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

HUGE Star Wars fan here. Like many, after seeing TLJ in theaters I was devastated. I had so much hype for that film after what I thought was a decent theatrical TFA, but to me the theatrical TLJ is nothing sh0rt of an abomination and pure disrespect to the Star Wars I knew and loved. This movie destroyed whatever I liked about 7 and took away 99% of my hype for 9.

But this edit... This changed EVERYTHING. I watched this edit under the perspective of "The Crucible Canon" https://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-crucible-canon-merging-eu-and-new-canon-as-smoothly-as-possible.50053287/ and I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this film now. Thank you, DonKamillo, for making a cut that (no lie) brought a tear to my eye just to see Luke handled in a more respectful way.

A/V Quality: Perfect to my eyes, didn't notice anything there which gives this area a 10.

Visual Editing: I didn't see anything jarring here either. This is an easy 10, especially due to the Luke lightsaber change.

Audio Editing: I noticed some slight audio drops in a few scenes (especially when Luke has Rey "reach out" and she goes to the Dark Side, his lines are very quiet after that), but nothing too frequent.

Narrative: If it was possible to give this higher than a 10 I would do it in a heartbeat. Somehow Don took something I swore I'd never watch again into a story that... dare I say it, I actually enjoyed? You'd be amazed how much trimming out the fat from this movie helps this story (and there was A LOT of fat). No more cringe-y lines, no "your mom" jokes, no obnoxious Rose, no forced real world political messaging, NO MORE MURDEROUS LUKE. I can't say enough about how much this narrative is improved. Not only are the indigestible portions out, there are incredible new ideas in. Instead of a whiny, depressed, hermit, Luke now seems like just a very old, tired, and disappointed man with decades of burdens who finds his spark one last time to save the galaxy again. THIS is the Luke I grew up with. Having him survive truly brought a tear to my eye, and I said "Luke is back" with a smile on my face. Something I NEVER thought I'd say in regards to the ST.

Enjoyment: Whereas I would've originally gave TLJ a 1/10 in the theater version, I would score the TLJ Anti-Cringe cut an 8.5/10 film, which earns a 10/10 performance for this edit. Again, watching this edit under "The Crucible Canon" perspective that is linked above changed everything about my experience with this movie. I am actually excited to watch TRoS now (Anti-Cringe version, of course).

TLDR;
Near perfect and my go-to version of this movie now. Improved an unbelievable amount over the original, especially in terms of the Luke story and removing the insufferable scenes. Could use a little touchup on audio in a few places. Easily the best TLJ edit I have ever seen.

Firstly, I just want to start off by saying, muchísimas gracias Don Kamillo. I didn’t think anything could ever make these travesties watchable for me much less enjoyable. I’m afraid I cannot offer a fair comparison since I have never watched the original source material nor do I wish to. So whatever score I offer for the cut is compared to a D.N.F. of the original.

Besides the fact that the film was highly enjoyable and felt very Star Wars for something so far from cannon. There was nothing really negative quality-wise which stood out to give away that it was a fan edit. Perhaps the part at the end when Kylo confronts Darth Sidious. The audio sounded totally spliced together. I don’t know what the original line was but I assume it was so bad this this desperate attempt on behalf of the editor to spare me from some terrible dialogue was justified. Thank you. I will deduct only one point from sound.

I will be deducting one point from enjoyment for Porg. I’m sure you minimised his appearance, however he still managed to get in the way. Literally and figuratively. Aside from that Holdo did not offend me too much. She just reminded me a bit of a female Tim Cook. I have a feeling you spared me some suffering there, perhaps some insufferable Disney Woke cringe that I shall never know and although I don’t know what it was, thank you!

This is my current definitive way to watch the film and I look forwards to any updates you make in the future. Keep up the great work and may the force be with you!

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.

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. :)