Ben Affleck or Christian Bale?

[The Batman]

That is what makes Bale's Batman a stand out. Times are tough. Batman faced his greatest challenge against the Joker and drew a line in the sand that he said he would not cross no matter what. It's a powerful idea, I personally find it empowering and inspiring. I noted in another thread that is something I did not feel at all from this movie. Compromised heroics with such a jaded morality is just not something I want from my super heroes. And I understand there can be different versions and adaptations, but this movie is supposed to be the DCU right? What we will be spending time with each time we visit this world in the movie theater...why return to see heroes that aren't heroic?

I'd already given up on Cinematic Superman, but if Snyder stays at the helm, I might have to give up on a cinematic JL as well. Hopefully, SS and WW won't disappoint.

The hypocrisy is strong in this one

That's great, BH/HHH.

 

[Verick808]

I'm going with Ben. Bale never impressed me. His character was a contradictory mess.

 

[The Chris]

Bale still. Just taking characterization out of the way, which wasn't even close for me, i got more from Christian just out of Batman Begins alone. The multi dimensional layers of his performance, playing all four aspects of Wayne in that film beautifully ( angry young Bruce, playboy Bruce, Determined real life Bruce, raging monster Batman). The great mix of darkness, anger but selflessness and heroism in his eyes both out of cowl and in. It felt effortless to me, like he wasn't acting, he just was The Batman. Whereas i felt acting in this new interpretation. Good acting but still acting. I never felt completely drawn in. Also the difference between Bruce and Batman wasn't as strong. I always felt that even Keaton felt like Batman more than bruce even outside the suit and so does Ben. But with Christian i felt like i saw two different people. Nothing showed that more to me than his relationship with Lucious in TDK. Very warm and close to him as Bruce during the entire movie, but then he has a scene with him as Batman. Cold, creepy, assertive, controlling. Look at how he stares at him there, how he walks towards him like a predator. It was everything i wanted from a big screen Batman performance. Ben was good, especially with what he had, but Bale is still king for me, like after over 20 years Conroy is still animated king. Batman is at his most human when Bale played him, and that's why he was always my favorite hero. His humanity.

 

[Tony Gunk]

Gotta love how they closed the positivity thread to avoid us insulting the other users but it only increased such activity.

Hiding in that thread to simply insult people was a bit low though don't you think?

Surely we can be more civil than that

 

[InJustice]

Bale still. Just taking characterization out of the way, which wasn't even close for me, i got more from Christian just out of Batman Begins alone. The multi dimensional layers of his performance, playing all four aspects of Wayne in that film beautifully ( angry young Bruce, playboy Bruce, Determined real life Bruce, raging monster Batman). The great mix of darkness, anger but selflessness and heroism in his eyes both out of cowl and in. It felt effortless to me, like he wasn't acting, he just was The Batman. Whereas i felt acting in this new interpretation. Good acting but still acting. I never felt completely drawn in. Also the difference between Bruce and Batman wasn't as strong. I always felt that even Keaton felt like Batman more than bruce even outside the suit and so does Ben. But with Christian i felt like i saw two different people. Nothing showed that more to me than his relationship with Lucious in TDK. Very warm and close to him as Bruce during the entire movie, but then he has a scene with him as Batman. Cold, creepy, assertive, controlling. Look at how he stares at him there, how he walks towards him like a predator. It was everything i wanted from a big screen Batman performance. Ben was good, especially with what he had, but Bale is still king for me, like after over 20 years Conroy is still animated king. Batman is at his most human when Bale played him, and that's why he was always my favorite hero. His humanity.

Couldn't have said it any better. Great post.

 

[Weadazoid]

I liked Affleck as boozy sulky bruce, didn't love that he was manipulated by Lex but, Bales /Nolans take fell for Talia's ruse......

no on screen bat has been the great detective.

 

[Slushy]

Affleck is getting more votes only because people could understand his dialogue.

Reading comments on social media I get the impression Bale fans feel a little threatened these days

Bandwagoner mentality. Praise the new guy and sh** on the previous actor. Rinse, repeat.

 

[Tony Gunk]

Affleck is getting more votes only because people could understand his dialogue.



Bandwagoner mentality. Praise the new guy and sh** on the previous actor. Rinse, repeat.

Or he's getting praise because it's merited? He did pretty damn well with a poor script

 

[Robin91939]

I did watch it he knocks a guy down and throws a grenade in the room, and the grenade goes off. Maybe you should see it again.

I'm on a phone now, so I'll address the rest of the points later, but it's hard to take your criticism seriously when it's clear you have a terribly hard time understanding what happens on the screen in front of you.

