This new guy looks just scrawny and not very “super” at all. Hell, the smallville Clark Kent (forgot the guy’s name) looks bigger and more superan-esque than the new superman.
Well, if you are the strongest man in existence who’s job it is to defend the world from evil, and you had to protect your secret identity from being discovered, wouldn’t you want to appear to be the furthest from that in your disguise?
The emo wuss would probably be the last person Lex Luther would suspect. Just saying; maybe that’s a good thing.
[quote]Blood is Metal wrote:
Well, if you are the strongest man in existence who’s job it is to defend the world from evil, and you had to protect your secret identity from being discovered, wouldn’t you want to appear to be the furthest from that in your disguise?
The emo wuss would probably be the last person Lex Luther would suspect. Just saying; maybe that’s a good thing.[/quote]
It doesn’t matter if that’s a good thing. It is changing the way something has been for the last 70 years. I mean, if you were going to be that realistic about it, since when does a pair of glasses and a new hairstyle make it impossible for close friends to even know who you are up close or to tell that you have the same voice?
I don’t even think the lack of muscle mass is the most egregious casting error in this Superman - it’s that the guy is too much of a pretty boy.
Superman is always portrayed as a bit rugged looking - with the square jaw and jutting chin - a John Wayne type “man’s man” - this guy’s features are just too delicate - he’s even got that wispy “girl hair” and not the thick, wavy curls that Reeve or the Comic book renditions have.
Yeah, I agree that Singer should have shipped his ass to the gym to put on a good 20-30 lbs. of mass to get that “shock” value of seeing a muscular dude on the screen who has some acting chops.
If it was possible to time warp - I would have thought that “Punisher” /“Masters of the Universe” era Dolph Lundgren (with this hair dyed black like in the Punisher) would have made a pretty cool Superman.
Besides, I don’t even think Superman (the actor) is going to make or break this movie. Like in the originals - the villains made the movie.
Gene Hackman as Luthor stole the first one and Sir Terrence Stamp as Zod just dominated Superman II. I figure Kevin Spacey is gonna run away with this one.
Now, my question is why you guys haven’t brought up the spaghetti armed dude they cast for Colossus in X-3. You’d figure they could have give him plastic arms like they did the Juggernaut. At least.
[quote]sugarfree wrote:
CU AeroStallion wrote:
buffalokilla wrote:
Well, isn’t Clark Kent SUPPOSED to be kinda squirrely and emo? Isn’t that part of the point, so his alter ego doesn’t get outed?
-Dan
clark can be quirky.
clark can be a fucking nerd, or a giant dork.
but why does he have to be a pussy?
This is the Clark that will be on screen. Not Emo, not a pussy. He is a giant dork.[/quote]
that picture gets him a vote as nerd… not that that’s what he should be portrayed as, it’s just better than being a pussy I suppose.
One more thing: What the fuck is up with actors these days who don’t go that extra mile in preparing for a role? Today’s actors(with a few exceptions - like Spanish actor Javier Bardem) go to nowhere near the lengths of pre-film preparation that a lot of the old school film titans did. (DeNiro, Brando, Pacino)
You would hear the stories of DeNiro delaying the filming of “Cape Fear” for six months so he can properly bulk up to get that grizzled ex-con look - he reasoned a hard-ass convict consumed with hate and thoughts of revenge - basically the only things that would keep someone like that going in a hellhole prison - should look well - hard as nails - and not like a pasty, pudgy Italian guy. That opening scene where has that sick back tat on top of rather nice definition and decent mass while he’s doing dips in his jail cell is priceless and sets the tone for the whole movie.
Or Pacino moving to Little Havana in Miami for a couple of months to get a fell for the Cuban immigrant experience prior to filming Scarface. Growing up in Miami - I’ll tell you that he nailed it - his accent, his mannerisms, everything was spot on - people think he was over the top - but I’m telling you this is how a lot of “Marielitos” acted back in the day.
or how about how DeNiro put on 50lbs. to play Al Capone in the Untouchables. Shit like that.
