Ben Affleck cast as new Batman — Page 5

Warbler said:

But everyone seems to think it is bad.

 I didn't, I thought it was great. Most Batfanatics regard it as one of the best Batman stories of all time. I don't know that I'd go that far but I thought it was a good story.

Meh, you're far better off sticking to the graphic novel. The adaptation is pretty faithful but they completely muff a few iconic scenes/lines.

After someone at work brought up Batman v Superman and wondered if Affleck would do the role proud,  I thought I’d peck out my thoughts on my alter-ego and first ever hero.  At 40+ years of channeling him, I’ve seen a lot of changes.

I’ll go with this as my topic sentence;  I think Affleck will be a better Wayne\Batman than Bale. Yeah, that’s what I said.  ;-)  Nothing against Bale, but he’s a Batman, not the Batman.  I like those films a lot and they have some great moments, but they reached a weird sort of fan uberhype that started to wear on me.

There seems to be a large portion of the fan base who have collectively decided no one could ever top Bale or the Nolanverse.  I think that was the genesis of the anti-Affleck campaign.  They didn’t want anyone else to play Batman.  It comes across as if it would somehow lessen Bale’s legitimacy if there were ever another actor in the role.  Sort of a last-film-wins mentality.

The Star Wars Prequels apologists are now doing the same thing with The Force Awakens.  They come across as threatened now that their preferred version is no longer the most current version.  It’s been rather amusing.  They’ve spent years blathering (sometimes quite douchey) about how the prequels were the final, true version of the story and OT supporters needed to "just get over it".  Very much in that same last-film-wins mentality.

Now that The Force Awakens has taken over as the face of the franchise and resurrected interest in the 1977 film, some of them can’t slam it often enough.  What they perceive to be their films are now being replaced with a new non-Lucas trilogy and the originals (in their original form) are being fully appreciated on a national level again (can a proper DVD release of the 1977 version be far behind?).  

The Prequel Apologists are getting an even heavier dose because their beloved Lucas sold the franchise and has absolutely zero to do with the new film and the subsequent restoration of the franchise.  Truthfully, there are plenty of them who just don’t know what to do now.  Their devotion to Lucas was equal parts fascinating and disturbing.
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“Mulder, if there’s a point, please feel free to come to it”
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For me, the Nolan\Bale films got heavy after a while. Maybe also a little too real, for lack of a better word.  I prefer Batman to be a little more mysterious.  I don’t need every intimate bit of minutia regarding every bit of his character, his costume, his childhood friends, his gear, the Batmobile, the Batcave, or any other thing that shapes him.

I certainly don’t need to know which factory, in which country, made whichever portion of the cowl, and how many were on the order paperwork....  WTF, Nolan?

 Regarding Bale often being touted as the be-all, end-all;  Batman is a 76-year-old franchise with the character having been depicted in over 12, 250 comics, 74 graphic novels,  2 film serials, 8 feature films (soon to be 9), a 3-year 120-episode iconic TV show, and 7 animated TV series. The character is alive and well. 

Batman looks to be in very capable hands with Affleck.  I agree with Adam West, who also addressed the anti-Affleck noise not long ago when he said;  "I've heard a lot of adverse comments. I think it's ridiculous. He'll be much better than you think. Go see his current movie [Gone Girl] and you'll see glimpses of Batman."   Personally, I’d also add Argo to that list.  He most certainly has the chops.

The nerdosphere needs to look no further than the Nolan\Bale films themselves for the best explanation;
“The idea was to be a symbol. Batman could be anybody”.

Really digging the new suit and chest sigil.  A nice nod back to the black & grey from the comics of the 40s, 50s, 80s, and brought back in the 2000s. It's nearly identical to his look in The Dark Knight Returns.

Speaking of which, it looks like they’re very clearly taking inspiration for that story also, e.g. Batman retired, Superman\superhero activity outlawed by the govt, etc.  In the trailer Bruce Wayne saves a young girl from a destroyed building.  In TDKR, Carrie Kelley (a teenage girl) takes over the mantle of Robin after Batman saves her. 

There is an apparently no-longer-used Robin suit in the new film’s trailer. Maybe we’re seeing Jason Todd’s suit and a young Carrie.  If Batman retires for ten years, as he did in TDKR, it would give the young Carrie time to become the correct age to be Robin.  I’d dig it. It would bring an interesting dynamic.  Similar to Beware The Batman, which I'm a huge fan of.

Also in TDKR, Batman can fight Kal-El if he’s been weakened by Kryptonite as long as he has an armored suit, both of which we see in the trailer.  I think they’re staying a lot closer to TDKR than was first let on.  This could be really good.

Also, the trailer has an awesome nod to The Dark Knight Returns.  Didn't catch it until about the fifth viewing. It's quick, but I screen-grabbed it.