Few performers are discussed and criticised as much as Boston-born, legendary actor Ben Affleck. Affleck has garnered notice during his 30-plus-year career for a variety of different reasons. The gossip magazines liked it when he talked about his love life, his marriage, and ensuing divorce from Jennifer Garner. He is frequently mentioned by film enthusiasts for his incredibly diverse and well-regarded body of work. People frequently discuss Affleck because he is a muscular, attractive man who has always been a touch too attractive for his own good.
Affleck is currently recognised as one of the most cerebral and self-aware movie actors of the modern period, which is something that can be said about him. Affleck has evolved and stood strong above his problems to see the other side, realising that his talent was never vanity but humility. He may not have had the awareness of his brand and star persona early on. Even though you might love to detest him, it sure feels good to support him. This list represents the parts that Affleck played in which the general consensus was, “This guy’s got it.” Here are the top 10 Ben Affleck films that everyone should watch at least once.
Argo
The second most well-known movie from Affleck’s filmography is arguably Argo, which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture. Affleck’s third film as a director, Argo, was his most successful to date (or since). It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from reviewers and viewers, and as a result of Affleck’s skill in front of and behind the camera, it has now come to be recognised as one of the greatest American films of the 2010s. He gives the movie a certain amount of scrappiness—the proverbial chip on its shoulder—that gives it a lot more grounded and authentic feeling than it otherwise might.
In the movie Argo, Ben Affleck’s character, extractor Tony Mendez, sets out to liberate a group of American refugees from the Canadian embassy in Tehran. Mendez and his team sneak into the unstable nation of Iran under the guise of a film crew filming a sci-fi movie, but they constantly worry about whether they’ll be able to escape alive.
Armageddon
Armageddon, in which Affleck played his first significant, blockbuster role, is precisely the kind of film that he ought to have been starring in at that point in his career. The idea that training oil drillers to become astronauts was simpler than training astronauts to be oil drillers was huge, loud, and kind of dumb. But, Armageddon was the enormous tentpole film that made Affleck’s name known to everyone who would not have watched Good Will Hunting. Thanks to Michael Bay’s classic space movie, he went from being a well-known figure in his field to being one.
In Armageddon, a group of oil drillers from the working class are ordered by NASA to halt a massive asteroid that is headed for Earth. Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, Keith David, Michael Clarke Duncan, Peter Stormare, and Steve Buscemi are among the actors who appear in it. One of the greatest and most successful movies of the 1990s is the movie in question.
Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy, another of Affleck and Smith’s joint productions, is likely the most notable of any of them, either for Affleck’s performance or the movie’s influence on culture. Chasing Amy, one of Smith’s most admired films throughout his career, is a romantic comedy with little to no real romance since, as you can see, the romance is highly one-sided. Affleck gives the role of Holden McNeil the right amount of sombre laziness and sardonic detachment that a Smith leading man must possess, but he also gives him a certain type of relatability and complexity that ensures you don’t end up completely despising this guy. Even though Holden’s continuous efforts to win over a lesbian lady seem incorrect by modern standards, the novel was essential at the time it was released.
In the movie Chasing Amy, Ben Affleck plays a lesbian who falls in love with a gay man named Holden McNeil, to to the chagrin of his best friend and coworker (Jason Lee). The short film of a Smith friend who imagines her friends criticising her for sleeping with a man served as the original inspiration for the movie.
Dazed and Confused
Affleck had a couple standout performances prior to Good Will Hunting that contributed to him becoming somewhat of a household name in Hollywood. Affleck portrays the arrogant, senior high school official who will do anything to haze the new first-year students and make their lives a living hell in Richard Linklater’s 1970s hangout comedy Dazed and Confused. Affleck’s character is the only one who truly serves as a negative counterbalance to any of the other characters in Dazed and Confused, which is sort of legendary for how carefree and upbeat it is. Affleck stands out in a cast of excellent young actors and actresses by leaning into the worst instincts of what would soon become a staple aspect of his star persona.
On the last day of school in 1976, when summer officially begins, all the youngsters are free to celebrate anyway they like, Dazed and Confused takes place. A bunch of incoming freshmen decide to experience what high school life would be like firsthand, so they set out into their quiet Texan town to see what they get up to on their final night of being too young to party.
Dogma
Dogma, one of Affleck’s numerous projects with filmmaker and close personal friend Kevin Smith, may not have received as much attention as other View-Askew-niverse productions. On paper, it might not make sense to combine Smith’s trademark stoner humour with a biblical concept, but the outcome is one of the most creative and offbeat mid-budget dramedies ever produced. As a result, Affleck and Damon provide some of the most compelling performances of this phase of their careers. In a movie that could easily feel like it was done in shockingly poor taste, supporting actors like George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, and Alanis Morissette also give outstanding performances. Yet, as he frequently does in Smith’s flicks, Affleck really steals the show here.
