Review Detail

I am one of the few who enjoyed the 'BvS Ultimate Edition', so when I heard about this edit I was intrigued. That film, although superior to the theatrical version, is still rife with odd contrivances and over abundance of character introductions; so I knew the average viewer would be bored and confused with talks of the White Portuguese or Bruce Wayne's dream within a dream. This is why, now that I have watched 'Man of Steel' with my non-cinema enthused partner, I felt this fan edit could help her enjoy and appreciate the parts of the movie I liked the most.

The edit plays out pretty much the same (although cleverly omitting any references to Wonder Woman or Doomsday) and nicely condenses the story into one that feels far less convoluted than the original. I especially enjoyed the bath scene being put at the end as it changed the feeling of that scene entirely, as well as showing a growing relationship between Lois and Clark across the film instead of them already being together as in the original. My partner still found the story confusing and drawn out, and we both felt that the "Martha" scene could've been changed but search me as to how one might go about that. The little flashbacks were a nice touch but the overall "out of nowhere" feel to the original scene is inescapable, even to a DCEU newcomer.

I however enjoyed the edit, but I'm a sucker for Zimmer and Junkie XL's score for Superman's funeral and the over-the-top military presence in the original, so I felt the ending's absence sorely. But that isn't a slight on the editor as the only way to incorporate Superman's death would have been for Batman to kill him (which would have saved us the "Martha moment") or have Clark drown off-screen in the bath with Lois (which could’ve led to an even stranger Aquaman cameo). But as I said before the bath scene being moved to the end was very sweet, as both myself and my partner felt it rounded the film off nicely.

Overall I found I liked it less than the Ultimate Edition, more than the Theatrical Version and left me wanting to see an edit where Batman kills Superman. It is very professionally edited and my partner didn't even know it wasn't the original film as I only told her after we watched it. A solid fan edit, but I think I've been indoctrinated by Snyder's penchant for muddled storytelling and shells falling in slow motion, both of which I look forward to in HBO’s upcoming Justice League.