October 3, 2016: Ben Affleck’s Personal Thoughts on “Batman v Superman”

While participating in an interview with Washington DC’s FOX 5 for his new film “The Accountant”, Ben Affleck spoke about the reactions to “Batman v Superman”, the tone of the movie, and whether he personally liked it or not.

“It’s interesting: It was a huge hit movie – more people went to see that than any movie I’ve made in my career. It was the biggest hit of my career and then it had so much editorial negativity. Fans went, and I got a lot of positive response. It was interesting, that movie, because it was judged not necessarily on execution so much as on its tone. People seemed to want to have a lighter tone to the movie, and I thought that was interesting. Tone is not a qualitative thing. It’s subjective, right? Some tones resonate with me that might not with you. And the tone of the movie was really parallel to the Frank Miller book [The Dark Knight Returns], which I liked and thought was great. I’m glad that so many people went and so many people liked the movie. I loved it.”

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doomsday745
doomsday745
October 3, 2016 5:41 pm

To keep this post short I’ll simply say I hated this movie when it first came out. However, with every viewing I’m able to enjoy it more and more; I think this movie has broken my will. All the issues I had with it just don’t bother me as much.

superhero
superhero
October 3, 2016 6:56 pm
Reply to  doomsday745

yes, a convert! lol, welcome to the “dark” side…j/k i liked the movie when i first watched, and i’ve watched it about 4 more times since, and enjoy it more each time. i can’t wait for Justice League and see what unfolds within the continuation from MOS on

andramus
andramus
October 3, 2016 5:57 pm

The strange thing about the criticism of this movie is that there seems to be a split down the middle. A lot of criticism I’ve read/heard was about the tone, ie. the movie was too dark/depressing/dour etc. However when I’ve read/heard people involved in BvS and the DCEU acknowledge that criticism I’ve seen other comments to the effect that problem wasn’t the tone but just that the movie was rubbish overall ie. poorly scripted/acted/directed etc. Plot was nonsensical was another criticism I’ve read. Personally I liked the movie. Man of Steel and BvS are the two most rewatchable superhero movies… Read more »

andramus
andramus
October 3, 2016 6:01 pm

To be honest I’ll give people the critcism of the tone. It didn’t bother me but everyone has their different preferences.

What bugs me is that so many of the criticisms outside of the tone levelled against BvS could be applied equally to Civil War but those same critics give Civil War a pass.

For example you can criticise Eisenberg’s performance as Lex but his plan/motivation was no more convoluted than Zemo’s in Civil War.

Super El
Super El
October 3, 2016 6:57 pm
Reply to  andramus

That’s because they judge harshly when a performance is just that bad.

Sure, the plan was convoluted on both sides. Sure, Zemo’s character is by far even less faithful of an adaptation than Jessie Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. I admit that with no hesitation on my part.

But by god, was his performance just so much better than the… unhinged version Jessie went with.

Steve Wright
Steve Wright
October 4, 2016 8:37 am
Reply to  Super El

I have a feeling that will be retconned in JLA. We will find out he was under the control of Darkseid or his minions. So, he was off…Then Jessie can alter his performance to be much more sinister. Just a feeling.

Super El
Super El
October 4, 2016 8:44 am
Reply to  Steve Wright

It’s not about being sinister.

Jessie isn’t a good Lex Luthor.

Even Gene Hackman, for all his ham, made an imposing proformance as Superman’s opposite.

Nor is it going to make his acting in BvS any better.

Steve Wright
Steve Wright
October 4, 2016 8:35 am
Reply to  andramus

The Civil War Honest Trailer brings up this EXACT point!..lol

supergepetto
supergepetto
October 3, 2016 9:48 pm

I thought Batman v Superman was a terrific film. It was great before the added 30 minutes and sensational with the additional footage that made the story even better. It was clearly the best Superman film since Superman II and could rate with any of the first two Christopher Reeve movies. Affleck gave a winning performance of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Outside of Michael Keaton, I believe he gave the next best portrayal of “The Dark Knight” on the screen. I am tired of hearing from critics on how “dark” it was. There were a lot of funny quips throughout the film.… Read more »

robojac
robojac
October 3, 2016 11:13 pm

If the critics’ problem with BvS was the tone then why did they praise these dark non-MCU superhero films: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, X-Men, X2, and X-Men:DOFP? There is no MCU bias from critics.

andramus
andramus
October 3, 2016 11:57 pm
Reply to  robojac

There is a divide in critics opinions about what was wrong with the movie. Some think it was the tone, some think it was a badly written, acted, plotted and directed mess. A smaller proportion of critics think it was a combination of those two things but from what I can tell for most who didn’t like the movie it was one or the other. The truth is people can see the same things very differently. I’ve seen people say they think Henry Cavill’s Superman is arrogant. That he got off on all those people wanting to touch him in… Read more »

Kal-Elvis
October 4, 2016 1:35 pm
Reply to  andramus

I’m in the camp that thinks it’s some combination of those things, or at least aspects of them. Can’t speak for everyone, of course, but I’d wager that a number of people who complained about one or the other are reacting to more than that, it’s just that they vocalize the thing that stands out the most to them. Only reason I have that thought is because my initial reaction to MoS was a lot different (in ways) than what I’d say now – I was either just too mad to vocalize it properly or hadn’t talked about it enough… Read more »

Kal-Ed
October 4, 2016 7:08 pm

The film was not everyone’s cup of tea. I personally enjoyed them. There is always something to yap about when it comes to the plot or the tone and the charachters portrayed. I enjoyed it twice as much after I have seen the ultimate cut. There were certainly plot elements that were missing. Everyone says I would’ve done it differently, so do I, but I have enjoyed the ride nevertheless. And I do believe that it will be a cult classic in a few years. And yet…the dice has been rolled and the die is cast…and It is what it… Read more »

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