In defense of Batfleck

So the internet exploded yesterday.  Ben Affleck was announced to be cast as the next Batman, and most comic geeks had their predictable aneurysm at the news.  Predictable, I say, because comic geeks seem harder to please than any other fan group, screaming displeasure at nearly every turn.  Affleck, we are told, is too shallow, too poor an actor, too young, too old, too good looking, not good looking enough, already done a superhero and that movie was bad, too physical, a weakling, too established, not as established as (insert fan favorite here) -in short he's wrong for the role because he's Ben Affleck.

I'd like to defend the decision to make the powers of Batman and Affleck become "Batfleck."

Point #1: We've seen all this before.
Comic geeks went figuratively out of their collective gourds when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker for The Dark Knight.  They were screaming about all the same stuff then as they do again today for Affleck.  Geeks also hated the casting announcements of Michael Keaton as Batman in 1989 (he's a COMEDY actor!  Not serious enough!), Chris Evans as Captain America (he's disqualified!  He's already BEEN a superhero!), Christian Bale as Batman in 2005 (the singing kid from Newsies?), Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk (He's too much not Edward Norton!), and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man (He's too much Robert Downey Jr!).  To summarize, we've seen all the kicking and screaming before, and more often than not it's worked out just fine.  Give the guy a chance.

Point #2: Affleck is not Daredevil.  Or Gigli.
At the beginning of his career Ben Affleck was regarded as little more than a pretty face.  Audiences either didn't know or didn't care that he co-wrote Good Will Hunting, which demonstrated a depth to him that had yet to be fully explored.  They just knew him as the guy in Armageddon  and Pearl Harbor.  I admit that if he had kept doing movies like those stinkers (as well as The Sum of All Fears and Gigli) I'd dismiss him out of hand also.  But Ben Affleck has worked hard to reinvent himself in the movie business.  He wrote and directed Gone Baby Gone and The Town, starring in the latter as well.  And audiences began to see a talent and depth to him they had not before.  Then he directed and starred in Argo, which is clearly his best film to date.  To summarize: Ben Affleck is not the actor he was ten years ago, and he is still improving.  Give the guy a chance.

Listen folks, I'm as big a Batman geek as you can get.  I've got a host of Batman graphic novels in my collection, action figures, a wealth of Batman trivia knowledge, a bunch of Batman video games, and all the movies (except Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin.  Those don't count.).  I've even got the tshirt.  I'm a geek, and I freely admit it.  I'm also fine with Affleck being cast in the role.

Does it send shivers down my spine?  Yes.  I see all the potential downside that the vocal fanboys on the internet do.

But I also see the upside, and I know the lessons of history in these casting decisions.  With a good director (and Snyder is decent, whatever others think of him), a good script, and good support, Affleck could turn some heads in this role.  Without good direction, script, or the other technical aspects in support not even the "best" actor could make the role of Batman work.

I for one will wait to pass judgment on the final product.  Until then I'll give Batfleck a chance.