While I’m still accumulating screencaps, I have to throw in an update to the editing changes.
I’ve removed another piece from my edit, and this one is painful, but I think it’s necessary for the direction I’m going with this.
One issue that I have with TFA’s execution is that it’s united around the search for Luke Skywalker which, for me anyway, was more epilogue than climax. The real ending of the film, IMO, was the moment Rey snatched Luke’s lightsaber away from Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base. So, I wanted to place more focus on uniting the film around that instead.
Which leads me to the difficult choice I’m about to make. I’ve decided to cut out the late Max von Sydow’s opening conversation with Oscar Isaac. The main problem with this scene is that it orients the film around finding Skywalker too much. It also gives off the implication that only a jedi can solve this problem, which throws things off for Finn, who isn’t a jedi but gets a lot of screen time along with Rey. One dynamic I find interesting about VII is that we don’t know who the main character is. A risky decision, especially since the prequels tried that and failed, but it worked in this film’s case. It kept you guessing who was going to lead the charge against the First Order. It could’ve been Rey, Finn, or possibly even Han. But by having Max von Sydow’s character say “Without the jedi, there can be no balance”, it kinda foreshadows things too much in Rey’s favor. I don’t want to cut this scene out, especially since Max von Sydow was a ridiculously talented actor, but I think it has to be done in order for the edit to work.
So now, the only bit that remains is Poe’s “Well, she certainly is that.” when BB-8 barges in and alerts Poe to the upcoming First Order assault. This gets us into the opening action sequence more quickly. I suppose the drawback is that it might make the opening even more like Episode IV, but I think getting into the opening battle sooner does a good job of drawing you in more. On the bright side, Max von Sydow’s conversation with Adam Driver is still in (although edited).