Man Of Steel: Remastered

When I first viewed "Man of Steel" in the theater, I was struck by the dour tone that the whole film had. The color timing was very dull (I assumed it was actually the theater not using the correct projector bulbs, but had the same feeling on Blu-ray). Zimmer's score never quite had the levity of previous Superman scores. I really wondered what the film would be like with Williams's cues and a new look.

Wonder no more with Agent9's "Man of Steel: Remastered." While the addition of John Williams's music is front in center here, it's by no means the biggest revelations at play. The new color timing removes the ugly dark green hues from the film and showcase how amazing the new Superman suit looks. It really pops here and is hard to look away whenever it is on screen.

This is also by no means just a recolor and a new score. Agent9 has made some great cuts and restructuring of the entire film. A pared down opening gets the ball rolling much faster than the theatrical version and feels more in line with "Superman: The Movie." Sure, there's a few bits between Zod and Jor-El that leave questions for the viewer, but all those questions get answered (as they do for Clark in the film) just 20 minutes later. The edits that Agent9 makes to the first act of the film are truly revelatory, removing the confusing structure of the narrative with various flashbacks and SFX showpieces. After the destruction of Krypton, there is a title sequence that fits in with the Reeve films. I would have preferred less oil in water constellations (as in the Reeve films) and a little more NASA material, but that is a minor nitpick really.

Then we get straight into the story through Lois Lane's perspective. Clark barely shows up. It's an interesting choice that works out really well and I would love to see it with someone who never saw the original version. The forced action sequences like the oil rig rescue (cool but mostly for trailer moments), Lois Lane getting whipped by the Kryptonian computer (what?), Young Clark's X-ray vision (the actor isn't that good) are gone. Lois really has little to go on when she does her investigation and hearing about the rescues through her perspective is far more creative than merely showing them. It isn't until much later in the film that we can see what Clark can do, which provides the proper rising suspense for the viewer.

The destruction is toned down. It's sure there and there's little that will change that, but it never reaches the uncomfortable levels of the theatrical version. Now Superman takes down the world engine a little quicker and the suspense in the scene is solely on whether or not he can do it and not on whether or not Perry White will save a character in a soundstage that the audience doesn't care for. It's crazy how well this finale works.

Now, I have heaps of praise for this cut, but there are a couple of bits that keep it from being perfect. The bus flashback needs a little more editing. Pete Ross still says his very odd curses ("Dick splash?" Really?!) and there's a little too much music laid over the rescue of the bus. This should be a moment of Clark learning what he can do and should be toned down. It's more of a feeling of the audience of proper rises and falls with emotion. There's a few too many moments that utilize the march which makes the proper Superman moments not as strong. Just a suggestion.

Also, there are two moments that need the music swapped. The music swell from Superman Returns when Lois comforts Clark after what he's done to Zod is misplaced. It's very romantic and triumphant which is at odds with what the characters are feeling in the moment. If this music swell was put in the spot when Superman and Lois kiss for the first time (after teleporting Zod's ship and seemingly saving the day) that would work. The music for this scene should be for the train station moment. I think that would work thematically far better.

Oh! Lest I forget! Agent9's new conclusion works out far better than the theatrical version. We have a nice tease of Clark working for The Daily Planet (we no longer see the newsroom in perfect shape again, which left many questions about when the scene took place following the climax) and Clark's uneasy scene with the general is the closing. It no longer feels like Clark just destroyed half of Metropolis and right after is telling the military to get off his back. It felt weird in the theatrical version and is a nice denouement here. Plus, giving the film a moment to breathe for a second made the "I think he's hot line" work. And, yes, Agent9 found a way to make the film close triumphantly like the Reeve films. Well done.

I really hope that Agent9 makes another few tweaks to his already amazing cut. Like his cuts of "Prometheus" and "Terminator Salvation" this will probably be my go-to edit for watching the film. Give it a look and be surprised at how much fun "Man of Steel" can actually be with a bit of editing.

Wow. I'll start off with that word.

I hated this movie in the theaters. Overlong, Henry C really needed help to emote, etc.

This edit? Boom, I had tears at the end.

Way to pull something out of this movie.

