BvS How will Ben Affleck stack up against the other Batmen?

[Frontier]

He certainly won't be near as good as Bale. But after Bale, the bar is pretty low. Sadly, very few actors can portray both aspects of the character well. Keaton could do the Bat, which is surprising considering his comedic nature, but couldn't really do Bruce. Kilmer could do Bruce, but not really the Bat. Same with Clooney, who was literally just George Clooney in a suit. And Adam West... well the less said about him the better.

Bale is the only live action actor to play both parts well.

Conroy (animated voice) is the gold standard IMHO though.

I think Affleck will come in somewhere around the Kilmer portrayal. I hope I'm wrong though. I hope he ends up shocking and delighting and kicking the roles ass.

 

[DvilDog]

He certainly won't be near as good as Bale. But after Bale, the bar is pretty low. Sadly, very few actors can portray both aspects of the character well. Keaton could do the Bat, which is surprising considering his comedic nature, but couldn't really do Bruce. Kilmer could do Bruce, but not really the Bat. Same with Clooney, who was literally just George Clooney in a suit. And Adam West... well the less said about him the better.

Bale is the only live action actor to play both parts well.

Conroy (animated voice) is the gold standard IMHO though.

I think Affleck will come in somewhere around the Kilmer portrayal. I hope I'm wrong though. I hope he ends up shocking and delighting and kicking the roles ass.

I will give you Bale's Bruce, but his bat was average at best. Always seemed like his batman needed a Riccola.

 

[DKDetective]

I will give you Bale's Bruce, but his bat was average at best. Always seemed like his batman needed a Riccola.

I thought his Batman was excellent in Begins. There were issues with the voice in TDK and TDKR, but there were many points where he was great.

 

[Malcolm Reynold]

I thought his Batman was excellent in Begins. There were issues with the voice in TDK and TDKR, but there were many points where he was great.

Yeah Bale was perfect in Begins, but something went wrong with the other films and I'm inclined to blame the direction. It also didn't help he struggled to breathe through his nose in the new suit so had to have his mouth open constantly. Also I read somewhere they edited his voice in post production for Dark Knight and DKR which was a mistake if you ask me.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

He certainly won't be near as good as Bale. But after Bale, the bar is pretty low. Sadly, very few actors can portray both aspects of the character well. Keaton could do the Bat, which is surprising considering his comedic nature, but couldn't really do Bruce. Kilmer could do Bruce, but not really the Bat. Same with Clooney, who was literally just George Clooney in a suit. And Adam West... well the less said about him the better.

Bale is the only live action actor to play both parts well.

Conroy (animated voice) is the gold standard IMHO though.

I think Affleck will come in somewhere around the Kilmer portrayal. I hope I'm wrong though. I hope he ends up shocking and delighting and kicking the roles ass.

I personally thought he did a great Bruce and did well with what he was given as Batman.

This teaser kind of indicates what Bale would be like if the filmmakers had given both the roles of Wayne AND Batman the same priority. [YT]HNOE-VtlUlc[/YT]

I don't think Bale's performance is untoppable. But he's a great actor in a strong set of films. Whatever discrepancies exist (due to the post-production and direction, etc) are made up by the fact that the movies themselves are entertaining to watch and have a great supporting cast.

My fear is that we finally get the Batman from the comics, and the movie itself is meh. I hope Affleck takes an active role in the script.

 

[Sharkboy]

It's pretty idiotic to definitively state that he won't be good as [insert favourite batman here] just as idiotic as it is to prematurely state that he'll be the best, but I'd say he's got a good shot, he's a solid actor especially if he's involved with the character in the writing stage, I'd feel even better about it if he was directing.

Visually he's probably the most promising, he's tall, handsome, has a great chin for batman, looks 100% like bruce wayne and he can bulk up very well, but yeah it really all comes down to the material he's given and as much as I liked Man of Steel, Batman is a whole different monster to write for, and with what's come before in both Film and TV and comics, such high watermarks...the pressure is at a point where I'm hoping Affleck is bringing something behind the camera as well as in front and that he's bringing all his respect for the character as well as his intelligence and sensibilities he brings to his own films, because with just Goyer and Snyder, I'm not entire sure that the character is in the right hands, with Affleck it certainly could be.

