Ben Affleck or Christian Bale?

[JackWhite]

Bale only "slurred" in Rises when he is pretty much fighting on fumes.

 

[Tony Gunk]

Bale only "slurred" in Rises when he is pretty much fighting on fumes.

Not exactly true though is it?

"You'll be in a padded cell forever". At least I think that's what he said

 

[Deltron3030]

Wow I. Surprised at the results! To me it's Bale and it's not really close. Maybe because the action scenes and especially writing were better written, but bale just seems like a better batman to me. Ben would be a fitting retired batman (no fighting whatsoever) just because he looks so much older but I prefer bale by far.

 

[Wildcard]

Bale definitely didn't have better action scenes than Affleck.

That warehouse scene > every fight Bale's Batman ever had

Just my own $0.02, though.

 

[CFE]

Both.

And for different reasons.

 

[schereZada]

Wow I. Surprised at the results! To me it's Bale and it's not really close. Maybe because the action scenes and especially writing were better written, but bale just seems like a better batman to me. Ben would be a fitting retired batman (no fighting whatsoever) just because he looks so much older but I prefer bale by far.

Bale's action scenes were horrid. Either you couldn't see a thing (I know Nolan wanted to make the audience feel like the criminals and it was a nice idea... for the first time only) or you could see a terribly choreographed fight. Snyder achieved to show the same brutality but actually... show it. The writing in Nolan movies (specially TDK) was very good, I agree, but very often they became expository dialogues/monologues (in Batman Begins the repetition of "fear" was borderline terrible). Bale's bat-voice didn't help either.

 

[OcStat]

Please, the high-rise showdown towards the end of TDK is heads and shoulders above the warehouse savagery.

As it stands now, Bale all day, everyday. I will wait till Ben's next Batman film before totally writing him off though.

 

[mackblack01]

Bale hooked me more personally than Affleck. As a fanboy, I loved Batfleck in BvS for differents reasons, but from an objective point of view, the overall characterization of Bruce/Batman was way better handle by Bale in the context he was in.

And to me that is the crucial point; both are great in the CONTEXT they're operating.

But again, Bale was definatively better.

 

[hafizbat]

I'd say the Prewitt building scene is still better than the warehouse scene. The latter clearly has better fight choreography, but everything else about it was as mediocre as the movie it's in.

The Prewitt building scene is still the most thrilling, exhilarating, smart scene in any CBM. And it's more "Batman" than anything Batfleck ever did in BVS.

 

[Plaidchuck]

Please, the high-rise showdown towards the end of TDK is heads and shoulders above the warehouse savagery.

As it stands now, Bale all day, everyday. I will wait till Ben's next Batman film before totally writing him off though.

Only thing that annoyed me is that a.dog was the one that beat him in his final confrontation with the Joker.

 

[OcStat]

Haha yeah that was a pretty funny/poor way to wrap it up, but it was a Rottweiler !

 

[TDKR1977]

Wow I. Surprised at the results! To me it's Bale and it's not really close. Maybe because the action scenes and especially writing were better written, but bale just seems like a better batman to me. Ben would be a fitting retired batman (no fighting whatsoever) just because he looks so much older but I prefer bale by far.

Huh? Bale action scenes were better? Look, opinions and all, but REALLY?

 

[Spider-Who?]

Ben gave a lot of weight to the character. He felt like a broken force of nature which is an aspect I prefer. Bale wasn't bad by any means, but I don't think his Bruce/Bats had the same intensity...his was kind of your generic superhero; a mold that can fit most others, while I think Ben's cynicism, intensity and actual darkness fits better. I don't like the noble, "I'm a good person" Batman. I like the world weary, I'm tired of this **** and teetering on the edge, but still going to get **** done because I'm the goddamn Batman". I never got that with Bale. Just my opinion, though.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Bale's action scenes were horrid. Either you couldn't see a thing (I know Nolan wanted to make the audience feel like the criminals and it was a nice idea... for the first time only) or you could see a terribly choreographed fight. Snyder achieved to show the same brutality but actually... show it. The writing in Nolan movies (specially TDK) was very good, I agree, but very often they became expository dialogues/monologues (in Batman Begins the repetition of "fear" was borderline terrible). Bale's bat-voice didn't help either.

lol please Batman vs Superman movie have so many speeches about gods and man all way through it.

Please, the high-rise showdown towards the end of TDK is heads and shoulders above the warehouse savagery.

As it stands now, Bale all day, everyday. I will wait till Ben's next Batman film before totally writing him off though.

Agreed.

Haha yeah that was a pretty funny/poor way to wrap it up, but it was a Rottweiler !

