​Note: This post contains spoilers for the plot of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".

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NO JUSTICE refocuses "Batman v. Superman" on its central conflict between Man and God. All aspects of its Dawn of Justice subtitle are excluded: Wonder Woman, the Justice League, Doomsday, Darkseid and the Kryptonian ship. These omissions create a more coherent and accessible story, intended for a wider audience.
 

I disagreed with Batman's attitude towards killing and reduced this aggressively, while retaining a sense of brutality about this jaded veteran Dark Knight. His misguided commitment to murdering Superman is more dramatically effective if nobody else has died by his hand.
 

Certain interactions between Superman and other characters are removed to make him seem less mopy and hopeless, and further depict Clark as the "other" in a world that cannot trust him.
 

Strategic omissions place the emphasis more on Lex Luthor's misdeeds than his mannerisms. There are also other minor cuts (detailed in full below) that help to create a lean 106 minutes running time before credits, shaving 69 minutes from the Ultimate Edition.
 

Visual filters reintroduce some of the lost colour to create a bolder, more comic book inspired image.

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Due to the radical nature of the cuts, it goes without saying No Justice will contradict future DCEU content, and as such should be viewed as an isolated sequel to "Man of Steel".
 

                                      CUTS / AMENDMENTS IN FULL                                      

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• Metropolis is introduced to the Superman: Bruce's initial phone call to Jack cuts off almost immediately. Why? Because nobody would wait for their employer's permission to leave the office in such dangerous circumstances.

• Nairomi: The photographer's introduction as Jimmy Olsen. Why? It was a universally unpopular decision to kill off one of Superman's most iconic allies so early.

• I saw him! I never saw him before: The artificial-looking crawl across the ceiling as Batman escapes from the shotgun-wielding cop. The two cops watching Football. Why? It adds nothing of substance to the narrative.

• Meeting at LexCorp: The "Metahuman Thesis" and Luthor's negotiations with Senator Barrows in regards to the Kryptonian ship.

• False God: The reaction scene inside the Daily Planet offices is tightened.

• Luthor's private meeting with Finch: Luthor's "One if by land, two if by air" comment.Why? For brevity. And Luthor is fairly annoying in this scene.

• Metropolis Library: Bruce imagines a subtle Joker laugh when he looks at Robin's suit. Clark does not ask a fellow journalist who Bruce Wayne is. Some of Luthor's speech omitted. Diana Prince omitted from this and all future scenes. Bruce's conversation with Clark is slightly tightened. Bruce leaves unhindered with the hacking device, while Clark flies to Mexico.

• Knightmare, Flash's warning: Omitted.

• Bruce's demon dream: Omitted. Why? It seemed like one "Martha" scene too many.

• Clark researches the 'Bat-brand': Omitted. Why? Batman is less culpable for the prison deaths if they are not yet a matter of public record, while Clark still learns about the consequences of the "mark" from Mrs. Santos.

• Batmobile: Batman tagging the cargo truck, only to pursue the vehicle anyway. By showing the tracking device on the truck afterwards, it can be inferred it was fired from the Batmobile at some point during the chase. The chase is tightened. None of Anatoli Knyazev’s men are killed as a direct result of Batman's actions. Batman's altercation with Superman is tightened.

• Congressional bombing: Senator Finch does not stutter prior to the explosion. Bruce's inquest about Keefe's disability checks is omitted, with Greg handing him the most recent envelope only. Why? Luthor had been intercepting Keefe's checks for upwards of eighteen months, marking them with anti-Bruce Wayne hate rhetoric / death threats, and returning them. There was not a single discerning employee at Wayne Enterprises who considered bringing this to Bruce's attention in a year-and-a-half, especially after Keefe's very public arrest for a hate crime? Had Bruce known sooner, he would have investigated Keefe, and subsequently Lex himself. This is a clear example of Deus ex machina driving Bruce's enmity of Superman forwards at the expense of his vaunted deductive reasoning.

• Clark's self-exile: Clark questioning the validity of his actions, and climbing the mountain to speak to his father. Why? Both heroes were at peak-mopiness by this point. Pa Kent's return to reiterate established themes is redundant, and the "She was my world" idea is not relevant to No Justice.

• Luthor and the Kryptonian ship: All scenes omitted.

• Bruce's training montage: The revelation of Kryptonite gas deferred until the fight itself. Why? To surprise the audience.

• Luthor's contractors kidnap Martha: Deferred until Luthor reveals it to Superman. Why? To give Luthor an ace in the hole.

• Superman saves Lois: Luthor's insistence that Lois' proof of his illegal activities will blow over. Superman’s uncharacteristic “No one stays good in this world” line. "What have you done?" (in reference to Doomsday). Luthor's instruction for Superman to go to the Kryptonian ship after killing Batman. Luthor spoon-feeding us his manipulation of Bruce. Why? It's clear from previous scenes that Luthor was responsible for the bombing, not Keefe.

• Batman v. Superman: Bruce's reference to Clark’s parents. Why? By acknowledging he has parents- even Kryptonians, Bruce unwittingly humanises Clark, which in turns lessens the impact of the next scene. The line is replaced with, "It's time you learned what it means to be a man." from TV Spot 7, which never made it into the final cut.

• "Martha": When it hits home to Bruce, we see a few frames of Martha hugging a young Clark. Why? I wanted to emphasise that Bruce is about to murder someone who is for all intents and purposes human, and become no better than the scum that killed his own mother.

• Batman rescues Martha Kent: There is a tighter transition between the two combat scenes to maintain a sense of climax. By Batman simply leaving to save Martha, it can be inferred Superman is too weak from Kryptonite poisoning to act, and that Batman has vowed to atone for his wrong. Batman killing Knyazev’s men inside the Batwing omitted. The grenade kill is replaced with an unused moment from the final trailer (Batman man-handling a thug into a stack of pallets). When Batman is primed to kill Knyazev, we see a brief reminder of his own mother dying, giving Batman stronger motive to pull the trigger and rescue Martha from the same fate.

