David Seaman & David Hestand | Echo
A&E Co-Editor David Seaman and contributor David Hestand debate the merits of Affleck as the Caped Crusader. Seaman drives home the positives, while Hestand contends the negatives.
Ben Affleck is the new Batman. Warner Bros. announced last Thursday that the actor will put on the cape and cowl in the upcoming Superman-Batman film. To some this seems like a fair choice. He has the looks of Bruce Wayne, and recent films like "The Town" have showcased his darker side.
On the other hand, Affleck is following in the footsteps of Christian Bale from Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, which are considered some of the best superhero films of all time. And let's admit it: Affleck has been in some really bad movies.
The revelation of Affleck as the new Caped Crusader has been the talk of the Twitterverse and social media. These are the reasons Affleck as Batman is either a blessing or a curse for both the actor and the audience. Is a Superman-Batman movie a good idea to begin with?Acting
Seaman: Ben Affleck has improved as an actor over the years. He was well-received in movies such as "Chasing Amy," and had a small but impressive role in 1997's "Good Will Hunting" (which he also co-wrote). However, after that, his acting began to suffer. "Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor" and "Gigli" were all terrible films, and Affleck's poor acting skills were a part of the reason for the bad quality. People shouldn't blame Affleck alone for performing at a subpar level in these movies, especially when those films were made over 10 years ago.
In all honesty, Jennifer Garner's appearance in Affleck's life in "Daredevil" was the best thing to happen to Affleck. He met Garner during the making of the film, and his films have been noticeably better after their relationship took off. Instead of immature and jokey performances, Affleck's latest roles have seemed more mature and down-to-earth.
His acting continued to improve in 2006 when he was critically acclaimed when he portrayed tortured "Superman" actor George Reeves in the film "Hollywoodland." As critic Peter Travers of Rolling Stone noted: "The irony is that Affleck's battering at the hands of fame has prepped him beautifully to play Reeves. He knows this character from the inside: the surface charm, the hidden vulnerability, the ache of watching a career become a joke and being helpless to stop it."
The bottom line? Affleck has begun to reshape himself.Along with great turns in "The Town" and "Extract," Affleck has shown both intensity and tenderness in recent films. Watch the scene in Affleck's award-winning"Argo" where he mock interrogates the six U.S. diplomats he is trying to free from Iran. "What's your middle name? What's your middle name? Shoot him, he's an American spy." This is what Batman should be like: hard-hitting, straight to the point, no-nonsense. Intense.
In Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder," Affleck's character silently struggles with feelings of love and despair. His broken performance could work beautifully for a character as haunted as Bruce Wayne. Affleck can pull it off.
Hestand: While Affleck has improved over the years, many would still say he isn't that great of an actor. He has been in some truly excellent movies, but he was hardly the star of any of them. Here in this "Man of Steel" follow up, Batman should possess a commanding presence and avoid having his spotlight stolen by someone else, as past Batmans frequently have. He needs to have the true presence to display exactly why Batman is considered one of the greatest superheroes.Many of Affleck's past films have made it clear that he could probably play Bruce Wayne just fine. But the question is, can he be Batman? The movie is, after all, Superman vs. Batman and not Clark vs. Bruce. Here, it is far more important that Affleck embody the World's Greatest Detective than another genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.
Writing
Seaman: Most of the films Affleck has starred in have been terribly written. The lines from the movie "Gigli" are cringeworthy. "It's turkey time. Gobble, gobble"? That's terrible. Average and above-average actors can suffer from poor writing - even the great Marlon Brando starred in the awful "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" and wasn't able to save it.
The same can be said with seemingly inferior actors and well-written roles. Hayden Christensen was ridiculed for playing Anakin Skywalker in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, but received praise for his performance as a plagiarizing journalist in "Shattered Glass."
Some of the best films Affleck has been in are the ones he himself has written and directed. "The Town" was praised by critics and became a box-office success. "Argo" cleaned up at the 85th Academy Awards. "Good Will Hunting," one of Affleck's first films, was co-written with best friend Matt Damon and won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars that year. The man is a gifted filmmaker and writer. Hopefully he'll receive writing credit on the new Superman-Batman film.
Hestand: Currently, there has been no official confirmation that Affleck is involved in any capacity aside from purely acting. If this is true, his past directing efforts and awards don't have nearly enough bearing on the film as many might like.
Expectation
Seaman: People may react negatively to Affleck because he supposedly failed at his first attempt as a masked vigilante. "Daredevil" was no critical darling, but other actors have played more than one superhero to positive results. Chris Evans was The Human Torch in the forgettable "Fantastic Four" films before being reinvented as Captain America. Granted, not all of these attempts have been good (Ryan Reynolds has bad luck with superhero films) but the audience should at least give Affleck a shot.
Affleck may seem like an odd choice as Batman, but so was Michael Keaton. Known for comedic roles at the time of 1989's "Batman," Keaton impressed audiences and critics with his serious take. People laughed when Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker in "The Dark Knight." Ledger's career before that film was similar to Affleck's early career: some acclaimed performances surrounded by mediocre films. Ledger's nightmarish performance is now considered by many to be the best part of "The Dark Knight."
Ben Affleck can be a good Batman. Let's just hope he skips the unintelligible voice from the Nolan films.Hestand: Many past Batman films have faced casting controversies. Michael Keaton was the first one to play Batman in a "dark" film, so there was a lot of hesitation there. Even today some would probably still argue that he didn't look like Batman, even though he was decent in the role. Ledger had never played a villain before "The Dark Knight," especially not one as iconic as the Joker. Affleck, however, has played a masked vigilante before. Many would like to forget how that experience went down.
A large number of viewers have grown up on Batman, and therefore have a certain visual idea in mind. And to a lot of those fans, Affleck just doesn't fit. Adding to that is the idea of a big name actor. For many, when they see Affleck as Batman, they won't be thinking "That's Batman!" but rather, "That's Ben Affleck!"
These are the pros and cons of Ben Affleck as Batman. The world will find out how well he does when the Superman-Batman film hits in summer 2015.
