Superman: Son of Jor-El

I loved this edit. There are many hybrid superman 1&2 cuts, but this is the only one that that I feel has been able to combine the narratives in a way that did not feel like two films stuck together, but rather a singular narrative. Son of Jorel is a brilliant superman film, and really trims both lengthy movies down to the core themes and relationships. There is so much to love about this edit, it's hard to know what to mention.

Of special note is the ending. In both Superman 1 and 2, the ending was a letdown. The time travel was certainly dramatic, but was so full of plot holes that it was overall just too problematic. And the superman kiss is, well, silly. The ending of Son of Jorel is really quite something - It's poignant, emotional and powerful. And it ties all the themes together beautifully.

Also of note was the way in which Lois was treated. I loved that by combining the two films, we arrive at that fantastic scene where Lois accuses Clark of being Superman sooner. And from then on, she won't let go. This is much more believable for a character as smart as Lois. It's such a shame that the blank bullet scene was never filmed properly - It's a wonderful moment in the story, and so so much better than the pink bear scene. But of course it will forever be distracting for the poor quality of the scene and clark's changing hair style... Ah well, nothing we can do about that.

I understand L8wrtr may consider an HD upgrade of this wonderful edit in the future. If that is the case, I do have some suggestions. They're not criticisms, so much as personal preferences if this movie is to undergoe minro surgery on its way to HD land.

(Spoilers)
- While I love that you removed 'can you read my mind', I missed Lois falling and Superman catching her again. I always found that moment endearing, showing how caught up in the moment they both are that they forget the logistics of flying... but no big deal
- I would add the "I was thinking we could get a hamburger" line back in. I always find it funny, especially after clark says he wants to show lois the time of her life. It's Clark nice.
- I loved that you deleted most of the dialogue of the 3 villains in space - there's no air up there, so they shouldn't be able to talk! But then, at the very last, you had the scene of them deciding to go to earth, talking merrily on the moon. I really feel you can lose this scene without any problem. If we see them flying towards earth, we'll assume the rest. And then you can preserve the 'no talking in space' illusion. (as opposed to a trick. which is something a whore does for money).
- I felt there was room for some added sound effects to add drama to the 'clark losing his power scene', to add to the tension before the explosions start.
- I had no problem with Luthor arriving late in the piece... it's a shame that he knows where the fortress of solitude is though... I guess we can assume, being the greatest criminal mind in the universe, that he devised a way to figure it out. So at the end of the day, this is no problem.
- The line "Then die as you deserve to" sounds odd without the lines preceding it. It would make more sense to cut the "then", and just have the dialogue be "you are a coward, like your father before you. Die as you deserve to".
- I would cut Non being trapped by the very weak looking spire. There is no way in the world that would trap him.
- Lastly, there is a spelling mistake (The word 'ahead') in the alternative ending special feature, and a 20 second black hole in between the text and the actual footage. btw, I am very glad you chose the ending that you did! It is quite brilliant.

Well done Jelio and L8wrtr, this is really a gift to all of us Superman fans, and finally delivers a worthy combined edit of Superman 1 and 2. 10/10

I really liked this fanedit. Definitely replaces Supes 1 and 2 for me.

Audio/Video Quality

It was good. Not crystal clear but considering the movies are movies from the late 70's and early 80's that's understandable.

Audio/Video Editing

Flawless in my opinion. Not one instance that a cut is noticable.

Narrative

Great except for one thing: How does Lex Luthor know Jor-El and The Fortress of Solitude? He hasn't been there yet. The newspaper? No, it never mentioned Jor-El. If we exclude that, the narrative amazingly works!

Enjoyment

Despite my Lex nitpick, I enjoyed this the whole time. It was so fun! No time-travel, no magic kiss, no stupid landgrabbing (even Superman Returns' landgrabbing made more sense!) and surprisingly the Superman Returns Krypton establishing shot worked perfectly!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to the people who want a near perfect Superman movie!

