The Dark Knight Christian Bale's Voice

[Mr. Earle]

That's my issue with it. It's almost like he stresses certain elements of his dialogue and those parts that are over emphasized come off slurred or just plain silly.

The one part that I thought his voice was spot on is when he saved Rachel from Falcone's thugs as she exited the train in BB. Not to mention when he had Flass upside down.

Great stuff. I just think that Batman needs to be theatrical. He can sound boring. His announciation has to be above normal standards. I only thought that the "DOOOO" line in BB was bad. I cant see why people stress out "ready to believe in GOOD" in TDK. He didnt stretch the word.

I like it, "WHERE IS HE?!!" was the best part, it was sorta in way of "SWEAR TO ME!!" in BB it's second now.

Agreed

I always loved the voice. Like you said, how else is a popular figure supposed to get around the problem of being vocally recognized? It always made sense to me. Plus, Bale is totally badass.

Agreed.

Well Dick Grayson criticizes this in the All Star Batman and Robin series. There are times when Batman starts talking with his "Clint Eastwood" voice then changes the tone and starts talking like a normal guy, sometimes sounding sad or sympathetic. I actually like this because the lack of a consistent Batman voice reveals how ****ed up he really is. Kudos to Miller for that and to Bale.

Please, get Miller away from Batman! And anyway i dont think its because he is unstable, but because he needs to use a different voice to interrogate someone and a different to talk to Dick. He doesnt have to growl to him.


Anyway, i think i prefer the Begins voice because it wasnt perfect, but it was consistent and you could undestand what he was saying. In TDK they tampered with it, while Bale was acting exhausted and all that and it came off bad.

In any case i believe that this is how Batman should sound like. He shouldnt whisper like Keaton. His whole shtick is fear, he dresses like a giant bat because he wants to scare criminals. He should sound like Bale.

 

[Paradyme]

That makes him sound like Malcolms wheelchair bound friend in Malcolm In The Middle.

I agree. How 'bout...

"This city just showed you that it's full of people...ready to believe in good."

I'm sure they tried different takes and that was the best they could get out of it. Maybe it's just a poorly written line.

 

[DevSingh1359]

I thought his voice was perfect in Batman Begins...in TDK though, I think he went a little overboard at times (there were some scenes where I couldn't even understand what he was saying until I watched it a 2nd time)

 

[gqxsensazn]

At first I was a little hesitant to like it. Now, I love it.

 

[BaleISBatman4ev]

For starters I LOOOVE the Hockey Pads line. I LOVE the voice. As most people in here I too was a little worried with the "ready to believe in goood line" but i usually only find myself being embarrassed that OTHER people will find it over the top. My first reaction is never "wow that was bad" it is "Wow I think other people might not like that line". Because i am paranoid about people not liking his bat voice but honestly i feel its what separates Bale from all the other batmans. I love the voice when he is in regular conversation for instance the "Storms Coming" scene in Begins is one of my favorite bat voices and from TDK I would give it to "I need ten minutes with the scene before your men contaminate it" and "I killed those people... im whatever gotham needs me to be"

 

[BaleISBatman4ev]

A lot of the schock of his voice in TDK was that not enough people saw Begins and were taken by surprise by it by the third movie everyone will love it and expect to hear it!

 

[Doc Samson]

. Please, get Miller away from Batman! And anyway i dont think its because he is unstable, but because he needs to use a different voice to interrogate someone and a different to talk to Dick. He doesnt have to growl to him.

Man, I never knew the Miller hate was so rampant around here until this week, damn. The man may have fallen off his rocker a bit in recent years, but he's as big a influence on Batman as anyone, actually more than most.

That being said, whether intentional or not, Bale's voice does sound exactly like Clint Eastwood. I just caught the trailer for his new movie earlier today and almost forgot how similar it really is. I'm not saying they used Frank Miller for a reference or any of that, but if you compare it, it's almost identical.

Anyway, i think i prefer the Begins voice because it wasnt perfect, but it was consistent and you could undestand what he was saying. In TDK they tampered with it, while Bale was acting exhausted and all that and it came off bad.

In any case i believe that this is how Batman should sound like. He shouldnt whisper like Keaton. His whole shtick is fear, he dresses like a giant bat because he wants to scare criminals. He should sound like Bale.

I agree, but in BB, it sounded pretty bad with the "It's not who I am underneath" line and the "Gotham tear itself apart from mass panic" bit with Gordon. I understand the reasoning for it, and I probably would prefer something a little softer, but in most cases it works. Especially when he's interrogating someone like the Joker or Flass scenes, it really works. I think my favorite line of both movies where the growl enhanced the delivery would be "But the Joker cannot win" Lol!! I don't know why, but it was great, I love it

 

[hatebox]

The thing is, Keaton was never put in a scene where he had to shout, or even talk loudly. Bale's Batman often is. I often wonder how Keaton would have handled that.

