Thursday, August 4, 2011

First Picture of Henry Cavill as Superman

click for mega-sized
Only twice before have I had opportunity to see someone in the suit for the first time.  Dean Cain in TV's Lois & Clark and then Brandon Routh in Superman Returns.

Truthfully, there's nothing here I don't like.  The suit isn't drastically changed and looks more like the traditional suit (see how long this DCNu suit sticks around now), the symbol is actually a throwback to the Golden Age, and its hard not to like the physical power suggested with the destroyed vault behind him and the determined look in the eye.

In fact, the whole thing gives me a feel of early Superman.

Superman would later give this move over to his friend, The Kool-Aid Man.
And I've thought Cavill looked about right since I saw the first pictures of him.  He's not got the same sharp features as Reeve or Routh, but a new look for Superman is okay by me.  Superman's had a lot of faces over the years.

I also don't mind the textured suit.  With today's high-grade video for movies, I think its appropriate to have something for the light to catch on.  And, of course, the boots are exactly right, and I'm a freak and that matters to me.

Casting, costume, etc... are all in place and I'm pretty happy.  Let's hope Zack Snyder doesn't direct this thing right into the ground.

11 comments:

Paul Toohey said...

A buddy commented elsewhere "But looking at the progression from Chris Reeves' costume to Brandon Routh's to this one, they're just throwing textures all over it. I predict that the next actor in line will have little "s"s all over his face, too."

JAL said...

My first thought was..."this could actually turn out alright." I'm suddenly optimistic.

The League said...

I'm so not worried about the texture. The texture on Routh's costume seemed crazy the first time I saw it, but without the texture it just ends up as tights on film, and that looks way weirder.

The League said...

JAL - I want to be optimistic, but I saw Watchmen. Now, none of what made the comic of Watchmen is necessary for a fun Superman movie, so, who knows? But so far I at least appreciate what it appears Snyder is trying to do, and that's tell a straightforward Superman story.

JAL said...

I just hope he can keep the time-ramped Super punches to a minimum. The Watchmen was a horrible mess of inappropriateness. The only hope I have from it, is that I thought the Dr. Manhattan scenes were well done. I have been pretty impressed with the casting for the main players. I have no doubt that Michael Shannon will be menacing enough that we get a bit worried for Supes.

Jake Shore said...

Nothing offensive here. I would say that this looks less like a still from the movie and more like a publicity shot to communicate what the movie is and isn't.

It IS about action and a more masculine looking Superman.

It IS NOT a plodding, character driven homage to the original film. In other words, it's not Superman Returns (I liked Superman Returns BTW).

One last observation: That is a REALLY long cape!

Simon MacDonald said...

To me this photo evokes the look of an early Superman as Ryan pointed out. When I watched Superman Returns the look of Brandon Routh in the suite evoked the look of Christopher Reeves when he played Superman. There is nothing wrong with either approach in my opinion. In fact it might be great to see Supes hit someone again.

The League said...

I totally laughed out loud at Jake's comment. Yeah, I'll be curious to see how they handle the cape.

As long as its got a cape, symbol and red boots, I'm cool with the suit. Costumes will come and go, but they need to keep the iconography.

barsey said...

What a great first look! I am a fan of this costume. Long red cape(and it looks red not burgundy) iconic red boots and a big \S/ shield! I am now getting excited to see this film! Great casting is one thing, but an action packed visual has me hooked.

Fantomenos said...

"Adventure Strip Character" really rolls off the tongue better than "Super-Hero", eh?

Suit looks good, I'm hoping he still has the power to peel off the logo and use it to entangle an enemy for, like, 2 seconds.

The League said...

I watched the theatrical cut of Superman 2 not long ago, and that Super-Net or whatever is still really goofy. It just feels like the producers just quit trying or something all of a sudden in that scene.

I like seeing these old ads before terms like "super hero" meant anything and Superman was still pretty unique as far as concepts go.

And, barsey, I think its a great visual. The studio is clearly wanting the public to know this movie will have more action than the last go-round.