Pursuit of Batman

The day Ben Affleck was announced to play Batman in the next Man of Steel movie, the web was and still is buzzing with disbelief and outrage. Everyone is imagining that the vulnerable, conflicted yet strong character of Bruce Wayne/Batman played to a tee by Christian Bale for the past 8 years will be ruined by Ben Affleck. The actor has done a fine job in dramas such as Argo, State of Play, The Sum of All Fears and Reindeer Games amongst others; yet his performances have been nowhere close to the acting prowess required for Christopher Nolan's Batman, which made the earlier Batman movies of Michael Keaton, George Clooney and Val Kilmer a bad memory. Christian Bale has done stellar performances in movies like The Machinist and Rescue Dawn where he has played dark, conflicted and cerebral characters who profoundly exemplify the human struggle for survival, redemption and enlightenment. That is why he was the perfect choice for Batman and Bruce Wayne, and the world has come to revere him and Christopher Nolan for giving the caped crusader the much needed makeover, keeping the character true to his animated avatar which the world has loved for decades.

Ben Affleck's first attempt to play a superhero was in 2003 when he donned the mask of Dare Devil. The movie was a major flop and Affleck retreated from experimenting with roles. Since then, he is an actor made famous by his wise cracking Boston accent and his entertaining cameos in a range of comedy movies. Unfortunately for him, despite his resume in dramas, that is the template people attach to him. To Batman fans, it would look completely out of place for such an actor to play the Dark Knight. The scenarios running in the minds of fans is of a Batman and Bruce Wayne with a twangy Boston accent using terms like 'fegget bout it' and 'faacking idiot', which would cause a mass exodus from screens across the world come summer 2015.

Ben Affleck needs to completely transform his image to play Batman. What made Heath Ledger - the blonde haired, good looking kid from the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You turn into the ground breaking character of the Joker in The Dark Knight - a complete transformation. His good looks were masked by makeup and scars, blonde hair dyed green and along with the voice, the attitude, and the mannerisms, nobody could even recognize that Heath Ledger was the Joker. Similarly, what made Hugh Grant from Notting Hill, a blood thirsty cannibal in Cloud Atlas? He covered his face with makeup resembling blood and mud, got long nasty dreadlocks for hair, wore jewelry made of human parts and most importantly - never opened his mouth to deliver a dialogue throughout the role. Can you imagine Hugh Grant sounding like a menacing cannibal? For Affleck, it won't be as simple as using a lot of make up. Ben

Affleck has proven himself as an A list director. Gone Baby Gone, Argo, The Town were all great films with compelling and poignant visual narratives. After the disaster of Dare Devil 10 years ago, playing Batman and Bruce Wayne will be the ultimate test of his acting prowess. Batman fans all over the world continue to be skeptical whether Affleck can match or even surpass the legacy of Christian Bale (and are also wondering why Bale didn't accept the $50 million offered to him for reprising the role of Batman). With the high expectations riding on this movie, Affleck has some tough months ahead of him to physically and mentally prepare himself for the role. If he pulls it off, he will be the hero of the 'Nerdosphere' because despite all our scepticism, Batman fans around the world want to be proven wrong. After so many years we will get to witness a Superman-Batman live action movie, something thought only possible in the animated world. Ben Affleck should know that behind all our sneering and criticism, we are cheering him on to deliver us the Batman of the last 8 years and make Man of Steel 2 a cinematic experience that we will never forget.

Source - IBNLive