Man of Steel: A Symbol of Hope

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Overall rating
 
9.8
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10.0
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9.0
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Firstly, I have to echo others' praise of the color grading TM2YC has done for this edit. It really helps the film to feel less dour, and helped me to notice some things I'd never noticed before (like Superman's black suit while falling into the pile of skulls at the end of the talk between him and Zod). Very well done. One unfortunate side effect is that it helps highlight some dodgy CGI that the muted theatrical grading helped to hide, but it's worth the tradeoff (and that doesn't happen often).

Now, onto the edit itself: it's great.

Don't expect the wheel to be reinvented as far as structure goes, mind you - it's very much the same film. But TM2YC's subtle touch manages to highlight what works well while mitigating some of the fundamental missteps. Superman is more of a hero, there's less frustratingly expository dialogue, and thank God the "he's kinda hot" bit was cut completely.

The fight sequences are something I thought were handled very well, and I suspect account for a large percentage of the time cut from the film. Every time I watch Man of Steel, I get bored about 1/3 of the way through every fight. In "A Symbol of Hope," I was engaged through all of them, even the Smallville fight and Superman vs. Zod. While there's still an excessive amount of death and destruction, it's mostly caused by the villains, with TM2YC doing his best to show Superman save as many people as he can (though he wasn't given much to work with on that front).

My favorite part about this, though, has got to be Pa Kent's death. Every single MoS edit should just swipe that scene wholesale from "A Symbol of Hope" - I mean, with TM2YC's permission, of course. But it's just so perfectly done that I can't imagine a better way to handle the scene. It doesn't feel edited in any way, and it plays up Clark's internal conflict exactly the way the original scene was intended to, but without shooting itself in the foot in the process like the theatrical cut.

The rest of the nips and tucks are well-chosen and very well executed. The expansion of the hero's theme works well except in the "kiss" scene - unlike others have mentioned, I quite liked it during the Krypton sequence, except for a slight technical issue I'll mention in the next paragraph. The rest of the music replacements - when I noticed them, and I'm certain I didn't notice them all - worked seamlessly. The "first flight" sequence is wonderful and exhilarating, as it should be, and again doesn't feel edited even though I know it definitely was. I also especially liked the "quiet" during Jor-El's "in time, they will join you in the sun" speech.

On a technical level, there was exactly one cut that bugged me in the moment, and I know it was an audio transition issue, but I can't for the life of me remember what/where it was, so it clearly didn't have much of an effect on my enjoyment of the edit. And like I said, it was only one cut - everything else was, as usual, perfect. As for the issue mentioned earlier during the Krypton sequence, it was during Jor-El's flight after stealing the Codex: when he notices his bird-lizard's wound, he speaks reassuringly to it - the music replacement/sound FX rebuilding here has mixed Jor-El's lines too low so they're nearly inaudible. I should note that I'm watching this through a 2.1 soundbar, so this may be less of an issue in a 5.1 setup with a discrete center channel.

I still wish the oil rig scene was gone, but other than that, it's extremely close to perfect. This is definitely replacing the official version in my DCEU canon.

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Overall rating
 
10.0
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So, I used to love Superman when I was a child. I was never introduced to Superman by the comics. My first introduction to Superman was through the classic films. Then I grew up and I have come to hate Superman. I hate how his powers make no sense, I hate how overpowered he is. I liked Batman a lot. The Dark Knight trilogy's exploration of a superhero has fascinated me for quite a while. And then I saw Man of Steel. It was an okay film. I liked the darker iteration they were going for even if it came of as a bit cheap right after the dark knight trilogy. It did not make me like Superman though, and it was forgettable. A mere formality to step into the DCEU.

This fan edit tweaks small things to surprising effect. The color, oh my God the color. It brings life to the film. The adjustments make Superman humble with all the power he has. His beginning makes sense to me. The music, WHY THE HELL DID THEY NOT HAVE THE ADDED SOUNDTRACK IN THE FIRST PLACE :P It gives awe and heart to certain moments. This is the definitive way to experience Man of Steel in my opinion. After all, it made me like Superman again.

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10.0
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Loved this edit. I’m a fan of the original version but this one was just as good. I didn’t even notice the cuts.
Job well done!

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(Updated: November 25, 2017)
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This is a great example of a subtle fan edit done right.

Man of Steel is a movie that I think has always begged for a great fan edit, and there are some good ones. However, in all the others I've seen, the faneditor gets a little too ambitious and ends up falling a bit short in execution. The seams start to show.

This fanedit aims to 'recalibrate' the movie we got rather than restructure it. Microedits, subtle rescoring, a fresh color grade, and a few more significant but deliberately placed cuts bring out the hope and optimism that were crushed under Snyder's excess in the theatrical cut.

Pretty much everything about this edit is seamless, although the new score in the scene of Jor-El on the flying creature stuck out a bit to me. I understand that TM2YC was trying to create a father/son parallel but I think that sweeping theme is best saved for Superman himself. I also think the narrative structure still has some weaknesses that can't be fixed with a simple edit like this one.

Overall though, I highly recommend this edit. It's now the definitive way to watch 'Man of Steel' for me.
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
First off may I concur with a fellow reviewer that the colour correction is reason alone to watch this fan edit. MOS has never looked better and is much more even in its presentation.

Highlights for me include the tornado scene, re-scored first flight and the title cards were a neat addition. Small edits like in the interrogation scene bring some much needed fun and shows the overall care taken with this fan edit.

One scene I would have trimmed is Lois making out with Superman amongst the carnage. Whilst less troubling given the editing plays more as though the civilians got out, the scene still bothers me because of the dialogue that follows. 'They say it's all downhill after the first kiss.......I'm pretty sure that only counts if your kissing a human'. Just doesn't seem like a Superman thing to say.

The score: The MOS theme remains one of the few nuggets of optimism in a otherwise downbeat film and is the chief reason the theatrical trailer worked and got fans excited. Therefore I welcomed greater use of it in this edit. However there were scenes where I felt it didn't entirely work and I think this has to do with its slow build up. I also wouldn't have used it for Jor-El leaping from the archive tower as I think it's best we first hear it with Superman.

However overall a really solid fan edit that gets the most out of the original source material. Highly worth checking out!
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