory inclusions for any ST edit. The two I cannot help but feel would have added a lot here... is the inclusion of the Jedi ghosts to help REALLY kill Palps. Even if it was just Luke... it would have really added to the story (from my perspective anyways). The second is the touch up of Luke on Ach To. He was clearly wearing a BAD wig in the actual film. But the fixing of his hair in those force ghost scenes allows us to take him seriously as opposed to cringe and laugh. Again, this is a personal thing, so I can't knock the edit too much for it. But still, this could have elevated the edit big time.
2. Fin and Poe feel a little TOO tacked on right at the end. I'm wondering if there is ANY way to just actually introduce them a bit earlier. Give them names, maybe? I dunno. Maybe this is picking too small of a nit. It just feels a hair strange. Maybe if I didn't know them as major characters already, they wouldn't feel undercooked as minor side characters?
3. I think the Palps confrontation and death could have been smoother. The fact that the granddaughter subplot is gone, means there really doesn't have to be too much dialogue here. The "I'm a jedi" just seems a bit out of place. As does Palps talking about her being a scavenger. How does he know? Who cares at this point? To all eyes on the situation, it's just a jedi vs. the Sith Lord. Keep it just that simple and I think the fight would be stronger. Just a thought.
4. The Skywalker saber. How does Rey get it? Does Luke give it to her on Ach-To? Did Leia give it to her before she left to find Luke? Either way, I think there could be a way to convey that to the audience. AI line by Luke that he gave it to her... "I'm passing on my legacy... and my family blade." Something like that. Or... use footage of TROS to show Leia handing her the saber... maybe?
And... how does Ben get the saber from Rey at the Palps fight? I think you could have included the original concept that was in TROS. You already set it up with the water on Kylo's face from Ach-To. I'm just not sure what the intent is here. Am I missing something?
5. This is not so much a criticism of the edit, as it is a desire for something beyond what was presented (kind of unfair, I know lol... but here it is anyway). And I do think this edit sets the stage for something transcendent beyond TROS's ending. I wish, especially since the AI voice effort is on full display here, that we could have found SOMETHING more satisfying than "Rey Skywalker." Again, just a personal take.

All that being said, this edit is fantastic. I only include the quibbles to present the editor with some notes where he may have blind spots (this happens to me all the time while editing) in the hopes that if he ever does a redux... it will be even better than it currently is. And as of right now, I really love it.

Lt.Dan... hats off to you, my friend. Thank you for allowing me to actually enjoy the ST and LIKE the character of Rey. Well done good sir.