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Aquaman: De-Marvelized Edition

DriggyDriggs

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Hello, all! It's been a while.

I'm currently working on a new fan edit for James Wan's Aquaman. Like many DC fans I enjoyed the overall story and visuals of the film, but was very frustrated to find so much out of place humor. Either the jokes went too long past what would have been a good punch line, were totally juvenile, or they undercut emotionally sincere moments because the film was afraid of being too serious. Plus, some of the soundtrack choices were pretty cringe-inducing.

For now, I'm calling it the De-Marvelized Edition because I felt like the humor was an attempt to copy the Marvel formula and likely forced on Wan by the studio. 

This fan-edit will attempt to correct that and provide a better watching experience for those who would have liked the material to be taken a little more seriously. I'm not really interested in changing the flashback or story structure too much. This edit will mainly focus on tone. I'm trying to better capture the intended tone of Arthurian Legend meets Indiana Jones meets Underwater Star Wars.

Cut So Far (UPDATED 4/10/19):

  • "...so you can KILL that sonuva bitch!" (Now cuts after "you need to live!" and the reason is implied rather than being so on the nose. Scene just feels better emotionally without that.)
  • Biker selfies in the bar
  • Arthur sniffs his armpits and winces
  • "I already got one of those."
  • Pros & Cons hologram screen before coliseum fight
  • "We got a bogie on our six! BAD GUYS BEHIND US! AAAAAHHHHH!" (Seriously why is he this childishly scared)
  • Mera telling Arthur to shut up.
  • Arthur: "I just saved your life." Mera: "I saved yours first!"
  • Ocean to Ocean by Pit Bull (replaced with more tonally appropriate "sahara desert" music, plus new sound fx)
  • The Depeche Mode song during the Black Manta Suit Building Montage (replaced with more menacing music from the soundtrack and new sound fx)
  • Arthur and Mera jumping out of the airplane.
  • Arthur talking about jumping out of the airplane (since it was cut)
  • "If you're the next true king we're screwed."
  • "Could've just peed on it."
  • "Something Something Trident"
  • Mera and Arthur eating roses.
  • The pinocchio book and more nagging from Mera.
  • "Mi Scusi"
  • The toilet bowl gag
  • The exchange with his mother about needing a hero instead of a king. It was just way too on the nose. Now she asks him if he's afraid, he says yes, she tells him he's ready, then he goes in. We don't need to be spoon-fed the hero theme. We get it.
  • Mera's "People of Atlantis" speech at the end. Her delivery was so cringy and forced she wasn't selling it. So now after they take away Orm, Nereus starts a "Hail to the King" chant and the moment doesn't seem as forced as before.
New:

  • Brand new color grading throughout to give this a more mature look, as I thought this movie was way oversaturated and bright at times.

Anyway, that's it so far. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.
 

Butcher24fps

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I feel like the music for the Depeche Mode song works, until the vocals come in. Tonally, the vocals do not fit the scene. Perhaps there is an instrumental version of it somewhere? Otherwise if you can cut it, I say cut it. I like the other ideas for your edit though! I look forward to seeing it!



DriggyDriggs said:
Hello, all! It's been a while.

I'm currently working on a new fan edit for James Wan's Aquaman. Like many DC fans I enjoyed the overall story and visuals of the film, but was very frustrated to find so much out of place humor. Either the jokes went too long past what would have been a good punch line, were totally juvenile, or they undercut emotionally sincere moments because the film was afraid of being too serious. Plus, some of the soundtrack choices were pretty cringe-inducing.

For now, I'm calling it the De-Marvelized Edition because I felt like the humor was an attempt to copy the Marvel formula and likely forced on Wan by the studio. 

This fan-edit will attempt to correct that and provide a better watching experience for those who would have liked the material to be taken a little more seriously. I'm not really interested in changing the flashback or story structure too much. This edit will mainly focus on tone. I'm trying to better capture the intended tone of Arthurian Legend meets Indiana Jones meets Underwater Star Wars.

