Superman: Son of Jor-El

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(Updated: September 12, 2012)
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9.7
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8.0
Review by Kal-El — August 18, 2011 @ 1:10 am

Being a huge fan of everything Superman related, I already downloaded this upon release, but failed to watch it ever since. Now the time has finally come, and I hereby present my review.
_____________________________________
TECHNICAL ASPECTS

VIDEO:
No rough cuts or anything of that kind, whatsoever. Flawlessly executed.
Overall: 5 out of 5 stars

AUDIO:
Didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.
Overall:
5 out of 5 stars

PRESENTATION:
Clean and simple. Effective too. Quite funny to see the \CapedWonder\ logo on the Special Features menu. I instinctively knew where that came from :-)
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

THE EDIT ITSELF:
A few mishaps caught my eye, so I’ll detail them all below:

During the rogue rocket scene, Superman’s fly by scene starts at night,
and immediately shifts to daytime when he’s on to the rocket.

The front page of the newspaper Lois is holding first shows the \How I Spent the Night With Superman\ article, but in the next shot (from Superman II), the front page shows \Lex Luthor’s Scheme Bombs, Superman Saves Nation\.

The first encounter on the moon was also over 20 minutes before the second encounter, where they destroyed the lunar lander. It’s not that big a thing, but it was kind of odd to jump back to the moon all of a sudden, after all that time on Earth.

I’m glad Lois’ second try to plunge herself into revealing Clark has been removed, in favour of her plot to reveal Superman’s identity through use of blank bullets. The obvious fault of Richard Donner footage remains (Reeve’s hairline), but that doesn’t make any difference. It’s material of epic proportions. Nevertheless, as mentioned by Stankpac, it all happens too fast. She \knew all along\, when only a single day had passed. I was pleased to see Lois figuring it out so fast, but this was a tad too much. It still beats Superman Returns though. Stupid broad.

The baffled fisherman has been removed from the Kryptonian’s entrance onto Earth. Perfect.

To my horror, the one scene I had hoped removed, was not only intact, but the wrong version as well… Superman slept with Lois BEFORE losing his powers. That leads straight into Superman Return’s events, and we all know how I feel about that one. Oh well…

The guy who was standing in the corner of the diner, near the flower pot above a beaten Clark, disappeared from the following angle when Lois helped Clark up. L8 and Jelio couldn’t have possibly fixed this, but I just noticed it. That’s all. No biggie.

Seeing Luthor appear out of nowhere is both funny and awkward. He sort of introduces himself anyway, so that clears the air a bit, but it remains faintly odd nonetheless. Nothing I can’t live with.

Although that unfortunately all changed in the minutes to come. Having trimmed Luthor down to an extended cameo does bring up other issues. Luthor not only reveals Superman’s origins to Zod, but also knows the location of the Fortress of Solitude. He also knows Superman and Lois are an item. If you thought Lois was quick in revealing Superman, check out Luthor! What did he do? Read the newspaper article of Lois’ night with Supes, and read between the lines? These are some big plotholes. If it weren’t for his presence in the Fortress however, Luthor could have easily been left out altogether. During those Fortress scenes, Superman and Luthor’s conversations also indicated a shared history, which in this edit, they haven’t.

Also, in both instances Superman steps into the chamber, the person inside looks nothing like Christopher Reeve, especially the first time. Can anyone confirm this? What’s up with that?

Ahh, no memory-wiping kiss, or no turning back time. Lois knows… Just like in the comics. Sweet justice.
_____________________________________
FINAL SCORE: 4 out of 5 stars
_____________________________________
For this edit: 8 out of 10 stars. It’s a far better Superman movie than Lex Luthor’s obsession with soil could have ever been, but there are some holes in that cheese that just don’t cut it. It could have been 9, or even 10, but that ball has left the park. Too bad.
DEFINITELY RECOMMENDABLE THOUGH!
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Overall rating
 
9.5
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10.0
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9.0
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10.0
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.
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Overall rating
 
9.3
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9.0
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10.0
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9.0
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9.0
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10.0
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.

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(Updated: September 12, 2012)
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9.0
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9.0
Review by tylerdurden389 — December 23, 2010 @ 11:32 pm

I’m watching SOJE so that I can give my comments as I watch. I personally prefer silence over the Chris Reeve dedication, like the dedication to Stuart Baird from the first film. I just didn’t like how both The Richard Donner Cut and Returns have the music of the film already playing, when the film hasn’t technically started yet.

Don’t care for the Returns shots of Krypton. The effects are too modern compared to everything else in the film. Again, personal preference. Not much to say about the Krypton scenes. I personally didn’t care for the extended dialogue. If the purpose of this edit was to combine the two films into one by trimming the fat, why put back in what was removed in the first place?

