Man of Steel: A Symbol of Hope

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!

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.

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!

I'm not a big fan of superhero movies, and I dislike how they factory like produce them nowadays without much effort or heart put into the movies. I however do like the DC comics animated movies and I think Man of Steel is my favorite superhero movie. It's just so epic. So yeah, I did like the original quite a lot and felt it didn't need much changing. Now this fanedit should suit me and I must say that it does indeed.

The biggest thing to notice is the colors. The movie looks stunning! The original colors never bothered me that much but after seeing this one the movie came alive in more ways than ever. Everything looks so nice and... well, heroic? :)

The music editing was really good as well, I liked it. I never felt the movie really needed it as the sountrack is amazing but it does work. It just got a bit repeatitive towards the end. The audio is in stereo by the way and it may bother people who have 5.1 setup but I like stereo so it didn't bother me.

Lois Lane was quite annoying in the original version. In this one she's better. She's still quite boring and shouldn't have that much screen time. But this fanedit made her character better nevertheless.

Many of the little changes like Jonathan Kent dying were handled well.

This fanedit was very enjoyable indeed and I don't feel need to watch the original version any longer. Good job!


Edit: After watching this fanedit couple of times I think the narrative points being 10 was a bit too much. The problem is deep rooted in Man of Steel. The pacing just isn't that good. The action should be spread throughout the movie. Nevertheless, great fanedit and it improved narration quite a bit still.

The edits in this version were SEAMLESS. Many times, I could tell something was changed, but the edit was performed so well (and it worked so well) that I couldn't pin down exactly what was different. The work done on the first fight with the Kryptonians, Clark's Dad's death, Zod's neck snapping ... perfect!

The adjustments made to the color and brightness also worked very well - most noticeable on Superman's suit in several scenes.

No longer any need to pull the disc out of the drawer next time I'm in the mood to watch Man of Steel - this will be my preferred version.