I fucking loved this. Something about seeing the most magical and super of the Superman thespians in an intelligently constructed story makes Son of Jor-El my favorite Superman movie ever, theatrical or fanedited. What was kept, works. What was jettisoned ain't missed. End result: a Supes movie with a higher proportion of Supermanness, which is what we mubi-watching mofos want.

Even the alternate ending, included as a supplemental piece, was edited well.

Sure, there are a few flaws, which others have mentioned and won't be reiterated here. Mofo, please. Don't let these dissuade you, because warts and all, this fanedit is a joy to watch.

This is old, but I recently watched this and wanted to drop my thoughts. For years, I've felt like Superman (1978) was so close to being the perfect comic book movie. The first half and Reeve's performance are incredibly mythic. The camp really brings it down though. I always thought combining the beautiful Smallville sections with the more dramatic Superman II would be interesting. This edit does that and it's close to becoming my definitive Superman movie. By stripping most of the camp and focusing on the core character of Clark Kent, the editor really is able to create this character driven piece. The recurrent theme of Clark's humanity and destiny (presented to us in the form of Jor-El), coupled with the strong focus on the Lois relationship, makes this feel like one coherent movie. Importantly, it's never disrespectful to the source material. It's fun, but it's also mythic and powerful. That new ending scene is fantastic. I also liked the looming threat of Zod that was present throughout the movie. It's a really creative device that ties both movies together and adds momentum.

As some have mentioned, the big problem that really signals that this is actually made up of 2 longer movies is the sudden appearance of Lex. It does feel out of place. The structure is also a bit weird. As I said, adding these recurring scenes of Zod and Co. was a good way to break up the plain structure of the first two-thirds. Some scenes feel like they should be closer together though. I think the part on the moon feels pretty awkward as is. We see Zod on the moon. We go back to the A-plot for 30 minutes or so. We come back and they're still on the moon. That feeling of momentum is lost. I would also personally add in some extra scenes in those first 2 hours. Since the camp and all subplots have been stripped out of the Superman I and Superman II Niagara scenes, the movie gains a lot of dignity. Unfortunately, it also loses a bit of the "super." We have this core plot about Lois and Clark with nothing else until Zod arrives on Earth. It's nice, but the singular focus is a bit monotonous and it feels a little like we're watching a compilation of Clark/Lois scenes instead of a fully fledged movie. I think adding in some fat (the cut scenes from Superman I) would round it out a bit. This will also give the impression that some time has passed. Currently, it feels like the whole movie takes place in a week.

Aside from those points, this is a fantastic edit. I'll definitely rewatch it L8wrtr ever revisit it.

Review by TMBTM — December 29, 2010 @ 5:56 pm

Okay, I’ve seen Son of Jor El.
I must say that this edit is very good, the pace is wonderful,
the connection between the two movies is very smart and well done.
The opening credits are great, the editing work during all the movie was good,
minus a little sound problem (or at least it felt like this to me) when Jor El begins to tell the story of Krypton.
The “back the moon” scene worked well for me. Sure the passing of time is a bit odd, but it flows well in the movie.
The story between Lois and Clark worked wonderfuly to me also.

In fact I loved everything in this edit exept one thing, and it is… drum roll…
Lex Luthor, you got it. I’m not very original with this one!
Well, I love Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor, I’m glad he’s in this edit.
But in a great movie you don’t throw a character with such knowledge about the plot that’s going on without some explanations (even the biggest criminal brain in the world! ) specialy if he appears only in the third act of the movie.
but well, if there are no scene to work with to add those explanations, then I guess this edit do the best possible with what’s available.
So this is the only thing that prevent this great edit to be a great movie, to me.

That said it did not prevent me to really enjoyed it and I can easily recommend it to every Superman’s fans.
You will sure be pleased

(side note: cutting the credits to insert the last bar scene, then cut back to the credits did not work very well to me.)