Imagine it with Cillian Murphy as Bruce and Guy Peace as Ras

[doobie]

Just imagine it..I mean it. Visualize it for the next 2 and a half hours playing the movie in your head with those roles...then get back to me and tell me if it worked.

I think Murphy would have been a good Bruce, he definately would have been creepier and taken the haggard Bruce in TDK to a new level of scaryness.

[Boom]

In no universe can I ever imagine Cillian Murphy as Bruce Wayne/Batman without either laughing or shaking my head. He's a very good actor, but he's all kinds of wrong for the character.

Guy Pearce as Ra's al Ghul, on the other hand, is perfect. I honestly would have preferred him over Neeson.

[Two-Face]

No, Guy Pearce would been great Bruce/Batman than Ra's Al Ghul. Neeson was perfect for the part.

[Mako]

Agreed. When the rumors of Viggo Mortensen surface I was hoping for him but Neeson was just to damn awesome as Ducard/Ra's that I can't picture anyone but him in that role.

[Boom]

I would've preferred Mortensen, personally. I like Neeson as an actor, but I'm not nearly as high on his Ra's as most people are.

[The Joker]

Cillian Murphy is not Batman material. He doesn't even fit comic book Crane's profile who is an older uglier man.

[El Payaso]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Cillian Murphy is not Batman material. He doesn't even fit comic book Crane's profile who is an older uglier man.

[Fudgie]

Originally Posted by The Joker

Cillian Murphy is not Batman material. He doesn't even fit comic book Crane's profile who is an older uglier man.

Yep.

[Captain_Obvious]

Cillian Murphy for Catwoman tbqh.

Originally Posted by The Joker

Cillian Murphy is not Batman material. He doesn't even fit comic book Crane's profile who is an older uglier man.

You say that like its a bad thing
Crane's makeover was MUCH needed.

[ChocheTheHero]

PHOTOSHOP TIME!

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Captain_Obvious

You say that like its a bad thing

To me it is. Crane works better as an ugly creepy older guy. It fits in with his Scarecrow persona.

Crane's makeover was MUCH needed.

Why? Why did Crane need to be a handsome young man?

[Boom]

That manip of Murphy as Batman is truly frightening. Doz eyez.

[Bruce Malone]

Originally Posted by The Joker

To me it is. Crane works better as an ugly creepy older guy. It fits in with his Scarecrow persona.



Why? Why did Crane need to be a handsome young man?

That makes him all the more unnerving. Cillian Murphy is a good looking man but he has a seriously creepy side to him that is evident, which he's exploited in a few roles now. It's that feeling you get when you look at someone and you just know they are up to no good but can't put your finger on it. You're not being hit over the head with it.

I think a stereotypically creepy looking old man would not have fit the model begins was going with. You knew crane was bad but you had no idea really until later.

Physically he would have been all wrong from batman though, he's a very slight man i remember the scene where holmes was towering him.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Bruce Malone

That makes him all the more unnerving. Cillian Murphy is a good looking man but he has a seriously creepy side to him that is evident, which he's exploited in a few roles now. It's that feeling you get when you look at someone and you just know they are up to no good but can't put your finger on it. You're not being hit over the head with it.

I'm sorry but in Batman Begins that was not applicable at all. It is made clear from his very first scene that he was a bad guy when Rachel accuses him of being in cahoots with Falcone by having his thugs skate on insanity pleas and moved to Arkham. There was no subtlety about him being a bad guy. It was spelled out to us from the get-go.

So I say again there was no reason why he had to be turned into a handsome young man.

[killface]

cillian murphy as bruce. guy pearce as ra's. christian bale as scarecrow.

that's an interesting alternate universe version of batman begins.

although i have no qualms with liam neeson as ra's, i think that the role would have been much more memorable if viggo mortensen played the character.

[Bruce Malone]

Originally Posted by The Joker

I'm sorry but in Batman Begins that was not applicable at all. It is made clear from his very first scene that he was a bad guy when Rachel accuses him of being in cahoots with Falcone by having his thugs skate on insanity pleas and moved to Arkham. There was no subtlety about him being a bad guy. It was spelled out to us from the get-go.

