Hope for Ben Affleck in Man of Steel?
Okay, after screaming at the top of my lungs until I lost my voice, breaking all of my glasses and plates, crying until my tears turned to blood, and banging my head against the wall until I passed out, I came to a somber acceptance of Ben Affleck as the new Batman. Although still disappointed in the choice, here is my opinion on why Warner Bros. (WB) selected Ben Affleck to play Batman.
WB has not been doing great on its films lately. Consequently there was a great deal of hope and fear associated with the Man of Steel movie. Fortunately despite the efforts of hundreds of critics, the movie was a big success and sealed the deal for the Man of Steel sequel. However the numerous criticisms did have a psychological impact and have influenced the decisions being made on the sequel. Evidently WB wants to play this movie as safe as possible.
One example of that strategy is in the very fact that we are seeing Batman enter the Man of Steel franchise so soon. WB wanted to put its two top characters to ensure an audience draw. They absolutely did not want to risk anything. This safety mindedness also explains why Ben Affleck.
Although for many of us fans, the casting of Ben Affleck does nothing positive for our enthusiasm for the movie; that doesn't matter because most of us are still going to watch the movie anyway—and they know that! Adding an "A-list" actor like Ben Affleck does address some of the criticisms that WB received for the casting in the Man of Steel 1 and will potentially help draw a different audience in. At the very least it will spark interest in different demographics.
The strategy seems to be to please the mainstream Hollywood crowds and maybe receive better treatment from the critics for the sequel. Of course we know that big name actors and positive reviews don't equal box office success as was evident by George Clooney's disappointing box office returns when he played Batman or the good reviews given to Superman Returns.
At the end of the day, the decision is done and we are going to have to live with it–no need to petition the White House as someone reportedly did. Looking at the bigger picture, when comparing some of the other actors that have played Batman, Ben Affleck is certainly not the worst choice. Though some of his movies have not been great, he has demonstrated his acting ability; especially as a serious character like in the movie Argo. He has also reportedly started a rigorous workout program and maybe with the right direction will be able to pull it off. On Krypton Superman's emblem stood for hope, here on Earth, hope is all that we fans have now!
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