Let's Talk About Superman's CGI Upper Lip in JUSTICE LEAGUE Because, You Know, It Was THE WORST!
Look, I enjoyed Justice League. It was a fun and entertaining film. But, there's one major aspect of the film that bugged the living hell out of me! It was Superman's CGI upper lip!
When Henry Cavill was brought in for reshoots with Joss Whedon, he had to grow out a mustache for his role in the next Mission: Impossible film. Unfortunately, he was contractually obligated not to shave it, so Warner Bros. had to spend a shit-ton of money to remove it digitally.
It was even more unfortunate that it turned out to be some of the worst CGI in a major big-budget film that I've seen in a long time. As much as I enjoyed how the character of Superman was handled, that CGI upper lip was super freakin' distracting, creepy looking, and laughably bad. When previously talking about reshooting his Superman scenes with his mustache, Cavill told Fox 5 DC:
"It’s nothing to cover it up. What we do is we try to put it back on the top lip as much as possible. So they kind of wax it up. And then I had dots all over my face. And they try to put dots, which are barely visible, sort of in the various points on the face where you would see them during normal… not face replacement, but whatever CGI aspect they may be applying to a face. And yeah. I was covered in dots, and had a big mustache. It was definitely a new look for Superman."
I think it's ridiculous that Cavill couldn't shave his stash off for the reshoots. He could've grown it back. Or they could've just put a fake stash on him, which would have been a lot easier, a lot cheaper, and a lot more believable looking than that terrible CGI upper lip. Hell, it would have been better to see Superman sporting a mustache than that CGI monstrosity!
I just thought it would be fun to vent and complain about one of Justice League's most glaring issues that could have and should have been avoided. Here are a bunch of reactions from Twitter.
IT IS
— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) November 17, 2017
It seems like they would have done better to just digitally add a mustache to the older scenes.
— Za Waldo (@DIOtheDinosaur) November 17, 2017
Superman: Do you bleed?
— Chris Layfield (@LayfieldChris) November 18, 2017
Batman: Do you CGI your upper lip?
Superman: pic.twitter.com/Bqc6mHRxir
Reminder that Marvel did this in 2015. #superman #mustache #cgi pic.twitter.com/Z77juPIj7Z
— Alex Fitz (@DavidTenn_Ant) November 17, 2017
Life comes at you fast. pic.twitter.com/EnEibYMhhR
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) November 17, 2017
Amazing work fixing Superman’s mustache, guys. pic.twitter.com/ccKXKtXeof
— John W. Smith (@JohnWSmith) November 17, 2017
The opening scene of Superman in Justice League is the most horribly distracting CG with that fucking mustache I have ever seen in a big budget movie. It's insane. I literally can't believe it.
— Evan Ragnarok (@EVComedy) November 17, 2017
From a Batman News commenter... 😂
— Batman-News.com (@BatmanNewsCom) November 17, 2017
How to remove a Superman mustache the WB way:
1. Open Photoshop.
2. Click the clone stamp tool.
3. Brush off the stache for about 2 minutes by cloning other parts of the face
4. Do it frame by frame.
And you're done. pic.twitter.com/TJmI3yJuzm
Superman with his mustache CGId away looks like me entering 90% of customer interactions: pic.twitter.com/YdvsvBnTaF
— Ho Ho Ho Merry Kevin (@TVsKevinLanigan) November 18, 2017
Instead of removing Henry Cavill's mustache in #JusticeLeague, they should have spent that money to give every other character a mustache. Commissioner Gordon gets two.
— Dan Casey (@DanCasey) November 17, 2017
I'll wait for the #JusticeLeague special edition where Henry Cavill's mustache is restored and everyone else, including the women, get one too.
— Johnny B. (@JohnBalash) November 17, 2017
So you're telling me fake mustache technology is SO bad that Henry Cavill couldn't have used one in MI6!? pic.twitter.com/cK90cLWhHB
— Darth Hound (@Darth_Hound) November 17, 2017
I for one do not agree with WB’s decision to replace Henry Cavill’s mustache with Christopher Plummer pic.twitter.com/YnVY8T5ueB
— Plymouth Ock (@FanSince09) November 17, 2017
Judging by CGI correction of Superman's upper lip in EVERY SINGLE SCENE from JUSTICE LEAGUE, I'm curious if he was ever even IN the first iteration of the film? How many tens of thousands of dollars would've been saved it he just SHAVED...?
— Robert Meyer Burnett (@BurnettRM) November 17, 2017
Henry Cavill’s upper lip is officially the worst CGI re-creation in cinema. They’ve made entire APES look real, and you couldn’t do Superman right. #JusticeLeagueMovie
— Altamish Khan (@khanival) November 17, 2017
I blame #TomCruise for me noticing #Superman lip pulling me out of #JusticeLeague over the CGI. F the M:I franchise! Henry Cavill should have just shaved it!
— Shawn McGaughey (@SlymDayspring12) November 18, 2017
god bless the intern that did superman's upper lip CGI you are an unsung legend from here on out.
— Graves By Play Date (@gamesbyplaydate) November 18, 2017