Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – A Q2 Fanedit

Great cut of ROTJ! The worst SE additions have been removed, while the ones which are fine or enhance the film are left in. Q2 strikes a really great balance here. I personally would have liked to see another nip or two (looking at you blinks), these are minor quibbles. The main offenders (Nooooooooooo, Jedi Rock, Force Ghost) have all been restored. There's not a lot else to say about this that hasn't been said. The editing is top notch and this is a perfect version for you if only the "worst" stuff from the SEs bother you.

For me, this and Harmy's will be my two go-to ROTJs. Just depends on the mood (insert Al Green music here).

1080 MKV looked great. Audio sounded good, glad it was included. Overall this was a good edit, my go-to ROTJ.

A/V Quality - 10
Editing - 10 visual, 8 audio
Narrative - 9
Enjoyment - 9 (OUT 9, SE 7)

Recommended drink: Shift (Pale Lager)

Technically, Q2 has yet again proven his skills with this edit. I couldn't fault any of the visual or audio transitions. Additionally, you'll get no complaints from me with regard to the BD source material.

My only comment is that I wish Q2 had been a bit more liberal with the scissors. Sure, all of the most offensive 'special edition' changes have been removed, from the new dance number, to the 'NOOO', and the Hayden ghost.

However, there a few things in the theatrical cut that I would also loved to have seen the back of. In particular, I am thinking of the awful (and unnecessary) droid slave/torture scene that has been like a thorn in my side for the past 30 years!

Even so, this is firmly in my line-up of 'go to' Star Wars fan edits. Thank you, Q2.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Wesa Free of Hayden and Nooooooo!

Q2's Return of the Jedi edit is subtle, yet effective. I appreciated the minimalist approach to this edit, replacing only those things that really stood out negatively.

Video Quality: I personally disapprove of the Blu-Ray quality for this film. While some scenes look brilliant, others stand out for not having received the same treatment. I often found Harmy's footage preferable to the worst portions of the blu. This is not the editor's fault, though I do wish a few of the worst offenders could have been cleaned up slightly.

Visual editing: Everything transitioned smoothly. Nothing took me out of the edit at all.

Audio editing: Everything was crisp and clear. Certain portions MAY have had volume issues, but I watched it with kids running in and out of the room so I won't mark you down there :P

Narrative: The narrative really wasn't affected in this cut. It was nice to view the original musical number and the Shaw Anakin in such a high quality format, which are technically small narrative pieces. The only reason I mark this down at all is... after seeing Spence's cut placing Yoda at the beginning, it's how I want it to be.

Enjoyment: This was very enjoyable to watch and will be my go to version, especially for marathons. The only real reason for the point of is the same as narrative - I really think if done well, Spence's rearranging of the beginning is the way that it should be. However, that is outside the scope of this edit's intended purpose, and the original narrative track is still very enjoyable. Oh... and the herd of banthas is still awful...

In the end, this is a wonderful addition to the fanedit community, and I will go so far as to say this is a worthy placeholder for RotJ:Revisited, especially for purists.

Truly a wonderful cut of ROTJ, keeping almost everything I wanted from the Special Edition(s), and deleting the truly unpleasant additions. I had my daughter watch (first time) the whole series over the last month or so in Machete order, with the Adywan SW-Revisited, the original BluRay Empire, L8twrtr's prequels, and now Q2's ROJ)

It was important to me to get my daughter to watch a proper version of Jedi this first time out, in particular to get Sebastian Shaw at the end. It was a nice touch however, to keep the celebrations and the banthas earlier in the film, but delete the annoying Sarlacc beak and the "Noooo".

I don't have much a taste for visual or audio finesse, so other than Lai Nek, I din't really notice any SD/HD differences, and even then it didn't bother me. Audio seemed fine too.

The only thing I missed in the whole film was the satisfying Sarlacc burp after Fett goes down. It's the one thing I would have kept, especially since it was in the theatrical version (I think).

However, why quibble? The end product is masterful and will now replace the Bluray on my shelf. Well done, Q2. Well done.