I made this comment over at several outlets in Facebook sharing the story from The New York Times, where Academy Award winning director, writer, and actor Ben Affleck got candid about his alcoholism and deciding to drop directing AND starring in "The Batman":
“Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” Cheesy as that line from Batman Begins sounds, it applies to Ben Affleck - and kudos to him for prioritizing himself and rehab. Much as I enjoyed his Bruce Wayne and Batman - the best balanced performance I have seen of both roles, he made the right choice to step away - and now that Robert Pattinson and Matt Reeves are making “The Batman”, no more pressure unto him. I hope he recovers and wish him well.🦇
That certainly applies on this post and my personal thoughts on the man who has starred in three films as The Caped Crusader - namely 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", a short cameo appearance in "Suicide Squad" released the same year, and finally in 2017 "Justice League". Ever since he was cast in 2013 to play the new Gotham vigilante in live action after Christian Bale in "The Dark Knight Trilogy",the casting initially got a lot of flack and criticism. Soon as BvS hit in 2016, that changed and we saw arguably one of the best film Batman actors in the big screen.
Despite giving one of the most impressive performances in recent memory as The Dark Knight - things just took a toll on the man and his personal life was the worse for wear. His struggles with the aforementioned alcoholism problem are well documented, but it's also his divorce to ex-wife Jennifer Garner that he calls "his biggest regret" and something that has plagued the actor through a string of troubles and unwanted attention by the media. The problems were only exacerbated by failures and disappointments - not just with the troubled production and output of "Justice League" (which saw Zack Snyder drop out due to family tragedy and Joss Whedon taking over to produce a little than mediocre team film), but also his last directorial and starring feature in "Live By Night" - which turned into a box office bomb. As the New York Times article quoted, Affleck's friend read "The Batman" script and said to him: ‘I think the script is good. I also think you’ll drink yourself to death if you go through what you just went through again.’”
Ironically enough, February 19th is considered Bruce Wayne's birthday is some fictional accounts in DC history and lore. Much as we'd like to think he's infallible, Ben Affleck is definitely human and flawed just like Batman - he made the right call to step away and give Matt Reeves the keys to "The Batman" and subsequently Robert Pattinson to step in and play a younger version of The Dark Knight. We all make mistakes in life and fall on our feet, and it's learning to pick ourselves up and find redemption that'll make us stronger and go back to a better place. The man has a new film called "The Way Back" coming up next month that hits closer to home and follows a basketball coach struggling with the very same inner demons and alcohol troubles. Perhaps someday, the Bat signal will shine again and we'll see Ben put on the cape and cowl once more.
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