Man Of Steel: Recut

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.

As can always be expected from Avid4D, this was a really well-done edit. It made for a fresh experience with this film. Unlike many here, I did not have an issue with the flashbacks used in the original film, so I would not necessarily say that this version improved on the original, but it certainly didn't detract from it, and it made for an excellent way to revisit the film. That being said, I still have many issues with this film due to the complete disregard for Superman lore, but the point of this edit was to reorder the narrative, not repair the canonicity. And Avid4D most certainly succeeds with what he set out to do, as he always does. Thanks very much for this film. Oh, and one other reviewer said that he felt that the beat-up at the garage scene was unnecessary. I completely disagree. That scene was important as it featured Jonathan teaching Clark a valuable life lesson, and asking him what kind of man he wanted to grow up to be (a shining moment for Man of Steel's depiction of Jonathan Kent, who also thinks that Clark should let kids die, but I'll refrain from further ranting about that here). Anyway, well done film. Though I'd have to say, I'm a bigger fan of your The Superman trilogy. Anyone looking for more excellently done Superman edits, check out Avid4D's The Superman trilogy. The Superman of Krypton is a little slow, but the trilogy as a whole is superb and is definitely worth watching.

An excellent fanedit, that really improves upon the original. The decisions were sensible and enhanced the story; there was nothing that felt glaringly out of place.

The only small critiques I can offer is that the flashback sequence of Krypton takes too long; it's about 15 minutes long and could perhaps be cut out by removing that "genetic codex in Clark's DNA" subplot (since that doesn't get elaborated on and it's never suggested that Clark is going to renew the race somehow). Shaving just 3-5 minutes off that sequence would be very welcome.

Otherwise the edit is an excellent one, and easily replaces the incredibly dull original. Visually it could do with a colour regrade, like that achieved by Agent 9. If there is a Version 3 of this edit on the horizon, that would be a welcome change.

Otherwise a great work.

You can like it if you want, but that doesn't change the fact that the original Man of Steel is a terrible film. It's poorly edited, poorly blocked, poorly directed, and, in some scenes, very poorly acted (by otherwise talented people). And the story is threadbare. While many complained, I never minded the "Superman kills" aspect of the film -- I think the screenwriters show very clearly that this Superman is one lacking a moral compass. I felt, technically, it was a bad movie, and the writing incredibly juvenile.

This edit rectifies much of that. However, in doing so, it highlights several problems with the film one just cannot escape.

In telling the story of Clark more linearly, more classically, the early scenes of his life just become tedious. This isn't the fault of the editor (and, apparently, I've viewed a version where these scenes were cut down some). However, at least now they make sense -- in the original, these flashbacks were plopped in pretty randomly, with nary a connection to anything happening "now." So this edit alleviates that.

But there are still things which simply make no sense -- for instance, Clark's father going into a tornado to save a dog that Clark could've saved before anyone noticed. It didn't make sense in the original, and there's no way for it to make sense here. Is there a way around this nonsense in editing? I don't know. But it's a shame that it had to be included.

I had also forgotten how much of a retread the scene with Clark meeting his Kryptonian father was. In cutting the laughable scenes on Krypton at the start of the original movie, and inserting some of them as flashbacks in the "son meets father" scene here, it made Krypton more easy to digest. Sadly, things like the Codex, the flying dragons, and Jor-El inexplicably being an action hero were NOT dropped from this edit, and, as such, you're reminded of just how lacking in concept and direction the filmmakers were when it comes to Krypton, which is more than a little reminiscent of scenery from a 1970s issue of Heavy Metal.

After that, I admittedly lost interest and began skipping around. The story still holds together as well as it could. The death of Zod is in tact and, while it never bothered me that Superman killed Zod, the scene, like so many others in the film, just doesn't make sense (Superman had several options -- like flying upwards with him tow, covering his eyes, or perhaps the screenwriters could have had him discover his super-breath here). But the very last moments of the movie seemed more satisfying here, but that could be b/c I had zero recollection of them even happening in the original.

Narrative is a real problem spot for most fan edits in my opinion, and the fact that the narrative is still in tact, and even improved, says a lot about both the original film and the work of this Fan Editor.

Overall, if you're a fan of the original, but didn't like the willy-nilly storytelling, this edit'll work for you. Technically, it was VERY strong. IMO, it's far too much like the original. Hence a lower score on "enjoyment." Good work overall however.

I saw Man of Steel in the theater and while I enjoyed it, there were a few issues that lessened my enjoyment of the film.

The first issue is the opening sequence on Krypton. While interesting, I felt it took too long to get to the main character: The Man of Steel. I saw the movie with my mom and about 5 minutes into the film she turns to me and asks "Is this the right movie?" My second problem was the narrative. It tries to deal with too many ideas and it felt somewhat disconnected. The third flaw for me is the action, it goes on for too long for my tastes. I like a good action film, but world busting action sequence are common in modern films and can only hold my attention for so long. A movie needs to get back to character and story development to keep my interest.

So on to Avid's FanEdit of Man of Steel. Technically the edit is great, I only noticed a few abrupt transitions, but otherwise the audio and video is great. I watched the MP4 and the quality was superb on our large screen TV.

The Narrative is definitely improved. Avid does a great job fixing two of my issues with the film with one major edit: Moving the opening sequence on Krypton to the later half of the film. The film begins with Clark Kent immediately and follows his childhood to adult story. This also helps makes the film's story seem less disjointed. Clarke's initial story has nothing to do with Krypton and Civil War. It is mostly about his family and using his powers responsibly.

Krypton's story is not told until Clark discovers his heritage. This is great since it sets up the second half of the film. That being said, the sequence still feels too long and I would have liked a few more cuts. At one point Zod explains his escape from the phantom zone. If not sure if this would be possible, but it might be interesting to splice in the majority of Zod's rebellion story here instead.

My last concern was the long-winded action sequences. Avid4 made a few cuts, but they still went on for too long in my opinion. This time I watched it with my dad and he also thought they dragged on too long. Some may disagree, but I would have liked to see a few more cuts. I think it might be possible to remove the first half of the world engine sequence. It seems superfluous as it tries to build tension with the trapped Daily Planet girl.

Overall the edit is great and I recommend it. However, the film is still over 2 hours and 10 minutes. I think there is room for more edits. I was still bored with the action sequences by the end of the film. I would have liked to see the action and Krypton sequences cut down a bit further.