It's Just Movies

— by JOSUE SANCHEZ —

There is a new Superman movie in the horizon titled “Man of Steel” and actor Henry Cavill (“The Tudors”) nabbed himself the role of a lifetime by grabbing the title role.

As a huge Superman fan, like many others, I have strong feelings about this project. Especially now that we finally have our first glance at what Superman will look in this movie.

Now, I don’t intend this article to be a discussion about which actor has been my favorite Superman or Clark Kent, or which movie I believe to be the best of the bunch, because personally, I have loved aspects of them all.

Yes, I have loved the Superman’s brought to me by Tom Welling, Brandon Routh, Christopher Reeve, George Reeves and Dean Cain, plus the animated ones. None of them hurt the heroic character of Superman in any way in my opinion, instead they brought their hearts to their roles. They each loved what they did and it showed, and were perfectly cast, at the time.

That being said, I must admit at first I felt Brandon Routh should have been in this new movie, he deserved it — since he was such a fantastic asset to “Superman Returns.”

At the same time, I personally would have loved Tom Welling for “Man of Steel,” too. I mean, that would have been a joyful, decade-long culmination for this huge “Smallville” fan.

But it’s not happening. These actors have moved on. They are involved in other projects, and those that felt the same way I did must accept someone else will be the focus of this movie. The eras of those previous Supermen have passed, and are now only to be endlessly enjoyed by repeated viewing in glorious blu-ray or DVD. I watch and re-watch, untiring, unwavering. How many times can I watch Chris Reeve’s Superman? Forever.

Now, Henry Cavill is Clark Kent and Superman. Why him? Well, he is a mighty good actor, and a very sweet guy. His career has earned him a large following, especially in the female department.

But can he play the part, and does he look the part of Superman?

Some people have pointed out he is British, and shouldn’t be playing Superman, but I won’t entertain that. This doesn’t matter, Superman is an alien who was raised in America, and calls it his home. It is fantastic that he is loved worldwide, and is a role sought be actors internationally. He is definitely the super-man Kal-El.

What about his appearance?

Henry has been bulking up and it shows. Lucky for me for this article I have the freshly-released first photo of Cavill as Superman. Here we see a powerful man, with bulking shredded muscles, perhaps the strongest Superman yet, —though I must add Brandon Routh is way stronger now than when he did “Returns.”

Now, on to the recently-revealed suit. I must add it really has not been fully exposed yet, so it does still have an aspect of mystery, even though there it is.

So let’s analyze it.

First of all, there’s the cape. It is appears to be longer than Henry is tall, but this may just be the angle of the photo. But should it be longer, that would mean Superman has a way of controlling it, perhaps it will be CGI at times. Because unless the wind is blowing at all times, he is going to trip over it. And if it isn’t as long as it seems, then I will say they got it right! The color, the elegant folds at the neck and shoulders. I love the neck line isn’t round like in “Superman Returns.” Instead it is more square like Reeve’s suit.

In this photo, the suit looks very shiny, almost wet to be honest. So, I am not sure, maybe he is wet, since his right hand appears to be shiny as if wet. But since they are not filming the actual movie yet, what would be the purpose of wetting him down?

The suit is a darker blue than we are used to, but I feel it will film well and not blend with the green or blue screens they use as backgrounds so plentifully in these movies.

Now perhaps if he isn’t wet, then this unique material just shines this way. I think this is cool, for it would give him a truly alien feel. Maybe Martha Kent uses Kryptonian material to sew it together, or maybe Jor-El himself gives it to him. Time will tell, but the suit definitely looks made out of not-of-Earth materials, which is I believe is what they originally wanted for the “Superman Lives” movie costume that would have have been worn Nicholas Cage, and also for “Superman Returns” costume. But I don’t think they figured out the best way to do it.

The boots look exactly like Chris Reeve’s boots in his Superman movies, and I like them. I really thought they would actually go the “Superman Returns” route and use a sporty-looking boot with somewhat of a platform to try to make Cavill look taller. But it doesn’t look like that in the picture, and these are part of what I love the most from this new suit.

His belt is hardly visible. It looks like a simple round buckle, but we must wait and see.

Finally, we get to his face. I must point out Henry Cavill’s face seems chiseled right out of the comic-books. His square jaw, and deep penetrating stare really stand out in this picture.

Although, I don’t seem to see his eyebrows, I will wait for our next photo to verify, because I doubt he is going to be without eyebrows, and we know Henry Cavill has eyebrows. So, this maybe a lighting effect or defect.

I don’t particularly like his hair, it is to long, but this is no big deal; like I already mentioned, the movie has not even begun to film, and this photo is just a nice teaser they are simply shooting our way.

The rest of the photo shows that Superman is easily tearing through a humongous steel vault door. There are sparks, smoke and fire, but our eyes go straight to him. He is the center of attention.

This is why I feel Henry will shine as Superman. He demands attention and he gets it. He is playing a powerful being and here he seems to slip into the role well. The intensity he shows in this photo is that of a man of steel.

Yes, I personally am excited to see if the movie will convey the same grandness this photo expels. I think Superman deserves an epic, well-made, action-packed, yet heartfelt movie. And, hopefully, with Zack Snyder’s recent movie’s under-performances, he will be extra carefully and diligent to bring this beloved character to life, and perhaps show us something that we may have never seen before, or has ever been filmed before. He is still the director of various great movie scenes, and that can’t be forgotten.

So, if we are lucky my friends, by June 14, 2013, the release date for “Man of Steel,” we may have ourselves an updated, and epic, Superman movie, if this photo is anything to go by.

. . .

Follow Josue Sanchez on Twitter at http://twitter.com/_Josue__.

And don’t forget to “Like” It’s Just Movies on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies.