Watched last night with my wife and I enjoyed this view, but it is quite different when you see it in context (I also watched/listened to the commentary while working first), not sure if that changed my reaction when seeing in full presentation.
using some your summary of edits to help give feedback…
New Opening Crawl:
Never realized how many parts of the original crawl is way off from the film and varies so muc in fan versions. This one ties into your version and what I liked was the focus on what we got. The movie was not about finding luke as much as it was surviving the rise of the first order. I like the way it focused on the new republic kind of becoming what the empire was and the hint that the first order was comprised of ex-new republic folks (not sure if that is canon? but I like the explanation) better than how they came to be more than just a hidden faction of the empire that we didn’t know about for 3 decades.
Film is sequenced differently to feel less like Episode IV: A New Hope:
like this, but not recalling specific scenes, so thats a good thing
Kylo Ren never removes his mask until his Encounter with Han Solo:
I liked it, but it is different because you do not get any character development with Kylo until the end since behind the mask. I get the reason. On the fence on this one as taking off the mask I thought made him different than vader so from a standpoint of being different than new hope I think it might work to take mask off earlier. could go back and forth
All dialogue or scenes from other characters revealing Kylo Ren’s real identity is removed or sequenced differently:
This worked, no reason to know he is solo’s son until the end
New Subtitles have been added.
Liked in some spots other probably not needed (like the desert droid at night with BB-8) I would suggest maybe a different font though to read as sometimes they flew on so fast the current used what hard to read…just a small thing.
New Additional Music has been added throughout especially scenes that never featured any music before:
Liked it, except maybe half as much some spots had too much of the chior thing going on. Don’t get me wrong I love that shadows of the empire soundtrack, just in the battle scenes I would almost opt for non-big choir chorus themed choices --again just a personal preference. Also there is the famous asteroid theme music when you have the falcon used from empire (that one we all love), but used in here there was no falcon…I foget the scene, but it kind of threw me on that choice.
Never before seen footage has been added
like the Ben in the falcon deleted and I think Finn getting healed? One scene I wish other would put in is Solo in the castle basement I know its korny solo dialogue, but I like the non-series side that we just dont see too much in this film. I may be the only one that liked it, but wish it would have stayed in.
Rey’s character and abilities have been altered quite a bit. “No Jedi Mind Trick” The cut does it’s best to humanize her and there are hints that she may possibly be a darksider.:
You have a frame jump/frame rate issue on her scene here, but like the idea. I just wonder if force moving of things is any more “mary sue” than a mind trick? Yes it does make her more a darksider, but that is estlsihed later now w/her lineage since ROS. I would have to watch again and see. I do know in the theatrical the scene was too long, so I like this short and sweet interpretation.
New Footage of Darth Vader is added:
taking a pass on this. That fan work is great but not needed at all in this film
Less is more with Finn. Finn’s character is not a comic relief:
Like all choices here and the same in some spots for Poe
Phasma raises the alarms when she is captured by Han and Finn:
This was done well - liked this
Han is not a Smuggler. NO RATHTARS. NO Kanji Club:
Did not mind that han as an ex-general needs to make some cash somehow. Smuggling is what he was good at and the scene is very swashbuckling so missed the raltars although adding them still would require some edits
New Extended Ending.
If there is any part I would say goes it would be here. Three is nothing wrong to end it as it is, this ending looked like a series of still images in some spots and did not really how a starwars ends. Ending we got (for the story we got) is not the same as new hope ending so if the intent I would say - cut - right there.
Again these are all personal feedback and nothing about the effort as I know this type of endevor take hours of personal time. Great job especially if your first time using software? The attempt is welcome as I know many have wondering what it could be like if not so much a carbon copy of episide IV
thanks again for the share and hard work put into this!
