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After landing Oscar glory with Argo, Ben Affleck’s career appears to be back on track, especially after being cast as Batman in the upcoming blockbuster Man of Steel 2.
But not everyone is raving about the news and Purple Revolver has decided to remind Ben of some previous films that tarnished his reputation.
10. Phantoms (1998)
Kicking off the list is Affleck’s first real big-screen disappointment – the mediocre thriller Phantoms which sees him play a bored looking sheriff who tries to tackle paranormal evil in Colorado. Hard to believe he already had an Oscar at this point in his uneven career.
9. He’s Just Not that Into You (2009)
While playing Jennifer Aniston’s lover wouldn’t have been a bad thing for anyone, we just were not into this messy rom-com which was Ben’s first screen role in three years. The worst part was that he starred in this film straight after directing the brilliant Gone Baby Gone!
8. Paycheck (2003)
Ben won’t want to remember 2003 in a hurry, especially when FOUR films that year have made it onto our list. The first of those saw him star in the bizarre sci-fi thriller Paycheck, which had a solid director (John Woo) and featured some fine actors, but felt more like a cheap Total Recall rip-off that performed badly at the box office.
7. Surviving Christmas (2004)
This festive ‘comedy’ didn’t last long in US cinemas as it went straight to DVD within two months. Not surprising in Ben’s case but it was more disappointing to see some of his talented co-stars like the late James ‘Tony Soprano’ Gandolfini reduced to embarrassing themselves in this ‘turkey’ of a film.
6. Bounce (2000)
Ben has had his fair share of on-screen romances with real-life girlfriends, hasn’t he? Before his involvements with the two Jens, he found himself awkwardly starring along his recent ex Gwyneth Paltrow in the woeful melodrama, Bounce. Add on the fact that the plot sounds so tasteless and you’ve got yourself a box-Affleck flop.
5. Jersey Girl (2003)
Ben’s on-screen romance with Liv Tyler worked well in the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon but their reunion in Kevin Smith’s terrible rom-com Jersey Girl just lacked any of the magic from their previous outing. It must have been even more awkward for his then-girlfriend J-Lo to not only watch the pair share romantic scenes but for her character to be killed off in the film’s beginning. Ouch…
4. Reindeer Games (2000)
Another Christmas turkey for Mr Affleck which saw him play the role of a recently-released convict who gets embroiled in robbing casinos over the festive period. While he may have got the chance to use guns and bonk Charlize Theron, the film’s ridiculous plot twists and uninspiring acting caused more critical heartache for Ben. Thankfully, lovely Charlize bounced back from it with her later work which included her Oscar-winning performance in Monster (2003).
3. Pearl Harbor (2001)
The beginning of the Millennium saw Michael Bay’s expensive war epic hyped up as the new Titanic on the trailer’s release. But while the actual Pearl Harbor bombings delivered in terms of cinematic spectacle, the cringe-worthy sub-plot involving pilots Ben and Josh Hartnett fighting for the affections of Kate Beckinsdale on the backdrop of such a devastating event received ridicule from critics and fans alike.
To make matters worse, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to poke fun at Ben and the film with the cult song Pearl Harbour Sucks from their puppet comedy Team America: World Police.
2. Gigli (2003)
Ranked on IMDB’s Top 100 Worst Films of All Time, even the name Gigli makes any film fan shudder. The decision to have ‘Bennifer’ star together in this appalling comic-caper probably caused their eventual break-up as 2003 continued to cause problems for Affleck.
What made this film even more insufferable – it featured terrible cameos from Hollywood legends Christopher Walken and Al Pacino but was also directed by Beverly Hills Cop filmmaker Martin Brest (who hasn’t made a film since). Six Razzie wins proved the icing on the cake for this flop’s fate and is highly regarded as Affleck’s lowest point as an actor…
1. Daredevil (2003)
But our number one Ben Affleck stinker goes to his previous superhero outing, Daredevil. A much-derided film which proves why fans aren’t applauding his casting as Batman. Seen as one of the worst comic-book adaptations to make the big-screen, Affleck looked stiff and out-of-sorts in his role as the red-leathered crime fighter who suffers from a bad case of blindness (a few of us wish we hadn’t seen it now).
But what is bound to anger Batman fans even more is this 2006 statement he made to the London Press about his experiences with the film: “By playing a superhero in Daredevil, I have inoculated myself from ever playing another superhero. Wearing a costume was a source of humiliation for me and something I wouldn’t want to do again soon.”
At least the one consolation for Ben was that the film allowed him to move on from his media-obsessed relationship with J-Lo as he embarked on another ‘Bennifer’ relationship, this time with co-star (and future wife) Jennifer Garner.