BEN AFFLECK AS BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT'S MANY FACES

I don't know why there's some negativity  here and there about Ben Affleck being selected as the next Bat Man even if Christian Bale will be greatly missed. Why shouldn't he be chosen- he's  a good actor besides having the blessing of being very, very yummy (be still my beating heart). And since his alter ego Bruce Wayne is usually decked out in dark suits- I would say that this very handsome actor is definitely the right

choice. Let's not forget he played Marvel's Daredevil/ blind lawyer Jack Murdock in 2003; alongside the lovely  lady who is now his wife,  Jennifer Garner- who played Elektra Natchios in the film and its spinoff  Elektra.
When I told my brother about Affleck's new role, he said, 'No... he's too well known, why can't they pick an unknown?'
 I pointed out that his predecessors, the ones we Nigerian fans know of, weren't exactly unknowns- Keaton, Kilmer and Clooney. He snorted and said 'Clooney was dry as Batman, in BATMAN  & ROBIN he tried to be funny.'  Like Batman ever tried to be funny!
Any how... this upcoming movie is not a new addition to the Dark Knight franchise but a sequel to the still much talked about MAN OF STEEL starring Henry Cavill. Another actor that gives me  flutters in my stomach and  I'm not ashamed to say that my favourite scene in that movie was the sight of him shirtless;

 Oh My God, wow!. This is a very interesting development since the Superman/Batman movies that exist so far are animated ones- SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES( adapted from the story arc World's Finest and where Lex Lutor actually framed Superman for murder of all things), SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE (where Superman met his cousin Kara Zor-el a.k.a Supergirl) and of course there is the animated series JUSTICE LEAGUE. This new movie is to be directed by the same director who did MAN OF STEEL Zack Snyder; the title is yet to be known. I for one can't wait to see it!

Superman has been more of a favorite of mine than Batman as a child but Batman comes as a close second. Like Clark Kent's, Bruce Wayne's background story is fascinating, although more tragic and the adaptations gave way for actors to portray him on screen.        
                                                                          

 I'm not familiar with the very early actors to play the dark Knight - before I ever saw Michael Keaton in the 1989 adaptation; we saw Adam West in reruns of the  1960s version. My brothers took one look at him and, sorry to say,  burst out laughing. Having read the comics, I guess we expected to see someone more intimidating but we found the guy a bit too genial  to be Bruce Wayne/Batman and each episode rather campy; we weren't exactly impressed.

In an odd twist of fate, we saw BATMAN FOREVER before BATMAN and BATMAN  RETURNS and we loved Val Kilmer in the role. He was suave, aloof as Bruce Wayne and a commanding presence as Batman and his costume was far better than the one Adam West had- that one was just too ridiculous for us to take seriously and Chris O' Donnell was equally very good as Robin/Dick Grayson.

After seeing BATMAN FOREVER, we, well my brothers, said that Kilmer was the best Batman. But that all changed after we finally got to see Keaton as Batman in BATMAN RETURNS, the one we should have viewed first. We saw him in this scene when he gets up at the sight of the bat signal...

 and little brother exclaimed, 'No, this IS Batman, proper Batman! He has the chin, the face, everything!' I completely agreed with him; he was aloof too but stern, intimidating and yes... an even more commanding presence as Batman- far more than Kilmer though we remain impressed with his portrayal. But we can't ignore Keaton; he really nailed it hence he's our favorite Batman to date.

 

Clooney in the role, well... no; we weren't impressed. Maybe we were already used to Kilmer and Keaton or perhaps it was BATMAN & ROBIN'S story plot; it was completely wack and more comic than gothic like the others and to me, he was not intimidating enough as Batman. Sorry George if you happen to read this. 

Christian Bale, no question! He was super great in the role and every inch of Bob Kane's Dark Knight; it's almost a pity that he won't be in the upcoming movie movie. But I say The Dark Knight fans should give Affleck a chance- don't analyze until you've seen him in the role. Best of luck to him.