Review Detail

9.3 107 10
tljanticringe-front-5
FanFix September 09, 2018 28570
Overall rating
 
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
Editor, DonKamillo, has done a superb job in bringing out a decent film from a largely awful one and showed how a movie can be saved in the editing process, just like the original 1977 'Star Wars' was.

Gone are the insipid attempts at humour, written by a guy (Rian Johnson) who just isn't funny, and the unbearably twee nonsense, like the porgs. The fish people on Ach-To have a smaller presence, too. But I'll admit that they didn't bother me that much in the first place and I quite liked them, if the truth be known.

The most crucial part of this edit, though, was the complete deletion of both the (almost) universally hated Canto Bight scenes and the completely redundant mutiny side story, which only exist so that Finn and Poe Dameron have something to do, as the writer clearly didn't know how to use them, because the focus of his story was on Rey and Luke's interaction on Ach-To. Quite rightly too, it should be said. Kamillo has also has inserted the deleted scenes of Luke's moment of grief for Han and an extra lesson for Rey on the nature of impulsiveness. Why these were cut from the original theatrical print, I'll never know.

Also excised, almost as completely as Canto Bight, is Rose Tico. A controversial character - to say the least - Rose adds, absolutely, nothing to the film in any sense and it's very clear from her deletion in this edit. Written as a prop, purely for Finn to interact with, she - literally - might as well not have been in the picture at all. However, in Kamillo's cut she does show up at the end on Crait, which creates the problem of the "who is she and why is the camera focused on her?" effect. All of a sudden, there's this girl with lines that we've not seen before and it's a touch jarring, I have to say. I'd have endeavored to cut more of her, as her scenes here make little sense without the introduction to her that takes place in the theatrical cut.

Another deletion and a surprisingly effective move, was the "murder" of Princess Leia. While it's not a route I would have taken myself (although I would have cut the "Leia Poppins" fiasco), it does work relatively well here. Once Leia is blown out of the bridge of her ship, she's seen floating in space and quite dead. Thus eliminating one of the cringiest moments anybody has seen fit to put into a Star Wars film. However, while it's very well done, it (and to some extent the deletion of Rose) creates certain problems, which I'll admit, are mostly of a personal nature. When I watch a fanedit of a film, that has sequels and prequels such as Star Wars does, I am always aware of the impacts of the cuts or additions that the fanedit possesses. Cutting an entire character or scene that may have crucial elements that are expanded on in a future film is extremely problematic and diminishes the life of that edit drastically. So, the elimination of Leia from 'The Last Jedi' may look extremely odd, if and when she shows up in the theatrical release of Episode IX (a dead Carrie Fisher notwithstanding). The reduction of Rose will look out of place too, as she's bound to have a bigger role in The Last Jedi's sequel. Likewise, another massive change to the original narrative (not killing Luke Skywalker at the end of the film) will absolutely create a schism when he inevitably appears as a Force ghost in the next movie. Thus, it makes great additions, or in this case subtractions, in a given fanedit null and void, most unfortunately.

But, as said, those issues are rather personal tastes and, presently, this version of 'The Last Jedi' is my "go-to" one. But, I fear that it can only remain so, until Episode IX is a reality. The film still suffers from terribly egregious moments, but these are built into it by the poor and careless storytelling that the original cut incorporated and there's nothing that DonKamillo could have done about that.

Elsewhere, the video quality was excellent and I noticed very little in the way of blocking or banding and the editing was well handled for the most part. The audio is good, by and large, but at times did sound a bit more crunchier in certain places than my original Blu, as if it was slightly overloaded. But that's a minor issue really.

On the whole, though, it's a very enjoyable version of 'The Last Jedi' and a commendable piece of editing work.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Owner's reply October 07, 2018

Appreciate the long review Tony, thanks!

T
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