In the end it was Ben Affleck’s Batman who prophesied his own end when he stated, “… the world only makes sense if you force it to.” That awkward statement sums up the entire Batfleck experience, which will probably be remembered as one of the biggest missteps in the entire history of Hollywood. Everything about the post-Nolan Batman only made sense if one forced themselves to forget 70 plus years of history, while at the same time ignoring the illogical actions of a character who is known as a master detective. Whether it was his Trump-era reasoning for hating Superman, letting Deadshot’s daughter step in front of a gun, or his penchant for straight up killing people (except the Joker for some reason), there was almost nothing about this version of Batman that was recognizable. Over three movies his character arc was racist sociopath to Amanda Waller’s lackey to inept leader of the Justice League. And after seeing the diminishing returns on each of these movies, I imagine Ben Affleck finally said enough and began to plan his exit.
Even though I have been extremely critical of the DC Cinematic Universe, I honestly have no issue with Ben Affleck. In fact, after watching The Town and Argo, I thought he possessed the ability to play a highly cerebral, strategic thinker, which are the very qualities that make the Batman character essential to the Justice League. And its hard to deny that the tall, dark, and handsome Affleck looked the part. When he was cast, my hope was that we finally had an actor who could play the cocky ladies man, as well as the ultra serious strategist of the Justice League. Instead, what we got was a bafflingly inept caped crusader, who openly pines for Superman’s return from death, so that he no longer has to serve as leader of the Justice League.
There is a part of me that believes that Affleck should take some of the blame for how poorly his Batman translated to the screen. While I had no problem with his acting from a technical standpoint, as a decorated writer and director, Affleck should have understood that Batman V. Superman was a mess. Worse than that, Affleck is a comic book fan, which means that this is the second time in his career that he has been duped into playing a facsimile of a beloved character. But even after all that, I cannot help but feel sorry for Affleck. He did not get a fair chance to play the character. Honestly, after winning the Oscar for Argo, Affleck might have felt like he wanted to be part of someone else’s creative vision. Its just too bad that vision was Zack Snyder’s.
As we look to the future, I have no clue what to expect. Matt Reeves is set to direct, with a younger Batman, but honestly, age was not the issue here. I am worried, because we now have a director who has made his mark exploring tormented and moody protagonists. Which is fine, but I personally am quite tired of the tormented hero who is only slightly better than the villains he opposes.
Instead, I hope that Reeves and whoever is selected gives us the hero we deserve, and the hero we need right now, as opposed to whatever version has been presented to us lately.