The John Williams score choice was brilliant. Maybe that's what got me so emotional, but it hit me right in the chest.

I am recommended this highly.

Until I watched MoS Remastered I considered 'Star Trek: Vengeance' to be the last word in fanfixes. After watching it I have a new ideal.

What can I say about this superlative edit that can possibly do it justice? It has taken a film I quite honestly despised and made it into something that I can love with all of my heart. The fixes are absolutely perfect, from the re-framing of the narrative, to the regrade, to the masterful inclusion of the original John Williams score which embodies Superman for people of my generation.

Technically this is also a fanmix I was delighted to note, as Brandon Routh makes a brief, but important appearance to save some residents of Metropolis and give our hero some heroic qualities which were sadly missing in the original Snyder cut. Those little scenes make a huge difference to the way you perceive the Man of Steel, showing that amongst all the violence and destruction, he still cares about the little folk and will do everything he can to protect them.

Not everything can be saved by editing. Jonathan Kent is still an a-hole who thinks his son should have left a bus load of kids to drown because the world would reject his true self, but at least his ridiculous self-sacrificial death scene has been cut. It's always galled me that they got the perfect man to play Clark's father, then took a hatchet to his character and made him into an oracle of fear and mistrust. The real Jonathan Kent would have trusted his son to do the right thing no matter what and would have had enough faith in humanity to know that they would accept his son as the good man he was always destined to be. The man Jonathan Kent raised him to be.

This is no fault of the fanedit though, just bad writing.

By the end of this movie I was cheering on Henry Cavill's Superman as he saved the day and felt genuinely emotional at the credits. What a marked contrast to my bewildered ennui at the close of the original.

Only minor downside is some minor technical faults in the encoding. There are some scenes where the grain becomes distracting and a couple where the sky is quite blocky. It's an easy fix and one I'll make for my own personal copy, but it is literally the only thing that isn't perfect about this movie. Barely even worth mentioning really.

This is one seriously amazing fanfix and I cannot recommend it highly enough for people who found the Snyder cut ponderous and joyless. The addition of the seriously underrated Routh as Superman is really just the icing on the cake for me, making this my new favourite fanfix by some margin.

First time I saw Man of Steel, I loved it, as was the case when I first bought it on blu ray. But, the more I watched it the more its flaws started to wear and tear at my enjoyment, especially with it's ugly color grading. While I still don't hate the film or call it god awful, this edit here is spectacular. First off, addressing the coloring, I can now say "Man of Steel, in color." Easy on the eyes and very bright like it should be. The pace, my gosh the pacing is much closer to a traditional Superman film and never bored me. The cuts all made sense, were creative and the added shots from other sources fitted in nicely. Same with audio, although once or twice you could make out transitions from the original cut, it never bothered me. This is a must add to your Blu ray collection.

Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this edit. I quite enjoyed the original version but admit I saw it a year or so ago so I will try and be as fair as I can with this review.

Negatives first,

The soundtrack was a mismatch. It just didn't fit in my opinion. It was nice to hear the classic theme songs and that but it just didn't keep with the pacing of the action and the emotion of the scenes throughout the movie.

The intro credits were too long and incredibly dated. Its understandable to want to reclaim that nostalgia and authenticity of the older films but again, it just didn't suit. I had realised I was messing around on my phone during the opening credits and that's not what you want really when trying to hold a viewers attention.

The first act felt rushed and incomplete. I felt like Clark becoming superman was literally thrown in our face too fast without any character development at all. Because of this rush, it removed a lot of other characters impacts during the film too. Clark learning to control his powers and even his adopted father dying were cut which heavily impacted my emotions when first viewing the film.

The positives,

I thought the colour correction was good. From a technical point of view I was very impressed. Although it never truly bothered me personally but I heard this was an issue for many.

The visual quality was very good. Both in editing and resolution.

End thoughts,

I have only recently got into watching fan edits, and maybe naive in saying this but I believe it will probably be better to only watch fan edits that you actually had strong issues with before hand. As I remember enjoying the original, I suppose this version felt inferior to me. I would advise anyone to watch for themselves. An opinion is only an opinion :)

Thanks to the editor anyway