If Brandon Routh actually took the time to read the Comics he should have seen that he looks NOTHING like Superman - and could have at least took it upon himself to tell the director to hold up and let him “bulk up”. I think if he would have come to Singer and proposed this- Singer would have gone for it - because he knows in the end it would have made it a better movie. Why? We would believe him as Superman. The problem here is that we see this guy and WE ARE NOT BUYING HIM as Superman. This is a big problem in my book.
Personally, I think Routh blew it - it is such a huge opportunity - and he could have really wowed us all if he were actually in shape - it would have shown those of us who read the comics that he actually cared about producing good work - by acknowledging that in comic book adaptations the look and visual style of the movie is usually more important than the acting itself.
I think I’m on the record as saying the casting sucks - but I think Kevin Spacey’s performance and Singer’s talent as a director will rescue the movie. And perhaps Routh and can heed the criticism and get his ass in the gym to properly prepare for the inevitable sequel.
Routh did a decent job bulking up, and apparently continued to do so during casting. Blame the look of Superman on the costume designer – the alterations to the costume use every trick in the book to make someone look smaller, when they should have been using every trick they could to make him look more powerful.
He actually looks more intimidating as Clark.
Superman info can be found at:
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/30.html
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/31.html
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/32.html
And look at “LOOK, UP IN THE SKY!” June 12th on A&E Network.
[quote]sugarfree wrote:
Superman info can be found at:
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/30.html
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/31.html
http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/32.html
And look at “LOOK, UP IN THE SKY!” June 12th on A&E Network.[/quote]
I don’t think it matters who they picked to play Superman and to be Mr. Reeves successor, people would still find something to bitch about, it’s inevitable.
I am a Smallville fanboy and big fan of Tom Welling as Superman, too bad he didn’t (I believe) want to accept the role for being stuck in it by typecast, as the popular audience once they see someone as something always peg them as that no matter what, take reality shows who are trying to make stars as an example.
This is a bodybuilding form so hence all of the focus on Routh’s arm size and not his acting and charisma. The trailers actually look very well done, and Routh good. The comic vision has rarely come to the big screen with any of these movies.
I am from the position of not really caring how they keep a character to the physical specifications just as long as the actor has charisma and skill. Look at the new James Bond Daniel Craig people hate him for being 5’11" and blonde.
Proper respect to Hugh Jackman who looked jacked in X-Men 3.
[quote]EmperialChina wrote:
I am a Smallville fanboy and big fan of Tom Welling as Superman, too bad he didn’t (I believe) want to accept the role for being stuck in it by typecast[/quote]
It was not typecasting. It was money and time zones.
Making Smallville is a fulltime job. It makes money for the WB and is made in Canada.
Making Superman Returns is a fulltime job. It will make money for the WB and is made in Australia.
Working 2 full time jobs on the other side of the world might be hard for one guy.
It’s fucking Superman not superboy. And I thought that the guy from Smallville pissed me off. Superman is at least 30 and a big corn fed Kansas man. Brandon Routh better gain 30 lbs if he expects a sequal. It makes me sick to think that as a kid I wanted to look like a super hero and noe this is how they’re represented in film.
More real Superman images
[quote]EmperialChina wrote:
This is a bodybuilding form so hence all of the focus on Routh’s arm size and not his acting and charisma. The trailers actually look very well done, and Routh good. The comic vision has rarely come to the big screen with any of these movies.[/quote]
It’s not just this forum. I hang out at another dedicated to utterly geeky subjects like comic books, pop culture, games, etc. After the first images from the movie were released, someone doctored up the side shot of Routh in the costume with the text “Metrosexual of Steel” on it.
Finally saw the ad on the tube at the beginning of the hockey game tonight. Even my wife curled her lip, looked up, and said, “He’s kinda skinny to be playing Superman, isn’t he?”
In the promo posters for toys and such, they’ve photoshopped Routh to make him look more muscular. Hopefully they’ll take the lesson to heart for the next flick. Right actor, but bad preparation and rotten costume tailoring.
If you are truly a comic fan this will make your day. For those that aren’t this it what Superman should look like. “Sigh” I wish this would become a movie. And one more pic of Superman As well, but check the link it won’t ler anyone down(even you Prof. X.)