• Luthor's Abomination / the Trinity / Death of Superman: Omitted.

• Lois and Clark in the tub: Relocated to after Luthor’s arrest, with all references to the incident in Nairomi excluded. Why? It was the most appropriate scene to complete Lois and Clark's stories in the absence of the original ending.

• Batman threatens Luthor: Luthor's reference to Superman's death and the imminent arrival of Darkseid.

• Superman’s funeral: Omitted, leaving the rotated painting in Luthor's study as the movie's final shot. Why? It's the obvious ending point in the absence of Doomsday. This, with the amended musical cue, shifts the emphasis away from Darkseid's arrival to Batman's (a mere mortal) own capacity for devilry.

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                                    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS                                     

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Q: Tell me more about the file I'm downloading?

A: There are two versions (a 4.1GB MP4 at 5000kbps, and a 9.8GB MP4 at 12,000kbps). Both versions are widescreen (2.4:1 aspect ratio), 1080p resolution, 23 frames per second, 224kbps stereo audio.

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Q: Say, no 5.1 surround sound?

A: One of the most important and onerous aspects of a fan edit is the audio transition from one scene to the next. Nothing screams "amateur" more than a sloppy audio transition. Using Audacity, I needed to occasionally time stretch tracks, insert new SFX and even blend in tracks from the movie's OST. I freely admit I do not know how to make this work in 5.1 surround, or even how to extract the original audio in 5.1. If anyone is willing to school me on this issue, 5.1 surround sound is something I would strongly consider for a future version of the movie.

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Q: Should I let my kids watch this?

A: No Justice retains most of the extra violence (and Batfleck's butt [39:08]) from the Ultimate Edition and should be considered R-rated or BBFC 12 if you are from the UK. On the other hand, 99% of Batman's violent killing has been expunged. I would recommend you watch it with them. In my personal opinion, the violence isn't substantially more graphic than the PG-13 version, but with some blood splatters. There are four potentially distressing scenes to consider: a pile of bodies is burnt with a flame thrower [16:34] (the camera doesn't linger on it), an inmate is shivved to death in prison [50:28] (the stab wounds are inflicted below shot), a woman is thrown under an oncoming train [1:07:35] (not graphic), and several un-bloodied corpses are later shown in body bags [1:11:30]. There are a couple of extra curse words, including an F-bomb [49:12] in the Ultimate Edition / No Justice that is not present in the Theatrical release.

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Q: Batman v. Superman was really long. How much did you cut?

A: You'll be pleased to know No Justice  (V3)  is over an hour shorter than the Ultimate Edition on which it is based, clocking in at 1 hour and 46 minutes before the credits. It's like you're back in the 90s!

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Q: I saw a video that showed Batman's kill count in this movie. Did he really have to kill 3724 guys like that?

A: I know, right? And I'm sorry Mr. Snyder, but when you fire live rounds from your bulletproof car at another vehicle, forcing it to roll and kill everyone inside, that's not "killing by proxy" or self-defence. That's murder. Not even deranged Bat-Miller fired upon people with live rounds. The Dark Knight is famous for going out of his way to not kill bad guys (apart from all those times in the films where he does in fact kill bad guys). In any case, No Justice features only one Bat-kill, and it makes a measure of sense when you see what I've done with it.

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Q: We needed more Superman, not less! Why'd you cut him?

A: I side with the argument that the DCEU Superman is too far a departure from his optimistic and inspirational roots. By cutting some of his mopier moments, one views Superman more in the third-person, through Batman's eyes. As with Luthor, the cuts allow us to analyse the character more through his actions than the quirks in his personality.

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Q: Dude, you cut all the awesome scenes with Doomsday! What's up with that?

A: Where to begin. The conflict between the heroes is resolved about two thirds of the way through the Ultimate Edition, which makes something of a mockery of the movie's title. With the Trinity's battle against Doomsday omitted, Batman's conflict with Superman is now resolved with only five minutes remaining, preceding a brief denouement and the credits.

 Second, a complaint I have about the modern superhero movie is the third act. The film makers raise the stakes, and subsequent destruction, to existential levels time and again. We need smaller stakes, not larger ones (e.g. the excellent Logan). No Justice is a decidedly more personal story.

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Q: Okay, you chopped Doomsday, but kept MARTHA?!

A: The failing of the notorious Martha scene is actually attributable to the previous scene. His voice modulator failing, Bruce growls, "I bet your parents taught you that you mean something, that you're here for a reason." Then, he stops fighting when he realises Clark... has a mother? No wonder people read the scene too literally. Bruce does not relent because their mothers share the same name. Like he once was, Bruce realises Clark is powerless to save his mother. He only now comes to understand that, like a soldier in a time of war, he has dehumanised his enemy. By murdering Clark, he was about to become no better than the scum he vowed to defeat in the first place. I am confident the scene plays out better in No Justice.

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Q: Why did you keep the Africa scene and all of Lois' boring investigations?

A: Because that's how Luthor gets his comeuppance. For all their machismo, the heroes do little to address the true threat. It is in fact Lois that gets the job done, making her contribution far more meaningful. No Justice subsequently features a main plot (Batman v. Superman) and one subplot (Lois Lane v. Lex Luthor), as opposed to the theatrical cut's SIX subplots (Lois v. Luthor, Diana's hunt for the World War I photo, the Justice League files, the Kryptonian ship, the Trinity vs. Doomsday, foreshadowing Darkseid).

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Q: You did a brilliant job with this, son.

A: *sniff* Thanks, mom...