We’ve learned this morning that Ben Affleck, who played the Caped Crusader in three recent DC films (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and a small cameo in Suicide Squad) will be stepping down. Let’s take a second to look back at his time as the Dark Knight and why, despite the poor ratings and divisive reaction to Snyder’s DC entries, Affleck managed to give a solid performance as Bruce Wayne / Batman.
Before I get to what we’re thankful for from Affleck’s time as Batman, I would remiss if I didn’t plead for him to come back a little bit. That mostly has to do with Matt Reeves and his ability as a director. If you’ve seen Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and it’s sequel War. then you know why he was a fantastic hire for the The Batman (2021 release date was also confirmed with the news of Affleck’s leave). While Snyder was effective in getting a great performance out of him, I was eager to see what the Reeves/Affleck team up would have yielded. Since I’m still diving into the details, it’s possible there was creative differences between the two or Affleck was too drained from the public reaction/reception to the recent slate of films. No matter what, I am disappointed we’ll never get to see what could have been.
That aside, let’s talk about what we enjoyed from his tenure.
Best of Both Worlds
It’s rare that we can say a Batman actor played both parts of the role with such finesse. Usually, we have to caveat it or highlight how well they did with one part or the other. Take Affleck’s predecessor Christian Bale: Was fantastic in the suit, but a so-so Bruce Wayne. I can argue that was mostly because Nolan’s Bruce Wayne was more obsessive with the suit, hence Rachel’s comment at the end of Batman Begins about Wayne being the mask for Batman. However, unless we’re talking Kevin Conroy’s performances as Batman (who originated the idea to give each part their own distinctive voice), you usually don’t like
I honestly can’t say that with Affleck and while it is helped with my next point, even that doesn’t trump his abilities as Bruce Wayne. I loved his interactions with Alfred in the Bat-cave, his time in Gotham investigating Superman, the banter between him and Wonder Woman (The “I thought she was with you” line not withstanding, it’s funny, but makes no sense), and generally his overall swagger in either role was significantly stronger than anyone else. It felt like a role he was born for, that he had already done for years. While I have my issues with BvS and JL, his performances haven’t been, they were honestly the ones I looked most forward to.
The Brutality of Batman
But if you need a reason to love Batfleck, look no further than trying to save Martha in Batman v Superman:
https://youtu.be/XEaX_uHHFUA?t=1m9s
Feel free to watch the entire thing, but I started here because really, all you need to see is his fight inside the warehouse. Not only does this do a great job of communicating Batman’s skill, but it really brings to life Frank Miller’s version from The Dark Knight Returns. This version was meant to be punishing and bruising, conveying a Bruce that has less patience than he used to, moves a step slower, but can still demolish a room with ease.
Even through the mask, I feel like Affleck gives me goosebumps here with his intensity, something that the other films have failed to do consistently. And this isn’t the only scene that showcases it, but it’s certainly the most definitive. It builds off the previous moments in the film, where Bruce had been largely confined to shadows, wearing the armored suit, or driving the Bat-mobile and really lets him cut loose.
Chemistry with Wonder Woman
While it’s definitely not a guarantee that this relationship would have happened, there was enough chemistry built between Bruce and Diana (Gal Gadot) that I could have bought a future story-line where they end up together. It’s definitely happened to some degree in the original Justice League animated series along with a run in Joe Kelly’s Justice League of America run from 2003-2004.
Wanna know some of my favorite moments between characters in BvS or JL? Most of them involved these two and it was certainly better when it was just these two. That’s not to hate on the breakout performances form Ezra Miller (Flash) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) in JL, but I still preferred the character builds on these two more. Especially early on as they are building the team or back to BvS when they are playing cat and mouse.
With a new actor on the way and Wonder Woman / Aquaman becoming the anchors of the universe, it may be best to let this potential thread wither or go on the back burner until we see how the new movie goes or even connects.
Public Crusader
As much I dislike much of the final product, I applaud Affleck for his efforts to get connected to the community just like the rest of the JL cast members did and continue to do. That no doubt helped Jason Momoa’s Aquaman do so well and will likely make Wonder Woman 1984 another hit too. But as we move forward and I inevitably review The Batman, can we please ease up on how we treat our celebs? Does anyone remember this video?
Okay, we get it. The film wasn’t great, but it sucks to see fans and celebs try to connect and then have this crap happen. I know what you’re thinking, “Commander, this doesn’t seem like it’s over the line”. And normally I would agree that it’s soft ribbing at their expense. It’s just sucks given what we know has happened to him over the past few years and his recent battles with alcoholism. To be clear, I’m not blaming this for his current issues, it just added more salt onto a already deep wound.
In interviews, it’s clear he wanted to do a great job for us, but with parts of the community shitting on him, I could see how that would become tiresome. My hope moving forward is that DC and fellow movie fans alike can be more specific in their criticism so that actors you love still realize that there are things to work on, but good and even great performances can still be highlighted.
That doesn’t take DC off the hook though: They still have plenty of work to do to capture a share of the superhero market Marvel has so thoroughly dominated in the past decade. Losing Affleck is simply one of the hard lessons that DC will have to swallow moving forward. If they can, then I believe they will attract and retain the best actors to fuel their universe, just minus our best option as Batman.
Godspeed Bat-fleck
Kenneth “Commander” Shipp has had opinions on movies since he was a kid…even if that meant talking to himself. He loves tackling the issues involved with our modern blockbusters while still enjoying the deep dives into the films you may have glossed over. You may still see him comment on his other loves (video games and television) whenever he has time. You can catch all his movie reviews here and listen to him on our weekly podcasts when they start back in February!!
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