In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Thor: Ragnarok” and “Black Panther” feature female characters who ride into battle, and who dress the part. She even speaks to some of the training outfits, which do feature bare midriffs and a decidedly more relaxed overall feel - more cotton, less metal - and compares it to sportswear, the Themysciran version of workout pants. In Sharon Gosling’s book “Wonder Woman: The Art and Making of the Film,” she devotes a number of chapters to the warrior costumes of Wonder Woman and her Amazon sisters. Stomachs were covered and boots were often tall, creating a look in service to movement, safety, and a firm nod to the Greek god who created them. Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” was populated by warrior women who sported looks befitting their place in the DC ecosystem as hardened soldiers. Beyond that, moving away from costumes designed to accentuate the assets of those wearing them - yes, usually women - sends the message that these movies are being made with a much bigger audience than adolescent boys. No one goes to action movies for their veracity, but costumes that even look like they could survive the odd plane crash, shipwreck, and tomb-set battle sequence go a long way toward selling a story. She looks great, but she also looks like she’s not going to get road rash or die if she brushes against a poisonous plant.
Sensible pants! What an idea! The film features a series of outfits appropriate for Croft’s rough-and-tumble lifestyle, one that includes boxing for fun and bike messengering for money. Her updated look now features a gray tank top with long cargo pants. However, the new “Tomb Raider” film is mostly based on the game’s 2013 reboot, and Vikander’s character’s costume reflects the new Lara. Angelina Jolie’s Lara often sported very small, very tight shorts - hardly practical for a top-ranked jungle-hacking tomb raider, but it was the look favored by the character in the original video games. This week’s video game adaptation is the “ Tomb Raider” reboot, with Alicia Vikander is the revamped Lara Croft. However, Hollywood appears to finally realize that even costumes are primed for evolution.
That meta costume choice represented the delightfully tongue-in-cheek nature of the film, but it also shone a light on one of the action genre’s most pervasive problems in the contemporary era: outfitting leading ladies in stupid costumes, most of them meant to play up sex appeal over anything resembling functionality. It’s the first thing her avatar comments on, and her unease with the outfit is apparent throughout the film.
That’s Gillan: an old-school video game character outfitted in a purposely ludicrous get-up. When the film finally arrived last fall, Gillan’s promise proved out. As Martha, she plays an awkward teen who gets tossed into a video game with a pack of her high school brethren, and must fight her way out. The character of Martha is also played by Morgan Turner, said awkward teen who turns into the video game avatar Ruby Roundhouse when she enters the “Jumanji” game. At the time, Gillan tweeted, “Yes I’m wearing child-sized clothes and YES there is a reason! The pay off is worth it.” When a first-look image of Karen Gillan in costume arrived online last September for her role in “ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” the adventure film was blasted for dressing her in tiny shorts and a bare midriff while her all-male co-stars sported more practical duds. Girl Talk is a weekly look at women in film - past, present, and future.