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Superman Resolved

b3nmitchell

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Fanedit Name: Superman Resolved
Faneditor Name: b3nmitchell
Tagline: The REquel that SHOULD have been.
Original Movie Title: Superman Returns
Genre: Action, Adventure, Superheroes
Franchise: Superman
Fanedit Type: FanFix

Original Release Date:
2006
Original Running Time: 154
Fanedit Release Date: March 2013
Fanedit Running Time (Min):
120
Time Cut (Min): 34

Available in HD?
Yes

Brief Synopsis:
This edit was intended to be the “Requel that should have been”, a legitimate end cap to the original Superman Movies. My hope is that this will become your go to version, and great effort has been put in to make the story as seamless and engaging as possible. Enjoy!

Intention:
As a huge fan of the original Superman franchise I, like many others, felt that these movies deserved a solid finale. Superman Returns got us close, but there were issues with a bloated runtime, melodramatic characters, and anticlimactic resolution. This bold edit addresses those issues using every editing trick in the book to deliver the viewer a seamless movie experience with an exciting pace, appealing characters, and an engaging story with a satisfying ending. Superman Resolved is everything a successful Superman movie should be.

Editing Details:
My goal was to edit for dialogue to cut down on the melodramatic parts where the acting goes “over the top” so to speak, the idea being to improve the performances, make the characters more “true” and more appealing. My editing goal as far as pacing was achieved by trimming scenes throughout the movie, as well as re-sequencing entire sections of the movie to dramatically change the narrative.

Cuts and Additions:
I deleted the Vanderworth sequence where Luthor swindles the old woman out of her money. It was unnecessary to establish Luthor has money. In the original Superman movie, we cut in on Lex already well off, it's the same here. He's out of prison; he has means because he's the conniving Lex Luthor. No reason to show a detailed story of how he got a few bucks, it's uninteresting and keeps us from the action.

I cut in after the credits to Ma Kent cleaning up- I removed the gentleman caller as well as the shots of the board game that were in the foreground in order to not raise questions regarding who may have been there. In this edit she is alone, making Clark's return much more important.

I cut the entire memory sequence Clark has, it was unnecessary- having already been covered in the first movie and it seemed glommed on, like a lot of things in the original cut of this movie.

We first see Lex and crew in the boat on their way to the Fortress of Solitude, getting right to the action and the catalyst of the story.

Clark returns to work, Lex returns to the Vanderworth mansion to test the crystal.

The next sequence of the blackout/plane/shuttle catastrophe has been heavily edited for pacing, and to trim the awful dialogue that makes you begin hate Lois Lane. Hopefully these cuts help save her character from being annoying. I also cut Lois feinting and sliding down the plane ramp.

I did a couple of cuts during the exposition scenes during the "superman returns" sequence for pacing.

I cut the Superman as a creepy stalker, totally bypassed the scene at Lois's house and go directly from Lois leaving in the taxi to superman going to work fighting crime, because damn it that's what we want to see, and that stalker stuff is out of character for Superman.

I left the crime fighting sequence as is, it's one of the few sequences in the movie that didn't bother me.

After superman and Lois's interview, I cut directly to superman finding his Fortress of Solitude has been ransacked, and Lois gets to her blackout story and hits the road- edited for pacing and removed redundant information.

Lois gets on the boat much quicker with her son. Cut the cheesy, for-the-trailer dialogue "Lex Luthor", "Lois Lane", the characters saying each other’s names. It detracts from the drama and tension of the scene. Their visual reactions alone are ten times better.

I heavily trimmed Luthor’s exposition scene (where he yells “wrong!” etc.) down to the bare minimum so that the audience knows what’s going on without the melodrama.

This is where I diverge a great deal from previous fan edits. It doesn't bother me that Jason is Superman's son, just how they made him weak, just as the original edit of "Superman Returns" makes Superman too weak as well. In my version I totally cut out Richard's rescue sequence. Now Jason opens the door by himself, continuing with the idea that he has unlocked his superpowers instead of them being hit-or-miss like in the original. I edited in some shots of Superman sort of listening in on Jason's success and, knowing him and Lois are safe, Superman then leaves to confront Lex on the new Continent. It speeds up the pace of the movie, and makes Jason's character a lot more important- he saves him and his mother! -That ties in with the "Son becomes the Father and the Father becomes the Son" theme that is echoed throughout the movie.

I took airplane footage from all of the rest of the film and put together an “original” rescue sequence where Richard rescues Jason and Lois successfully after Jason gets Lois and himself out of the boat. This is a newer edit, it was necessary to bridge the most major gap on the narrative that my alternate story had, namely, the audience would have to make the leap that Lois and Jason make it home somehow. Now we know, and it took a lot of editing tricks to make it work, but much to my relief, it does.

The next big change I made is that Luthor no longer stabs Superman in the back with the Kryptonite shard. The whole freaking continent is infused with Kryptonite. So in this edit, Lex and his henchmen beat Superman within an inch of his life, and Lex throws Superman over the cliff. This results in being able to cut out an entire unnecessary sequence of the movie and increase the pacing while decreasing the bloated runtime.

