MovieChat Forums > Paycheck (2003) Discussion > Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck

posted 15 years ago by azunder
5 replies | jump to latest

When I first started watching this I was quite resilient to the fact that Ben Affleck was in lead. I don't hate the guy or anything something just irked me about him. Halfway through however, I realised why. When Ben Affleck acts, I'm all too aware of it, that he is an actor acting. It's almost impossible to enter pathos because when the character is furrowing over Car Keys and a Paperclip I see Affleck and not Jennings.

Does anyone else feel the same, or felt the same about Affleck in a different film?

[–] asgard-5 15 years ago

On the contrary, I think he just can't act on movie camera. He can fool around wonderfully on talk shows but he just gets paralized when he does it for money.

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[–] tperkin52 15 years ago

Yes 'Paycheck' is a good story but marginal acting. What really sucks is John Woo's redundant repetative direction, maybe he is a genius in China but I find his movies to be very woody and predictable with almost ridiculus 'signatures' (like the opposing guns in face routine, that you see in every movie). Remember John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart had a huge following but alway's acted like John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart (these guy's may not have made as actors today).

[–] altterrain 15 years ago

He was definitely miscast as the lead in a scifi action thriller but everyone in this movie seemed to plod through their roles. I blame Woo more than anyone for this. I thought Affleck did a good job as Representative Collins in "State of Play" with Russell Crowe.

[–] olliemankz 10 years ago

Thanks for that. I had never even heard of that. I am now going to have to see it.

[–] Ithilfaen 9 years ago

When Ben Affleck acts, I'm all too aware of it, that he is an actor acting.

The problem is that he's very aware of it too. His "acting" is so self-conscious, you can tell he's telling himself "ok now, smile... not too much. Good man" lol

I was trying so hard to ignore the faces and affected pauses and then I got to that ridiculous laugh he gives when he sees how much money is in his account and I remembered why I thought he's a joke.

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