Why So Serious?

written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)

With the internet in full outrage mode over Ben Affleck being cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne, let's take a jaunt in the Tardis and jump back to the not-so-distant past of 2006 right around when Heath Ledger (arguably one of the best to ever play the Joker) was announced as the Clown Prince of Crime:

"Heath Ledger is an embarrassment too (sic) all Australians. The guy couldn't act his way out of a paper bag"

 "Please... No. The Joker is a character that needs an actor with gravity. Not some little twerp who got lucky."

"I am NOT seeing this movie it he is in it. There are over a million better choices, they could have picked someone off the street at random and made a better choice... Ledger just doesn't have what it takes"

"Hell NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" 

"I'm sorry, Heath? let's reminisce on the days of A Knight's Tale and Ten Things I Hate About You. Heath? The Joker? Bad Casting. Bad Joke." 

"I won't be able to watch it I'll keep expecting him to have sex with Batman. YUCK!!!!" 

from Reddit

The moral of this story? The internet is full of fucking idiots! But of course if you've ever participated in a discussion on a forum or played Call of Duty  with a racists foul-mouthed 8 year old with horrible parents, you'd know this already. The point is, the Ben Affleck reaction is so reminiscent of this it isn't funny. Bringing up Heath's performance in movies like A Knight's Tale  or Brokeback Mountain as a means to discredit the choice in casting. Absolute garbage! With the internet in such an outrage over this, I feel it my responsibility to move from "optimistic" to "excited" about this casting choice.

check yourself before you wreck yourself internet...

A physical character played by a strong leading man, how is this a bad thing? The internet and nerdkind in general is so hung up on things like Daredevil  or shit movies like Gigli  that they find their cries of opposition justified. The fact remains, Ben Affleck will play the Batman and I believe that he will be a good choice for the role. Affleck is a good actor and a strong leading man, as a director he's proven his chops (Argo ) and as a writer, let's not forget that he (and buddy Matt Damon) were thrust into the Hollywood limelight after their breakout win with Good Will Hunting . As an actor he has evolved quite well and has proven himself time and time again, so why is the internet all up in arms? To be honest, I'll subscribe to the idea that it's full of fucking idiots. I wonder if any of the people from the above image or the folks quoted had eaten their words? Or rather were they so stubborn that even after the accolades and sheer outpour of positive reception, they continued to call Heath Ledger's Joker shit.

I'm not saying you aren't entitled to your opinions, but jumping on the bandwagon or signing a petition before he ever graces the silver screen to play the role is ridiculous! Why wasn't there an outpour of petitions asking Snyder NOT to return to the directors chair after how disappointing Man of Steel  was? At least that was proven, this hasn't even come to light and people are in an uproar. In all web postings and Facebook status updates, I have not read a single well thought out reason why they are against this casting choice, lots of "he was Daredevil" or "great, Batman with a Boston accent." Nothing intelligent, and you expect to be taken seriously? Come up with something credible, really internet... really.

I will reserve all judgement until I see the final product, until then... get that stick out of your ass internet, you're embarrassing yourself.