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The Rise of Skywalker: Resurgence by krausfadr

I saw the original in an IMAX viewing opening day. It was ideal conditions for me to get wrapped up in the movie, but instead it felt bogged down by sloppy frenetic edits between scenes, attempts to build tension but then immediately walking it back, and just a lot of antagonism between the main characters.

This edit has honestly resolved my major issues with the original. It is a fantastic reimagining of the movie without stripping out the bones. While the original failed to build a cohesive arc for Rey, Resurgence manages to make a simple change of a character’s motivations and all the pieces fall together in a much comprehensive manner.

I have to honestly thank krausfadr for just so incisively reordering and smoothing out the pacing. The original cut feels frenetic and unfocused. Where this cut manages simultaneously to assemble a piece vastly more enjoyable while also managing to tie it into the first two in a more comprehensible manner.

Be aware what I am about to say next while not explicitly spoiling could be seen as treading into quasi-spoiler territory. This cut builds Rey’s motivations with a far clearer depiction of her internal struggle and even explains why she might be more inclined to forgive Ben Solo. It really manages to even redefine why Rey spent so much time on Jakku and perhaps her state of mind at the beginning of the trilogy. Lastly, the end actually manages to makes room for a stronger case to why she chooses to take on the Skywalker name.

I am practicing a lot of restraint here, as I personally would have made a lot small and big edits that would have satisfied my personal whims. However, what this cut manages to do is resolve some of the underlying issues with what I used to strongly disagree with narratively. It all feels far more palatable, and now I actually can derive a lot more meaning from a movie that does indeed make strong artistic stylistic choices but weak narrative choices as well as sloppy, irritating editing sensibilities.

Thank you again kruasfadr for reshaping something previously lacking in a lot of areas into a movie I can genuinely enjoy along with the rest of the saga even despite its core flaws.