I still remember where I was the day I found out Ben Affleck was to star in the new Superman vs Batman film. There I was in my pyjamas with a nice cup of tea, only to have my morning ruined by the news. I was the first to say that he wasn’t suitable for the role. I worried about his poor performances in other films. I insisted that they could have chosen someone, anyone, and they would have been better than Ben. But then I started to think about it realistically. There must be a reason why they chose Affleck. Was it Argo? Was it his audition? What? That’s when I saw it.
‘It’ was a fanmade trailer of the film-to-be which excited me, and I felt as if the film was just around the corner. Of course, I had to remind myself that I didn’t want Affleck in the role. Then suddenly this interview came out, in which Affleck talks to Jimmy Fallon about the backlash and says that he ‘handle[s]shit’. I sat there thinking ‘he actually seems quite cool’ and hating myself for it.
But then, after a conversation with a friend, it became clear that it doesn’t matter if we love or hate Affleck, we shouldn’t be worrying about him at all. We should be focusing on the film’s director, Zack Snyder. This is the man who brought us Sucker Punch, and this summer’s Man of Steel. Whilst everyone is freaking out over Affleck we’re all failing to realise that Man of Steel has beautiful special effects but horrifically bland dialogue. We should be wondering whether anyone will speak during this new film or if it’ll once again be filled with a love affair which doesn’t get off the ground (excuse the pun). Don’t get me wrong, I love Henry Cavill, and I liked Man of Steel, but sometimes you need to kill your darlings.
So, to sum up, give Affleck a chance to prove that he can do it, and if he can’t, at least we’ve got something to talk about. Because who remembers the backlash when Heath Ledger was cast as The Joker? The death threats, the lamentations of woe? No one. Why? Because he was bloody brilliant.
