Enter the Batffleck! Ben Affleck is the new Batman
August 24, 2013 3:48 am | 1 Comment
Never, in the history of comic book adapted movie casting news, have I fist pumped and then back flipped out of my chair. I always have a reason why someone else would be a better choice. Hugh Jackman is Wolverine even though he is way too tall and way too pretty. What looks good on paper does not always hold true in practice. Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull should have been a masterstroke. Yet he put in one of the most, when-does-the-paycheck-cash performances in recent memory for one of the biggest bads in the Marvel Universe. When we were young, we dreamed of who could ever play these mighty heroes that were to become part of the new American mythology. Then we got the announcement that Beetlejuice would be playing the Dark Knight. People freaked out at my local comic book store. Today, we get the news that Ben Affleck has been cast in the Man of Steel sequel to play Batman. History is repeating itself. I stumbled through the regularly scheduled spite and scorn on Facebook tonight, but I got thinking about the choice of Affleck as the Caped Crusader.
First of all, Ben Affleck has come a long way since his first foray into the tights. He was probably too distracted by his future wife to give a shit about the movie Daredevil. I can’t really blame him.
Secondly, I own every movie Kevin Smith has ever made. Ben Affleck is in every one of them except for two. Clerks and Zack and Miri Make a Porno are the only two movies in the View Askewniverse that he did not take part in. Kevin Smith also hosts the podcast Fatman on the Batman. If Mr. Affleck has any moments where he feels that Snyder is giving him bad direction, he can simply point to his Oscar or Golden Globe and, if that doesn’t work, speed dial his buddy Kevin to explain to Zack Snyder why the direction that he is giving for Bruce Wayne are bullshit.
Thirdly, have you seen his recent movies? The Town was a riveting bank heist drama that truly set itself apart in a genre that is so derivative I was amazed that neither Al Pacino nor Robert de Niro showed up anywhere in the film. Argo was the BEST PICTURE last year. Ben Affleck’s recent work more than makes up for his missteps early in his career, and I hope we can all just take a deep breath and think through this announcement before jumping to conclusions.
I have never had a favorite Batman. Michael Keaton was surprisingly good in costume, but he never pulled off Bruce Wayne to me. Christian Bale had the opposite problem. Phenomenal in his scenes out of the cowl, but, I’m sorry Jay, the voice as Batman was more distracting than Tom Hardy’s vocal filtering as Bane. Bale’s Batman talks like he is auditioning for a thrash metal band. Val Kilmer gave us a preview in Batman Forever of how dismal his future career would be. George Clooney was more unintentionally goofy than Adam West. I am going to give the announcement of Ben Affleck as Batman a Taste It. It’s got a little bit of sweet and a tiny bit of sour, but we could be stuck with Josh Brolin at this point so I am not going to complain.
Give us your feedback on what you think. Give me your spite. I am the Pac Man of spite. Yum yum yum.
Yours Truly,
David Griffin domesticateddave@gmail.com
Tags: Batffleck, Batman, Batman vs Superman Ben Affleck, Ben Affleck Batman, David Griffin, Kevin Smith Batman Affleck, Man of Steel 2 Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton Ben Affleck, pop culture leftovers, Superman
Categorised in: Headlines, Random Reviews & News
This post was written by David Griffin
You know, all the guys who were all “Mr. Mom?” when word came down that Keaton was going to play Batman can bite me.
Okay, this is going back to 1989, but still.
Let me take a moment to dig into this: if Mr. Mom were to have been written today, but given to, say, Happy Madison to play with, what would have happened was the movie would have had a lot of jokes where Adam Sandler would have become completely emasculated and sunk into being a woman, complete with jokes about how his balls were shriveled and started taking to wearing frilly aprons and speaking in falsetto.
How the movie actually played out was of a guy adjusting being a guy in a traditionally female role, and I think what kept the movie decently grounded was that Keaton played the character exactly the way it should have been played: as a man’s man.
And I think that plays into a quality that Keaton inherently has as an actor (voice roles in Toy Story 3 notwithstanding): even when he’s vulnerable, there’s nothing particularly “soft” about him. Just like some Caped Crusader we all know.
So when he was picked to play Batman, I was not only not surprised, I got right behind it (of course, the movie didn’t age well, but Keaton was The Hotness in that movie and I will shout down anyone who disagrees like your average Belieber).
I’m not a particular fan of the argument that because non-traditional casting worked before, it will always work. Yes, sometimes your expectations will bite you in the ass from time to time, but Affleck doesn’t come across with inherent toughness. He comes with smarm and smug, which is a poor man’s substitute for toughness.
So yeah, I’m-a roll over on ya for this one, Davey.