Cut So Far:

  • Biker selfies in the bar
  • Arthur sniffs his armpits and winces
  • Pros & Cons hologram screen before coliseum fight
  • "We got a bogie on our six! BAD GUYS BEHIND US! AAAAAHHHHH!" (Seriously why is he this childishly scared)
  • Mera telling Arthur to shut up.
  • Arthur: "I just saved your life." Mera: "I saved yours first!"
  • Ocean to Ocean by Pit Bull (replaced with more tonally appropriate "sahara desert" music, plus new sound fx)
  • Arthur and Mera jumping out of the airplane.
  • Arthur talking about jumping out of the airplane (since it was cut)
  • "If you're the next true king we're screwed."
  • "Could've just peed on it."
  • "Something Something Trident"
  • "Mi Scusi"
  • The toilet bowl gag
Might cut but not sure:

  • The Depeche Mode song over the Black Manta suit building montage. (Would replace with instrumental music, but there are A LOT of sound fx here I'm not sure I could replicate. So I may not cut it.)

Anyway, that's it so far. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome. Do you think I should cut the Depeche Mode song?

Thanks.
 

DriggyDriggs

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Butcher24fps said:
I feel like the music for the Depeche Mode song works, until the vocals come in. Tonally, the vocals do not fit the scene. Perhaps there is an instrumental version of it somewhere? Otherwise if you can cut it, I say cut it. I like the other ideas for your edit though! I look forward to seeing it!

Good thinking, actually. Just looked it up and found an instrumental karaoke track for it. The music really is good and it fits with the rest of the movie score's 80's tech vibe, but the use of love song lyrics for this revenge fueled montage really baffled me. My only issue now is figuring out all the sound fx for him working.
 

DonKamillo

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Watched the movie today and liked it more than expected. The song choices were indeed cringy, particularly the Pit Bull song and "She's a Mystery to Me" by Roy Orbison playing when Arthur and Mera arrive in Italy.

Was actually thinking of doing a fan edit myself just because of those musical choices  :D

My idea would have also been to turn the movie into a prequel of Justice League by cutting one line where Mera says something about him defeating Steppenwolf and adding an after credits scene (the one from Justice League where Bruce visits Arthur to recruit him) and maybe including the scene from JL were he meets her for the first time somewhere in the beginning of the movie.

Regarding Black Manta, I'd probably cut him out completely, focusing on Orm as the only villain. Black Manta is an interesting character for sure but after his introduction he practically disappeared for the whole rest of the movie except for maybe three scenes (including the midcredit scene).
 

DriggyDriggs

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DonKamillo said:
Watched the movie today and liked it more than expected. The song choices were indeed cringy, particularly the Pit Bull song and "She's a Mystery to Me" by Roy Orbison playing when Arthur and Mera arrive in Italy.

Was actually thinking of doing a fan edit myself just because of those musical choices  :D

My idea would have also been to turn the movie into a prequel of Justice League by cutting one line where Mera says something about him defeating Steppenwolf and adding an after credits scene (the one from Justice League where Bruce visits Arthur to recruit him) and maybe including the scene from JL were he meets her for the first time somewhere in the beginning of the movie.


I didn't mind the song in Italy because it's tonally appropriate for the scene. Besides, there's a whole bunch of dialogue and background sounds that would be hard to mix with a fan edit. I'd need to somehow remove the music completely first and unfortunately they don't put it on a separate track. I might play with it a little to see what I can do though.

I'm not sure the movie would really work as a prequel, since he doesn't have King Atlan's armor in JL, plus he's still using his mother's quindent, which he breaks in his fight with Orm, and he's still an outsider and a drunk in that film.
 

DonKamillo

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DriggyDriggs said:
I'm not sure it would really work as a prequel, since he doesn't have King Atlan's armor in JL, plus he's still using his mother's quindent, which he breaks in his fight with Orm, and he's still an outsider and a drunk in that film.

Yeah that would be a problem but if you forget the JL altogether you can continue with the next JL movie (if there will be one) and miss nothing regarding Aquaman. Of course one would have to give the Flash movie the same treatment (taking the recruitment scene from JL and other good scenes) etc.
 

hbenthow

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DriggyDriggs said:
"We got a bogie on our six! BAD GUYS BEHIND US! AAAAAHHHHH!" (Seriously why is he this childishly scared)

What about just trimming the end where he panics and his voice gets high-pitched? I like the "We got a bogey on our six!" "What does that mean?" exchange, and I think that it can be kept while cutting out the overly panicky bit.

Arthur and Mera jumping out of the airplane.

I know that the scene is a bit silly, but I thought that this was one of humorous bits that worked quite well.

To be fair, seeing them jump out of the airplane does raise the question of how they got to Sicily so fast afterward, though. Leaving it in and cutting it each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

"Mi Scusi"

What's wrong with that line? Plus, won't cutting that make the editing jumpy, due to Black Manta being on the floor, then suddenly being up and kicking Arthur?

