Review Detail

Before Man of Steel came out in theatres, I was really hyped up about it. I thought it was going to be an incredible movie. But when I went to see it, I was severely disappointed because it had so much potential, but just fell short because of poor decisions made by the filmmakers. The most significant of those choices, in my opinion, was the sporadic flashback structure they used. The non-linear narrative prevented me from being able to relate to the protagonist because I couldn't get a feel for what it was like for him to grow up with his powers. The non-linear approach also made me think that the studio didn't have faith in young Clark being interesting enough for audiences.

Avid 4D's edit completely fixes this problem (as best as possible, given the source material), giving us a true Superman origin story. The entire first half of the movie played out like a movie about a hesitant/lost boy with extraordinary abilities trying to come to terms with his unique powers that he had from a very young age. I think this is the perfect approach to a Superman origin movie, as it is one of the major aspects of Superman that sets him apart from other superheroes. This linear approach allowed me to empathize with young Clark much more so that when he eventually chose to don the costume and reveal himself to the world, it felt more natural.

I thought it was very bold of Avid 4D to place the Krypton scenes in the middle of the movie when Clark meets the hologram of Jor-El. A bold move that works exceptionally well. I like that we, the audience, meet Jor-El and learn about Krypton for the first time, just as Clark does. This further contributes to allowing us to relate to Clark and feel/know what he's going through. (Also, I thought the quick shots of Kal-El's mother giving birth to him during the opening credits were fantastic)

I also felt that the movie was slightly shorter (in a good way), but I couldn't really tell where things were edited out. I never felt like anything was missing.

Assuming I had the talent that Avid 4D has (which I definitely don't), the only thing I'd try to improve upon is removing a lot more cheesy/cliche things. I would have removed Superman and Lois kissing (to be honest, I'd try to find a way to reduce Lois' screentime in general. She was somehow everywhere!), and I would have removed the small subplot of Jenny getting stuck beneath a bunch of debri. I would have removed the small rivalry between Chris Meloni's character and the badass female Kryptonian (I hated the "A good death is it's own reward" line). I would have tried to make Pa Kent's death scene way less lame. Etc.

Overall though, I think this is a fantastic edit that I now recommend to people to watch instead of the theatrical cut of Man of Steel. Thank you very much Avid 4D.