Ben Affleck Never Got a Superhero Role That Did Justice to His Talent

Given Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne in The Batman and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Once, it might be understandable why Ben Affleck just announced he was done with the hero style. Affleck’s two vacations in the world of socks and scarves, in 2003’s Daredevil]… ]

On Den of Geek, a comment made it clear Ben Affleck previously got a hero part that did justice to his skill.

From Porridge to Prison Break, Television people have long had a fascination with prison. With pubs reducing the options for actions, the consequences are often amplified. A hostage put is preferable, whereas a captive market is one. We love to see how figures behave when their liberty has been taken from them, how they manage, how they plot exit, how they find the strength to carry on. And we adore imagining how we would manage those similar circumstances, hoping never to have to turn that abstract notion or vicarious thrill into action.

These, then, are ten of the finest example of the prison music, listed in ascending order of merit, and culminating in our pick for best dog. Feel free to say our options in the feedback, but before you react to clearly please consider this:” We’re never in here with you. You’re below, and you’re with us.

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10. Prison Split

A higher spot on this checklist would have been provided if Prison Break had been a one-and-done limited set. As it stands, each succeeding season of the show after its first more sullied its status until it was lower in its fans ‘ estimations than the last year of a certain present about dragons may one day get to its admirers.

There are few initial conditions of any present that are as powerful, habitual and simply plain enjoyment as Prison Break‘s. The main conceit is a preposterous one, with Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller ) infusing the schematics of the prison he helped design and then assisting his brother Lincoln ( Dominic Purcell )’s release from Death Row before being hanged, but it’s delivered with such adrenalin-spiking, fast-paced panache that you won’t care. Prison Break also gives us one of TV’s greatest villains, the vile, despicable, and slimy, yet utterly captivating, Theodore’ T-Bag ‘ Bagwell ( Robert Knepper ), a character you’ll both love to hate, and hate to love.

Things start to unravel after that tumultuous second season, though William Fichtner’s portrayal of pill-popping, morally questionable FBI agent Alexander Mahone in year two is a delightful addition, and season three’s Panama-based tomfoolery aren’t without their charm. Season four, however, marks the time when the movie’s rear broke beneath the weight of its extremely convoluted and absurd story, and season five, the restoration season, represents the nadir of not only the show itself, but quite possibly the entire concept of entertainment itself.

Prison Break needs to take a permanent break from breaking out of any more damn prisons.

9. Wentworth

Wentworth is a remake of Prisoner, which was a quasi-prequel to Patrick McGoohan’s The Prisoner, which ran from 1979 to 1986, and was a quasi-prequel to it.

The major characters are all present and correct, albeit with new faces and in some cases tweaked backstories – protagonist and top-dog-to-be Bea Smith ( Danielle Cormack ), her compatriots Lizzie Birdsworth ( Celia Ireland ) and Franky Doyle ( Nicole de Silva ), villainous prison guard Joan ‘ the Freak ‘ Ferguson ( Pamela Rabe )– but gone are the small budgets and low production values that saw security gates and cell walls alike wobble as though they were made of cardboard– which in some cases they probably were. The Wentworth prison of the late 2010s is slick and modern, and the action is gritty and violent. Although Wondworth probably clings more to the tone of Oz than Orange is the New Black, it is most likely the closest thing of all to the UK’s Bad Girls ( which just so sadly missed out on being on this list ).

Whether you prefer Wentworth or its predecessor undoubtedly comes down to personal taste, and quite possibly age.

8. Prisoner Cell Block H

Prisoner Cell Block H is to Wentworth what Classic Doctor Who is to NuWho, and we’ve got to give the edge here to the old kid on the (cell ) block. Yes, a fight between two prisoners might have appeared on the Richter scale because the sets were so tiny and shabby. Yes, the haircuts of the early 1980s were crimes in and of themselves. Yes, the show’s writers were unable to go into any particularly deep depth because of the genre’s continual, serialized nature.

But there’s a raw, claustrophobic charm to the show, precisely because of its dark, threadbare appearance, that lends the lives of the women of Wentworth Prison an air of grit and hollow desperation that the show’s successor could never hope to replicate. The characters, particularly top dogs Bea Smith ( Val Lehman ), Myra Desmond ( Ann Phelan ) and Rita Connors ( Glenda Liscott ), had more time to cement themselves in viewer’s hearts, and thus more power to break those hearts once their stories came to an end.

In terms of villainy, Prisoner Cell Block H has an edge. Pamela Rabe’s interpretation of the murderously corrupt prison guard Joan ‘ The Freak ‘ Ferguson in Wentworth was deliciously monstrous, but there will only ever be one ‘ Freak’, and that’s the original and best, Maggie Kilpatrick, who carried menace around with her as easily as some people carry mints.

Has there ever been a more achingly fitting or hauntingly beautiful closing theme than” On the Inside”? &nbsp,

7. The Prisoner

There are no bars or guards in the mysterious village in which Patrick McGoohan’s intelligence agent wakes to find himself &#8211, no turrets lining the shore of the island on which the village sits &#8211, but there’s no mistaking what this place is: a penal colony.

