Christian Bale v.s. Michael Keaton - Part 2

[Doc Ock]

I think I will always be pro-Keaton. Nothing against Bale, he just isn't the type of Batman I usually want to see if you get what I mean.

[redfirebird2008]

Originally Posted by DaRkVeNgeanCe

I'd have to disagree, I believe Warner Bros overdid his voice digitally in post in TDK that wasn't all Bale. He sounded pretty good in BB.

I blame Nolan.

[roach]

Originally Posted by redfirebird2008

I blame Nolan.

yep...nothing gets done in a movie without the directors consent

[ALP]

Lol, so Warner gave Nolan 100% creative freedom except for when it came to Bale's voice. I don't buy that

[redfirebird2008]

Originally Posted by ALP

Lol, so Warner gave Nolan 100% creative freedom except for when it came to Bale's voice. I don't buy that

Yeah, Nolan's fault IMHO. WB would rather have the guy sound like Bruce Wayne in the Batsuit than sound like someone who desperately needs a cough drop. The voice was decent/good in BB, but Nolan took the post-production effects too far in TDK and darn near ruined some good scenes in the movie.

[Ponyboy]

Originally Posted by Doc Ock

I think I will always be pro-Keaton. Nothing against Bale, he just isn't the type of Batman I usually want to see if you get what I mean.

[WolfCypher]

Originally Posted by Marx

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

I'm glad I stumbled into this thread afterall.

[Fudgie]

The better Batman is winning the poll.

[imposserus]

fudgie where you from?

i used to know a guy who went by fudgie

[El Payaso]

Originally Posted by Fudgie

The better Batman is winning the poll.

Whoa, what an achievement!

[Marx]

Originally Posted by Fudgie

The better Batman is winning the poll.

As has been said before, this poll "debuted" when the "new and shiny" effect of Christian Bale was in full force.

[The Joker]

Yeah but that was six years ago. The poll still isn't even close. That's coming from someone who voted Keaton.

I also think it's a gross generalization and a bit of an insult to accuse all those voters to have voted through rose tinted glasses because something was "new" instead of thinking it was genuinely better.

[GothamAlleys]

Its 60% and 40% and rereading all responses, vast majority stated that they simply like both and both were great but chose one for the poll (kinda like I feel). I dont see any real and nasty competition like Fudgie is making it out to be, although he'd love for everyone to hate Button's movies

[redfirebird2008]

Originally Posted by Marx

As has been said before, this poll "debuted" when the "new and shiny" effect of Christian Bale was in full force.

Meh. I'll take the Batman Begins version of the character over B89/BR any day of the week. But the TDK voice is terrible and I would definitely take the B89/BR version of the character over that one (except for the final scene).

[Ponyboy]

Originally Posted by redfirebird2008

Meh. I'll take the Batman Begins version of the character over B89/BR any day of the week. But the TDK voice is terrible and I would definitely take the B89/BR version of the character over that one (except for the final scene).

It's funny you put it this way considering Keaton was consistently solid in both of his performances and Christian Bale (in your words) was not.

[Marx]

Michael Keaton never faltered as Batman.

[The Joker]

Neither did Bale as far as I'm concerned. Even with the voice that gets criticized, that was post production meddling, not a fault of Bale's.

I still like Keaton's Batman a smidge more than Bale's, but Bale was still solid in every scene he did as Batman. I think he makes a better Bruce Wayne than Keaton.

[El Payaso]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Neither did Bale as far as I'm concerned. Even with the voice that gets criticized, that was post production meddling, not a fault of Bale's.

Not Bale's fault but yet part of Bale's Batman.

[GothamAlleys]

I really never saw (or heard) a problem with TDK voice. I didnt even know people have issue with it until few months later when I saw literally everyone online criticizing it

[Marx]

There were a couple of times when Bale's Batman voice was bad all on his own. In Begins where he talks to Gordon about "mass panic" during the narrows sequence being a good example. I mean you could chalk it all up to bad dialogue or post-production meddling (as it is in TDK) but it ultimately still falls back on Bale.

[the amazing fro]

The one criticism I always hear from friends about TDK (apart from its too long) is bales bat-voice. I can't really argue with them, unfortunately. I think in Begins it works. He went into full overdrive on TDK. I think Bale has probably heard the criticisms and taken them on board for TDKR (well I hope).

[GothamAlleys]

As I said, I never had a problem with the voice. About the only thing that was noticeable for me is how wide Bale opens his mouth when he speaks but then I heard here that he has or had some speech impairment in his life that he had to overcome

[christpunchers]

Keaton can still be effective Bruce Wayne and Batman even if the movie was a silent film. Zero dialog and all.

Bale? He too can do it, but he can't project the Bruce Wayne/Batman internal psychological battle properly.

Bale growls and lisps. Keaton didn't have to do any of that to get his points across. Keaton just makes a slight change of voice when he's in the suit to something more raspy, confident and concise. A quick flash of his crazy eyes, standing there in the alley, and you know you don't wanna mess with him.

With Bale, I almost feel like I just wanna poke him a bit and see what makes him tic, because his entire outwardly "brooding" approach to Batman is self-defeating: he will never kill you, so make fun of him all you want.

[christpunchers]

Originally Posted by Ponyboy

I felt Keaton's pain. I thought he was scary as Batman. I get neither of those from Bale. Just my feeling.

Bale looks too comfy as Wayne. I love American Psycho and when he's Wayne, I just see Bale, as an actor, pretending he's Patrick Bateman (lite) again.

As Batman, I feel that less dialog works better since we can't read inner thought bubble. You're right, that's probably why Keaton as Batman is scarier, since he's not saying much, you have no idea what this nutcase is thinking (and he kills too, regardless of how inaccurate this interpretation is to the source).

Bale's Batman is mostly all action and very little mystery. There's less behind Bale's Bat eyes than Keaton's.

EDIT: Somebody else said this earlier that Bale looks BORED when he's playing Wayne, as if "its the 100th take" and "wants to go home".... is that Bale thinking that how Wayne would be or is that him actually being in a bad mood and wanting a shoot to be done?

[Ponyboy]

That's exactly right. Bale is extremely boring to watch in the role.