Superman has a baptism/rebirth in the ocean takes to the air and rejuvenates in the sun, then goes right into the climax of the story, where he lifts the entire continent and hurls it into space. I cut the whole airplane rescue of superman and pulling out the dagger sequence, of course, because Jason and Lois are now rescued, and superman never gets stabbed.

I heavily edited/trimmed the resolution sequence after Superman launches the Kryptonite continent into space. In my first go, I had cut the entire sequence of Superman falling to Earth and the Hospital, but it left the ending a bit anti-climactic, so I went in and heavily edited the sequence, and I mean heavy! Technically it worked out to be one of the best parts of the movie, and it seamlessly bridged a narrative gap that the first version of the edit created.

After Superman visits his son in the bedroom I cut having Jason run to the window and yell "Goodnight Superman" because it really detracted from the mood of the scene.

Other various pacing and dialogue edits throughout the movie.

Release Information
NTSC DVD-5
MP4

Special Features
Official trailer, Faneditor Commentary.

Special Thanks
My wife, Kendra. Last Survivor, Neglify.

Cover Art
superman_resolved_3Dview.jpg
 

BladeRunner391

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Congratulations on the release! Superman Returns has always been a disappointment, and your cut looks like a major step in the right direction. You seem like a talented editor, and I hope you will continue to contribute to the community. :)
 

LastSurvivor

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Congratulations Ben on getting this released :) Here's my review, also posted on the edit's main page on IFDB. Had great fun with the edit....

Superman Resolved - review...

Over the last 18 months I have becomes quite a comic book fan and have taken to collecting various titles - some mainstream, such as from the DC and Marvel stables, but others of the more obscure variety. It's taken a long time to get into the medium properly, but truth be told, if there was one reason as to why I finally took the plunge, it has to be Superman. He's always been my favourite superhero, right from the days of having grown up watching Christopher Reeve to the more recent escapades of Tom Welling in the TV series Smallville. Batman may well be darker, and ultimately more interesting, but there's something about Kal-el, the Kryptonian brought up on a farm in Kansas, which keeps me coming back time and time again.

In 2005, when Bryan Singer's Superman Returns was released I could barely contain my enthusiasm. Not only was this the first Superman movie for almost 20 years, but it was one which would go to great lengths to pay close homage to Warner's first two Superman movies. It was almost as if the world wasn't ready for a completely new take on the character, such was Christopher Reeve's remarkable legacy which he left us with. Indeed, at the time I loved the movie. I thought Brandon Routh did an amazing job in the title role, Singer's direction was more or less on the money and I couldn't stop listening to the fantastic soundtrack from John Ottman. Even if I had know what fanediting was back then, I would never say Superman Returns was a prime candidate. That's how bowled over I was.

Hindsight however is a wonderful thing. In the years since and many viewings later, whilst I am still very fond of the movie, I can see Singer's movie is certainly not without its fair share of problems. b3nmitchell's first foray into the world of fanediting was therefore a prime opportunity to see some of these problems addressed and hopefully rectified.

Having been fortunate enough to see a couple of work-prints, I knew off the bat that this was going to be a winner. As Ben alludes to in his entertaining and informative commentary, the intention with Superman Resolved was to really strip back the fat of the film, to have less moments of over exposition or needless dialogue which tried too hard to make sure the viewer knew exactly what was going on - as the saying goes... "sometimes less is more". Ben's editing choices reflect this expertly. Indeed, viewing the initial work-print I was struck with how vigorously he approached the editing of Superman Returns; not that he recklessly cut the picture to ribbons - far from it actually - but just in how fearlessly he tried to refocus the film so its central story came through clearer and stronger. It came as no surprise to me to learn that he's currently taking a film degree, as for a first time faneditor there's no doubt that he's fully confident of his abilities.

The greatest compliment for any editor surely has to be when it's said that their art is almost invisible. Now, I'm not saying that such a statement can be bestowed upon Superman Resolved 100% of the time, but certainly for the most part I was happily sitting back watching and just thinking, "Okay, what has he actually cut here?". This is especially the case for the trimming of some of the various character's lines, particularly those of Lois Lane. Here, Lois is not nearly as unlikeable or cold. Okay, she's not that loveable either, but there's some impressive invisible editing which helps redress the balance of the character's behavior towards Superman. Excellent stuff.

I also liked the idea of fully embracing the "Father and son" side of the story. Whatever you make of little Jason's role in Superman Returns, there's no taking away the skill in which Ben has slightly changed a few lines and behaviors here and there to really make the whole relationship between Superman and Jason resonate stronger than it did in Singer's cut.

The heaviest editing comes during the film's last act, and whilst there is perhaps one moment which feels a little off-kilter during the restructured "plane rescue" sequence, for the most part this is skillfully handled and as good as can be expected with the footage available.

Video quality on the DVD version I watched was top-notch, and the same goes for a nicely balanced 5.1 soundtrack. Even the commentary deserves extra praise, as it's clearly been recorded on a very good microphone/sound set up - very professional.

So, has b3nmitchell restructured Singer's film into a movie which can proudly sit alongside the Donner's classics, Superman I and II? Maybe. If not, then it must come about as close as one could wish to get. One thing's for sure. It's an excellent debut edit and one which is quite honestly my "go to" version of the film now. Superman Resolved indeed.
 