The eponymous prisoner, or Number 6, as he’s more commonly known, and indeed exclusively, is Patrick McGoohan. We never learn his real name, nor do we ever discover who has captured him, and why. We don’t even know who on the island is a prisoner, and who is a part of the conspiracy. We are only aware that the island’s inhabitants, led by those who are designated Number 2, will use every trick in the book to obtain information from Number 6.

Those brave or foolhardy enough to tr escape from the island are pursued by a giant, bouncing, see-through ball known as Rover, that swiftly engulfs and retrieves them. If all of this starts to sound a little mind-numbing, that’s because it is. The Prisoner is a head-scratching mind-bender. At turns clever, imaginative, inventive and absurd, the audience is never actually one-hundred per cent certain what the hell is going on, which only serves to amplify the mood of paranoia and unease that follows Number 6 around like a… well, like a giant, bouncing, see-through ball.

This is the only 1960s film that can be compared.

6. Dannemora’s Escape

Escape at Dannemora tells the true story of the 2015 break-out from Clinton Correctional Facility in New York State by lifers Richard Matt and David Sweat, played by Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano respectively. To achieve their audacious aims, they co-opt the assistance of Tilly Mitchell ( played by Severance stalwart Patricia Arquette – a series that’s also directed by Ben Stiller ) &#8211, the prison worker in charge of the tailor shop &#8211, through means of sex, seduction and flattery. The cutting and tunneling are mostly done by sweat. Matt is the Machiavellian plan-maker, a man who can control other people with ease, but, tragically, not himself.

Tilly appears to be a vulnerable, downtrodden, and unhappy housewife who’s only crime was to seek attention and affection from the wrong people at first, especially if you have no idea how to escape the real world. But as the narrative unfolds it becomes clear that Tilly is possibly a dastardlier human being than either of her two incarcerated co-conspirators combined.

A flashback sequence late in the series leaves us in no doubt as to the natures of the two men we have been cheering on in their bid for liberty. Although their criminality is the product of an opportunistic impulsivity, Tilly’s crimes, the majority of which aren’t crimes in the legal sense, demonstrate a persistent commitment to cruel and callous manipulation in furtherance of her own selfish and destructive appetites. She makes living ciphers of her son and husbands. She is only saved from going on the run with Matt and Sweat, which is undoubtedly what would have left her in a prison cell, and only suffers from panic.

Escape at Dannemora is a well-paced tale, deftly directed by Stiller and immaculately acted by the cast (especially Arquette ), a tragedy that will resonate long after the end credits have rolled.

5. Orange is considered to be the New Black.

Orange is the New Black is based on the best-selling autobiographical book by former drug mule Piper Kerman, in which she recounts her time in prison, and the questionable life choices that led her there – especially her exciting yet destructive relationship with charismatic cartel worker Alex Vause ( Laura Prepon ), the woman largely responsible for Piper getting caught. And of course, when Alex ends up sharing the same cell block, passions and sparks fly.

Taylor Schilling plays Piper ( surname changed to Chapman for the show ) with a wide-eyed, wet-behind-the-ears intensity, channelling an awkward innocence that occasionally borders on arrogance. Piper doesn’t feel that she belongs in prison. Not with these “others,” these criminals, who blatantly deserve their fate. But as she adjusts to life in prison, makes connections and gets to know ( and be accepted by ) her fellow inmates, the fear of her fish-out-of-water scenario gradually gives way to empathy and understanding. She discovers, as we do, that the majority of the women in Litchfield Prison are victims as they are perpetrators: they have been let down by our families and societal support systems in ways that the majority of us struggle to comprehend. &nbsp, &nbsp,

For the first season this is Piper’s story, but as the series expands, so too does its focus and scope. It gradually deviates from its ostensibly comedic premise and allows for deeper themes and darker subtext to enter the narrative without losing its heart or humor. Each of the large and compelling ensemble gets a proper chance to shine (especially Suzanne ‘ Crazy Eyes ‘ Warren, arguably Uzo Aduba’s breakout role ), as the writers drill ever deeper into their fates, hopes, dreams, pasts, and miseries. By the end of the series, we have experienced at least one tragic character death that is as heartbreaking, mind-numbing, and game-changing as Lem’s departure from The Shield, and we have experienced the agonies and triumphs of the majority of them.

4. Black Bird

Welsh actor Taran Egerton is praised as the next Bruce Willis largely because of his role in Carry On, an action thriller based in the airport, last year. But Egerton is no one-trick pony. Behind the muscles and bravura are a strong and versatile set of acting chops, which are evident in his acclaimed performances in biopics like Eddie the Eagle and Rocketman. And those chops are certainly on display, to breath-taking effect, in Apple TV’s limited series Black Bird ( which, like Escape at Dannemora, is based on a true story ).