So I say again there was no reason why he had to be turned into a handsome young man.

You're ignoring the fact that cillian murphy is a very good actor. You make it seem like he was some male model they sought out. I believe nolan cast him after seeing the great performance he gave auditioning for batman and still wanted him to have a role in the production.

Scarecrow didn't "have" to be a handsome young man but he had to be played by a good actor in which they found murphy. His looks for better or worse didn't affect the role of scarecrow negatively.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Bruce Malone

You're ignoring the fact that cillian murphy is a very good actor.

I'm not ignoring anything. His acting ability was not an issue being raised.

You make it seem like he was some male model they sought out. I believe nolan cast him after seeing the great performance he gave auditioning for batman and still wanted him to have a role in the production.

I'm not making out anything of the kind. You're going off on tangents that are irrelevant to what we were discussing;

1. One person said Scarecrow badly needed to be cast as a young man. I asked why and got no response from said person.

2. You come along and say his look makes "you look at someone and you just know they are up to no good but can't put your finger on it. You're not being hit over the head with it". I responded by saying that was not applicable in Begins since him being a bad guy was established from the get-go.

Scarecrow didn't "have" to be a handsome young man

Thank you. That was my point all along.

but he had to be played by a good actor

There's plenty of good mature actors out there more fitting Scarecrow's comic book age.

His looks for better or worse didn't affect the role of scarecrow negatively.

No, the writing of the character did that. But I would have preferred a Crane who looked closer to the comics.

[Bruce Malone]

Back to my other point you mentioned. Yes i do believe that sometimes having a villain looking like a villain can sometimes be a detriment. It's a cliche that someone who is bad has to look ugly as well. Like i said it is often more discerning when the bad person does not fit your idea of how a bad person should look.

When crane put on the mask for the first time it was truly out of nowhere and frightening due to the contrast, if he had looked hideous the whole time the effect would have been lessened.

I agree the character was a bit under developed but i genuinely enjoyed cillian's performance, in both films mind you.

[Mako]

Cillian as Bats? IDK I just don't feel it.

[Schlosser85]

I liked Cillian Murphy as Crane, but I really, really don't think he would work as Bruce/Batman. He's a small man, not just his build, he's short as well.

For that matter I think Guy Pearce is also too small for Ra's. Viggo Mortensen probably would have been fine though. I also thought Neeson was fine, although I don't think it was anything spectacular.

[OP84CC82]

Originally Posted by The Joker

There's plenty of good mature actors out there more fitting Scarecrow's comic book age.

But this isn't the comic book isn't it? Are you saying that things can't be open to re-interpretation while still keeping key factors from the character itself? Crane being young was just a cosmetic change, and personally, I can't imagine any other actor, young or old, who could've played the part as was written. I think Murphy did a great job.

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by OP84CC82

But this isn't the comic book isn't it?

No, and yet they cast everyone else from the comics at the correct age frame. Or at least looked the age of their comic book counterparts. Except Crane. It wasn't a change that had any relevance to the story or character. A middle aged Crane could have done the role, too, and nothing would be different.

Are you saying that things can't be open to re-interpretation while still keeping key factors from the character itself?

Of course not. My point was he did not need to be cast as a young handsome man as another poster claimed was "much needed".

There's nothing wrong with middle aged Crane.

[doobie]

I read a good analysis of BB that said every other male character in the film is an older father figure who teaches Bruce something (even villains like Falcone), wheras as a younger man Crane represents the future of what Batman will face, IE crazy freaks replacing old fashioned mobsters.

[CoolCadaver49]

Originally Posted by doobie

I read a good analysis of BB that said every other male character in the film is an older father figure who teaches Bruce something (even villains like Falcone), wheras as a younger man Crane represents the future of what Batman will face, IE crazy freaks replacing old fashioned mobsters.

I read that too, that was a pretty cool article. IIRC, the same site had a cool review of TDK as well. Wish I could find the link...

[uniqueweasel]

I can't imagine Cillian Murphy as Bruce Wayne.