I must say I LOVE these opening credits. However, one little nitpick is, I don’t like how the letters seem to “come over us” before appearing in front. The letters “curve” before they come in. Whereas in S1 it’s like the letters come around the camera from all angles. Other than that, these new opening credits are great. Though on my crappy computer speakers the music wasn’t loud enough. It sounded like the sound effects were louder. I especially loved the ending where you timed the last fanfare with the crash (though the fanfare of the trumpets seemed to be cut short. Small audio cue mishap that only nitpickers like myself notice)

Nothing much to say about Smallville. I like that you took out the little girl being Lois Lane, but growing up on the theatrical version, I don’t feel it’s necessary for this extended scene at all.

Onto Metropolis. I never cared for the extended scene of Clark introducing himself to the worker next to him and Jimmy getting him a towel. That awkward moment of Clark and Lois staring at each other unnerved me. Plus, since the purpose of this edit was to have Lois figure it out much quicker, I think for the purpose of this cut we’re better off NOT seeing Clark introduce himself to other people. Again, nitpicking.

Gotta say, I love the new music cues for Superman launching the rocket into space. Though I do wish you had done something about the missile suddenly spinning out of control. I think it would’ve been so much better if Michael Thau had simply let the missile crash into the Phantom Zone.

Moon scene. I don’t like cutting out Ursa’s lines. I understand there’s no sound in space, but for a movie like this I’m able to suspend disbelief. Also, I would’ve moved this scene for after the interview/flight scene. Maybe do it this way:

- Superman’s first night
- Daily Planet
- Interview
- Missile Launch
- Villains freed
- Then go right to the moon scene.

The abrupt change in tone doesn’t work for me. It’s odd watching Superman talk to Lois when we just saw what happened on the moon. From a story perspective, I think this order works better. Also, instead of doing a fade cut to the next morning I would’ve simply done an establishing shot of Manhattan after Clark shuts the door.

I see I’m not the only one who dislikes Ursa pronouncing it “Hooston”. Blame Lester for that one, as I’m sure he had Sarah re-dub her lines just like Stamp for a more comedic effect (which of course doesn’t work). It’s funny how in the Donner Cut we got to hear some of the actor’s original readings of their lines, yet there’s still a lot of dubbed lines in the DC.

When I got to the screen test I initially thought it was bad to cut out a Superman scene, but of course, cutting out as much Lester scenes as possible helps with the overall tone to the film. Lois’ character is so different in Lester’s 2 scenes that it’s probably better to cut it.

Can’t comment on “skunksweat”, as it’s been beaten to death already.

I hate losing Superman explaining his past to Lois, but again, difference in character.

Nice job losing “The whole planet Hooston?”

I think I’m the only editor on S2 to notice that the Donner Cut version of the helicopter crashing has 3 frames that repeats right before the explosion. Of all the things Michael Thau did wrong editing the DC, that’s the one that bothers me the most. Amateur.

Ya know it’s funny, I forgot all about Lex until he showed up. Not gonna comment on Lex knowing of Jor-el, the FOS, and so on.

I would’ve cut Lois saying “Lex Luthor”, since they don’t know anything about him in this cut.

Bad audio cut for the reaction shot from Lois and Perry when Supes crashes into the air vent (after Non punches him). Also I never liked the cut of Ursa grabbing Supes by the neck but in the next shot she’s gone. Whether it’s the DC Supes punching Non, or LC of Non grabbing Supes from behind, neither work for me.

THANK YOU for cutting Reeve’s smirk when he says “Don’t do it!! The people!!” Of all the S2 edits here, I think this is now only the 3rd or 4th to do that.

I have no problem with Lois knowing his secret in the end (as my cut does the same), but leaving her in tears and then cutting to the Superman theme just seems morbid to me. Also, why show the beginning of the credits, then show the diner revenge scene? If anything, maybe an after-credits Easter egg would’ve worked.

So there’s my thoughts. Other than the little nitpicks pointed out (as well as my own feelings on DC footage in general), this was a damn fine edit. I gave it a 9 out of 10.
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9.0
Review by Captain Khajiit — January 18, 2011 @ 8:37 pm

Bigger Superman fans that I have described the edit’s strengths and weaknesses. I very much like rather than love the original films, so perhaps I do not feel as strongly about what should and should not have gone in. The idea was interesting and the execution showed thought and care.

Video
The video was acceptable. The overall quality was above average. 8 out of 10

Audio
Very good! 9 out of 10

Presentation
Fantastic covers, a very nice static main menu, awful tiny scene selection preview boxes. 8 out of 10

Entertainment
I found this both interesting and entertaining. The faneditors had a consistent vision for the edit that they implemented successfully and showed good judgment in their selection of material. Like Brumous, I approve of the collaborative nature of the project. 9 out of 10

Overall 9 out of 10
Thank you for an immensely enjoyable edit! This is essential viewing for Superman fans and highly recommended to everyone else.
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