Synopsis:
This cut removes the whole side plot on Canto Bight and focuses on the journey of our main heroes. It further changes the fate of some key characters as well as their motivations and lets them shine in a new light, providing some surprises for viewers of the original film along the way.
Intentions:
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. With it's unnecessary side plots, some ridiculous character moments and cringe-worthy dialogue at points, it quickly buried my faith in the new STAR WARS franchise. But Episode VIII was not all bad so a spark of hope remained... Maybe with some changes here and there, it could be possible to redeem this movie. So I did exactly that and proudly present my first Anti-Cringe-Cut.
Change List:
CUT:
- The blonde rebel girl in the beginning saying "Oh no" as she sees the Star Destroyers popping up
- The silly face General Hux makes while looking at his officer when Poe approaches them in attack mode
- Poe phone pranking General Hux
- The silly face General Hux makes while looking at Poe taking out the Dreadnought service cannons
- BB8's Whack-A-Mole joke and bashing his head into the control board to repair Poe's ship cannons
- General Hux being thrown around by Snoke in front of his crew
- Aerial shot of Rey walking up to Luke
- Luke throwing away his light saber and Rey retrieving it later
- A lot of the Porg scenes
- Rey explaining to Luke what Chewbacca is saying after they burst into his hut
- Luke's weird milking scene
- Leia coming back from the dead after being sucked out into space
- All of Leia's appearances after that
- Chewie's campfire scene
- Close shot of Kylo's wet hand after force call conversation with Rey
- Rey asking Kylo to "put on a cowl or something" after noticing that he's topless
- Admiral Holdo berating Poe
- Poe being frustrated about Admiral Holdo's behavior
- Poe's mutiny against Admiral Holdo
- Rose's introduction
- Maz Kanata phone call
- Finn's side quest on Canto Bight (and the whole Master Codebreaker nonsense)
- Rey nearly killing some island natives with a rock while practicing with the lightsaber
- Luke falling down after Rey hits him on the head from behind
- Luke hitting Rey after she consequently attacks him
- Luke "going evil" and trying to kill Kylo in the final flashback
- Captain Phasma
- BB8 going on a killing spree
- Rose and Finn returning to Crait while being shot at by Tie Fighters
- Rebels setting up their base on Crait
- Weird old rebel guy walking onto the battlefield with nothing but some binoculars
- Gareth Edwards Cameo and rebel soldier putting salt in his mouth
- Rey shooting down three Tie Fighters at once on Crait
- Finn trying to sacrifice himself in the battle of Crait and Rose "saving" him
- Rose kissing Finn while the Rebel Base is being blown up in the background
- General Hux being thrown around by Kylo in front of his crew
- Luke dying
- Rey's jealous look at Finn while he tucks Rose in
- The names of the actors playing Maz Canata, Captain Phasma, Rose, and DJ where removed from beginning of the credits
ADDED:
- Animated Anti-Cringe-Logo at the beginning and end
- Deleted scene where Luke is mourning Han
- Deleted scene where Luke talks to an island native who eyes Rey suspiciously
- Deleted scene where Poe explains to Finn what happened while he was in a coma
- Deleted scene showing Luke's third lesson to Rey
- Two aerial shots from a documentary of Skellige island (Ahch-To island) that serve as transitions between scenes
- Two Kylo Ren flashback sequences from TFA
- Some classic Star Wars scene transitions here and there
- New background music in some scenes and scene transitions (only Star Wars OST was used)
- There can be no Star Wars without a Wilhelm Scream somewhere in the movie
CHANGED:
- Color grading of the whole movie (greenish/yellow tint removed and more color vibrance)
- The intro crawl text changed slightly to include that Snoke has been training "his apprentice Kylo Ren" and that the rebels are certain that "young Rey will find Luke Skywalker and with his help restore a spark of hope to the fight".
- The first battle against the Dreadnought is much more fluid and intense now and not broken up by silly jokes
- Moved the scene where Leia tells C3PO to "whipe that nervous expression off his face" to right after the Dreadnought cannons move to point at the rebel cruiser making it a better fit
- Although General Hux is still not the most intimidating bad guy, at least now he is spared the humiliation by his superiors in front of his fellow officers, restoring some of his dignity and the appearance of him being a respected General.
