At Least He's Honest

Photo by Playboy

There's been a lot of hype about just how cool the suit Ben Affleck will wear in 'Batman vs. Superman' is. Kevin Smith made it sound like the awesome-est thing you'll ever see. And, yes, the guy knows geek comic lore like no one else, so that's pretty high praise.

Jennifer Garner calls it 'unbelievably cool'. Granted, she's probably less literate than Smith when it comes to such things, but still. The problem is Smith is one of Affleck's oldest buddies and Garner is married to the guy so that, at the least, gives it a certain perspective. I feel like the movie is going to be strong, sure, have good depth of character, but you can't avoid noting where the most complementary opinions have come from. (I know, nobody else who's allowed to say anything has seen the suit, but that doesn't change things. I can't shake a nagging doubt).

Much of that doubt, however, has faded because of Affleck's own comments in his interview with Playboy, not regarding the suit per se, but the movie in general. He said:

I understand I'm at a disadvantage with the internet. If I thought the result would be another Daredevil, I'd be out there picketing myself. [laughs] Why would I make the movie if I didn't think it was going to be good and that I could be good in it?

Then there's this:

PLAYBOY: George Clooney kept a photo of himself as Batman on his office wall as a reminder of what can happen when you take a role for money and fame. If you had such a photo in your office, which movie would you go with? 

AFFLECK: I'd probably have two or three. [laughs] It'd be tough to choose. The only movie I actually regret is Daredevil. It just kills me. I love that story, that character, and the fact that it got fucked up the way it did stays with me. Maybe that's part of the motivation to do Batman.

A bit of color:

PLAYBOY: Daredevil. Can you put your finger on where it went wrong? 

AFFLECK: I think it would be impolite to say so.

You have to admit, that makes you trust the guy more and makes the comments about the uber-cool suit more believable.

Kevin Smith Says Ben Affleck Gets A Cool Batman Suit

At Babble-On Kevin Smith says (maybe a couple minutes into the podcast [there's no timer that I saw]) that he has seen the Batman costume that Ben Affleck will wear in the upcoming reboot. Not only that, he has seen Affleck wearing the suit.

His reaction? Quote: "I instantly bear hugged him." "You have not seen this costume in a movie before." "For a comic book fan, it was mind-bending. I was like 'get the fuck outta here'." And, this probably sums it up, "It was fantastic."

Okay. Good. Happy am I. Not expected. Nice to hear. A step in the right direction.

Frankly, I was expecting, well, a dorkfest. Not only do you have Superman in that ridiculous outfit from the (19)50s, but Batman in his cartoonish plastic-y suit and cape too. Both in the same movie. I thought this would be, at best, barely tolerable. I truly hope they prove me wrong and early word from Smith (who is a leading expert, if not the leading expert, in all things geek) puts my mind at rest.

Really, the last thing we need is another comeback from Ben Affleck. He's just gotten through hitting it out of the park (a few times) and what I don't want to see is him clawing his way back to respectability if this Batman vs. Superman thing tanks.

To reiterate, Smith went on to say, "I was elated. I was so fucking happy. I think even the hardest-core 'fuck all this' person is going to be like 'all right, I'm ready'."

So, yeah. It's a cool outfit. We'll love it. Now all we need is a rocking script, killer direction, fantastic camera/editing, state-of-the-art effects, and a badass in-your-face performance from Affleck. That's all we need. Just those things. A screaming Batman suit and the above listed stuff and we'll be happy and Ben Affleck will finally be not just an okay actor, but cool.