Batman tied a man to the ceiling with the batclaw.
Another thug opened the door and unpinned a grenade.
Batman kicked the thug that he had suspended to the ceiling, causing the thug to swing and hit the man with the grenade.
The man drops the grenade, scrambles to grab it, can't, and it blows up. This is a self-inflicted wound. Nothing Batman can do besides let the man throw the grenade at HIM. The pin is out. It is his life or the thug's. And it was the thug's choice to pull the pin.

As far as "stabbing a guy in the neck." I saw someone post that. Batman is stabbed in the upper chest/shoulder. He pulls the knife out and stabs a guy in the same area. Not the neck. Not to kill. To injure. You know, like when Captain America throws a knife and stabs a man's hand to a wall so he can't reach the security alarm ...


But again. If you can't watch a film and see/remember what you saw and then be so confident and arrogant to say to people who are right in their descriptions that "maybe you should see it again," I don't know what to do for you.


-R

 

[hafizbat]

^Jeez, calm down man. It's just a movie, and not everyone can catch every detail in a fast-paced action scene with quick cuts.

 

[The_Manhunter]

IMO the killing thing with Affleck is getting way overblown. He never tried to mortally wound someone directly - more than Bale can say in TDK with Two-Face.

Just an observation, I love both takes.

 

[Robin91939]

​

^Jeez, calm down man. It's just a movie, and not everyone can catch every detail in a fast-paced action scene with quick cuts.

If they are going to be hard-headed and say that others who paid attention are wrong and condescendingly say that they should, "watch it again" then no. No, that person should see that they're wrong and their complaints are invalid.

And you know that a lot of th complaints this film has gotten or "questions" it all raises are almost all explicitly explained within the film. Either on screen or in dialogue.

Looks like a lot of the lack of understanding is a product of the ADD generation.


-R

 

[The_Manhunter]

If they are going to be hard-headed and say that others who paid attention are wrong and condescendingly say that they should, "watch it again" then no. No, that person should see that they're wrong and their complaints are invalid.

And you know that a lot of th complaints this film has gotten or "questions" it all raises are almost all explicitly explained within the film. Either on screen or in dialogue.

Looks like a lot of the lack of understanding is a product of the ADD generation.


-R

I actually do have ADD and didn't find the film hard to follow at all

 

[Flint Marko]

I figured when I started this thread, that Batfleck would win, I just wanted to know by how much. But, I'm not gonna lie, this thread has cemented certain thoughts that I've had about the Batman fanbase, and comic fans in general. Very enlightening thread.

I said earlier in the thread that Bale was the better Bruce Wayne, but Affleck the better Batman. Do you think that's fair to say? I've said before that I think Batfleck's costume (not the armored one) is the best superhero suit we've ever seen on film, and as superficial as that may sound, it goes a long way in making me love every second he's suited up on screen.

 

[XtremelyBaneful]

Bale still. Just taking characterization out of the way, which wasn't even close for me, i got more from Christian just out of Batman Begins alone. The multi dimensional layers of his performance, playing all four aspects of Wayne in that film beautifully ( angry young Bruce, playboy Bruce, Determined real life Bruce, raging monster Batman). The great mix of darkness, anger but selflessness and heroism in his eyes both out of cowl and in. It felt effortless to me, like he wasn't acting, he just was The Batman. Whereas i felt acting in this new interpretation. Good acting but still acting. I never felt completely drawn in. Also the difference between Bruce and Batman wasn't as strong. I always felt that even Keaton felt like Batman more than bruce even outside the suit and so does Ben. But with Christian i felt like i saw two different people. Nothing showed that more to me than his relationship with Lucious in TDK. Very warm and close to him as Bruce during the entire movie, but then he has a scene with him as Batman. Cold, creepy, assertive, controlling. Look at how he stares at him there, how he walks towards him like a predator. It was everything i wanted from a big screen Batman performance. Ben was good, especially with what he had, but Bale is still king for me, like after over 20 years Conroy is still animated king. Batman is at his most human when Bale played him, and that's why he was always my favorite hero. His humanity.

This is a very thorough way of putting it, and I agree bale > affleck, but to be fair you have to remember that those films were about batman and batman alone. This film was batman and superman, not centrally concentrating on batman for character development.

 

[Defacto]

I voted Ben, simply because there is no "bat voice" like Bale's and Ben's mouth stays shut as he is able to breath through his nose most of the time.

Also I like the aesthetics of this Batman.

 

[Knight-Tale]

Bale will never win he sounds like a joke as Batman and the people who are probably giving him the benefit of the doubt on a lot of things like characterization when his character actually quit being Batman continues to astound me

Batfleck is Batman he's not some toned down man in a suit he's actually Batman

 

[The Guard]

I don't rank.

