Ben Affleck's career has been all over the place, so it's no wonder that he is up there with Anne Hathaway as the most polarising actor of modern times. The fact that he has hit rock bottom in the same period of ten years that also happened to frame his rise back to the top as an Oscar-winning director and - who'd have guessed? - an actually tolerable actor only further confuses matters. Do people like Ben Affleck now? Is he accepted? Do audiences permit him because they want to, or feel like they should? All good questions, no clear answers. Ben Affleck: The Actor has always caused raised eyebrows - he was once noticeably terrible, but has grown as a performer in recent years. As a writer and director, he has crafted some genuinely great and arguably timeless films. And yet he is still Ben Affleck, star of Gigli and Daredevil and Reindeer Games. The problem of Ben Affleck is his past, then; audiences remain polarised where he is concerned because of what he has done, not what he is doing now. Should he succeed as Batman in upcoming blockbuster Batman V Superman, there's a chance the tables may finally turn in his favour. But what a risk he's taken with said role - bold, brave, arguably stupid.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