 

[O_B_Juan]

Somewhere around Val Kilmer.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

I don't think Batman will be amazing people in this outing, because honestly, after Man of Steel, I don't have a massive amount of hope in Goyer. But, I do feel that if Affleck were to be the director behind the next Batman series he'd be able to cement himself as Batman in the minds of the people as much as Bale did.

 

[Frodo]

It's pretty idiotic to definitively state that he won't be good as [insert favourite batman here] just as idiotic as it is to prematurely state that he'll be the best, but I'd say he's got a good shot, he's a solid actor especially if he's involved with the character in the writing stage, I'd feel even better about it if he was directing.

True. I feel like at this point both sides of the Affleck debate want to be proven right so badly that they seem to be at the extremes of predicting either " He's gonna totally surprise everyone and prove everybody wrong and be the best Batman ever!" or "He's gonna suck, and ruin DC on film and be the worse Batman since George Clooney!" I agree with you that I think he's got a good chance of doing well.

 

[BatLobster]

That's why I'm content being in the middle right now. I'm more than open to having Ben knock this out of the park and make a believer out of me, but I'm not so attached to it than I won't be able to admit it if it doesn't work.

It's a risk here, no doubt about it. It could pay off huge or it can blow up in their faces.

 

[godisawesome]

It will depend greatly on how they interpret the character. If they make Batman more of the core personality, then we could get a more emotive Bats with sincere wrath in dealing with all criminals.

 

[Bathead]

True. I feel like at this point both sides of the Affleck debate want to be proven right so badly that they seem to be at the extremes of predicting either " He's gonna totally surprise everyone and prove everybody wrong and be the best Batman ever!" or "He's gonna suck, and ruin DC on film and be the worse Batman since George Clooney!" I agree with you that I think he's got a good chance of doing well.

That's pretty much what I'm thinking. I don't know how well he will actually do, I'm no prophet, but I see no reason not to have a positive outlook on it.

 

[Dark Raven]

All the Batman actors need to have a cup stacking competition to see how Affleck will stack up against them.

 

[Skrilla31]

True. I feel like at this point both sides of the Affleck debate want to be proven right so badly that they seem to be at the extremes of predicting either " He's gonna totally surprise everyone and prove everybody wrong and be the best Batman ever!" or "He's gonna suck, and ruin DC on film and be the worse Batman since George Clooney!" I agree with you that I think he's got a good chance of doing well.

I think Affleck is a huge miscast but I take no pleasure in being "right" about any of this.

If someone told me a few years back that they were making a Superman/Batman movie, I couldn't have in a million years predicted my expectations would be this low.

 

[Project862006]

bale as batman was'nt anything to write home about sorry guys he was fine but

bale's bruce wayne is what affleck would have to match not batman

bale's batman wont be hard to top

 

[BatLobster]

Bale's Batman was great. I'll miss the rage if they tone it down in future incarnations. The voice was only bad in a handful of lines honestly (mainly the ones in TDK where they boosted the bass and distorted it in post). For the most part it was a really commanding and convincing performance under the cowl.

It can be topped of course, but it'll always go down as a legendary version of the character due to those movies. A great Batman performance doesn't mean much if it ends up being a subpar film. Kilmer was honestly very decent in the role, but history tends to brush him aside due to the movie he's associated with.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

^ Funny enough, but I miss the gritty lack of emotion more. [YT]pMd4S-LkywI[/YT]

I want Batman to be scary and sinister, who only rages when his anger button gets pushed.

 

[Sharkboy]

That's the great thing about Batman, you can pick 5 equally awesome iterations of Batman and they could all be wildly different, the character (save for a few characteristics) is largely open to interpretation.

Affleck has every chance to nail the character pitch perfect depending on finding the right level to play him at. Keaton was silent intensity, Bale was pure animalistic rage, Affleck can't just go out there and give us a copy or just do a Conroy.

 

[Persona]

Dunno, I hope Affleck does well. But right now I think he'll be a lot like Clooney's Batman: fine but mad forgettable. Hopefully Batfleck is part of a much better movie than the atrocity Clooney was in. I like my Batm.an actors to have a slightly dark, slightly weird edge to them. Bale and Keaton had that. Affleck? I'm skeptical

 

[smallville fan]

I think the GA has every right to be upset. In their POV most believed Batman was retired after TDKRises and therefore wouldn't have anymore films for a while. Barely a year after TDKR release TPTB decide to put Batman in a sequel to a Superman movie . I think it is too soon to introduce a new batman especially since the last trilogy just ended not too long ago. I guess a year feels like a decade for WB. And it's not just the GA Affleck has to deal with but the majority of the critics, who loved Bale's portrayal and the Nolan trilogy for the most part. And nostalgia has nothing to do with TDKT. It ended last year how are people nostalgic over it. I think some people are upset b/c it feels too soon to reintroduce Batman on the big screen again. The franchise needed a few more years rest. I agree that the character needs a break.

