Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi: Anti-Cringe-Cut

I wasn't expecting much. I mean the originals are such utter rubbish.

I was delightfully surprised. I actually watched TRoS anti-cringe first as I couldn't bare to believe a good cut of TLJ can exist. But TRoS was so well done that I went back and watched TLJ too.

Together these movies do so much better than a "best of what's left." They actually salvage the movies. No need to retcon anything in TRoS because it's not there in the first place. Nothing stupid in TLJ anymore... 'cept the bare minimum Holdo.

I'd love to see version 2+ of these as I still think there's more that can be done to improve.

Top work! I've actually put these in my Star Wars collection to show my daughter, who will now never have to go through the pain of the theatrical releases.

I approached this edit with the mindset that one can only do so much when polishing a turd. I didn't think it was possible for an edit to make this movie not only entertaining, but also rewatchable. And yet, here I am. Dumbfounded, awe-struck, and genuinely hyped for the Anti-Cringe-Cut for the next movie, which I'm about to watch. The last time I felt this way about a Star Wars fanedit was the first time I saw the Anti-Cheese edits for the Prequels, and I thought that was only possible because Lucas had legitimately good ideas in those films that just needed tweaking. Here is a movie made for the sole purpose of spitting in fans' faces, transformed into a slightly (endearingly) awkward flick that only wants to be its own thing. Yes, Luke is still a sad, pathetic hermit, but at least there's better reasoning behind this change in character. Yes, Rose Tico is still in this movie, but at least her inclusion no longer hinders the plot. Heck, even Holdo's subplot, of all things, gets a much-needed touch-up. I'm a little on the fence about the Death Star cannon on Crait, but let's be honest; polished turds still have bits of crap here and there, and DonKamillo really did the best he (she?) could've done, given what he (she?) had to work with. As an added bonus, whether intentional or not, this fanedit fits practically seamlessly with DigModiFicaTion's Heir to the Force fanedit, so you can have your cake, and eat it too! Definitely worth checking out.

(Spoiler Alert - some key differences between official release and fan edit mentioned)
I agree with DonKamillo when he stated, "This movie was a mess! It managed to subvert fan expectations in the worst way and was riddled with plot holes and pointless twists and turns." He further stated, "Maybe with some changes here and there, it could be possible to redeem this movie." Redeem it he did!

DonKamillo, took a bad movie, and made it decent. Stating that it is decent is in no way to minimize my opinion of his abilities. On the contrary, just as a good cook can only do but so much with a bad recipe, and low quality ingredients, so is the case with this Anti-Cringe edit.
A few of examples of poor ingredients used by a good cook are: Rian Johnson could have been original if he had not begun the movie with an evacuation reminiscent of ESB, including the line about forgetting some of the equipment, and detecting the Star Destroyers upon them coming out of light speed;
Next, how was it that the Star Dreadnought did not detect Poe's X-Wing, the bombers and other ships until they were in visual range, close enough even to fire upon the massive flagship? Shouldn't their radar have detected the ships farther away? By contrast, the comparably small rebel base in the beginning of ESB detected the Star Destroyers from the surface of a planet.
Lastly, there was little DonKamillo could do about the glaring feminist agenda, and socioeconomic commentary within the story, but minimize and cut where possible, as he did. In doing so, he made it so that those of us who abhorred the original VIII can actually watch and enjoy this and IX, again Anti-Cringe of course, without being completely exasper​at​ed, and feeling like money was wasted buying the blu-rays.

As for a technical review, there were a couple of places where the audio seemed a bit loud. I can remember two instances, off the top of my head, as it were: The scene where Luke mourns for Han, and the transition from VIII to IX at the end of the movie. The latter was more noticeable. Those aside, great editing!

In short, from the modified crawl to the Luke lives and TRoS lede ending, this is a great edit of a bad movie. Great job, DK!

This edit managed to keep me awake and interested, which was the main reason for me watch it at all :-)
I'm not the type of guy who falls asleep all the time watching movies, but "Star Wars- The Last Jedi" (the original cut) really sent me sleeping even twice!!
By comparing the "Anti-Cringe" with the original again I noticed some more stuff of course...
So, what I liked was the fitting pace and feel, many of the dumb/funny moments out, and an overall nice, convincing and smooth editing, making for a good Star Wars feel. The way Leia Organa's passing is handled is really great, as it's atmospheric and emotional, that was one of the edit's biggest advantages!
What I didn't like was Finn's and Rose's romance being edited out completely, as I thought it was rather nice and explain why Finn's love interest moves away from Rey. With some soft hints (not that "forced" kiss), it would have been perfect.
As for "DJ"... I'm a big Benicio Del Toro fan, so there's a tear in my eye that he's also edited out, but I admit that the "Anti-Cringe Cut" does very well without it.

Have to say I really enjoyed this edit of the movie. Removed many of the well known unnecessary elements and focused on the key characters. I liked the big changes for certain characters, and had to watch twice to truly appreciate. The first watch was mentally noticing all the changes and thinking about the edit, but second watch was able to just follow it more for its own version of the narrative. My only concern in watching this, and liking these character changes, is how much it changes the ending and how it can carry over into the next film with such key alterations to the story-line.

On its own, will watch this over the original cut hands down. But will it work when bridged to the next movie? Guess watching that anti-cringe-cut will let me know. Review to be continued in that one. :)