Ben Affleck is the new Batman.

 

I prefer Affleck the director to Affleck the actor.

Umm..... no, just no - this is just as bad as casting George Clooney or Val Kilmer as Batman

This came from left field didn't it? My Facebook feed started blowing up with this around 10 PM last night, friends were asking me "Dude, did you hear about this?" and I'm like "Um... no, I must've missed a memo."

I may be one of the few who liked Affleck's previous superhero turn in "Daredevil," which had some stylistic similarities to "Batman"... so I'll take a wait-and-see 'tude.

Affleck was also very good as George Reeves, who played Superman on TV in the '50s, in the underrated film "Hollywoodland," which I think only Manny and I have seen

Warner Brothers just saved me about ten bucks.

I think he is one hell of a director, and like FF I actually enjoyed his take on Daredevil.

As FF pointed out, his performance as George Reeves was outstanding, so I have a wait and see attitude

At first glance, this is a terrible idea. But like FF I'll hold off any judgment til I see the finished project. Michael Keaton was originally thought to be a bad choice to play Batman but he pulled it off I think.

And I haven't read anything official on this but is this going to be the film that teams him up with Superman that I had heard about ?

My feeling is this about Ben; he was absolutely in a horrible slump between that of Good Will Hunting (1997) and Hollywood Land (2006). Since then he's been in movies like "State of Play", "The Company Men", "The Town", & "Argo", which all were good, and they all showcase his talent. When Ben Affleck picks good roles, his acting chops are up there with many of Hollywood's elite.

That's.......................weird... but then, me not being too much of a Batman fan, no harm no foul..

Let's be honest, there simply wouldn't be a consensus among Batman fans of who would be best suited to play the caped crusader, so ultimately, whomever TPTB handpicked, there would be some uproar over the decision. I'm sure this will happen eventually with Robert Downey Jr and the Tony Stark/Iron Man role, and people will be livid over that decision. If you loved Batman, just be happy that you got three good ~ great movies with Christian Bale, great ensemble, good villains, really good scripts, etc...

Interesting choice I guess. Nothing I can see getting worked up over.

I love watching comic fanboys twitch and bitch and complain and whine and cry. It's probably far more entertaining than the eventual film will be.

Affleck is a very talented director and he's also matured into a completely capable actor, I see no issues.

Plus, all he has to do is put on a mask and walk around in front of a green screen for several months, everything else in the film will be CGI.

Affleck is a criminally underrated actor and director. Besides.. It's Batman...

In the interest of giving this whole thing some perspective...

In 1989, fanboys cried foul when they announced Michael Keaton was going to be Batman, too. Of course, we didn't have the Internet then, but in comic book stores nationwide, geeks were gathering and screaming "The guy from BEETLEJUICE? What the F*CK?" ... believe me, I was there.

Then the movie came out and we all had to admit that dammit, he was pretty good.

Only if Matt Damon is Robin.

My initial thought when discovering this news was Keaton. But I like Keaton as a kid. I don't like Ben Affleck. I don't see him as Batman.

However.

I've not seen his latest efforts from the director's chair and I understand they are quite good. I'm okay with this if it works out, but is it still a shitty choice? Yeah.

However.

Who else is there to choose from? Taylor Lautner? Ashton Kutcher? James Franco? Christian Bale wanted too much money. Today's action stars are a different breed than yesteryear. Plus, the real concern should be Zack Snyder, who's terrific with visuals but tends to neglect narrative depth. Can he direct Ben Affleck? It's all elemental.

However.

Of course, I always forget that, as a lover of comic books, movies aren't the greatest medium for the source material, so why whine about it in the first place?

Much like Clint Eastwood, Affleck is a better director than actor. I just don't see him as Batman - I thought Clooney was a horrible choice at the time, much worse than Kilmer..... at least Kilmer was smart enough to not make Batman and Robin....... At the time, Clooney was known for two things - 1) ER and 2) a bit player on the later years of Facts Of Life. And he sucked in the role..... Kilmer wasn't that great either (outside of how bad the movies sucked)

I remember the backlash when it was announced the Keaton would be Batman - comic book fans were in an uproar (as Keith mentioned) and he did a great job as Batman. The Keaton casting didn't bother me at the time. Hell, had Burton made Batman 10 years later, he probably would have cast Johnny Depp...

Much like Kilmer, he's following a great performance as Batman. Hopefully he'll learn lessons from others mistakes and do the part justice. We'll see, I am sure I will see it. They way trailers are these days, we'll have a good idea if he's going to work long before the movie is released.

Keaton was good as the Bat, but absolutely wooden as Wayne.

Clooney was awful at the Bat, but ok as Wayne.

Kilmer was average at both.


I can't really see Affleck handling either.

So there are petitions going around to remove Affleck from the film. Haha. I'm bewildered, but I'm not that upset.

corplhicks wrote:

So there are petitions going around to remove Affleck from the film. Haha. I'm bewildered, but I'm not that upset.

Those same ppl would prolly vote for Channing Tatum as the next one...

I kind of agree with S.D that the gig hardly requires great acting, he's taking over from Bale, an actor so wooden he was originally cast as the cross in Last Temptation of Christ!  

I don't know why I hate Affleck so much, I just do! And that's enough for me.

corplhicks wrote:

No kidding.  Talk about much ado about nothing.