We’ve all got our favorite Batman and a lot of us will stick by them no matter what. Zack Snyder is entitled to his opinion of course but it bears thinking about that he would pick Ben Affleck as the best Batman ever. Granted, Affleck brought something different to the role that seemed almost a blending of a few different Batman’s throughout history, but in truth he’s a great deal darker than most too. He’s even darker than Christian Bale’s which was hard to top for a while. But the real reason why a lot of people aren’t as on board with Batfleck is that he’s a little TOO dark.
Batman has been portrayed by a fair number of men throughout his time as a superhero, the most notable being Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and now Ben Affleck. It’s very accurate to say that Kilmer and Clooney didn’t measure up at all while Bale was passably good as Bruce Wayne, but my vote still stays with Michael Keaton as far as being the all-around best representation of Batman. In this new era however Keaton is a little too old and Affleck, despite being in his forties, is considered to be the next big thing.
But there’s a definite curse on the role of Batman it would seem. The role seems to shorten or almost obliterate careers unless the person in question had a solid career to begin with. For Keaton everything was all well and good throughout the first film. It gained notoriety quickly and held onto it with a firm grip as it became one of the most iconic movies of the time. Then Batman Returns came out and everything just got flushed. The representation of Catwoman wasn’t that bad, the Penguin wasn’t even that horrible, but the whole movie was just so godawful terrible that the Batman curse was officially begun. Keaton wasn’t seen for a while after this and in the last decade or so has made the kind of resurgence he really needed in order to become a known A-lister again.
Kilmer was a rising star right up until he put on the suit. As Bruce Wayne he was a mopey, dreamy-eyed mess, and as Batman he wasn’t any better. Clooney was simply too happy go lucky with his one-liners and in truth it was almost like watching Daniel Ocean trying to play a superhero. Then we had Christian Bale, and Batman suddenly sounded like was gargling nails as he tried to speak while Bruce Wayne was so polished that you expected him to squeak when he walked. He was good as a playboy, but he was also good as the obsessive rich man that didn’t allow himself a moment’s rest when he was busy with something.
Affleck is more or less the killer instinct within Batman come to life. He’s almost all emotion despite still being recognizably cerebral in his methods. In fact the one real issue that anyone has with Batfleck is that he’s just TOO emotional.
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