Gaith

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I don't own a copy of Returns, b3n, but if you'd be interested in uploading your commentary separately, I'd be interested in giving that a listen. :)
 

b3nmitchell

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Sure, I can upload a audio file of the commentary. I'll sort that out tonight, after homework, and PM you about it.

Update: done.
 

b3nmitchell

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Just wanted to be clear that the DVD is released, and I've got several sources to choose from. PM me for details. Enjoy! :D
 

tranzor

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b3nmitchell

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tranzor

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b3nmitchell said:
Thanks Tranzor,

I fixed the problem with rapidshare, and I'll update the links very shortly. I appreciate the info!

Ben

and thank you since I want to see this edit. The only thing in the guide I wish was worded differently is the checking of the boxes because you do not want this box checked: "3. Upload: Users are allowed to upload data to this folder". Some people have checked that box and this means anyone can upload whatever they like to your account, so not checking that is a must
 

hcmisfit61

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Just in case....here's my review - Cool edit. Enjoyed watching it. Great quality and editing. Don't miss this one!
 

hcmisfit61

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Okay....one more comment. I LOVE the correlation between the music and the scenes. Very well done! If the trailer to Superman Returns was your edit, I would've gone to see the movie in the theater. The audio is fantastic!
 

hcmisfit61

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:D Okay, just one more comment. My husband went blitzing through the room and I had him watch it. He is a big Superman fan! He has given you 2 thumbs up and I showed him the reviews and he said "Ten......all the way!". Now, he's in a Superman mood, so it looks like movie night on the dvd player during dinner.
 

b3nmitchell

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Thanks! That gives me an an idea. I think I'll host an AMA/discussion of the project here on the board. Feel free to post questions or comments and I'll do my best to answer and/or keep the discussion rolling! Thanks again, everyone, for your interest, this has been a popular release, and Superman Resolved has far exceeded my expectations in that regard, so I'm happy to keep the party rolling here. :)
 

b3nmitchell

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hcmisfit61 said:
Loved the edit. Great job. Good work. Anymore in the works?:-D

Thanks so much for the kind words. Well, without tipping my cards here, I do have a few ideas, films that could use some help, but haven't been done to death already. Whatever it is, I want to be sure that it really needs a fanfix type of edit, and that I'm not doing it JUST to do it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And anyone who liked the release too- don't forget to vote in the fanedit of the month poll, and leave a review, there's some stiff competition, so every vote counts!

My sincere thanks,

Ben
 

TV's Frink

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hcmisfit61 said:
Loved the edit. Great job. Good work. Anymore in the works?:-D

hcmisfit61 said:
Just in case....here's my review - Cool edit. Enjoyed watching it. Great quality and editing. Don't miss this one!

hcmisfit61 said:
Oh, yeah....and I gave you 10s down the board.

hcmisfit61 said:
Okay....one more comment. I LOVE the correlation between the music and the scenes. Very well done! If the trailer to Superman Returns was your edit, I would've gone to see the movie in the theater. The audio is fantastic!

hcmisfit61 said:
:D Okay, just one more comment. My husband went blitzing through the room and I had him watch it. He is a big Superman fan! He has given you 2 thumbs up and I showed him the reviews and he said "Ten......all the way!". Now, he's in a Superman mood, so it looks like movie night on the dvd player during dinner.

First off, welcome to the site.

Now then, just as a minor forum etiquette thing, you can always edit your post to add more thoughts rather than making multiple posts. Thanks.
 

Gaith

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Okay, here's a question: did you ever consider using Booshman's color corrections? :)
 

Silentpete

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Hey, I watched your edit and liked it for the most part. You made different choices than I would have, but that's why we do the fan edits, isn't it? I thought your technical skill was pretty good, though I did spot at an audio blip here or there that seems to stick out. But you did a fantastic job!
 

bionicbob

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As many of my fellow forum members know, I LOVE SUPERMAN! LOVE HIM!!! :love:
After a certain bionic astronaut, he is my ultimate hero.:D


And I even enjoy SUPERMAN RETURNS. I don't love it as much I want to, but I do appreciate it for some wonderful moments.


I have watched many Superman Returns fan edits over the years, and I can say this latest one is very good.
Not perfect, and not my preferred fan edit, but it is good.


The editor shows strong storytelling ability, trimming much of the fat and exposition without losing the emotional core of the story. Lois is slightly less annoying which is very good. I think Lex may have been slightly over edited, but Spacey's performance is a tricky balancing act to edit with his mood swings from menacing to over the top ham. Also, I missed that there was no sense of closure for Lex in this version.


The boldest portion of the edit is the final act and while I like the concept, I am afraid for me the execution does not work. It is choppy and is betrayed by uneven audio changes and cuts. I give kudos for attempting the idea but there was just not enough source material to make clear to me as a viewer what was happening.


The video quality was very good but I noticed a few places where the audio transitions or fade-ins could have been smoother.


All in all, a nice piece of work from a very promising new editor. I look forward to see what he does next. :)
 
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