DAREDEVIL IS THE NEW BATMAN. IS IT REALLY THAT HORRIBLE?

We all know, by now, that the Dark Knight will meet the Man of Steel in the next Man of Steel movie....now we find out who will be the Caped Crusader!

Ben Affleck is now Batman....how long before Matt Damon is Robin?

According to Damon, never.

The Internet is abuzz with the news and, let's face it, almost everyone hates this decision.  I figured I would put my two cents out there about the whole thing.

Let's look at the potential pros and cons of this decision.

THE SETUP
Comic-Con 2013 brought us the announcement that rocked comic fans and superhero movie fans everywhere: Batman would be crossing paths with the Superman for the first time EVER on the big screen!  (Click here to see the panel video from Comic-Con along with the official press release from WB)

There was  a collective chorus of cheer and applause heard round the world!  The only question left was:

Who will play Batman if Christian Bale is not coming back?  (He had said will NEVER do Batman again)

Fast forward a couple of months and, in what will certainly be looked at as a dark day in cinema history by many, it was announced that Ben Affleck would don the cape and cowl.

Yes, you read right, BEN AFFLECK.

Let's go through the inevitable cons first, then some unexpected pros.

CONS

• It's Ben Affleck.  I mean, come on.  Like many have already pointed out, the guy just looks too soft to play Batman.  He's no Michael Keaton or Christian Bale, so how will he be in this role?  What would he sound like when wearing the mask?  Hopefully he won't try to copy Christian Bale's horrible raspy voice.  

• What do Hollywoodland, Gigli, Jersey Girl, Paycheck and Reindeer Games all have in common?  Extremely mediocre to low ratings?  Yes.  But the main connection is that Affleck is the main star of these films.  In my opinion, he just isn't a good starring actor for movies (aside from Argo which, in my opinion, was good more for the story than his acting). 

• Daredevil did not impress.  Ben Affleck's first role as a superhero is what everyone will look at when thinking about how he will pull off the Batman role....and people will always remember how bad the movie was.

Now time to play devil's advocate:

PROS

• Daredevil did not impress.  Remember way back, up there, when I said "people will always remember how bad the movie was"?  Well, they will.  They will always remember how bad the MOVIE was.  Yes, the movie was bad, but, realistically speaking, Affleck actually did quite well as the Daredevil character.  It wasn't his fault the movie suffered from bad writing and direction.  I thought Ben Affleck was very good as a superhero and a human one at that.  His role as Daredevil actually convinces me he can pull off Batman now that he's a little older.

• What do Armageddon, The Town, Pearl Harbor, Good Will Hunting and Mallrats all have in common?  They were good movies with Ben Affleck....who either appeared as a co-star or a supporting role.  What does this mean?  Affleck makes a much better actor when he's sharing the spotlight than when he's the focal point of it.  So this logic would mean that his role in Man of Steel 2 may turn out to be better than we expect, assuming that not too much time is spent on Bruce Wayne rather than Clark Kent.  

• It's Ben Affleck.  There are reasons why he was cast as a super highly anticipated role for an even more super highly anticipated sequel; the guy is not nearly as bad an actor as people think he is.  He's a popular actor for a reason;  he's capable of putting on good performances.  There's also the look.  Batman, being that he wears a mask that covers everything but his mouth, needs to have a strong jaw.  This may be a minor thing for many people, but a superhero has to look like a superhero.  No, he's no Michael Keaton or Christian Bale, but then again, NO ONE wanted either actor to be Batman when it was announced they were cast for the roles as well.  Keaton was considered a joke and a bad actor while Bale was considered popular enough at the time.  Now both are seen as the best Bat-men ever.  

Affleck has the chin, the build, and the charisma to pull off Bruce Wayne and Batman (we saw a glimpse of it in Daredevil), but the worry still remains about what his voice will sound like while in costume.

Here's a little bonus for you:  While I'm not so adamantly against Affleck in Man of Steel, I'm not 100% for it either.  What I would have done was cast a younger actor to play a new Bruce Wayne/Batman in the Man of Steel universe.  This way he can burst onto the scene in Man of Steel 2, and have years to spare to star in subsequent DC Universe movies as he gets older.  My choice for the role would have been Alex Pettyfer (the star of I Am Number Four).  I think he has the youth, look, chin and athleticism to be convincing as a young-ish Bruce Wayne/Batman that meets Superman for the first time.

"Why couldn't I be the Dark Knight?"

Regardless, Affleck may not be horrible for the job, but we can speculate all we want.  No matter how much people say they hate the prospect of having him fill the shoes of Batman, they will go and watch the movie anyway because it's Man of Steel 2, not a continuation of the Dark Knight series.

I'm sure there are a lot more pros and cons, what do you think?  Let me know!

Jay