Egerton plays Jimmy Keene, a drug-runner with a surfeit of charm, a winsome grin, and a semi-functional moral compass. FBI agent Lauren McCauley ( Sepideh Moafi, who most recently graced our screens as Mia in the excellent sci-fi series Scavengers Reign ) approaches him with a deal: go “undercover” in a maximum security prison to get close to and successfully elicit a confession from suspected serial killer Larry Hall, and we’ll commute your sentence. It’s Jimmy’s love for his ailing father, ( retired cop” Big Jim” Keene, played by Ray Liotta, in his final TV role ), who may not last another year much less ten, that propels him into action.

What follows is a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat thriller that incorporates Mindhunter‘s elements. For every prison riot or potentially fatal dilemma Jimmy has to face there’s hours of talking between Jimmy and Larry, each moment of it imbued with tension and horror. If you’ve only ever seen Paul Walter Hauser as Stingray in Netflix’s Cobra Kai, you’ll be blown away by his unsettlingly creepy and nuanced performance as Larry Hall. You’ll quickly come to the realization that Taran Egerton is so much more than just an action star if you’ve only ever seen him in Carry On.

3. The Night Of

Riz Ahmed shines in The Night Of as Nasir ‘ Naz ‘ Khan, a Pakistani American student who finds himself stuck on the wrong side of the criminal justice system thanks to a combination of bad choices, bad luck, and post-9/11 prejudice.

After stealing his father’s cab to attend a college party, he meets the troubled and beautiful Andrea ( Sofia Black-D’Elia ), who climbs in his cab as it’s idling. After hitting it off, the two end up hosting a two-person party at her place, complete with rock n’ roll, drugs, and sex. The next morning Naz wakes to find that Andrea has been stabbed to death. Even he isn’t sure if he‘s innocent, and all the evidence points to his guilt.

A more fortuitous instance of happenstance connects Naz with John Stone ( John Turturro ), a scruffy yet dogged attorney – think Columbo meets Monk meets My Cousin Vinny– who represents the best shot Naz has of escaping the humanity-eroding violence of prison and the corrosive clutches of jailhouse top-dog Freddy Knight ( a powerful and sinister turn by the late Kenneth Michael Williams ). &nbsp,

In the wake of Gandolfini’s tragic passing, Robert de Niro was given the role of John Stone after James Gandolfini’s tragic death was originally written for him. But Turturro ( currently on our screens in Apple’s peerless workplace mindbender, Severance ) absolutely makes the role his own, to the point where it’s hard to imagine anyone else – aforementioned Hollywood heavyweights included – doing a better job. Riz Ahmed, however, is the star of the show with a sincere and sincere performance that merited an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series.

2. Time

Few writers can navigate the darker waters of the human soul with as much lucidity, aplomb, and verisimilitude as Jimmy McGovern, who in Time pits his considerable writing power against the complex and inhumanities of the British penal system.

Series one focuses on the intersecting fates of a newly arrived inmate and a long-serving prison guard at a particularly bleak men’s prison. Former teacher Mark Cobden ( Sean Bean ) is in jail for vehicular manslaughter, in which he killed a man while intoxicated. He tries to keep his head down and do his ‘ time’ quietly, but the other inmates sense his vulnerability and target him. Before long he finds himself inveigled into the prison’s drug-smuggling ring, and he’s forced to make a choice between his survival and his moral principles. Eric McNally ( Stephen Graham ), a prison guard, has a nearly identical dilemma to Mark’s, even though it’s not Eric’s survival but his recently incarcerated son’s that hangs in the balance. The conclusion to the first season is at once surprising and inevitable, depressing and hopeful, eliciting sighs of despair alongside tears of hope, like the best of McGovern’s work.

Three new inmates ‘ transitions to life in a women’s prison are followed by Season 2 of &#8211, co-written with Helen Black &#8211. It’s no less powerful and affecting, more harrowing in the social oblivion it chronicles but bookended with a more hopeful denouement. Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance and Bella Ramsey give arguably the performances of their careers across these three episodes as their characters learn hard lessons about motherhood, poverty, addiction, acceptance, retribution, and redemption. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

1. Oz

Oz isn’t just the best prison series of all time. There’s an argument to be made that it’s one of the best dramatic series of all time. It is undoubtedly one of the most significant and significant, launching the second golden age of television, when it would replace film as the preferred prestige medium of the masses. HBO was at the forefront of this revolution, providing a funding model that removed creatives from the burdens of advertising and network interference, allowing them to put the story first, and to take more risks.

Oz tells the story of life in” Emerald City,” an experimental wing of the Oswald State Penitentiary, a place where there is a perpetual conflict between the forces of restorative justice and, on the one hand, vote-winning retribution and punishment. It’s a battle between two ideologies, but, ultimately, it’s a battle for the inmates ‘ souls. The show is bleak, brutal, and gripping. He’s almost like a cellmate, and death isn’t just a reality on the wing.

Before Oz arrived in 1997 there had never been a show quite like it. It’s a sprawling, Shakesperian tragedy painted over the gloomy underbelly of the waning American dream. Even today, in a televisual landscape that’s packed with death, darkness and destruction, it still packs a powerful and uncompromising punch. To the head. to the gut. To the heart.

Oz is a true gem of the genre, albeit one with a very dark shine.

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