Kevin Smith also wants Keaton as Batman for JLA !

[Damiean Dark]

I still dont think so. he looked great and acted good (despite the at times terrible spoken script) but i beleived Keaton more as a man so traumatised by his parents death he would become batman the slightly fuddled air but you can still see the wayne intelligence beneath the surface. read Kenks post somewhere on this thread he explains perfectly.

 

[Damiean Dark]

Originally Posted by KenK
I'll say this, Bale definitely benefits for more fleshed out material, and that he's younger and more comparable to Batman when it comes to physicality, but the more I watch Begins, the more annoyed I am everytime he's on screen as Batman. The things Keaton did effortlessly with his eyes and his voice, Bale just can't seem to pull off. The whole guttural animal voice Bale does for Batman just comes off very forced to me. And the more I think about the public Wayne persona, I think they may have gone a bit overboard with the smarmyness. Him pretending to be drunk at his birthday party, I suppose that was necessary, but couple that with the dinner with the two models, swimming with them in the fountain, and pulling out his checkbook saying he's gonna buy the hotel, it's all a little much. Wayne has to be a different person compared to Batman, but he doesn't need to be a complete and total prick.

I think Keaton as Wayne sells so well, because it's not just how he acts as Wayne in public, it's how people react to him. It always goes back to Knox and Vicki in his trophy room, for me. The make the usual assumptions about him because he's rich, and cracking jokes about the man, then he shows up behind them and pretty much puts Knox in his place without even trying to. It's like he doesn't even realize what he's doing. Keaton's whole delivery of "Because I bought it in Japan." is just classic, 'cause there doesn't seem to be even a hint of "duh, isn't it obvious" snarkiness to it. He just says it in such a matter-of-fact way, where for the most part, he's merely answering Knox's question, but at the same time he's making him feel like a doofus for not knowing where the armor was from. And then, even after he's chatted them all up and come off like a nice guy, Knox still has his doubts about him, tying it all into him just being some shallow rich guy. Then it's followed by this great cinematic reveal as they pull back the shot with Knox and Vicki looking at the mirror, then we see the cameras behind the mirror, then the monitors in the batcave, then Bruce, and just about everything about his demeanor has changed. All the charm and wit he exhibited earlier is gone from his face, and you just see this stern, determined look on his face, and you know that's who he really is.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I will give you this - the one thing that does bother me about bales batman is his necessity to spell everything out for you...

while a cool scene - 'Bat's frighten me... its time my enimes share my dread) that fact that you dress as a bat, work in a cave full of bats and at that moment sculpting a weapon in the shape of a bat pretty much tells us everything we need to know.



Keaton was more silent - you could tell everything he was thinking through his eyes (his moments of complete thought are chilling)

 

[Ibn]

I love both Batman series. Nolan’s and Burton’s. I like Nolan's a bit more and i like both Keaton and Bale's Batman's.
One thing I don’t like though is Kevin Smith. Every time something to do with comics pop up Smith always has to be there! I know it is because of his popularity on the comic book scene (although I still believe the guy has more haters than fans. One of his movies didn’t even earn it’s budget back right?? – I don’t know and it isn’t really important). I’d like to see someone else give an opinion that is involved with comics some how because the guy makes me wanna explode!

Still a good read though.

Oh and Payaso & Kenk - really liked your opinions, very good read.

Oh my God. I'm not alone!

You know what's strange though? The average moviegoer who knows enough about Batman to want to go see his movie usually picks Keaton over bale when I bring the subject up. When I ask why, they all give me the same answer - the voice and the eyes. Everybody always tells me how they laughed when Christian spoke sometimes, but never when Mike spoke. I always found it strange b/c Christian is so imposing physically. I guess it goes back to what RobC said about them being pretty level.

 

[DocLathropBrown]

Oh my God. I'm not alone!

You know what's strange though? The average moviegoer who knows enough about Batman to want to go see his movie usually picks Keaton over bale when I bring the subject up. When I ask why, they all give me the same answer - the voice and the eyes. Everybody always tells me how they laughed when Christian spoke sometimes, but never when Mike spoke. I always found it strange b/c Christian is so imposing physically. I guess it goes back to what RobC said about them being pretty level.

It's because they actually focused and used Keaton's eyes, which they didn't do with Bale. Bale's script telegraphed everything that Keaton needed his eyes for. And yes, Bale's voice was inconsistant and ill-developed in spots, whereas Keaton's was not.

