With every comic book movie casting that is made the theoretical fan boy gauntlet is thrown down. Some people's perspectives are harsher than others but at its core, we are all coming from the same place. We have a deep love for the genre and therefore stand firm by our opinions. Underneath all the crude and celebratory tweets we want what we feel is best. These thoughts are similar when it comes to the casting of Lex Luthor in the upcoming Batman v Superman film.
In the early part of 2014, it was announced that Jessie Eisenberg would be the next man to take on the role of Lex Luthor. Despite being an Oscar nominated leading man it is fair to say that the casting of Eisenberg was met with heavy skepticism and confusion. It was not what the masses were looking for. It was the fan boy darling Bryan Cranston or any other top notch actor who we thought would look good with a shaved head. It seemed like between the time Ben Affleck was cast as Batman till now that the masses have really grown to the idea of him being our Batman. That same sway of emotions has not translated over to Mr.Eisenberg. Now I won’t lie when I tell you that I did a bit of a double take when I heard about this casting announcement. I don’t usually take casting announcements too serious to the point that I jump on twitter and use 140 characters to vent by frustration and tear down an actor's body of work. What I have a tendency to end up doing depending on the actor or the role is check out some of what he or she has done or reflect on what I’ve seen. I may even go as far as checking out interviews the potential actor has done. Anything I could do to and see if what I’m looking at can mesh with the role that the actor will inevitably portray. I know some of you might be thinking that you can’t really get a good read on someone’s acting from an interview, but I feel like it's more productive than just ranting and raving.
It's easy to just sit here and tell you that I’ve seen the Social Network and he was nominated therefore he is a good pick. Another performance of Eisenberg’s that I saw was ‘Now you see me’ which is a Magician Caper/Heist which is a lot of fun (which I recommend). In this movie Eisenberg plays one of the four magicians and his character is on the arrogant side. He nails this role really well. There is a scene in particular that I think supports what I’m saying is early when he is being interrogated by Mark Ruffalo’s character. He sort of embodies a lot of the characteristics that I think Lex Luthor needs in order to flourish. Some of those things I saw from Eisenberg’s acting that would translate well in a Lex Luthor role would be dry humor, clever, smug, determined, calm, and he was just very matter of fact. He hits these marks and hits them well. You even watch the Omaze videos with Eisenberg and he just seems so quick witted. Those Omaze videos if anything have helped open some fans eyes. When dealing with a guy like Superman its beyond obvious that matching from a physical standpoint isn't easy so you'd want to smart, smug, and so on as it just makes for better dialogue and that can match or pass the Man of Steel from an intellectual standpoint. From everything we have been hearing in regards to the makeup of Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman those traits sound pretty ideal.
I’m going to venture out on a limb and say that Eisenberg is going to excel in this role. He is about excel in this role to a point where he would be an appreciated and loved addition to the DCU. I’m even going to get a little more crazy and say that for a decent amount of people he will be Their Lex Luthor. The thinking behind that was back when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker a lot of the talk was centered around him having to top Jack and if he could. We all know how that ended up but the relating that to Eisenberg we didn't hear nearly as often the questions if he could top Gene Hackman or not. Although Hackman is beloved for his work as Lex (The King of Australia) by many (myself included) he does not appear to resonate as well with the younger folks like Jack Nicholson did with the Joker. An honorable mention to Kevin Spacey who was just in the wrong film at the wrong time. Basically he doesn't have an insurmountable performance to beat. Beyond that, he is the main villain in one of the most important DC films to date. I understand the concerns though I really do as some fan boys have handled the production of this film and its potential success like an egg. You’ve heard at nauseam that this film needs to be a hit and if you're like me then you are of the thought that a movie like this is just as good as its villain. I’m declaring that based on his acting style and everything else that I’ve mentioned that he is best suited for this role and we may have previously thought. I didn't always believe he could do it but as of this writing I’m confident that Eisenberg as Lex Luthor will be part of the high points I’ll be writing about after the films release.
It is going to be good I promise!
In Eisenberg, I trust.
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