[quote]Northcott wrote:
EmperialChina wrote:
This is a bodybuilding form so hence all of the focus on Routh’s arm size and not his acting and charisma. The trailers actually look very well done, and Routh good. The comic vision has rarely come to the big screen with any of these movies.
It’s not just this forum. I hang out at another dedicated to utterly geeky subjects like comic books, pop culture, games, etc. After the first images from the movie were released, someone doctored up the side shot of Routh in the costume with the text “Metrosexual of Steel” on it.
Finally saw the ad on the tube at the beginning of the hockey game tonight. Even my wife curled her lip, looked up, and said, “He’s kinda skinny to be playing Superman, isn’t he?”
In the promo posters for toys and such, they’ve photoshopped Routh to make him look more muscular. Hopefully they’ll take the lesson to heart for the next flick. Right actor, but bad preparation and rotten costume tailoring.
[/quote]
Agreed. I am amazed anyone is standing up for the way the guy looks in previews or pictures. They went in the wrong direction. Bodybuilding has little to do with it. Superman has always stood for that “hypermasculine” image. Since when does that equal small and near-feminine looking?
I agree about how the actor looks, but I don’t think it will significantly affect how well the movie does (unfortunately).
It pisses me off that Superman looks like a pussy, but I’m not going to miss the movie over it.
Maybe if Superman looked more like the super-hero he’s supposed to be, I’d watch it more than once.
Christopher Reeves wasn’t Bodybuilder huge, but he was more built (IMO) than this guy, especially for the time period when the Superman movies were made. He also had a more masculine face, which made him that much more believable as a dominating, super-human, super-hero.
[quote]SWR-1222D wrote:
I agree about how the actor looks, but I don’t think it will significantly affect how well the movie does (unfortunately). [/quote]
If it does, it’ll be a minor effect, but the studios aren’t deaf. If there’s enough feedback of a consistent opinion, and so far it’s looking that way, they’ll take it into consideration when the time comes.
I posted some Photoshopped images before. All they had to do to make Routh look more “super” was to alter the tailoring of the costume to the traditional look. Nobody would have confused him for a pro bodybuilder, but at least he looked somewhat powerful with the alterations.
Ok, here’s another take on it.
He’s been away from yellow sun for 5 years. It’s possible that could make him rather wimpy. Maybe the new guy will gain some weight as the films progress.
In the opening sequence, he seems to struggle to land a plane. Hmm, guess that means he’s out of shape.
[quote]Northcott wrote:
EmperialChina wrote:
This is a bodybuilding form so hence all of the focus on Routh’s arm size and not his acting and charisma. The trailers actually look very well done, and Routh good. The comic vision has rarely come to the big screen with any of these movies.
It’s not just this forum. I hang out at another dedicated to utterly geeky subjects like comic books, pop culture, games, etc. After the first images from the movie were released, someone doctored up the side shot of Routh in the costume with the text “Metrosexual of Steel” on it.
Finally saw the ad on the tube at the beginning of the hockey game tonight. Even my wife curled her lip, looked up, and said, “He’s kinda skinny to be playing Superman, isn’t he?”
In the promo posters for toys and such, they’ve photoshopped Routh to make him look more muscular. Hopefully they’ll take the lesson to heart for the next flick. Right actor, but bad preparation and rotten costume tailoring.
[/quote]
I definitely agree on some points.
The funniest thing to come from this was the studios and press saying that Routh weighs in at 250 pounds…yes I am serious.
[quote]sugarfree wrote:
EmperialChina wrote:
I am a Smallville fanboy and big fan of Tom Welling as Superman, too bad he didn’t (I believe) want to accept the role for being stuck in it by typecast
It was not typecasting. It was money and time zones.
Making Smallville is a fulltime job. It makes money for the WB and is made in Canada.
Making Superman Returns is a fulltime job. It will make money for the WB and is made in Australia.
Working 2 full time jobs on the other side of the world might be hard for one guy.
[/quote]
Tom Welling has done films during his reign on Smallville, though probably less taxing, such as The Fog and Cheaper by the Dozen. I’m not sure how it would make money for the WB though, unless that was a typo.
It would be a ton to deal with, I am unsure of the reasons behind it, but you seem to have a better idea.