I'd like to take some time to address some of the confirmed and rumored casting calls for some upcoming movies, mainly super hero related. Read on, because I have a lot to say about this whole Ben Affleck thing, but I'll save that for last.
RUMOR: Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic in the upcoming reboot of "Fantastic Four"
Ever heard of this guy? Yeah, me neither. But I like to keep an open mind, so I did some research. This kid's film history is pretty bland. From "Project X" to the remake of "Footloose", I'm pretty unimpressed by that track record. That said, he's pretty young, so things could change, but for the moment, pretty meh.
As far as matching the character, I call folly. Just from the picture below, and if you're a comic book fan you'll know, Mr. Fantastic is older. The reboot is looking more and more like a younger version of the Fantastic Four, which I'm not a huge fan of. Give this guy 10 or 15 years and he may be able to pull off the look, but right now....eeeeeh.
RUMOR: Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm in the same "Fantastic Four" reboot
HOLD UP. I apologize in advance, because I am not in any way shape or form trying to make this a racist thing, but Johnny Storm is WHITE! It's a huge part of the comics that his sister is Sue Storm. So in order for this casting choice to make sense, they'd have to make Sue Storm black as well. AGAIN, NOT BEING RACIST HERE, it just annoys me because then you're completely changing the characters to something totally different. Then don't title it Fantastic Four, because that's not who it'd be about! Jordan was in the recent super hero movie "Chronicle" which did pretty well with it's gritty super hero style, and if they cast it based on that alone, then just make "Chronicle 2" and pick someone actually suited for the role.
Let's flip this around for a moment. What if they made a movie about Luke Cage, but made him a white guy? The dynamic of the character, and even their back story, is forever changed, and fanboys likely will not be happy. I disapprove of this choice.
RUMOR: Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon in "Guardians of the Galaxy"For those of you who may be unaware of the Guardians of the Galaxy, (first off, see my Comic-Con news round-up) long story short: they're the Space-Avengers. Rocket Raccoon is pretty much the smart-mouthed, machine gun wielding mascot. Choice of voice actor may not be critical, but the director has stressed that for the success of this movie, Rocket Raccoon has to be done right.
Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, All About Steve) is one of Hollywood's most recent prettyboy actors. So for him to take an off-camera role is an interesting turn that quite honestly would boost my respect for him as an actor. On that note, let's take a look at his chops as a voice actor. If I heard him talking on TV while I wasn't looking, I may be able to pick out who it is, but that's just because I've watched The Hangover a lot. Short of that, he doesn't have tons of experience with off-camera acting, so the casting here seems like more of a "name-drop" scenario. I'll reserve final judgement until I can hear it, but I think he'll do alright. Not great, just alright.
CONFIRMED: Vin Diesel as Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy"
Next to Rocket Raccoon in the Space-Avengers, we have Groot, the living tree. Basically an Ent (from Lord of the Rings) if they were aliens. So as a gigantic living tree, I approve of this choice of voice actor. Using the example that I did with Bradley Cooper, if I were listening but not watching TV, I'd easily be able to pick out Vin's voice. He's got a unique, full-bodied deep voice that will lend itself very well to Groot. Not much else to say about it, I think he'll do well.
CONFIRMED: Ben Affleck as Batman in "Man of Steel 2" (or Batman vs Superman)
Alright, buckle up, because I'm about to go on a roller-coaster rant here. I promise I'll try for a few positive remarks in there, but overall, I'm feeling extremely negative about this casting choice.
Director Zack Snyder did a wonderful job with the recent Superman reboot, "Man of Steel." It took the long-standing boy scout in a new, and awesome darker direction. Because this movie is effectively considered the "Iron Man" of the DC Comics movie universe (it's kind of the kick off of the eventual Justice League movie), I'm already happy that they did not have Christian Bale reprise his role as the Dark Knight. That said, I was much more excited about the previously rumored actors for Batman before they announced Ben Affleck.
A lot of people/fanboys have been saying, "Everyone said the same thing about Heath Ledger, and look how well that was in The Dark Knight!" This is a fair point. There was an equally strong backlash when he was announced as Joker. But on the flip side, Heath Ledger wasn't in Daredevil. I understand that Ben Affleck didn't write or direct "Daredevil", so most people are saying the movie was "not his fault." But I thoroughly believe that a good actor can thrive despite poor writing. Affleck did not do this in Daredevil. People say he's such a good actor, but I feel like whatever he's in, he tries too hard. This is an extreme, but take for example "Good Will Hunting". Matt Damon and Robin Williams were amazing, but both Ben and Casey Affleck were very unbelievable to me. We get it, you're from New York, or Boston, or wherever. If that's your only schtick, move along and make way for better actors.
Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Much Ado About Nothing) had this to say about himself, and I feel it applies well to Ben Affleck as well: "I feel I'd make a great Bruce Wayne, [but a] terrible Batman." Anyone can play the billionaire playboy, but not everyone has the chops to pull off Bruce Wayne's darker half. To quote Star Wars: I have a bad feeling about this.
*UPDATE* 08/27/13
RUMOR: Bryan Cranston cast as Lex Luthor in "Man of Steel 2
"I'm going to begin with a startling confession: I'm one of the few people in America who doesn't religiously watch Breaking Bad. But before you string me up and drag me through the streets, let me say this much: I've seen enough of his character to know that he can move beyond being "Malcolm in the Middle's dad" and be a hard-ass bald guy, which in essence is all that Lex Luthor is. The most recent casting of Luthor, portrayed by Kevin Spacey, did an alright job as a pissed off bald guy. But the real trick to portraying Lex Luthor is not just being angry and having hair issues, he has to be the ultimate bad human being.
The beauty of the Lex Luthor vs Superman rivalry is that Lex is the ultimate normal human being. Just like the Joker vs Batman: Joker is nothing but color and energy, and Batman is dark, gray and black, and brooding. As long as Cranston can pull off the "ultimate normal guy" aspect of it, while throwing in some unbridled rage, he'll do just fine. Hope he loses the goatee though, or it'll just be Superman vs Breaking Bad.
*UPDATE* 08/29/13
CONFIRMED: James Spader as Ultron in "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
With voice actors, it can be pretty hit-or-miss when casts are announced. As discussed above, some actors such as Bradley Cooper may not be that distinguishable, whereas others like Vin Diesel may do a more remarkable or memorable job. James Spader (Boston Legal, The Office, Lincoln) to me falls in the latter category. I feel his voice is distinguishable enough that no matter who he voiced, he'll at least give the character more...well, more character.
My first encounter with Spader was on one of the later seasons of The Office. It took me a while to warm up to his abrasive character type, but his smooth, quietly powerful voice was an interestingly entertaining part of his character. The character he'll be playing (for those of you who may not know), Ultron, is a killer robot with an artificial intelligence that has the ability to evolve itself to overcome his opponents. The character is smart, cold, and calculated. I haven't had an enormous amount of exposure to Spader's acting, but I'm not too worried about this choice. I'm kind of biased since it is a Joss Whedon movie, but either way, not a bad choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment