Favorite Batman portrayal and why

[LaughterLives]

To me, Affleck was easily the worst and he had the worst costume. He just looked like a smug, grumpy Cat. He was most the most cringe-worthy, pathetic and laughable in the role despite being the Batman with the best action scenes. There was nothing about Affleck's portrayal that screamed Batman to me. To me it was a continuation of Clooney's smug and jealous portrayal. Its like he just grew embittered from that movie.

Clooney is the second worst and only cuz He played Bruce Wayne better than Affleck did and he didn't look ridiculous in his costume but they're pretty on par performance wise, overall.

Kilmer Looked great as Batman and did a decent job, not great but I prefer it easily to the 2 previous mentioned.

Bale is the second best. His portrayal is the most comic accurate but I think his performance is great only in Batman Begins. He does a great job at grounding and balancing the 3 sides of Wayne that we're shown in this film. He also captures this sense of a man being committed to a mission, perfectly. His performance in this role disappointingly gets weaker in the sequels, especially as Batman. As Wayne it just gets pathetic cuz they make his character grow backwards instead of forward and rising to something great, instead we get a Batman/Bruce Wayne who grows increasingly pathetic and unlikable.

Keaton is far and away My favorite portrayal as Both Bruce Wayne and Batman. His Bruce Wayne may not come off as the playboy billionaire, man on a mission that the comics portray but I think its cuz of this that he sells the duality and the secret of being Batman better than any other. You see Keaton's Bruce Wayne and you think there is noooooo way this unassuming, quirky and a loof excuse of a person could be Batman. Yet he displays a quiet madness to him that you believe would be required in a person who dresses as a giant Bat to fight Crime single handedly. Then when he puts on the costume, it doesn't matter whether or not you think this guy could be Batman or not cuz He totally sells it...He IS Batman and to me its an amazing yet subtle transformation. Burton totally nailed the less is more aspect about a character like this, it made him more mysterious and at the same time a little scary, You totally understand why criminals fear the myths about a giant bat. Burton's direction with Keaton on these films I think is something that'll never come along again. You can see that his Batman is a little unhinged and it mirrors the madness of the villains created in the Burton-verse. It was an unconventional take on the character but I still think it was the best version of the character ever done and its still the standard to beat in my opinion. I also love that his Batman is a killer. I've always preferred a Batman who kills. He's not a cop, It's never made sense how he justifies letting criminals live, especially the dangerous ones. They would have no problems getting lawyers to drop charges.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Affleck, and it's not even close.

I do like Bale quite a bit though.

Keaton was a good Batman but I didn't care for his Bruce Wayne.

Kilmer was decent.

Clooney is the only one I don't like.

 

[Rowsdower!]

It's a toss-up for me between Keaton and Bale but I went with Bale. While I like Keaton's "Batman" persona better overall (mainly due to the voice and the 89 costume was the best), I feel like Bale's Bruce Wayne overall performance is better. And while Nolan's films may get a lot of crap for the fight scenes, I still found Bale's Batman to be a more impressive fighter than Keaton's. And lastly, I liked that Bale's Batman stuck to the "no kill" rule, as much as he could. Keaton's Batman is basically John Wick in cape (though I still like him).

Kilmer's, Clooney's and Affleck's Batmen can go **** themselves.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Kilmer's, Clooney's and Affleck's Batmen can go **** themselves.

I don't really care who your favorite is but this is just a disgusting way to express an opinion.

 

[Abudefduf]

Bale in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He pretty much embodied everything I love about the character.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I don't really care who your favorite is but this is just a disgusting way to express an opinion.

Oh, lighten up. I'm not saying that about the actors themselves. I'm talking about fictional character portrayals.

 

[Brother Jack]

I don't know how you could vote for Affleck after just one movie.

 

[Awest66]

As Wayne it just gets pathetic cuz they make his character grow backwards instead of forward and rising to something great, instead we get a Batman/Bruce Wayne who grows increasingly pathetic and unlikable.

That's a pretty terrible analysis of Bale's Batman there.

I also love that his Batman is a killer.

(Faceplam)

 

[LaughterLives]

@Awest66:

It's perfectly accurate but I agree it was a terrible way to go.


Did you hurt yourself?

 

[The Joker]

I don't know how you could vote for Affleck after just one movie.

Why shouldn't they? There was more than enough of his Batman material to judge him. It's also about quality not quantity. And Affleck was lacking the former.

That's a pretty terrible analysis of Bale's Batman there.

 

[DOBSON10]

For me it's Christian Bale. I want to say far and away, but then Michael Keaton was also incredible as Batman too but when it comes to on screen portrayals of Batman, Bale just is Bruce Wayne/Batman to me. And that's coming from someone who grew up on Batman 89 (Still probably the movie I've watched more than any other movie ever because as a kid I watched it over and over), which holds alot of nostalgia for me and thought that Keaton would never be topped as Batman for a long time.

He's the most talented actor to ever play Batman, which is saying alot because I think Keaton has been one of the better actors in Hollywood over his career as well (criminally underrated before Birdman hit big), but Bale to me is one of the best actors of this generation, probably between him and Leo DiCaprio for best actor of the last 10 years or so, I would say he's the best (IMO of course). He's capable of playing so many different kinds of characters, and actually make them feel different. There are alot of actors who can play different roles well enough, but they still mostly feel like the same actor, with Bale, he can transform in a way most actors can't, and that's without the weight loss/weight gain factor that he works on to fit different roles. I'm not saying Batman is his best acting performance, I think his roles in The Fighter, American Physco and The Machinist are better but I'd still say it was great overall.

Everyone always craps on him for his Batman voice, and I can see why people have that opinion because it's something that can be very subjective to each person. But outside of maybe 2-3 lines in the entire Trilogy, where even I thought it was alittle over the top, I loved his Batman voice ("Where's the Trigger" didn't bother me at all though, the worst to me was standing over the Joker and saying "This City... just showed you... it's ready... to believe in GOOD", that one was really bad haha). I thought it gave Batman intensity, determination and gravitas that the character of Batman calls for, something I think is part of the character.

As for Ben Affleck, I think he's done a solid job as Batman so far. And as far as comic accurate look for the character, he does look very close to some of the comic and Animated Series renderings. Though Bale resembles what I always thought the character would look like more, but my thoughts on that weren't based on comic accuracy, just more on a head canon type of deal. Just one example of my reasons for that.. I'm willing to bet Bale is more agile/athletic than Ben, who looks more slow and prodding. Like comparing a Wide Receiver to a Tight End in Football terms. Having a giant massive dude playing Batman wasn't a big deal for me, I thought it would be more natural for someone as agile and quick as Batman is supposed to be to be more of a compact athletic type, not a massive body builder type. Though again, comic accuracy Affleck obviously wins that battle.

But the main reason Affleck places 3rd on my list is because, as an actor, he just doesn't have the same range as Bale or Keaton. I wouldn't call him a wooden actor, though he can be at times. Overall he's a good actor, but in comparison to Bale and Keaton, he's wooden as a board. Not his fault, they're both top of the line actors, he's good, he's just not on that level at all. He can't pull off the intensity or gravitas they did in the role, he's just missing that extra level that they could reach.

What Affleck does have going for him, is by far and away the best Batsuit ever which helps alot and better fight choreography (Though I think the Nightmare sequence is pretty bad in that regard).

Kilmer was OK, not great. Clooney could have been a very good Batman and an even better Bruce Wayne but those movies were terribly written and he didn't take the role very seriously, his own words.

So..

1. Bale
2. Keaton
3. Affleck
4. Kilmer
5. Clooney

 

[Brother Jack]

Why shouldn't they? There was more than enough of his Batman material to judge him. It's also about quality not quantity. And Affleck was lacking the former.

For me it's because his portrayal has the potential of changing pretty dramatically as the DCEU continues. They appear to already be moving away from the murder. And it's also because the one movie he's been in wasn't well written or directed. I'd like to wait until he's given good material before I can give a fair assessment. I wouldn't call Affleck a great actor necessarily, but there ain't an actor alive who could've sold "MARTHA" effectively.

 

[Babillygunn]

This is really a difficult question to answer because Batman has so many nuances to his interpretation that almost all of them did a terrific job in a way. My personal favorite might be West inasmuch as he really nailed the detective aspect of the character. The character was comedic and not dark in the least, but it was actually very comic-accurate. Especially for it's time. I loved how Bale portrays Bruce as a ruse and Batman as the larger than life hero who is symbolic of justice and punishment. I love how Keaton's Bruce is a bit unhinged and the prototypical eccentric billionaire, but his Batman is a self assured creature of the night. I also like Affleck's Bruce who is equal parts arrogant rich playboy and dedicated businessman. The phone conference with the managing employee st the beginning of BvS spoke volumes of who he is and what the people who work for him think of him. Plus the shot of Bruce running into the cloud of debris as the building is falling is simply the single most awesome shot of Bruce in any Batman film. I also like Afflecks Batman as he plays him in an almost mythical manner.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I guess for me it will always be Keaton since Batman 89 was the film that introduced me to Batman in general. I was so blown away by his portrayal and the character because it was unlike any other fictional character I had known up to that point.

He wasn't Chris Reeve's Superman or Luke Skywalker, he was dynamic, mysterious, and most of all a bada**. His portrayal and that film made me a Batman fan, and seeing that film in a packed audience back on opening weekend was a treat as well.

While I prefer Bale's multi-dimensional Bruce Wayne in terms of how the character is written, Keaton is still my favorite.

I really don't like Affleck's Batman at this point. Yeah, he looks like the comic, and fights better than any of the others, .

Um...that's really not the case. I'll grant you that West, Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney weren't believable fighters, so Affleck is superior in that aspect. However, his style in BvS (and that of his stunt team) was more brawling enhanced by stylized weaponry. It looked good, but it most certainly didn't have the polish and attention to detail that the Nolan trilogy did.

I'll always contend part of what sets Bale's Batman apart was his commitment to learning the art of fighting. He didn't just spend time getting in shape, he took on the mindset of a legitimate fighter. He studied the brutal, street-effective Keysi Fighting Method (often abbreviated as KFM) in preparation for Batman Begins.

You can read an interview with Bale's trainers, and see his world reknown stuntman and martial artist, Buster Reeves, here:

Christian was great, the fact that he thought KFM rocked really helped.

He was very keen to learn which made our job a real pleasure. He picked it up very quickly and in the end actually achieved quite a good level of understanding in KFM.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/christian_bale_trainer_interview.htm

 

[jackjohn]

Ben Affleck (Batman vs Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League)

 

[Rowsdower!]

Um...that's really not the case. I'll grant you that West, Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney weren't believable fighters, so Affleck is superior in that aspect. However, his style in BvS (and that of his stunt team) was more brawling enhanced by stylized weaponry. It looked good, but it most certainly didn't have the polish and attention to detail that the Nolan trilogy did.

I'll always contend part of what sets Bale's Batman apart was his commitment to learning the art of fighting. He didn't just spend time getting in shape, he took on the mindset of a legitimate fighter. He studied the brutal, street-effective Keysi Fighting Method (often abbreviated as KFM) in preparation for Batman Begins.

You can read an interview with Bale's trainers, and see his world reknown stuntman and martial artist, Buster Reeves, here:


https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/christian_bale_trainer_interview.htm

The other thing that bugs me about people who crap on Bale's fight scenes but laud the ONE good fight scene Affleck had in BvS is how some of the stuff he did in that scene would have required him to be superhuman. I know we're all comic nerds who are used to seeing Batman beat up 20 guys without breaking a sweat, but when you see something like that in a movie it becomes a little ridiculous. Oh, and the fight scene during the "Knightmare" sequence was pro-wrestling/Dolemite level bad.

 

[Khaos]

The other thing that bugs me about people who crap on Bale's fight scenes but laud the ONE good fight scene Affleck had in BvS is how some of the stuff he did in that scene would have required him to be superhuman. I know we're all comic nerds who are used to seeing Batman beat up 20 guys without breaking a sweat, but when you see something like that in a movie it becomes a little ridiculous. Oh, and the fight scene during the "Knightmare" sequence was pro-wrestling/Dolemite level bad.

That's the entire point of Batman. He can do what no other human could. You think him taking on 20 men is too unrealistic? Everything about comic books is unrealistic. But guess what, a trained fighter could easily take on multiple opponents. You can find videos on youtube of regular looking men beating 4, 5 guys at the same time just using very basic boxing techniques. A CB character with the size, training and armoury of Batman taking on 20 thugs is far from being the most ridiculous thing you can see in super hero movies.

As far as the quality of the fighting sequences, he really doesn't have many we can judge from. You have 3 main fighting sequences. Batman v Superman is decent, Knightmare is weat but then the wearehouse scene is one of the greatest fighting scenes i've seen in more recent CB films.

But if you do have a problem with what Batman can do...man, you really gotta have a problem with comic books, period.

BTW, no fight you can possibly see in a super hero movie looks realistic or would be possible in any way in real life. You name the fight and i'll guarantee you that there's absolutely nothing realistic or credible about it. Whether it's Captain America, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Black Widow. It's all on the same level of ridiculousness. You may find one dance prettier than the other, but that doesn't change the fact that they're all nonsensical and at very best look like a Martial Arts exhibition.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, okay. I'll name the fight(s). Watch the hallway fight in Daredevil season 1 and the stairwell fight in season 2. THAT is what I want to see from Batman in a movie. Neither is wholly realistic, but it's all done (or appears to be done) in one take, giving a less choreographed feel than the almighty warehouse fight of BvS. And while it features Daredevil taking on a lot more people than anyone should realistically be capable of handling, at least he's not defying the laws of physics, using his grapple gun to send people and two-ton crates 15 feet in the air.

 

[dallywhitty]

01. Keaton
02. Affleck
03. Kilmer
04. West
05. Bale
06. Clooney

 

[Khaos]

Yeah, okay. I'll name the fight(s). Watch the hallway fight in Daredevil season 1 and the stairwell fight in season 2. THAT is what I want to see from Batman in a movie. Neither is wholly realistic, but it's all done (or appears to be done) in one take, giving a less choreographed feel than the almighty warehouse fight of BvS. And while it features Daredevil taking on a lot more people than anyone should realistically be capable of handling, at least he's not defying the laws of physics, using his grapple gun to send people and two-ton crates 15 feet in the air.