- The first time we see Luke and Rey, he is already holding the light saber in his hands, showing us that at least some time has gone by since the ending of TFA.
- Instead of throwing away the light saber, Luke gives it back to Rey and tells her that he's sorry before walking off, making her confused expression right after, more believable.
- Leia dies in the second assault of the First Order
- Luke has a vision of Leia floating in space after he reconnects with the force
- Teleportation of matter like water via force call is not possible anymore (shown when Kylo wipes his face to reveal that water from Ahch- To island was transported to him). Now it looks like he's wiping away some sweat after his intense conversation with Rey.
- Luke now seems more skilled in the fight with Rey. He doesn't fall down, after she hits him on the head the first time but immediately turns around to stop her second strike at which point he has a force vision of Rey tempted by the dark side and hears Master Yoda's warning voice telling him not to attack her. This results in him just dodging her hits and staying on the defensive. The one time he falls down now, he breaks his fall with the force, showing us that he could have easily beaten her if he wanted to. This changed scene now also implies that if he had attacked her, he would have probably driven her away even further, thus serving as a good callback later when she refuses to join Kylo.
- The final flashback featuring Luke and Kylo has been defused to the point where Luke acts not completely out of character anymore. The following lines have been removed: "He would bring destruction, pain, death, and the end of everything I love because of what he will become. And for the briefest moment of pure instinct, I thought I could stop it. It passed like a fleeting shadow. And I was left with shame and with consequence."
Instead after he says "Snoke had already turned his heart..." we see flashes of Kylo (from Rey's lightsaber-vision in TFA) already wearing his mask, walking towards us and killing someone with his red lightsaber. We return to a shocked Luke who continues with "...and the last thing I saw were the eyes of a frightened young boy who's master had failed him". This changes the meaning of the whole scene. Luke failed Kylo because he allowed Snoke to turn his apprentice while he was under his care and not because he tried to kill him in his sleep. Also Luke does not turn on his light saber except to block Kylo's strike after he consequently attacks Luke.
- When Poe asks Admiral Holdo, if she has a plan and notices that she is fueling up the transport ships, it now seems like she gives in an tells him what the mission is. When they leave her alone on the cruiser and Poe leaves with the transport ships, it looks like they are working together.
- To showcase that there is a montage with Commander D'Acy explaining their escape plan to the rebel base on Crait to Poe (and the audience).
- The reveal that Rose is Paige's sister comes much later in the last act on Crait when she touches the second half of the medallion as she is flying towards the large cannon, creating a better connection/contrast to the beginning of the movie. Her sister died in battle, she survives it.
- The Millennium Falcon enters the battle on Crait gracefully and with style. The first thing we see is it's shadow and not an exaggerated triple kill shot
- When Poe gives up on attacking the big laser cannon on Crait and tells Finn to pull back, it now looks like he is following his order
Luke makes his last stand with a green lightsaber instead of the blue one making the reveal, that he is a force projection, more surprising
- Rey does not appear to be jealous of Rose anymore. Instead she seems to be happy for Finn.
- We get another good look at the broken lightsaber before the Millennium Falcon enters hyperspace for the last time. The kyber crystal of the saber starts glowing faintly...
- There is a cut to black instead of a fade to white before the last scene starts
- The movie ends with Luke pulling himself up and looking out at the sunset (small black dot in front of the sun removed), coming full circle. He looked at it as an infant in "Revenge of the Sith", as a young man in "A New Hope" and finally as an old Jedi Master. Hope fills his eyes. He is alive after all...
Additional Notes:
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Other Sources:
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Deleted Scenes - Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Documentary of Skellige Island - OST for Episode VII and Episode VIII - Custom Crawl Tutorial by DigModiFicaTion
Special Thanks:
- DigModiFicaTion for all his patience and support during the making of this edit - Rian Johnson for kick-starting this whole thing - My wife for all the lonely nights she spent in bed while her husband was glued to the computer screen doing "his Star Wars stuff"