In a longstanding tradition I’ve just started this year I’ve decided to watch each ST films across Christmas Eve, Day, and Boxing Day (due to having seen the other 6 films millions of times since 1999).
I really like TLJ, it’s probably number 2 or 3 in my top 9 saga films list, it feels exactly like a TCW film, lots of humour (who can’t picture animated Anakin doing Poe’s bit with ‘Huggs’ at the beginning of the film), lots of new Force material and insights into how it works, deconstruction of the Jedi Order (not the Light Side, the Order itself), and heroes and villains hovering over the border.
I didn’t want a fanedit that changed much of anything about the film (well I’d have happily have lost some bits like Admiral Arsehole, could you imagine Luke being treated like Poe was after ANH? But also Poe’s mutiny, this is not Andor we don’t need a Resistance civil war) so I turned to the Extended Edition.
I have the workprint version, and the unfinished scenes, funnily enough, really don’t pull you out of the film at all. Sure you can notice them, but considering how many terrible effects (both practical and digital) exist in the endless re-releases of the OT I can cope with a couple of badly rendered backgrounds considering what the scenes add.
This isn’t much of a fanedit in the usual sense beyond the integration and edition, but that is done seamlessly and the additional VFX work on the scenes fit in.
Though, having said that, I don’t know if it’s my version or not, but just after Poe pulls his blaster on Admiral Arsehole the visuals and sound cut out until the laundrette scene.