Thursday, September 1, 2011

Yet More Stupid Superhero Costuming Decisions


A number of behind-the-scenes pictures have recently been released from the upcoming new Superman film titled Man of Steel. In these pictures, we've finally gotten a good, close up (and non photoshopped to hell) look at Henry Cavill as the last son of Krypton and . . . well . . . I'll be honest, I'm disappointed. Not horrified or saddened, just a little disappointed.

Seriously Warner Bros., how god damned hard is it to translate Superman's costume to the silver screen. It's the single most iconic superhero costume of all time. It's the archetype upon which generations of other heros' costumes have been based. Why do you feel the need to go and change it so much.

Superman's costume is really, really simple. Blue skintight suit, red cape, red boots, yellow belt and red underwear with a big ass "S" on the chest. Why is that simple recipe so impossible for you to do. No red underwear on the new suit? Seriously? Why? And what's that thing on the suit above his crotch? A belt buckle? He's not wearing a god damned belt!!! What purpose does that thing serve? And what's with the details around the wrists & that stripe thing going down his legs? Why is any of that there?

As I said though, these changes just disappoint me. They're not a deal breaker. And I'll be honest here. There are some things about this pic that I actually really like. For example, I really like how the top of the cape is set into the costume to sort of frame Henry Cavill's face. Speaking of his face (and hair), he actually looks good as Superman. I was worried about the hair in that first promo pic they released, but his hair in this set pic is a lot closer to the classic Superman look. I like it. Cavill also has the classic superhero cheek and bone structure. He looks like a classic hero, much like I feel Chris Evans did in Captain America.

Also, just look at the size of that guy. Sure, some of that may be the costume, but I'm willing to bet most of that muscle is Cavill himself. I must say I am really liking this trend of bulked up Actors like Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and the previously mentioned Chris Evans playing superheros. It's nice to see that not all heroes in films have to have costumes with rubber molded muscles built into them (I'm looking at you Dark Knight). If any roles in Hollywood should go to talented, well built actors or actresses, it's superhero roles. It just fits into the whole genre to have main characters with chiseled abs and gigantic pecs, shoulders and biceps.

Will this costume keep me from watching and enjoying the new Superman movie (assuming the story is good)? Absolutely not. Will I still wish during the entire film that Supes was running around with his red underwear proudly showing outside of his pants? You're damn right I will be.

No comments:

Post a Comment