Take It Down a Notch, Nerds: In Subdued Defense of Ben Affleck

I recently posted an article about my mild (key word "mild") disappointment that Ben Affleck had been cast in the role of Batman for the 2015 sequel to Man of Steel. The article was entitled "Beth Angered the Warner Brother Gods" because I had just recently posted a different article about why I wanted an unknown actor in the role of Bruce Wayne.

Let me be very clear: I said I had apparently angered the Warner Brother Gods. I did not say I apparently peed on their shrines. 

Or maybe I just softened up once I got a look at those abs.

Allow me to be a moderating voice in the maelstrom of nerd rage afoot today. Affleck as Batman is not a harbinger of doom. He is a perfectly respectable actor (he was fine in both Argo and The Town, recently) and there's no way he can single-handedly destroy a movie by his performance. Anyway, we've got Snyder poised to do that all by himself. However, there are three reasons why Affleck isn't an inspired choice, and why I would have preferred if they had cast someone else.

1) Affleck is a good choice but not a risky, and therefore exciting, choice. He's done fine in most of his recent movies and he holds his own in suspense and action films. However, even though Affleck did perfectly well in Argo and The Town, he was also completely upstaged by the more energetic, colorful, memorable actors and actresses in the supporting roles (particularly Alan Arkin and John Goodman in Argo and Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner in The Town). There is a huge difference between being a good actor and getting the world's attention. I know Affleck can do the former. I'm not so sure about the latter.

2) I already talked about this in a previous article so I'm not going to belabor it here. The role of Batman is a star-making role. If you cast a good, previously unknown actor in the part, he's well on his way towards an illustrious career. Affleck already has an illustrious career. This is a missed opportunity.

3) Finally, apparently no one else remembers this but Affleck is a hell of a good director. Argo, The Town, and Gone Baby Gone were all critical darlings. Sure, Affleck's got a fourth on the docket (Live By Night) coming up in 2014, but I hate the idea of such a talented director getting tied up with acting gigs in a franchise in 2015 and beyond. I like Affleck just fine, but I like him best in a chair behind the camera.

I saw this in 2010 and I still have nightmares about bank-robbing nuns.

Would I have liked an unfamiliar face under the mask? Sure. But while I'm not drooling over Snyder's next movie, I'm also not snarling and grinding my teeth. I mean, I reacted with the same mild disappointment when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, and we all known how that turned out.

If he had stolen this money with the help of bank robbing nuns, I would never sleep again.

Of course, I also reacted the same way when I heard that Tom Hardy was going to play Bane, and we also know how that turned out. It turned out like Sean Connery talking into a box fan. So you never can tell, can ya, kid?

At the very least, 2009 gave us positive proof that Batman vs Superman would not, could not be Snyder's worst film. So cling to that hope in times of darkness, nerds. It'll be OK.

Crawl in a hole and die, you talentless hack.

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