But it is asinine to suggest that Bale's Batman did not kill or shoot guns. Asinine. Some of you have selective memories. Affleck's Batman killed for the same reason Bales Batman did. Self defense and to save lives.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Bale still. Just taking characterization out of the way, which wasn't even close for me, i got more from Christian just out of Batman Begins alone. The multi dimensional layers of his performance, playing all four aspects of Wayne in that film beautifully ( angry young Bruce, playboy Bruce, Determined real life Bruce, raging monster Batman). The great mix of darkness, anger but selflessness and heroism in his eyes both out of cowl and in. It felt effortless to me, like he wasn't acting, he just was The Batman. Whereas i felt acting in this new interpretation. Good acting but still acting. I never felt completely drawn in. Also the difference between Bruce and Batman wasn't as strong. I always felt that even Keaton felt like Batman more than bruce even outside the suit and so does Ben. But with Christian i felt like i saw two different people. Nothing showed that more to me than his relationship with Lucious in TDK. Very warm and close to him as Bruce during the entire movie, but then he has a scene with him as Batman. Cold, creepy, assertive, controlling. Look at how he stares at him there, how he walks towards him like a predator. It was everything i wanted from a big screen Batman performance. Ben was good, especially with what he had, but Bale is still king for me, like after over 20 years Conroy is still animated king. Batman is at his most human when Bale played him, and that's why he was always my favorite hero. His humanity.

Agreed with all of this. That why Bale best Batman.

Bale will never win he sounds like a joke as Batman and the people who are probably giving him the benefit of the doubt on a lot of things like characterization when his character actually quit being Batman continues to astound me

Batfleck is Batman he's not some toned down man in a suit he's actually Batman

Dark Knight Returns Batman quit. This movie and Ben Affleck Batman based on that version they say.

Ben Affleck Batman just Punisher in Batman suit.

I don't rank.

But it is asinine to suggest that Bale's Batman did not kill or shoot guns. Asinine. Some of you have selective memories. Affleck's Batman killed for the same reason Bales Batman did. Self defense and to save lives.

Disagreed. Nobody say he never kill or shoot guns. He only do that when he have to. Ben Affleck Batman kill when he never have to. He is murderer and not a true Batman.

 

[Mace Dolex]

Wow what a tough bunch.

Clearly we're talking about two different portrayals of Batman in various stages of their crime fighting career and its not fair to say whose version was better or definite.

In the poll I chose Bale because his setting was more believable and you could relate more to his journey throughout the trilogy, his costume armor gave a reasonable explanation in its function, his Batman was just as vicious when he wanted to, I'd say the only negative is the awful Bat-voice.

And Affleck was also good but being this is his first outing as the Bat we didn't really get deep into his motivation or see him as Playboy Bruce Wayne, but the costume was terrific so was his fighting style.

 

[Verick808]

Agreed with all of this. That why Bale best Batman.



Dark Knight Returns Batman quit. This movie and Ben Affleck Batman based on that version they say.

Ben Affleck Batman just Punisher in Batman suit.



Disagreed. Nobody say he never kill or shoot guns. He only do that when he have to. Ben Affleck Batman kill when he never have to. He is murderer and not a true Batman.

If Ben was Punisher in a Batsuit Lex would be dead. In fact ever criminal in this film would be dead. Batman killed less people in this film than Bale did in BB.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

If Ben was Punisher in a Batsuit Lex would be dead. In fact ever criminal in this film would be dead. Batman killed less people in this film than Bale did in BB.

lol even Punisher doesn't kill every criminal he meet. Bale kill nobody in BB. Ben killed uncountable number of people in this. He just a thug in a costume.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Affleck is getting more votes only because people could understand his dialogue.



Bandwagoner mentality. Praise the new guy and sh** on the previous actor. Rinse, repeat.

I think Affleck's performance is getting a bit overrated due to the fact it was pretty much the only decent aspect of the film that people can agree on.

There's no way though I've seen enough of Ben as Batman to put him over Bale and his 3 films yet.

 

[The Guard]

Agreed with all of this. That why Bale best Batman.



Dark Knight Returns Batman quit. This movie and Ben Affleck Batman based on that version they say.

Ben Affleck Batman just Punisher in Batman suit.



Disagreed. Nobody say he never kill or shoot guns. He only do that when he have to. Ben Affleck Batman kill when he never have to. He is murderer and not a true Batman.

Umm, Batman quit in The Dark knight trilogy too.

Who decides "when he has to"?

 

[Flint Marko]

There's no way though I've seen enough of Ben as Batman to put him over Bale and his 3 films yet.

That's pretty much how I feel, but I can't deny that Affleck's Batman was fun to watch.