My Humble Two Cents On "BATFLECK"

Could it possibly not suck spectacularly? Find out my thoughts after the jump.

Editorial Opinion
By ultimatefan1974 - Aug 29, 2013 01:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Batman

Ben Affleck as Batman sounds like the kinda thing a fanboy would picture in his worst nightmares.

It´s not for nothing this casting has caused such a crapstorm on the internet. Comic book fans in general flat out hated him as Daredevil and now he´s gone straight for the Big Kahuna, the frikking dark knight, arguably the most popular superhero of all time. For many, much of his initial stardom came in the shadow of his buddies Matt Damon and, to a lesser extent, Kevin Smith. His biggest hit was Armaggeddon, which had little or nothing to do with him. For years, many movie buffs have considered him a bad or mediocre actor. Then he had a major career meltdown, from which it seemed impossible to recover.

I myself am among those who´ve never liked him as an actor. I´ve felt like he had a tendency to always play the exact same character, and I never cared much for that character. Specifically, I don´t really see anything particularly Batman-esque about him, not his face, not his voice, not his acting style.

All of this said, there also was a crapstorm when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman - they didn´t have the internet back then, but it was so big it ended up on the pages of the frikking Wall Street Journal - and to this day, for many fans, he´s still the best Batman. There also was a crapstorm when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker - and this time it was all over the internet - and he´s become iconic in the role.

Also with all of this said, Affleck has had a very impressive comeback in recent years. His work as a filmmaker and actor in The Town and Argo has brought his credibility to a whole new level. One could picture this being a huge opportunity for him to redeem himself for DD, to prove once and for all that the Affleck so many used to despise is dead and buried and a true artist in every sense has emerged from the ashes.

So, against all my instincts tell me right now, I´ll take a "wait and see" attitude. I´ve been pleasantly surprised before, and loved it. One thing is for sure: there´s no middle ground for this. This casting will either prove to be a left field masterstroke or a disaster of such proportions that will make DD and Gigli look like mere hiccups.

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GinjaNinja
GinjaNinja - 8/29/2013, 2:26 PM
who else is sick of ben afleck editorials which either give 10 fake qualifications or 10 fake disqualifications...
maninfinesuit
maninfinesuit - 8/29/2013, 2:41 PM
He can't suck spectacularly, cause he'll be too busy being [frick]ing awesome.
aresww3
aresww3 - 8/29/2013, 3:28 PM
Great article. For once someone giving Affleck a chance but making sense. I hate this revisionist history of his career. Up till now he´s proven himself a bad actor. Doe that mean he can´t surprise us. Ofcourse not. But lets not pretend the Affleck hate (for this role, not him. I actually like the guy) is coming from nowhere. Its just b.s. when people seem to overnight consider Daredevil a masterpiece and Affleck a credible actor with huge range. I respect the truth and willingness to give a man a second chance, but this outpouring of fan bashing for lamenting WB´s decision is just as absurd as the anti ben affleck campaign on change.org. thanks for this. thumbs up by me.
maninfinesuit
maninfinesuit - 8/29/2013, 3:35 PM
People thinking Affleck is a good actor has nothing to do with Daredevil's new 'masterpiece' label, and more to do with The Town, Argo, Hollywoodland, Chasing Amy, Good Will Hunting, and other films that will take longer to list than 'derp gigli, daredevil.'
aresww3
aresww3 - 8/29/2013, 3:36 PM
By the way he played the same role he always does in Argoe and The Town. The only two times I´ve seen him play anything really well outside Good Will Hunting is Shakespeare In Love and Dazed And Confused and that was more because he was playing a parody of what we all think of him so it was funny. I´ve always respected the guy and thought good guy/ bad actor just like I think Tom Cruise bad guy/ good actor. I think alot of the world see Affleck like that and he has an opportunity to prove us wrong. My one issue is all the performances he robbed us of, whether John Hamm, Fassbender, and many others who I wanted to see. (personal fav being Alex O'Loughlin) I´m just saying Ben doesn´t just have to be good, he has to be Ledger good for me to justify this casting.

