10 Acting Performances Way Better Than You Thought They'd Be
8. Ben Affleck - Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
When Ben Affleck's casting as Batman was first announced, a huge portion of the internet collectively lost its sh*t. Yes, he may have been a tabloid favorite at the turn of the millennium that starred in a series of terrible movies like Daredevil and Gigli, but this was also the same guy who reinvented himself years later as a critically-acclaimed and Academy Award-winning talent in projects like The Town, Argo and Gone Girl.
Online petitions were signed, messageboards were flooded with expletive-ridden rants and like most fan-generated outrages, precisely f**k all happened. Yes, Batman V Superman was a hugely disappointing movie that squandered the virtually unlimited potential of seeing DC's 'Big Two' battling it out on the big screen, but that was hardly Affleck's fault; the blame lay with Zack Snyder's insistence of stuffing the movie so full of plot, exposition and world-building that the narrative was ready to burst.
His battle-scarred, world-weary take on a Dark Knight decades into his career was haunted by tragedy, powered by rage and built like a brick sh*thouse, but the actor was never given enough decent material to really show what he could do with the character. He may not have lasted long in the role, but the argument can definitely be made that Affleck was a great Batman let down by appearing in bad movies.