I’m Still Not Losing Any Sleep over Ben Affleck As Batman and Neither Should You
At the very least, fanboys owe Miley Cyrus and her bizarre VMA sex act a debt of gratitude for taking all of the attention away from the airing of our dirty laundry – the virtual tantrum we threw at the mention that Ben Affleck (or ‘Bud Abbott’ to Matt Damon’s ‘Lou Costello’ act) would be donning the cape and cowl in 2015’s SUPERMAN VS. BATMAN. I felt the pain, too, especially at my ripe old age and – as I’ve constantly confessed – given the fact that I’m clearly one of cyberspace’s oldest Batman and Superman fans.
Was I surprised?
‘Dumbfounded’ was more like it.
Did I take to the web to declare my grievances right away as did so many?
No. I have better things to do on a weekend.
Am I pleased that Affleck will be wearing the mask?
You know what? I could actually care less.
Even moreso, I think all of us should care less, and, if you’ll indulge me, let me tell you why.
It Could Be Worse
First off – and I do mean every word of this – there are far worse choices than Ben Affleck.
For starters, how about his buddy, Matt ‘Sourpuss’ Damon? Seriously, the only thing bigger than that man’s scowl is his ego! Or, hey, how about Jason ‘ApplePie’ Biggs? Pauly Shore? Or Democratic strategist and Mr. Haney lookalike James Carville? Minimally, Affleck has the basic features Bruce Wayne might have – two eyes, two ears, a mouth – and, once everything is buried under the heavily padded suit, does it really matter? I’m the first to admit that, no, I don’t think Affleck has the greatest acting chops in the world; I get that he’s essentially a graduate of the George Clooney Institute for Limited-Range Male Thespians, but, on the upside, so far as I know he’s never assaulted his family members like Christian Bale did. And don’t try to hit me with that “Have you never seen Argo?” crap, either, because yes, I’ve seen it, and, no, I didn’t see any range there, either.
Stranger Things Have Happened
Back in the late 80’s, fandom similarly exploded when Tim Burton announced that he cast Beetlejuice regular Michael Keaton to play the billionaire-turned-superhero.
Cries of “what was he thinking?” immediately went up, much like what went down electronically this past weekend. Despite Keaton’s presence, 1989’s Batman wasn’t half bad. Sure, it was ham-handed by that God awful Prince soundtrack collaboration. Yes, it tried a bit too hard to elicit some of the obvious Frank Miller influences of the time. Still, a lot of it worked quite well as Burton fashioned a respectable gothic nightmare out of Gotham City’s landscape, and then he populated it with the only denizens who would ever think about living there. Burton’s greatest misstep – so far as this critic is concerned – was killing the Joker in his first theatrical outing ‘cause everybody knows no one can ever truly kill the Joker.
“The play’s the thing.”
Billy Shakespeare said it best: “the play’s the thing.”
Films are the ultimate artistic collaboration. Hundreds if not thousands of hands fashion it into what it is. Outside of the obvious cast and crew, there are far more less obvious contributions made by only the best craftsmen money can buy. While I’m no fan of Christopher Nolan’s short-attention-span narratives, I respect the guy enough because he’s managed to eek out some quality from every critical decision he’s made. Could Affleck be his Achilles’ Heel? Meh, I doubt that. But as I’ve often said, I tend to dismiss so much attention given to projects with casting announcements because they honestly mean so little when measured against ‘the play’ that’s yet to be written. How will ‘the play’ come together? Well, it’s too far off for me to really be all that concerned about it at this point.
What I’m trying to say is that “I don’t know the story of the SUPERMAN VS. BATMAN film.” When will it take place? Who’ll be the villain? (Yes, I’ve heard about the Bryan Cranston rumors.) What will its developments be? How do I know Ben Affleck isn’t exactly what Zack Snyder will need for it? While I can understand and appreciate the reservation based entirely on Affleck’s present resume, I just don’t know how well (or unwell) Mrs. Matt Damon will figure into it, so I tend to let these things be.
If Tim Burton made Michael Keaton work as Batman, then maybe Affleck has half-a-chance.
If Zack Snyder made Henry Cavill work as Superman, then maybe Affleck has half-a-chance.
What excites me far more than any specific casting announcement is ‘the play’ that will be ‘the thing.’ When I know more about that … when I get a chance to finally understand the how and why a choice was made … then I may honestly feel otherwise. Having been around on this big blue ball for as long as I have, this isn’t my first rodeo. If Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder wanna have Ben Affleck jump aboard, take the bull by the horns, and show us his stuff, then that’s their call, not mine. Based on what develops in the time between now and the film’s eventual premiere, I’ll decide whether or not I’ll be willing to plunk down my $10 for a ticket.
In the meantime?
Why, there’s always Batman: The Animated Series. Has there been a better incarnation of Bruce Wayne or the Batman since Kevin Conroy? Not so far as I know.
I don’t have strong feelings of the casting, let’s just see how it turns out and then give criticism that’s actually based on something. I’m much more concerned for the writing of the movie, because if that isn’t good it doesn’t matter if you got the greatest actors on the planet ever, it’s not gonna be good. Have a great script however and you don’t need the greatest actors to make a good movie. Ben Affleck has been in some good movies and in those movies I have nothing bad to say about him.
If they write a great story about Batman and Superman in one movie Ben Affleck is going to be great in it. I saw Star Trek Into Darkness a few days ago and even though they had the great properties, universe, actors and characters, the story was a mess and the movie wasn’t very good as a result (only on a superficial level it was good), so it could also go that way. Benedict Cumberbatch was awesome but his character and the story weren’t well written, so the actor can’t magically make it great. People should be worried about the writing of Man of Steel 2.
Well, since the first thing I thought as I rolled my eyes over the announcement of a premature Batman/Superman film was “this isn’t going to end well” the casting of Affleck is just more evidence that they aren’t taking this seriously from an artistic standpoint and are just going for whatever they think will put asses in seats. Under those rules of Hollywood, if Affleck is the biggest name who wants the role, he’s getting the role. I’m not losing sleep or raging over it, but I can’t say I think it’s a good idea, either. At this point, I may wait for the DVD and hope it’s at least as good as Daredevil.
Affleck has proven he can play a pretentious asshole very well, it’s what he is best at. When it comes to the interacting with other heroes, Batman is THE pretentious asshole. I think people will be surpirsed how well he fits the role once the film releases. Don’t get me wrong, Daredevil was terrible in every aspect and Affleck sucked in that movie big time. Matter of fact I generally dislike him as an actor, he has made many terrible films.
That said, I would rather see Affleck as Batman over Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern any day. Ryan Reynolds is Box Office poison. I still do not understand how some of the internets want a Reynolds Deadpool film. He was terrible in Wolverine Origins, and I’m not talking about the Baraka hybrid at the end I’m talking about Van Wilder and his twirly sword routine. Yes the character makes jokes and is a wise ass, but he should also be loud, wacky, awkward and completley manic.
Back to BatAffleck and Superman, what really matters to me is the villains they choose to bring and who plays them. That will have a very direct correlation with the story quality moreso than who is playing Batman. The right actor playing the right villain can steal a movie. I hoping for someone big like Braniac or even Mongul but we will probably get Luthor, Metallo and Riddler.
Well said, E.L.Z.