I am not a hypocrite as well because never once on the web did I voice dissatisfaction with any casting. This is the first and I feel I have good reason.
aresww3
aresww3 - 8/29/2013, 3:44 PM
@maninfinehat - I think the same mistake is being made. Being in a good film does not mean you were good in it. I have seen Good Will Hunting Affleck is good, but plays a very similar character and even still Damon and Williams steal the show, Hollywood Land is not that great a movie and affleck is ok at best in it, Still playing the Affleck, Chasing Amy, The Town, Argoe great films but it shows very little range for Affleck - he´s the same guy. I mean compare him to Josh Brolin, think of that guy in Men In Black 3, bad movie, but what a performance by Brolin. He is Tommy Lee. Nothing I´ve seen say to me affleck can act at that level. Dicaprio, Norton, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise even Matt Damon his buddy all have shown a vast range and ability to adapt as leading men to various roles. Southern accent, Northern, European, South African, they´ve done it all. Ben Affleck has barely left his Boston statey routes in rather unmemorable performances at that. But thats just how I feel. Have you a counter point?
maninfinesuit
maninfinesuit - 8/29/2013, 4:45 PM


But in seriousness, I simply disagree. Actors before him who have been considered legends (Robert Deniro, Humphrey Bogart, etc.) played the same guy. Another actor's range doesn't speak any further to how effective Affleck would be in a role. As for his memorability or effectiveness in the past, I suppose that's a matter of opinion. I have enjoyed Affleck in most of his films, you haven't. That's fine. Plenty of people enjoy Daniel Day-Lewis or Natalie Portman even if I don't. That's fine, too. All perspective.
Highflyer
Highflyer - 8/29/2013, 6:12 PM
@aresww3 did you not read where he said "Also with all of this said, Affleck has had a very impressive comeback in recent years. His work as a filmmaker and actor in The Town and Argo has brought his credibility to a whole new level."? He also thinks Ben is a better actor. smh
antonio
antonio - 8/29/2013, 6:49 PM
People, like myself, defending Affleck really comes from all of his work since 2006. I believe in BatFleck,
Forthas
Forthas - 8/29/2013, 10:49 PM
Here is my problem with the casting. If you look at other franchises they retain the talent that people have come to accept and has been successful. Tom Cruise is about to make his 5th Mission Impossible movie. Johnny Depp his 5th Pirates of the Caribbean film. Daniel Craig is signed for two more James Bond film which will bring it to five and Robert Downey Jr signed to portray Iron Man for two more films for a total of six. For some bizarre reason Warner Brother is rebooting the most popular Batman and frankly Superhero trilogy of all time...why? Just so Ben Affleck can be Batman? Very few people think he will be good. So fans of Batman are left to HOPE that they get a decent iteration when in all likelyhood it won't be. People keep saying that fans were wrong about this actor and that. They were NOT wrong about Keaton whose second attempt at Batman made 35% less than the first movie despite being a better movie. And what about the many times the studio has been wrong...Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Superman 3, Superman 4, Catwoman, Jonah Hex, Green Lantern...etc. etc. So we should conveniently ignore the MANY times that they have screwed up and "wait and see". That is the definition of insanity.
Kyos
Kyos - 8/30/2013, 3:04 AM
Either this casting will work or it won't - yeah, I guess we can agree on that. So far I'm not at all convinced it will work. Well, guess we'll see.
aresww3
aresww3 - 8/30/2013, 4:36 AM
"But in seriousness, I simply disagree. Actors before him who have been considered legends (Robert Deniro, Humphrey Bogart, etc.) played the same guy. Another actor's range doesn't speak any further to how effective Affleck would be in a role. As for his memorability or effectiveness in the past, I suppose that's a matter of opinion. I have enjoyed Affleck in most of his films, you haven't. That's fine. Plenty of people enjoy Daniel Day-Lewis or Natalie Portman even if I don't. That's fine, too. All perspective."

You´re right nowadays, De Niro phones it in. But alot of his less famous films have him playing very different roles or taking on massive challenges. God Father 2 being a main example, Italian all through, but there are others, where he plays an English aristocrat.I forget the name. But I´ll be honest I always found De Niro if not overrated a tad bit boring in delivery.
As for Humphrey, he´s just too cool. Even if he wasn´t the great thespian we claim he was, we can´t help just love the guy cause he was such a great screen presence. With Bogart its hard to say his range as well, because then they had the studio system and people really were pigeon holed into playing the same character over and over again. It was guys like Brando and James Dean who really brought in a new generation of acting.
The Ben Affleck case is very different, but I hope he does pull it off, because for all the faults I blame the studio not him and I won´t hate on him if he does fail, I will squarely blame the studio, Snyder and Goyer.
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