I love Ben Affleck. And not in a friendly way, although he does feel like a friend. And not in a misplaced affection, puppy-dog way, although I’m sure that’s what you’ll call it. I love him and his work. Very, very simple, very truly.
Now that he’s moved on from teen hearthrob “it” boy dating J-Lo and making Gigli or Bounce or Pearl Harbor and has started acting and directing seriously great films like The Town or the upcoming Argo (which looks amazing), Affleck could be given the reins of a seriously amazing project: Justice League.
I, for one, think this is great. Kevin Smith, when people asked him who should play Daredevil, suggested Affleck. When asked why, he said he thinks Affleck can do anything. Want someone to play the iceberg in Titanic? Affleck. I’m of a similar mind.
Considering that it seems like Affleck is three times the director he was an actor (again, did you see The Town?), this is presumably a hail mary pass that could pay off huge for Warner Bros. Presumably, they’ve seen Argo and have been impressed.
Fanboy hate mail: “You really want Reindeer Games directing Justice League?”
To which I reply, “First, have you seen The Town? Have you seen the trailers for Argo?”
Fanboys: “Oh, but that’s just one movie. So what?”
“You know who else had really only done one move before taking on a huge franchise? Mark Webb. Joss Whedon had done the original Buffy and Serenity. Chris Nolan had Memento and Insomnia before Batman Begins. Tim Burton had done Bettlejuice and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure before Batman. Jon Favreau had essentially done Swingers and Zathura before Iron Man. And Sam Raimi had how many commercially successful films before Spiderman? So STFU.”
Granted, it’s an odd choice. But it might be that perfect odd choice, like the first time someone decided to put marshmallow fluff and bananas on peanut butter sandwiches. Marvel, by all accounts, made a huge risk with Whedon– and it paid off well. No, Ben Affleck is not Joss Whedon. But go back and watch Hollywoodland. Tell me there isn’t something there with Affleck’s portrayal of George Reeves that doesn’t say he doesn’t get Superman. And maybe it’s that oblique angle that will give us the Justice League movie we deserve.
And maybe he’ll give Kevin Smith a cameo as Bat-mite.
But what think the rest of you robots? Is Affleck up to the challenge?