Another great example is "Chunk" from the Goonies (1985). He was considered so fat that it was comic relief. Now you can walk through any Middle School in the United States and find dozens, if not hundreds, of kids that are MUCH larger!
I'm the flip side, Go back and watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Once you're done cringing at the racism, think about the fact that Harrison Ford went on an intense weightlifting program for that movie, and was considered the most shredded leading man in Hollywood at the time. Actors using steroids has become so common that it has also skewed our perception of a normal fit guy's body.
IMO Harrison Ford looks pretty damn fit in that picture and I wouldn't bat an eye if he were in a super hero movie today. Like that's not a Thor body but there are many characters where that body would fit in just fine. I agree that movie bodies are not very attainable for most people with busy lives, but on the other hand, if you're playing a super hero you're not playing an average person. It would probably be weird to see an average body shape doing the impossible stunts you see in action movies.
Even with the lore explanations, I think it just helps maintain suspension of disbelief when you visually see someone muscular doing impossible feats of strength rather than someone physically unfit. But to your point, I would like to see more super heroes with strongman barrel physics instead of the aesthetic prioritizing body builder physique.
Spiderman is still super fit. He's lean muscle and not bulky body builder fit, but he still has muscle. Even in the comics his muscles are very well defined.
Back when they made "300" it was almost satire how shredded these guys looked. It was obvious it wasn't realistic and wasn't meant to be. Nowadays we get shows like Reacher with an absolutely humongous lead that's supposed to wander around doing jack shit all day... right. His mother shat him out this way.
And female "tough" leads are often tiny and no muscle in sight yet they still kick ass and routinely dispose off bad guys twice their size. Why do the guys even need to be this big when physics don't matter?
I hate this so much. Hollywood is so fucking fake.
Yeah thats totally true. Just look at photos of Bruce Lee for example. A fighting machine but not nearly as big as any one of the gym bros nowadays that train for volume.
Yeah Hollywood ugly is a meme. Oh man she's so ugly... But she's like solidly at least an 8, just not wearing makeup and in unflattering clothes and lighting l