Indeed I felt as much with regards to the general audience, but I think if more people from the GA look at it from the angle of a "James Bond situation" where one Bond incarnation's story is up and now a new Bond is crowned, maybe they could be less harsh about it? I've been using that as explanation to my GA friends, they seemed to accept it. I mean both Batman and Bond are similar characters in a way haha. Critics should also follow this same notion too, I mean when Casino Royale came out was Daniel Craig feverishly compared to Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery in every sentence of a review?

When a new reboot/re-visting/re-imagining of a comic book character appears on screen, one should not compare it to the last on-screen incarnation, there's a reason to why it was rebooted in the first place. Critics should go straight to the source material ideally, but it seems they don't really want to despite how much of a place comic book movies have settled into within Hollywood.

When I was referring to the Nolan films being nostalgic, I was looking ahead to to the future to what a GA's mindset of the Bat Trilogy's standing would be.

I can agree with the "it's too soon" notion. I feel like its a bit rushed. A sequel MoS movie without Batman would of been just fine in my eyes.

I have always felt they are trying to play catch up with Marvel, and this feeling rushed just solidifies my feeling on the matter.

I initially felt that a solo sequel movie would've been nice first, but after learning this was in the pipeline for a long time and that this decision was made long long before MOS had its first review, then maybe it could already be written as a nice cohesive fit and we would all be content about it after we all see the movie come 2015.

The definitive Batman actor, IMO, will be the one who has the GA talking about him when they leave the theater, and not the villain.

Absolutely. When people left TDK in theaters back in '08, more people were talking about Joker than Bale. Bale only really got to where he was(with his Batman) because he was associated with Ledger's Joker.

 

[shauner111]

Bale's Batman was great. I'll miss the rage if they tone it down in future incarnations. The voice was only bad in a handful of lines honestly (mainly the ones in TDK where they boosted the bass and distorted it in post). For the most part it was a really commanding and convincing performance under the cowl.

It can be topped of course, but it'll always go down as a legendary version of the character due to those movies. A great Batman performance doesn't mean much if it ends up being a subpar film. Kilmer was honestly very decent in the role, but history tends to brush him aside due to the movie he's associated with.

I just want Affleck to be quiet under the cowl most of the time. Some rage but not too much. If they make him like something out of a horror movie. Where he interrogates by simply staring them down til they give up information, or he calmly (in a low tone) demands something. That would be cool and different from Bale.

Closer to Keaton's Batman with his voice but even more silent would be really nice. But in a modern suit. Grey and black please. If they do that, plus have Affleck portray a 41 (ish) Bats, tall and JACKED...he could literally become the best interpretation of Batman. Cool fight scenes from Snyder would help too.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

Having Affleck play the more silent type would him seem more imposing, and make it harder for the audience to say "That's Ben Affleck."

Sounds like a good move.

 

[roach]

being Batman in the movies is about 80% suit and 20% actor

 

[milost]

Keaton and Bale are always being praised as these great, definitive Batmen. But for as good as they are, they're really just the Batmen of the 90s and 2000s.

I think Affleck has the potential to give audiences something better. Why? He has the advantage of seeing what works and what doesn't. If he's more charasmatic than Bale's Wayne, more menacing and grim than Keaton's Batman and doesn't have a lame voice like Bale did in the last two, he could edge them out. This will especially be the case if they go in a unique direction visually for the character and drop the black rubber armor every interpretation had thus far and give him something a little more inspiring.

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

Drop the rubber armor, and he'll move faster. Make him a detective who doesn't need other people for the most part, and he'll be smarter. Find a way to give him a dark, but subtle voice, and add more flattering camera angles and lighting, and he'll be scarier. Give him more gadgets and he'll be more "cool" and resourceful. Show that he's never killed, and he'll be more arguably moral.

There is room for improvement over the Bale interpretation. Zack and Goyer just have to FIND it. And they should start by pouring over as many comics as they can, so that they can "feel the character."

Barring AllStar Batman and Robin, of course