PROS
1. Ben is actually a really good actor.
When people think of Ben Affleck, They think "DareDevil", or "Gigli", or some other piece of crap he did in the early 2000's, but over the last ten years Ben has really grown as an actor. His performances in "The Town", "Argo", and "Hollywoodland" were outstanding and prove that not only has his acting matured, but his choice in roles has gotten better too. Back in the day when he was dating J.Lo, Ben was like any up and coming leading man, taking any big budget movie that came his way in order to beef up his resume. These days Ben is a family man, and no longer cares about pleasing peoples expectations, he just wants to do roles that he finds interesting. After the year he's had, Ben could choose to do whatever he wants, and if he chose to play Batman, that means he's confident enough in himself to know that he CAN play the role.
2. Ben is a creative genius
These days Ben is more famous for his tremendous talents as a director more than anything else, but most people overlook the fact that he's a very talented screenwriter who wrote the screenplay for "The Town", "Gone Baby Gone", and even won an Oscar for best original screenplay for "Good Will Hunting", which he wrote with Jason Bourne, so yea. Ben getting casted as the caped crusader not only means we're getting a great actor, but also a great writer/director. Now listen, I love Snyder, I trust Snyder, but you know who don't I trust, Goyer. He's alright at best, but to be honest he's been given too many chances with the character and we need some fresh blood. With Affleck around, I'm hoping Snyder being the professional that he is will heed some advice given by the actor to make a strong story and strong interpretation of the character. Plus, once Batman gets to have his own solo films again, hopefully Affleck will agree to direct and bring some of that crime thriller edge that his previous films have been laced with.
3. He LOOKS like Bruce Wayne.
It might be superficial to bring up, but Affleck is the only actor in my memory that actually looks like old-school comics Bruce. Ben has a good face, strong chin, and an everlasting five o'clock shadow, which will look awesome in the mask. Also, unlike many actors today, he's not the type of guy whose looks ripped to shreds. He's top heavy, he's thick, he's got the physique of a 1930's boxer, which I like for the character. And in the end, he's just pretty. He's got that billionaire halo to him that's been missing from Bruce Wayne for a while.
CONS
1.He's 41
Maybe i'm the only one whose bothered by this, but to be honest, I wanted a younger actor for Batman. Not that Ben isn't great, but how long can he play the character before he has to be replaced? Batman/Superman doesn't come out until 2015, and then Justice League 2017, and then hopefully after that we'll get a new string of solo Batman films. By 2019 if we get the next batman film, Ben will be 47, it's not like that's a deal breaker or anything, but damn, you know. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of the older seasoned Batman......on paper. On the big screen, age is their to be seen, and there's a point where it stops being believable. It's like when Clint Eastwood made "Dirty Harry", it was cool because he was this experienced, world weary cop, and we dug it, but by the time "The Deadpool" came out, we could all see that his time was done.
2. What the f$ck has Bruce Wayne been doing this whole time?
The casting of Affleck of course means that our new Batman will be up there in age, which according to Ben's age will be about 40. This brings about two questions, 1- How long has he been Batman? If bruce is 40 in the film, then in my mind at least, he should've been doing his thing for about 10 or 12 yrs. Bruce is a man who is determined to clean up his city, determined to fight the good fight, so I don't see him waiting until he's in his mid-30's to start fighting crime. 2- If Bruce has been fighting bad guys for nearly a decade, how the hell has nobody noticed? In MOS, Superman is supposed to be the FIRST superhero, or at least the first outed hero, so that would mean that nobody on earth knows of the existence of Batman. Now listen, i'm a guy whose open to almost anything films have to throw at me, but one thing I can't buy is that in the world we live in today, how is it that the actions of a man dressed up like a bat not come to light. I mean I could buy his actions going unnoticed for 3-5 yrs tops, but if i'm right and he's been doing this longer, there is no way in hell no one would notice. And don't give me that hiding in the shadows crap, they found suddam hussien in a damn hole... in the desert, there's only so long a person could hide.
3. Lexy,Lexy,Lexy
Now that we have our Batman, it's only a matter of time before the actor whose gonna play Lex will be revealed. The casting of Affleck as Batman is definitely a game changer, and sets a definite tone for this new DCCU, even more so than MOS did. The question still remains, whose gonna play Luthor? I was hoping for a younger actor, someone in their early thirties,someone who would bring that hunger for power element that only a younger guy would feel, but has Affleck changed that? I liked the idea of Bruce and Lex being the same age or at least a year or two apart, so that they could have some sort of history, like going to school together when they were teens or running in the same circles with the other billionaire elite. If Batman is about 40, then I imagine who ever is gonna be cast as Lex will be around the same age or older. I don't Know, maybe it's not a CON to anyone else, but the last thing I want is and OLD lex on the big screen again, maybe it's just me.
#SIDENOTE. It probably won't happen, but I always wanted to see a scene in a movie where Bruce and Clark discuss the fact that both their mothers are name Martha, it's always intrigued me.