 

[Swordmaster]

The most I remember them focusing on Bale's eyes was on the train fight with Ra's, right as he crashes in. That whole look was dependent on his eyes.

My two cents.

 

[Mladen]

remember that in BB you see a good chunk of the film without a Batman at all. Bale is bruce first and batman second.
with keaton, the first thing you see is the Batman. i dunno, to me it makes a difference, subconsciously anyway, to see one as Batman from the outset, and to see the other only put the outfit on a third of the way into the film.

To me, Bale is the better Bruce Wayne (the REAL bruce, not the socialite playboy), Keaton is the better Batman. But after all, they're two quite different films and they approach the Batman character in completely different ways. Adam West is easily the most similar to the Batman character of the times (for the 60s, he's a dead ringer). So how do you decide whats better?

Either way, I don't get the passion for Kevin Smith. I understand the 'i'm openly a fanboy and I make movies' thing, but his films really aren't all that good.

 

[Reflectionist]

You know what they should do? Make a movie where when Bruce Wayne shows up, Bale is playing, and when Batman shows up, Keaton is playing, when there's a flash back to the 60's, West should play, and whenever someone smokes weed, George Clooney should play.

:-D

In all seriousness though, When I was younger I used to have B89 and Returns, and I loved them, and that was that, but when Begins came out, I thought it topped both of those by miles. But now, going back and watching clips of 89 and Returns on youtube and stuff, keaton completely pussywhips Bale, in most of it. Even when he's Bruce Wayne. It might be the movie too. The section where Selina and Bruce are at the costume party (which, they're the only ones not wearing costumes, great call), the way Bruce reacts to Selina is amazing. The eyes have it.

And another thing I liked about Keaton's Batman, was that the Cape on the Batsuit was draped over the shoulders. All the time. That made him look bad ass and the way he acted as Batman was just like he was saying "If you're really bad and tough enough to warrant my action, then punching you in the face would be a waste of time and accomplish nothing. It would be merciful, and I am not merciful. I would rather kick you through the freakin wall."

 

[Mladen]

...That made him look bad ass and the way he acted as Batman was just like he was saying "If you're really bad and tough enough to warrant my action, then punching you in the face would be a waste of time and accomplish nothing. It would be merciful, and I am not merciful. I would rather kick you through the freakin wall."

yeop, assisted by the fact that the costume is possibly the most immobile thing known to man. Would make anybody surly. "If you make me have to move in this thing, i'll bust your damn head open."

 

[chosen1]

I'll say this, Bale definitely benefits for more fleshed out material, and that he's younger and more comparable to Batman when it comes to physicality, but the more I watch Begins, the more annoyed I am everytime he's on screen as Batman. The things Keaton did effortlessly with his eyes and his voice, Bale just can't seem to pull off. The whole guttural animal voice Bale does for Batman just comes off very forced to me. And the more I think about the public Wayne persona, I think they may have gone a bit overboard with the smarmyness. Him pretending to be drunk at his birthday party, I suppose that was necessary, but couple that with the dinner with the two models, swimming with them in the fountain, and pulling out his checkbook saying he's gonna buy the hotel, it's all a little much. Wayne has to be a different person compared to Batman, but he doesn't need to be a complete and total prick.

I think Keaton as Wayne sells so well, because it's not just how he acts as Wayne in public, it's how people react to him. It always goes back to Knox and Vicki in his trophy room, for me. The make the usual assumptions about him because he's rich, and cracking jokes about the man, then he shows up behind them and pretty much puts Knox in his place without even trying to. It's like he doesn't even realize what he's doing. Keaton's whole delivery of "Because I bought it in Japan." is just classic, 'cause there doesn't seem to be even a hint of "duh, isn't it obvious" snarkiness to it. He just says it in such a matter-of-fact way, where for the most part, he's merely answering Knox's question, but at the same time he's making him feel like a doofus for not knowing where the armor was from. And then, even after he's chatted them all up and come off like a nice guy, Knox still has his doubts about him, tying it all into him just being some shallow rich guy. Then it's followed by this great cinematic reveal as they pull back the shot with Knox and Vicki looking at the mirror, then we see the cameras behind the mirror, then the monitors in the batcave, then Bruce, and just about everything about his demeanor has changed. All the charm and wit he exhibited earlier is gone from his face, and you just see this stern, determined look on his face, and you know that's who he really is.

I think your right. But one thing I want to point out. In Keaton's Batman. I think he played a much older bruce/batman. Bale is more of a younger type Wayne/Batman.