By defying the laws of physics, what do you mean, exactly? Is he defying a particular law that you know about and would be able to explain how it works to me? Or it just looks impossible to you?

Have you ever seen a person's whole body being lifted into the air after taking a chain to the face? Cause that happens in the DD fight. Maybe there's a little chance that's defying a few laws of physics right there. Or better yet: It's just defying the laws of reality. A man getting hit over and over and over again by punches, kicks, sticks and steel pipes and keep moving and fighting full of energy is just as unrealistic as whatever Batman does in that scene. Not sure why you're playing pick and choose here. You like one scene more than the other? Fine. But let's not get too into how unrealistic one is or how realistic the other isn't.

If you really have such problems with CB movies you shouldn't watch them. There's nothing remotely realistic out there.

 

[Mandon Knight]

1) Affleck
2) Bale
3) Keaton
4) West
5) Kilmer
6) Clooney

There isn't a huge amount between the top 3 and each can be 'hailed' as the best for different reasons, Bale was in 3 excellent genre films and had strong material surrounding him, Keaton was the 'break through' from West and the 60's camp as we saw a more familar Batman emerge and I thought him excellent in both guises and Affleck showed for me, the most distinction of character of the Bruce/Batman dynamic and also clearly the most 'kick ass' version of Batman yet.

 

[Broseph44]

Affleck
Bale
Keaton/West
Kilmer
Clooney

 

[Babillygunn]

To me, Affleck was easily the worst and he had the worst costume. He just looked like a smug, grumpy Cat. He was most the most cringe-worthy, pathetic and laughable in the role despite being the Batman with the best action scenes. There was nothing about Affleck's portrayal that screamed Batman to me. To me it was a continuation of Clooney's smug and jealous portrayal. Its like he just grew embittered from that movie.

Clooney is the second worst and only cuz He played Bruce Wayne better than Affleck did and he didn't look ridiculous in his costume but they're pretty on par performance wise, overall.

Kilmer Looked great as Batman and did a decent job, not great but I prefer it easily to the 2 previous mentioned.

Bale is the second best. His portrayal is the most comic accurate but I think his performance is great only in Batman Begins. He does a great job at grounding and balancing the 3 sides of Wayne that we're shown in this film. He also captures this sense of a man being committed to a mission, perfectly. His performance in this role disappointingly gets weaker in the sequels, especially as Batman. As Wayne it just gets pathetic cuz they make his character grow backwards instead of forward and rising to something great, instead we get a Batman/Bruce Wayne who grows increasingly pathetic and unlikable.

Keaton is far and away My favorite portrayal as Both Bruce Wayne and Batman. His Bruce Wayne may not come off as the playboy billionaire, man on a mission that the comics portray but I think its cuz of this that he sells the duality and the secret of being Batman better than any other. You see Keaton's Bruce Wayne and you think there is noooooo way this unassuming, quirky and a loof excuse of a person could be Batman. Yet he displays a quiet madness to him that you believe would be required in a person who dresses as a giant Bat to fight Crime single handedly. Then when he puts on the costume, it doesn't matter whether or not you think this guy could be Batman or not cuz He totally sells it...He IS Batman and to me its an amazing yet subtle transformation. Burton totally nailed the less is more aspect about a character like this, it made him more mysterious and at the same time a little scary, You totally understand why criminals fear the myths about a giant bat. Burton's direction with Keaton on these films I think is something that'll never come along again. You can see that his Batman is a little unhinged and it mirrors the madness of the villains created in the Burton-verse. It was an unconventional take on the character but I still think it was the best version of the character ever done and its still the standard to beat in my opinion. I also love that his Batman is a killer. I've always preferred a Batman who kills. He's not a cop, It's never made sense how he justifies letting criminals live, especially the dangerous ones. They would have no problems getting lawyers to drop charges.

Wow. I think I disagree with almost every single thing you say in this post.

Just out of curiosity, what is your favorite story from the Batman comics?

 

[Skrilla31]

I'm amazed at how people can say Affleck was the best Batman. He had a comic accurate suit and a square jaw. Beyond that I fail what people saw in his performance. In fact he is so unsuited to play this version of Batman that the decision to use a voice modulator felt like it may have come out of necessity.

I mean this was the least most Batman thing I have ever seen.

 

[2kt09]

I didn't think it was possible to bring in live-action what Bruce Greenwood added to the character. I definitely didn't think Affleck would be the one to do it and yet here stands the man gripping with a dual identity and showing through his demeanor and cadence those years of experience. I absolutely loved how he expressed his fear of Superman just as much as I loved how lonely and jaded he was. Plus, it was probably the first time I even gave a care about a live-action Batman having a character arc.