Actor/Director Ben Affleck has just been cast as Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel vs. Dark Knight flick, and I seem to be the only person alive to think he can pull it off. Don’t get me wrong, I was just as taken aback as the rest of the world when I first read the news, but after letting it marinate for a few minutes, I found myself becoming quite excited about the idea. The rest of the internet appears to disagree with me, shortsightedly so, citing Affleck’s past flops, such as Daredevil and Gigli, and not at all mentioning award nominated recent works like The Town and Argo. To people complaining that Affleck wouldn’t make a good Bruce Wayne/Batman, just remember that the same was said, prematurely, for Heath Ledger as The Joker. Those of you who want Christian Bale back, I ask of you,
“What made him so great as Bruce/Batman?”
By asking that I am not, at all, trying to take away from his performance, but I honestly never found him compelling as Batman. Sure, Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy was great, but Bale more or less just did his job in those films. He hadn’t convinced me that he was The Batman, but to be fair, nor has any other actor who has had the privilege of wearing the Bat Symbol. I am aware that summer blockbusters don’t require a high aptitude in the acting department, just big names and pretty explosions, but I feel as though Affleck can bring something to the character, something that hasn’t been realized for the character cinematically, depth. Especially for this movie, which is going to be set against the backdrop of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, in which Bruce is disillusioned by the world and its shifty politics. While I do believe Bale could make it work, I feel as though Affleck can get it to where it needs to be. My reason for thinking this? Nothing more than a gut feeling, coupled with watching Affleck prove all the naysayers wrong for the last couple of years. So just calm down with all the hate, and let the man do his thing, unless Bryan Cranston comes out and says he wants the role. Which, in that case, just give it to Cranston, because… it’s fuckin’ CRANSTON, man.
