Christian Bale or Michael Keaton? this thread thinks they all suck. it has been a long time since i’d watched Keaton’s Batman so this might be nostalgia speaking here. despite the makeup and stiff neck, the impression i still have is someone dark and a little bit psychotic, so i am voting for Keaton’s Crazy instead of Bale’s Ninja.
how about you?
Nobody’s done a Batman that actually resembles the one in the modern comics, in live action, better than Bale. That’s a lot of qualifiers, yes, but, I figure the animated versions aren’t being discussed as only Keaton and Bale are mentioned [Edit - I now see there’s a poll, but, still, no voice actors mentioned - also, who the heck are the first two?], and while Adam West’s has merit, his Batman is a completely different character than the one Keaton, Clooney, Kilmer, and Bale have been playing.
The animated versions have generally been good. Again, ignoring Adam West as a completely different character… Kevin Conroy (DCAU, Arkham Asylum, Gotham Knight), Rino Romano (The Batman), William Baldwin (Crisis on Two Earths), and Jeremy Sisto (New Frontier) have all done well by him. (Haven’t seen Superman/Batman, so I can’t comment on whoever did him, there.)
If we’re including voice actors, I’d say Deidrich Bader does a good job in * The Brave and the Bold* despite the intentional mid 60s campiness of the show and the fact that he only appears as Batman and not yet as Bruce Wayne.
I liked the Christian Bale as Batman films… but Christian Bale as Batman sucked. I find the stupid gruff voice annoying and distracting.
Having said that - I like Christian Bale in everything else he’s done.
I’ve never heard of the first two, Adam West is before my time and I forgot about Val Kilmer and George Clooney. I still don’t clearly recall either of them playing Batman - obviously they made a good impression.
So for me it’s between Keaton and Bale. I voted that they all sucked, but I guess the truth is I slightly prefer Keaton. That could be nostalgia talking. Bale’s super husky Batman voice is a bit much for me, it’s so distracting.
Who was the best ?
Why …Orson Welles or course…
Bale, Kilmer, Conroy, and West, in that order. The rest were “meh.” Even Keaton. Especially Keaton.
Honestly, West is the only one that really stands out as memorable. The rest sort of blend together as a bunch of homogenous, brooding, scowling clones. Its a pretty formulaic role, so I think its kinda hard to stand out.
Christian Bale plays the best Bruce Wayne though.
On the rare occasion I pick up a Batman comic it’s Conroy’s voice I hear when I’m reading. Batman TAS is the best incarnation of Batman in the last 20 years comic books included.
Wilson was in 1943’s “Batman”, and Lowery was in 1949’s “Batman and Robin”.
Keaton is still the best. His Batman/Bruce Wayne showed a sense of humor and wasn’t the dreary avenger that makes Bale’s performance dull. He also nailed the serious side of Batman; it was smart that he didn’t say much when he wore the mask.
Slight hijack - I just watched The Machinist last night!
…agreed on this. The DC Animated Universe became my favourite hero continuity and Conroy does an absolutely fantastic job of portraying bats.
Defintely. it’s nice that his performance as Batman wasn’t dry. He was able to be scary while also seeming confident and evcen a little amazing. He was the only guy who made me really be afraid of meeting that guy. Bale’s Batman is so incredibly serious it just falls flat. If Keaten had a better villain* to face off against, it would have been even better than the 89 Batman already was.
*Yes, Nicholson’s Joker was cool when you see it the fierst time. But that is not a performance which aged well. These days he comes off as some fat guy playing the Joker. Sure, peope argue whether Heath Ledfger’s Joker was too much or isnanely cool, but I’ve never seen anyone except hardcore comics nerds who whine about any movie claim he just wasn’;t the Joker. He was probably closer to the current comics Joker than any other, except perhaps Mark Hamil’s from the Animated Series. But that’s what was so good about Ledger: his Joker incorporates every previous portrayal and still is a unique character who fits into the Dark KNight universe.
I’d say Bale is the closest to how I’ve always pictured Batman/Bruce Wayne, with Kilmer being a very close second. You know, like someone physically capable of doing the things Batman does. Michael Keaton was just…laughable as someone who is able to beat the shit out of anyone tougher than, say, my five year old niece. Also, as a good-looking playboy. Not as laughable in either role as Adam West, but right on up there.
And I got no problem with the darkness and seriousness of Bale’s portrayal–it’s a dark and serious character. I mean, the guy watched his parents get killed as a child, and it fucked with his head so badly that he’s devoted his life, at the cost of great mental and physical effort, to beating up bad guys. The whole point of Batman is that he’s damaged and obsessive, and that’s some dark-ass shit.
Keaton by miles. KIlmer could have killed the franchise if he had another chance.
West was a cartoon Batman in a funny show, but not required to act much. It was funny and camp.
Kevin Conroy had the best voice for it, no doubt. He was the only one who really sounded like two different people doing it.
As far as live actors, while I like a lot of what Christian Bale did, there was a menacing quality to what Michael Keaton did. I also think Keaton had an understanding of the character that some of the others lacked. His “two truths” speech from the second movie really encapsulated it, IMHO.
Adam West. No question. Glad he found work as the Mayor of Quahog.