Ben Affleck Is A Good Choice for Batman; Batman Is Not A Good Choice For Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck will most likely be a fine Batman. Maybe even terrific. No, he won't be the brooding Batman that we watched Christian Bale play in the last three theatrical representations -- because it's not really the point to represent dark realism when the point of this Batman is to quarrel with a handsome alien. Ben Affleck is a good choice for Batman. Though, with Affleck's recent critical success -- culminating in an Oscar win forArgo -- I'm not sure Batman is a good choice for Ben Affleck.
It's notable that it was a superhero that helped save Ben Affleck's career. Superman, actually. After a string of bad movies that, at this point, don't even need to be repeated, Affleck portrayed the tragic George Reeves in the wonderful, if little seen, Hollywoodland. From that point on, everything in Affleck's career, in hindsight, seems meticulously and painstakingly orchestrated. And I mean "orchestrated" in the best sense of the word: Like it was orchestrated by someone who was really paying attention and, more important, by someone who really cared.
After Hollywoodland, Affleck moved on to directing the fantastic Gone Baby Gone (which resulted in more than one "Holy shit, Ben Affleck directed this?" reaction), followed by the also well-received The Town, in which the newly-minted filmmaker also starred.
It's remarkable that Ben Affleck didn't just recover from one of the most notable career slumps in the history of Hollywood to have a viable career -- he achieved prestige along the way. It's what anyone worth his or her salt in filmmaking aspires for, and Affleck came from the bowels of Hollywood hell to grab it.
This all hit its crescendo earlier this year when Affleck accepted Argo's Academy Award for Best Picture. (He won as its producer, but he was also the star and director.) He had reached the pinnacle and, honestly, I couldn't wait to see what he did next. Affleck is a truly gifted filmmaker, and in this day and age of stupid blockbuster after stupid blockbuster, Affleck's voice as a filmmaker is a breath of fresh air. Affleck is actually making those mid-budget great movies that just aren't made anymore.
Well, now he's Batman.
Ben Affleck will most likely be a fine Batman. Maybe even terrific. No, he won't be the brooding Batman that we watched Christian Bale play in the last three theatrical representations -- because it's not really the point to represent dark realism when the point of this Batman is to quarrel with a handsome alien. Ben Affleck is a good choice for Batman. Though, with Affleck's recent critical success -- culminating in an Oscar win forArgo -- I'm not sure Batman is a good choice for Ben Affleck.
It's notable that it was a superhero that helped save Ben Affleck's career. Superman, actually. After a string of bad movies that, at this point, don't even need to be repeated, Affleck portrayed the tragic George Reeves in the wonderful, if little seen, Hollywoodland. From that point on, everything in Affleck's career, in hindsight, seems meticulously and painstakingly orchestrated. And I mean "orchestrated" in the best sense of the word: Like it was orchestrated by someone who was really paying attention and, more important, by someone who really cared.
After Hollywoodland, Affleck moved on to directing the fantastic Gone Baby Gone (which resulted in more than one "Holy shit, Ben Affleck directed this?" reaction), followed by the also well-received The Town, in which the newly-minted filmmaker also starred.
It's remarkable that Ben Affleck didn't just recover from one of the most notable career slumps in the history of Hollywood to have a viable career -- he achieved prestige along the way. It's what anyone worth his or her salt in filmmaking aspires for, and Affleck came from the bowels of Hollywood hell to grab it.
This all hit its crescendo earlier this year when Affleck accepted Argo's Academy Award for Best Picture. (He won as its producer, but he was also the star and director.) He had reached the pinnacle and, honestly, I couldn't wait to see what he did next. Affleck is a truly gifted filmmaker, and in this day and age of stupid blockbuster after stupid blockbuster, Affleck's voice as a filmmaker is a breath of fresh air. Affleck is actually making those mid-budget great movies that just aren't made anymore.
Well, now he's Batman.
