The Superman Look: Shaping Superman

[lujho]

i see how Reeve's chest is a lil' wider than Routh's but the problem with your comparison is that Routh is in a relaxed state while it's obvious that Reeve is deliberately sticking his chest out (shoulders back) to make his chest appear bigger than it normally is.

Eh, I see the difference between the 2 actors consistently in all kinds of footage of them - relaxed and not, behind the scenes out-of-character stuff.

not to mention you can tell that the restricting fabric is squeezing at Routh's armpits which can create the illusion that his chest isn't as wide as it really is. you can tell it's squeezing because the folds on Routh's armpits point straight up instead of outwards like Reeve's do.

True. Maybe that's part of the problem, maybe that's the whole of the problem. I definitely think the material could be a little looser than it purportedly was - like a "rubber band". Maybe it's even those diagonal seams running from the armpits to the collar that exacerbate it. But I still got the same impression of Routh's narrow chest even in the brief topless scene in Returns.

Like I said, I think it's somewhat fixable with different costume design and possibly muscular development - at least I hope it is.

Any way, I don't have a big problem with Routh's build. It's simply less than ideal, but above the minimum requirements for me.

 

[WormyT]

Reeves is bigger than Routh. You only have to pop in STM and it's as clear as day. I guess my main point of this thread was Routh should have been way bulkier. Look how big Ed Norton got in American history X, look how gif Charlie Sheen was in Hot Shots2. Not superman big of course but in interviews they pretty much laughed and said "It's easy" to bulk up. I feel like his chest should at least be as big as the Guy from 300.
That being said I still would have disliked the movie.
For the sequel, crop the hair considerably, pile on a few more pounds and change everything about the suit.

 

[Jimmy, GL]

I agee 100%

That was one of my few beefs with the movie, the hair.


And the low ride undies

His hair got nothing to do with it. If Tom Welling can pulll off having longer hair and haveing huge pecks at the same time then Routh should too dammit.

In that red carpet pic is Brandon wearing a shirt that says Eastvale Logging Camp? Isn't that from Warcraft? What an odd fashion choice. . .

You didn't know he was a WoW junkie? They talked about that on the A&E documentary.

 

[DorkyFresh]

But I still got the same impression of Routh's narrow chest even in the brief topless scene in Returns.

fair enough, i'm not gonna stress over the exact size of his chest. it looks smaller when compared to Reeve's but standing alone i think he looked fine. he could probably bulk up a tad more but i wouldn't want him getting much bigger than he was in SR.

Look how big Ed Norton got in American history X, look how gif Charlie Sheen was in Hot Shots2. Not superman big of course but in interviews they pretty much laughed and said "It's easy" to bulk up. I feel like his chest should at least be as big as the Guy from 300.

one thing you have to remember is that those guys probably had more than 5 months to bulk up. i think Routh did a good job considering the circumstances. remember...there were numerous reports that he had to stop packing on the muscle because he was getting too big for the already tailored suit.


anyway, hopefully these issues won't be a problem come 2008.

 

[user123456789]

wormyT, i'm guessing you don't lift? No, I KNOW you don't lift, or else you wouldn't have made this thread. Try lifting a dumbbell during your free time, it's a lot harder than you think.

Those guys have little more going for them then say Tobey Maguire in the first Spiderman. Really ripped, but not a lot of mass on them.
Routh looked just about right in the DVD extra footage of him working out, maybe add a little more to that, but his suit is the problem, not the body. They really need to do something to that suit to accentuate his definition, not cover it.

bingo.

 

[NotFadeAway]

wormyT, i'm guessing you don't lift? No, I KNOW you don't lift, or else you wouldn't have made this thread. Try lifting a dumbbell during your free time, it's a lot harder than you think.

So true

 

[true316]

After watching the workout footage on the SR DVD I have to say I am extremely impressed with Routh. I found some screencaps over on the Planet so I think it is okay to post them. If not a mod can take them off. Here is one:

 

[DorkyFresh]

wow...Routh looks HUGE in that shot! anymore shots like that? i wanna get the dvd but i'm waiting until i'm able to get it on HD-dvd or Blu-ray.

 

[Brainiac 2009]

There are shots were he looks even more ripped on it and then him and his trainer joke that the suit unfortunately wont show any of it.

If they are using the same suit material for the sequel, he just needs a much thicker muscle suit padding. He could work out to the extent of Reeve for Superman III, but if it wont show through the suit...its pointless.

He needs thicker definition padding for the suit.

 

[sithgoblin]

His overall bulk needs to be bigger too. It's not just definition, he needs a bigger frame.

 

[patrickbateman]

After watching the workout footage on the SR DVD I have to say I am extremely impressed with Routh. I found some screencaps over on the Planet so I think it is okay to post them. If not a mod can take them off. Here is one:

is that bale ?

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

is that bale ?

No Bale can actually act.

 

[WormyT]

wormyT, i'm guessing you don't lift? No, I KNOW you don't lift, or else you wouldn't have made this thread. Try lifting a dumbbell during your free time, it's a lot harder than you think.

bingo.

Haha,

I do lift actually.
I've put on almost 10 pounds in the last month onto my skinny frame (with a little help from loads of Beef and Whey Protein Shakes). I can do 60 pushups without stopping. Not a lot, but 3 sets (180) is a great work out.
I ain't Superman though, but I can go past the pain barrier.Only then, do you see results.

After the holidays I've gotta start on the legs before Popeye syndrome takes over.

 

[dark_b]

maybe a bigger chest.

this is superman for me

screencaps from www.brandonrouthweb.com

 

[Super Kal]

he definitely needs to put on some more muscle for the sequel...

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

He needs a fricken haircut.

 

[WormyT]

He needs a fricken haircut.

And possibly a new suit that makes his body look less Marshmallow-like.

 

[Lighthouse]

I can't believe its come to this.

 

[dark_b]

what should they do? replace the actor who has a better bone structure?

 

[Matt.S99]

There are a few more scans, cant seem to find them.

Even if Brandon had the exact same chest definition as those guys, it wouldnt be evident through the suit.

those are some nice muscles

 

[Lighthouse]

Brandon is buff but I still don't like how the costume makes him look.

 

[WormyT]

Brandon is buff but I still don't like how the costume makes him look.

I agree. it's like hes covered in Blue Custard.

 

[nocomics]

Nah, Brandon's build is fine,just needs a tad more width in his chest,but thats it. I thought they added more definition thru prostetics(sorry cant spell),but I think his build is fine. Suit was fine,too clingy? maybe? I guess Im in the minority as I thought suit/roths build is fine. I dont want no steroid-arnold type superman. Lets face, george reeves/christopher reeves and the guy before george didnt exactly have that 'build' everyone thinks superman should have.
We all have our opinions on what/how superman should be and look like. I dont want superman to regress back into the 80's style costume. Ive stated before CR costume was good for the 80's,not now. Im not anal about following the so called comics. The stuff that works in comics not always works on the big screen.

 

[lujho]

Maybe if they just used the exact same material for the suit but made it a certain percentage bigger, so as not to compress so much? Let a bit more shape through?

Remember, if you take off those swimsuits, they're much smaller than the person - they're child-sized, in fact.

 

[LL2K2]

Terry Notary, who was Brandon's movement coach (he also worked with Alan Cumming in X2), summed it up best in the documentary: "His strength comes from within. He's not this big, hulking, massive guy."

(On the Special Features disc, it's about halfway into the segment titled "The Crystal Method," or about 45 minutes if you watch it straight through.)