The plot of Dogma centres on two fallen angels (Damon and Affleck) who want to use a purported exception to Catholic orthodoxy to enter Heaven after being expelled by God. Their accomplishment would disprove God’s infallibility, which would contribute to the annihilation of all creation as existence is predicated on the idea that God is infallible. To halt them and stop the end of the world, the seraph Metatron sends her fellow citizens and God. Even before it was released, the movie’s portrayal of Catholicism and the Catholic Church stirred up a lot of debate.
Gone Girl
Gone Girl is one of the most brilliant casting decisions ever, and it may be the 2010s’ most iconic Ben Affleck performance. Affleck’s portrayal of husband and probable wife killer Nick Dunne as suave but ultimately over the top is almost too obvious to succeed, but Affleck makes it pay off handsomely. The premise of Gone Girl is that you can never be sure who to trust, and Affleck is just charming and attractive enough to make you doubt everything about him. Affleck and director David Fincher are able to take you down so many different emotional and psychological routes that by the end of the movie, you almost aren’t sure if you like or loathe him while the entire world scrutinises him and wonders where his wife Amy is.
Rosamund Pike portrays Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, a bored housewife who devises a scheme to leave her formerly devoted but now adulterous husband Nick (Affleck). Nick is left to put Amy’s absence back together, finding answers to issues that he’s not sure he truly believes to be genuine. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between ex-lovers that both elicits wrath and revulsion. The plot of Gone Girl centres on the topic of retribution and what or where it ultimately achieves its goals.
Good Will Hunting
The role that launched Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s careers is a necessary addition to any list of the actor’s accomplishments. The screenplay that Affleck and Damon developed for the movie Good Will Hunting would end up earning them an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and catapulting both of them to the forefront of movie discussion and popularity. It was almost completely because to Good Will Hunting that these two best buddies from Boston would suddenly become the trendiest things in Hollywood.
Good Will Hunting tells the tale of a disturbed but bright caretaker named Will Hunting (Damon), whose intelligence belies his working-class persona. Will is guided by a college lecturer (Stellan Skarsgard) and a buddy who is a therapist (Robin Williams), who help him discover what he can actually do if he puts his mind to it. Will’s close buddy Chuckie (Affleck) encourages him to utilise all of his resources to leave the society they grew up in, but it is up to Will to find a way out of the obscurity to which he has sentenced himself.
The Town
The Town, another one of Affleck’s films, was a big success for him both as a filmmaker and a star. In its robbery scenes, it displayed a tenacious energy while grounding its narrative in the interpersonal connections of common people. For taking on such a challenge, Affleck received a tonne of accolades from both critics and public audiences for co-writing, directing, and staring in The Town. The most impressive aspect of the movie is how well it manages to make the audience care for Affleck’s character, a man who is using his inherently problematic status to seek a relationship with a woman he has previously deeply injured. It’s a suspenseful crime thriller, and Affleck’s slick charisma adds to its appeal.
The Town is a crime drama that is set in Boston and follows the exploits of a gang of thieves as they seek to commit the largest heist of their careers: robbing Fenway Park. The gang is commanded by their charismatic leader Doug (Affleck). Yet while working on a different crime, Doug develops feelings for Claire, the bank manager, and pursues her without telling her who he really is. Doug needs to decide where his allegiances lie and where he draws the line at hurting the people you love the most, which sets off a whole lot of drama and difficulty.
The Way Back
If you know a lot about Affleck and who he is as a person, The Way Back really manages to stick in your craw, kind of like how Gone Girl did. Although Affleck has been involved in a number of public controversies and rumour mills, his recent divorce from Garner and following alcoholism treatment were the most significant. Affleck, who is now sober, played this role in the movie The Way Back as an alcoholic basketball coach who is attempting to win over a motley crew of basketball players. Affleck’s portrayal is not only influenced by his own struggle and suffering, but he also displays all of his feelings honestly on screen, turning what could have easily come off as a cheap movie into something akin to a movie star’s therapy session. With that additional perspective, it makes for an intriguing watch.
Jack Cunningham (Affleck), a drunken construction worker at his wits’ end, is portrayed in The Way Back when he accepts a job as head coach of the basketball team at the high school where he once excelled as a player. To connect with these difficult adolescents and win some basketball games, Cunningham must face both his past legacy and his present troubles.
Triple Frontier
Frontier Triple Pascal, Pedro Isaac, Oscar BEN AFFILM Chuck Hunnam Netflix Triple Frontier may be the list’s largest outlier, yet it is nonetheless deserving of praise. Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac, and Garrett Hendlund make up the all-star cast of Triple Frontier, a cable-core action movie that is becoming increasingly rare. Triple Frontier, directed by J.C. Chandor and available on Netflix, has some of the best character exchanges in a while in an action movie, thanks in large part to how endearing Affleck is in this role. It has a lot of engaging action sequences, some entertaining character development, and a fair amount of corny material as well.
In Triple Frontier, a team of ex-U.S. Army Delta Force operators must come together to organise a heist against a South American crime lord. When the movie was first planned, Johnny Depp was cast as the lead, and Kathryn Bigelow was tapped to serve as the director. Over the years, Triple Frontier’s creative team underwent numerous shifts and changes before settling on the cast that would finally star in the movie.
