WIMPIFIED SUPERHEROES

*picture courtesy of Universal Pictures/Marvel http://www.thehulk.com

There was a re-run of the movie HULK on TV earlier and knowing what I know now... I suddenly realize why Ang Lee was a shoo-in when it came to directing Brokeback Mountain. I mean, no disrespect to Ang Lee... he's a brilliant director with a great artistic mind... but if he could make a 400 pound muscle bound tank crushing angry beast emote with such conviction, making a movie about two macho gay cowboys is a walk in the park.

But I digress... the real reason as to what I wanted to talk about today is something more serious. It is the systematic wimpification (there's no such word... but it eloquently illustrates my point) of our beloved superheroes by Hollywood. I don't know if it is one of those brilliant story ideas (i.e. giving a superhero depth through emotion) that was severely overplayed or if it is a conspiracy by movie executives to rake in the chick dollars because a SNAG superhero appeals more to them than the he-man women haters.

But one thing I do know... this is no accident. It happened too many times... it happened to The Hulk, The X-Men and most recently, Superman Returns. I mean, the Hulk was a big ball of emotional torment half of the time, Cyclops went all weepy in The Last Stand and Superman used his superpowers to, of all things, stalk his ex-girlfriend... spying through her walls, listening in to her conversations... someone pass me the krytonite-laced restraining order, please?

Even Wolverine, who oozed machismo with his devil-may-care aloofness in the first two instalments of the X-Men, fell prey to the sappy, smells-like-a-chick-flick moments within the screenplay when he was made to cry out after sticking his adamantium claws into her gut (which brings me to another question... why kill Jean? They had a bloody cure, Mr Ratner! But again... I digress)

So is this the trend that we are supposed to expect from Hollywood? Because I really cannot bear to see these superheroes... these men of steel with great power and responsibility with whom were once idolised turn into inconfident, needy, does-my-butt-look-big-in-these-tights type of superheroes.


* picture coutesy of Columbia Pictures/Marvel http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/spiderman3/site/

I do have big hopes with the upcoming third instalment of Spiderman (the graphite grey Spiderman/Venom suit is sublime...). And Batman Begins also did not disappoint. Let's all just hope and pray that the sequel for Batman Begins will be as interesting as the first... and that they don't revisit the nippled Batsuit idea. Ever.