Why so ser ... excited?
Youngsters in Chennai have a field day indulging their inner comic nerd
By : gautam sunder
Update: 2015-07-17 00:44 GMT
“OMG JARED LETO’S JOKER IS GONNA RAISE HELL!” “HAHAHA DEADPOOL IS SO FUNNY” “DUUUDE HARLEY QUINN IS DRIVING ME NUTS” “BATMAN. ENOUGH SAID.”
It was quite a dramatic last weekend for comic book geeks and aficionados in the city, when hot on the heels of Comic-Con 2015 at San Diego, the Internet was swamped with first-looks and leaked trailers of some of the most anticipated upcoming superhero (and anti-hero) movies — in an euphoria that has lasted all week!
Several Chennaiites, bred on a rich diet of graphic novels and comics right from their childhood, or having become fans of the DC/ Marvel universe movies in the recent past, went berserk on social media sharing updates of not one — but three pretty spectacular movie previews.
Of course, it was Zack Snyder’s Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice which evoked the most emotion ... as well as some nagging queries. “It’s the Caped Crusader pitted against the Man of Steel! What’s not to like? We were all a little confused earlier, but now the storyline makes more sense. There’s also a tantalising sneak-peek of a Robin suit, which has set rumour mills into overdrive. And one of my favourite actors, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor will definitely be a scene-stealer,” remarks entrepreneur Varun Mohanraj.
However, others like Paul Philip, who works at The Madras Stage, has his reservations, “The minute I heard Ben Affleck was going to be Batman, I cheered. He fits the profile perfectly! At the same time, I’m not too convinced by Gal Gadot playing Wonder Woman; someone like Gina Carano would have been a better choice. Similarly, when it comes to Suicide Squad, Margo Robbie looks fantastic as Harley Quinn, but Will Smith’s Deadshot is disappointing. Having grown up obsessing over different screen incarnations of the Joker, including some that Mark Hamill voiced (yes, Luke Skywalker was the Joker’s voice), it’s weird to see Jared Leto put a different spin on the character.”
While Joker fans eagerly wait to see if Leto can live upto Heath Ledger’s manic legacy from The Dark Knight, there is almost delirious exhilaration over the film adaption of Marvel’s NSFW ‘anti-hero’ Deadpool — as consultant Arunkumar Sekhar tells us, “Deadpool, for me, is Marvel’s ultimate creation. He was created to mock DC’s famous Deathstroke, but ended up being a stupendous outlet to parody every single trope of every comic character. Deadpool’s mocking of Wolverine and Spiderman is legendary to the extent that his images/gifs have broken the Internet! He breaks the fourth wall; he talks non-stop; and is the meta of all meta, because he thinks that the world he inhabits is a comic world and people in the comics think he is insane. And when Ryan Reynolds says in the trailer, ‘Please don’t make my uniform animated. Or green.’ (alluding to his Green Lantern failure) you know the film is in safe hands. Did I mention the film is R-rated?”
But it’s not just the serious geeks who are eager; some like actress Pia Bajpai just want to enjoy the movie experience, “I’m actually a huge Wonder Woman fan, and couldn’t be more thrilled about her role in the flick. She represents so many wonderful ideals for a modern-day woman, and Diana Prince is truly an inspiration to every girl out there. Besides, let’s face it — it’s always more fun when a girl fights on screen!”
And for some others — it’s because they are in love with the hunks! Quips designer Manjula Rao, “Oh man, Henry Cavil is so hot! Superman has always been likeable — he is actually a regular boy-next-door, simple and sweet. He’s someone we can all relate to, unlike Batman who is well, a millionaire and a genius. Obviously, it helps that the actor playing Superman makes us go ga-ga.”