The toilet bowl gag

I found that scene to be one of the few times that a toilet gag has actually been pretty clever.

Do you think I should cut the Depeche Mode song?

I'd recommend it. I'm not sure what orchestral music would work well with the scene (although I'm sure something could be found), but I did come up with an idea for a song that I think would make an improvement over the Depeche Mode song.

Here are some suggestions that I made in the general fanedit ideas thread:

hbenthow said:
My recommendations for an edit would include:


  • Remove the Steppenwolf and Justice League references toward the beginning. They were put there just to avoid confusing audiences about where this movie fits in the timeline, and have no direct bearing on the story. The more standalone this movie feels, the better.
  • Remove the biker selfie gag.
  • Possibly cut Arthur and Mera's back-and-forth about body odor and definitely cut the the armpit-smelling gag.
  • Remove the Pitbull song and replace it with orchestral music.
  • If possible, remove the romantic comedy music from the audio in the scene of Arthur and Mera bickering.
  • Maybe cut the "You could have just peed on it" joke. (On the one hand, I found Mera's reaction amusing, on the other hand, the scene might flow better if the entire pause for that joke could be cut and the scene went straight from the gears turning to the hologram appearing, with no joking in-between.)
  • Possibly cut the little girl giving Mera the book. (On the one hand, the bit between Arthur and Mera that follows is funny, but on the other, the fact that the girl just so happens to have a picture-book of "Pinoccio" and gives it to Mera is a bit too convenient.)
  • Replace the Depeche Mode song that plays during Black Manta's suit-building montage with something better. When thinking about what could make a suitable replacement, one particular song came to mind, and I tried to see if it would fit. Not only did it fit, but I find that it perfectly suits the scene and Black Manta's character. Here's my rough test (password is fanedit.org):
 

DriggyDriggs

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hbenthow said:
DriggyDriggs said:
"We got a bogie on our six! BAD GUYS BEHIND US! AAAAAHHHHH!" (Seriously why is he this childishly scared)

What about just trimming the end where he panics and his voice gets high-pitched? I like the "We got a bogey on our six!" "What does that mean?" exchange, and I think that it can be kept while cutting out the overly panicky bit.

Arthur and Mera jumping out of the airplane.

I know that the scene is a bit silly, but I thought that this was one of humorous bits that worked quite well.

To be fair, seeing them jump out of the airplane does raise the question of how they got to Sicily so fast afterward, though. Leaving it in and cutting it each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

"Mi Scusi"

What's wrong with that line? Plus, won't cutting that make the editing jumpy, due to Black Manta being on the floor, then suddenly being up and kicking Arthur?

The toilet bowl gag

I found that scene to be one of the few times that a toilet gag has actually been pretty clever.

Do you think I should cut the Depeche Mode song?

I'd recommend it. I'm not sure what orchestral music would work well with the scene (although I'm sure something could be found), but I did come up with an idea for a song that I think would make an improvement over the Depeche Mode song.

The way I have it right now that bit of the underwater chase cuts after "shit happens" and it actually works really well. The guy that was just surfing through the air on a parademon in the last movie shouldn't be acting like a scared little kid.

The airplane jumping is cut because not only is it silly and raises questions like you said, but I feel like it was just added just for trailer fodder so they could say, "See? This movie is FUN!"

I cut the "mi scusi" because I actually rolled my eyes in the theater. I thought it was too much and the delivery was meh. The way I cut it was having the blade go to the ceiling and then it immediately cuts to the roundhouse kick from Manta. He never goes to the floor.

The toilet scene, while it makes sense for the low born Atlantians, was ultimately still pretty juvenile. My 5 year olds would laugh at it, but on my rewatches I wish it wasn't there.
 

hbenthow

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DriggyDriggs said:
The way I have it right now that bit of the underwater chase cuts after "shit happens" and it actually works really well. The guy that was just surfing through the air on a parademon in the last movie shouldn't be acting like a scared little kid.

The airplane jumping is cut because not only is it silly and raises questions like you said, but I feel like it was just added just for trailer fodder so they could say, "See? This movie is FUN!"

I cut the "mi scusi" because I actually rolled my eyes in the theater. I thought it was too much and the delivery was meh. The way I cut it was having the blade go to the ceiling and then it immediately cuts to the roundhouse kick from Manta. He never goes to the floor.

