“All I’m Saying, is Give Ben A Chance” by Chris Salce
After last week’s announcement from DC & WB of Ben Affleck being the newest Batman for multiple movies, the online flood gates opened & the online community immediately poured with outrage & disappointment. So much that there was a petition with over 10,000 signatures to get Affleck to drop out of the role & for understandable reasons. It felt like a smack in the face to die-hard Batman fans. No one had Ben Affleck on their list for the next possible Batman. How could DC & WB agree that he was the best choice out of everyone that was a possible contender?
Like most of the online community, I too was very, very hit out of nowhere with this decision. I thought there could be a lot better actors that would make a better Batman. Actors like Josh Brolin & Jon Hamm were my top picks. Especially since DC wanted a more aged Batman. When I heard Ben Affleck’s name, I immediately said “oh, great. There’s the end of Batman. Another Clooney. A lot of just Bruce Wayne looking down at the ground the whole movie. & a waste of what could have been the greatest superhero movie of all time.” I remembered how horrible Affleck was as Daredevil. I was ready to just give up on Batman. But then I also remembered that the same disappointment was there for fans when Michael Keaton was announced as Batman & yet he was the best Batman we have seen in the live action films. & again when Heath Ledger was announced as the Joker. Which he ended up proving us all wrong. So is Affleck really that bad of a choice?
What Snyder said he saw in Affleck was a counter part to Henry Cavill. An older & wiser type of Batman as well as more acting experience than Cavill. Affleck has been around the block with movie roles & learned what to do & what not to do. He was pretty much at the bottom of his acting career when he did Jersey Girl but climbed back up with his roles in The Town & Argo. Which he also directed both movies & won an Oscar for Argo. So maybe now, he has a lot more knowledge than he did when he played Daredevil. & hey, at least we won’t have to hear that horrible Batman voice of Christian Bale. So rather than just totally write him off, I’m going to give him a chance. I really think that he’s out to prove everyone wrong. I honestly hope he does prove everyone wrong. Including myself. & with rumors of Bryan Cranston to be Lex Luthor, maybe, just MAYBE, it still has potential to be a really good movie.
-Chris Salce