Three rottweilers. It remind me of Batman animated cartoon when Joker attack Batman with hyena dogs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYazCOaGDx4&t=0m22s

 

[OcStat]

Hey, Bale might have been taken out by a "really...big dog"...

But at least he didn't kick the dog in the face, pick it up and rip it's jaw off.

Then set it on fire.
And shoot it.

 

[Wildcard]

Ben's Batman just feels more like the master martial artist we know him to be. We saw him employ a multitude of techniques in battle & in a very fluid manner. Bale's Batman, at times, has a very stiff way of moving, largely because for some odd reason his costumes were designed with the idea of him amicably turning his head in mind.

I fully believe Bale could've delivered similar scenes to what Affleck had done if he hadn't have been held back by Nolan, the choreographers & the costume designers.

 

[Iceman]

Bale was great. Affleck IS Bruce Wayne and Batman.

 

[Wildcard]

Bale was great. Affleck IS Bruce Wayne and Batman.

My stance, pretty much. Affleck just oozed charisma in the role.

Spoiler

I especially loved when he pretended to be drunk at the party while trying to spy on Luthor.

Affleck left me in awe in a way that Bale didn't. I'll always be a huge supporter of Bale's Batman & I'll certainly always be a fan, but this Batman is the one I've been wanting to see since I was a child.

 

[Jekecy]

Hey, Bale might have been taken out by a "really...big dog"...

But at least he didn't kick the dog in the face, pick it up and rip it's jaw off.

Then set it on fire.
And shoot it.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Snyder was a lot more blatant about the manslaughter, but it baffles me how to this day people still act like Nolan's Batman was a paradigm of human care.

 

[OcStat]

I never said that, but at least he cared at all.

 

[BatLobster]

The difference is BaleBat's intentions. People died when he was saving people. He didn't want to be an executioner, but there was some collateral damage. Batfleck straight up really doesn't give a ****. You know he takes joy in it.

It's the take they went with, so either you like that or not. But it's the "broken, f***ed up" version of the character as Affleck said.

 

[hafizbat]

No gripes with Affleck, he did the best he could with what he had, but I really think his Batman was way simpler and easier to pull off than Nolan's. Most of the reasons being said about how awesome he was are about how good he looked or how good his fight scenes were. Compare that to the nuanced, dynamic characterization of Bruce in the TDKT. It's like comparing a gourmet dessert to a Snickers bar.

Put Bale in Affleck's role and he would be just as badass, if not more. Put Affleck in Bale's role and I doubt he would match up.

 

[jmc]

I would agree with that actually which is why I think comparing the two at this stage is kinda pointless. Bale had more to work with. Affleck wasn't given nearly as much to do at all.

 

[InJustice]

The difference is BaleBat's intentions. People died when he was saving people. He didn't want to be an executioner, but there was some collateral damage. Batfleck straight up really doesn't give a ****. You know he takes joy in it.

It's the take they went with, so either you like that or not. But it's the "broken, f***ed up" version of the character as Affleck said.

I think the "broken, ****ed up" part wasn't communicated as well as it could have been. It seems like Snyder communicated something to Affleck, but on-paper didn't seem to suggest that. Which is a shame, because all it would've taken is a flashback or a scene where Batman breaks because of Robin's death, or gets pushed so hard that he has no choice.

I think of something like John Reese in Person of Interest. He doesn't actively seek to kill criminals unless under unique circumstances, but a certain character's death makes him unhinged as hell. After that point, he starts to question everything, and gives no **** about his code. He will kill anyone until he gets his vengeance, even if it means his death. It was a great arc showing his deterioration.

Honestly, I wish this movie had a different aim: juxtaposing the Rise of Superman with the return of the Batman. It would have been such a great way to showcase different methods and mentality of the characters.

 

[BatLobster]

No gripes with Affleck, he did the best he could with what he had, but I really think his Batman was way simpler and easier to pull off than Nolan's. Most of the reasons being said about how awesome he was are about how good he looked or how good his fight scenes were. Compare that to the nuanced, dynamic characterization of Bruce in the TDKT. It's like comparing a gourmet dessert to a Snickers bar.

Put Bale in Affleck's role and he would be just as badass, if not more. Put Affleck in Bale's role and I doubt he would match up.

Can't say I disagree at all, especially with the last part. Especially because Affleck in 2005 simply would've never worked. The reboot of Batman would've been DOA if he played Batman coming off of Daredevil. I mean it sounds preposterous to even talk about it that way, but it's true. And audiences would've never been invested in Bruce Wayne without the mask the way they did with Bale in the first hour of Begins, which was the key to the whole trilogy working.

Affleck aged and matured into the role beautifully though, and it just might be the best performance of his career, no exaggeration for me.