The toilet scene, while it makes sense for the low born Atlantians, was ultimately still pretty juvenile. My 5 year olds would laugh at it, but on my rewatches I wish it wasn't there.

Good points. (Personally, I still like the toilet scene, but I can see why you don't.)

What are your thoughts on my suggestions regarding the "Justice League" references and the bit with the girl giving Mera the book?

Are you only cutting the armpit-smelling gag itself, or also the talk about body odor beforehand?

Have you found a suitable piece of music for the Africa arrival scene yet? If so, what is the particular piece of music? Also, what do you think of my suggestion regarding a possible replacement for the Depeche Mode song?
 

DriggyDriggs

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hbenthow said:
Good points. (Personally, I still like the toilet scene, but I can see why you don't.)

What are your thoughts on my suggestions regarding the "Justice League" references and the bit with the girl giving Mera the book?

Are you only cutting the armpit-smelling gag itself, or also the talk about body odor beforehand?

Have you found a suitable piece of music for the Africa arrival scene yet? If so, what is the particular piece of music? Also, what do you think of my suggestion regarding a possible replacement for the Depeche Mode song?

I won't be cutting references to JL. I don't really see the problem. It's a fair point Mera makes. I'm considering cutting the book.

Just the pit smell. I thought the "that'd be an improvement" was somewhat decent banter., but him smelling his pits was just carrying it a little too far.

On the Sahara music. Yes, I found some instrumental "sahara desert" style music. I also found an instrumental version of the Depeche Mode song. It works way better without the love song lyrics and fits the 80s tech vibe of the rest of the score.
 

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A massive improvement, well done!

Your cut list looks great and would certainly improve the seriousness of the movie and re-watches. 

I would keep the Italy music, I think its suits the scene well. 

I would also:

[font=Arial, sans-serif]remove Nicole Kidman eating the fish [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]&[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif][size=small][font=Arial, sans-serif]cut out the entire scene of them walking in the desert and cut straight to them falling into the sand and sliding into the desert.[/font][/font][/size]

[font=Arial, sans-serif][size=small][font=Arial, sans-serif]Just my thoughts though. Looking forward to see your finished edit!!! [/font][/font][/size]
 

Taz3105

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A massive improvement, well done!

Your cut list looks great and would certainly improve the seriousness of the movie and re-watches. 

I would keep the Italy music, I think it suits the scene well. 

I would also remove Nicole Kidman eating the goldfish and possibly cut out the entire scene of them walking in the desert and cut straight to them failing into the sand and sliding ect.

Just my thoughts however. Looking forward to see your edit!!!
 

drew4531x

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DriggyDriggs said:
Sahara Clip with No Pit Bull Song.


That is awesome without the Pitbull bit!

Suggestion though (feel free to ignore) - maybe try speeding up the bit where they walk out of the ocean a bit? The fact that there's slow motion kinda fits with Wan's jokey 'Fast and Furious' vibe, but not with the score that's now there, IMO. I'm not even sure how slowed down it is, but Mera's walk now looks a little out of place.

Again, IMO - you're the editor!  :p Either way, great work. Can't wait to see this one.
 

DriggyDriggs

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Okay,  I need opinions...

I decided to remove the Depeche Mode song and redo the music (and consequently the sound fx) in the Black Manta suit building montage, but I made two different versions.

In the first version I used an instrumental of the Depeche Mode song:


In the second version I used an edited segment of the Black Manta theme from the official soundtrack:


Which one do you guys think works better?
 

hbenthow

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I prefer the second one. It adds a growing sense of menace and makes Black Manta seem more intimidating.

The scene is about a rage-filled pirate building a weapon with which to become a supervillain and wreak vengeance on our hero. The Depeche Mode song (even in instrumental form) doesn't really sell that idea. Also, since the scene portrays the process by which he becomes Black Manta rather than just the mere revenge-seeking pirate he was before, it's fitting for it to feature the Black Manta theme.
 

Taz3105

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Second one for me also, it comes across as more menacing and seems to fit the character better.
 

DriggyDriggs

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Another note...I think I'm pretty much going to leave the Sicily marketplace scene alone apart from one change: I'm cutting the Pinocchio book. Now the scene ends after she stares at him. The pinocchio book is just too big a coincidence, and her nagging him about risking their lives based on a children's book just totally kills the romantic tension.
 
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