BEN AFFLECK AS THE NEXT ‘BATMAN’…REALLY?

Is Batman in the process of, like the rest of America, becoming wussified? When I first heard the news that Affleck would be he next Batman, I’ll admit, the first thing that came to mind was that we are about to be subjected to yet another politically correct superhero in a movie where we’ll see Batman coming out of the closet. I mean, seriously folks, what self-respecting villain would be scared of Batman who’s Ben Affleck on the inside? Personally, I would wager a very few would be shaking in their shoes at the sight of old Ben.

And apparently I’m not the only one currently questioning the wisdom of this idiotic casting decision. Thursday night after Warner Bros. announced that it would be old Ben who will play the Caped Crusader for its Superman and Batman team-up movie, the Internet literally erupted with those voicing their strong opposition. Petitions with thousands of signatures were launched to urge Warner Bros. to rethink their decision, and apparently to no avail. I guess we’ll see if their decision was a good one.

Supposedly, the film is scheduled to begin shooting sometime next year and, at least at this point, is supposed to be released during the summer of 2015. Affleck's casting speaks to a larger shift in this age of the superhero blockbuster. He will be following in the footsteps of Christian Bale, the star of Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy, which was seen as the artistic apogee of the superhero movies, a series that treated its hero not as cartoon but a vessel for exploring themes of terrorism and justice. And I admit, I only saw Bale’s first outing as Batman.

But, sadly, it would seem that the days of such aspirations appear to be dwindling. Most of the most popular superheros are on their second or third reboot. After the success of Joss Whedon's "The Avengers," Hollywood is looking increasingly to pairing its comics. Another "Avengers" film is on the way. And after the Superman-Batman movie, a "Justice League" film (with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and others) is rumored to follow. I did see the Avengers, and I while I thought it was pretty good, the not-so-thinly-veiled lessons I was there to learn became tiresome. Enough so, that I doubt I’ll be seeing and sequels.

But being what some these day consider as being a major star, Affleck comes with a lot of baggage that many expect will grate similar to how George Clooney, up until now the worst ‘actor’ to ever play any superhero, did in Joel Schumacher's 1997 "Batman and Robin". That film was considered to be so bad that it's often been cited as being the catalyst for more serious, dramatic interpretations of superheros. I waited to watch that one on TV, turning the channel at the halfway mark because it simply became unwatchable.

I doubt very much that I’ll be seeing this movie, as these days I’m making fewer and fewer trips to the theater, partly because it’s simply become too expensive, party because I don’t like being lectured to about how screwed up my country is, and partly because I refuse to support these leftwing actors who seem to be quite determined, in their off time, to do all that they can to destroy my country. So, I guess, in the big scheme of things, it matters very little to me who it is that plays Batman, because I won’t be seeing it anyway.