 

[Doc Samson]

The thing is, Keaton was never put in a scene where he had to shout, or even talk loudly. Bale's Batman often is. I often wonder how Keaton would have handled that.

True, he hardly spoke at all, especially in B89. I also think part of the issue with Bale's over-annunciation is that he's trying to hide his lisp. I actually never even knew he had one until BB, in the scene where he sees Rachel with his European chicks. It's also why he barely smiles with his mouth open, in any movie

Speaking of which, if any of you guys haven't checked out the full Terminator Salvation Trailer, listen to the part where he's face to face with the cyborg

"You killed my father, you tried to kill my mother. But you will not kill me"

That voice he's using right there is spot on for Batman. Why the hell they won't let him do it like that is beyond me

 

[GregComicFan]

My mom watched TDK with me on Saturday. She said the movie was REALLY GOOD and she never expected to enjoy a Batman movie.

Her one complaint?

"I couldnt understand what Batman was saying sometimes"

Yeah, I think Nolan should lighten up on the Batman growl in the third film.

 

[Dope Nose]

 

[LostSon88]

The voice has never bothered me.

I like it...

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I love Bales Batman voice always have, always will. Even if WB modified it in the post-production process I dont care, it is a badass batman voice, the way I always wanted to hear batman. To me I think Keaton and Bale have the best voices for Batman, theyre two completely different interpretations, but really good brutal ones.

Sorry I made this a long time ago for fun, had to post it

 

[Mr. Earle]

True, he hardly spoke at all, especially in B89. I also think part of the issue with Bale's over-annunciation is that he's trying to hide his lisp. I actually never even knew he had one until BB, in the scene where he sees Rachel with his European chicks. It's also why he barely smiles with his mouth open, in any movie

"Rachel, all of this.....Its....its not....me..!"

Speaking of which, if any of you guys haven't checked out the full Terminator Salvation Trailer, listen to the part where he's face to face with the cyborg

"You killed my father, you tried to kill my mother. But you will not kill me"

That voice he's using right there is spot on for Batman. Why the hell they won't let him do it like that is beyond me

Because at that scene he isnt shouting. He is whispering/speaking. But this is his "menacing Bale" voice. He doesnt change it. He just makes it menacing. Batman needs to sound differently from Wayne.

 

[namtaB]

For me Bale's voice works most of the time but that's b/c I'm a Batman fan and I expect an intimidating voice. There were moments in Dark Knight where he overdid it though - "Someone knoooooows where he is and This city just showed you that its full of people ready to believe in goooood."

Which surprised me b/c I thought he voice was spot on perfect in Begins. But I can definitely understand that for a non-fan the voice as a whole comes off as silly and slightly campy.

 

[Goodfellas]

For me Bale's voice works most of the time but that's b/c I'm a Batman fan and I expect an intimidating voice. There were moments in Dark Knight where he overdid it though - "Someone knoooooows where he is and This city just showed you that its full of people ready to believe in goooood."

Which surprised me b/c I thought he voice was spot on perfect in Begins. But I can definitely understand that for a non-fan the voice as a whole comes off as silly and slightly campy.

I agree that line about "The just showed you its full of people ready to do gooooood" came across way to cheesy i just dont see Batman ever saying somehting like that


IMO Bales Batman needs to stop with inspirational speeches( or i guess they are not speeches but talking for a short period of time) he just come s across corny imho

 

[Mr. Earle]

I agree that line about "The just showed you its full of people ready to do gooooood" came across way to cheesy i just dont see Batman ever saying somehting like that


IMO Bales Batman needs to stop with inspirational speeches( or i guess they are not speeches but talking for a short period of time) he just come s across corny imho

That "goood" line was a response to Joker. He thought that deep down everyone was evil. And he was proven wrong. What was batman supposed to say?

As for inspirational speeches, i think that they were the best parts of BB and TDK. The fact that Nolan doesnt just make an action flick about a superhero, but a really deep movie with lots of messages is what seperates his movies from the rest of the bunch. Its what seperates the good from the mediocre comics as well.

 

[SWAT]

The voice doesn't bother me one bit. I like it.

Hell, my mother thought it was creepy. Good work Bale!

 

[SheldonLevene]

That actually made me laugh quite a bit. The guy playing Joker was good.

 

[chintai80]

That actually made me laugh quite a bit. The guy playing Joker was good.

the same guy is also playing batman. the magic of editing.
i checked out some of his other videos on youtube, they're pretty funny. haha

 

[Doc Samson]

"Rachel, all of this.....Its....its not....me..!"

Lol! Exactly, I was like what the hell?

Because at that scene he isnt shouting. He is whispering/speaking. But this is his "menacing Bale" voice. He doesnt change it. He just makes it menacing. Batman needs to sound differently from Wayne.

True, but I think maybe he should try the "menacing Bale" a bit more, honestly I don't think it sounds much like his Wayne voice, and in that Terminator trailer, he sounded downright scary to me, much more than his Bat growl