The Dark Knight The Christian Bale/Bruce Wayne thread

[The Chris]

I catch myself thinking, imagine the interrogation scene with the Joker, and instead of doing the growl voice, he's just doing a regular low whisper. I don't think the scene would work as much because in the film it just feels like too otherworldly beasts just going at it, and both their voices help that. Instead of "That's those guys playing Batman and The Joker", it IS Batman and the Joker. It also helps that the cowl and the makeup make the two men almost completely unrecognizable.

 

[The Caped Knight]

More pics thanks to lalunbury

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

^
Those are some pretty snazzy pics!

 

[The Caped Knight]

 

[RakuMon]

Add me to the chorus of people who loved Batman in TDK. Everyone else is hitting it on the head, so I won’t be a broken record, but I think Bale, Nolan and Co. did a fantastic job bringing the best live action Batman on screen. He was so much better than he was in BB, and he was effin’ great in BB!

I love that we got fascist Batman (the sonar device), adventurer Batman (the HK Skyhook), royally pissed off Batman (the interrogation of Joker), the sadistic Batman (“I’m counting on it"), the idealistic Batman (his speech to Harvey), and most of all Detective Batman. This is the first time live action Batman has ever done real, honest to god, forensic detective work. The whole scene in the apartment was beautiful, especially how he considers the GPD involvement contaminating a crime scene. HA! (BTW, I loved the way he said “Fingerprints” in his Bat growl. I know people have been *****ing about his voice, but I love the growl.)

The other cool thing about Bale, though, was his daytime detective work as Bruce. Everything from setting up the business meeting with Lau to surveying the LSI building in HK, to investigating the location during Loeb’s funeral and following Reese and Gordon. We really got to see each facet of Bale’s performance as Bruce and Batman and it was magnificent.

AS great as Heath and Aaron were (and they were great), Bale’s Batman is still my favorite aspect of the film.

 

[-Arya-]

Add me to the chorus of people who loved Batman in TDK. Everyone else is hitting it on the head, so I won’t be a broken record, but I think Bale, Nolan and Co. did a fantastic job bringing the best live action Batman on screen. He was so much better than he was in BB, and he was effin’ great in BB!

I love that we got fascist Batman (the sonar device), adventurer Batman (the HK Skyhook), royally pissed off Batman (the interrogation of Joker), the sadistic Batman (“I’m counting on it"), the idealistic Batman (his speech to Harvey), and most of all Detective Batman. This is the first time live action Batman has ever done real, honest to god, forensic detective work. The whole scene in the apartment was beautiful, especially how he considers the GPD involvement contaminating a crime scene. HA! (BTW, I loved the way he said “Fingerprints” in his Bat growl. I know people have been *****ing about his voice, but I love the growl.)

The other cool thing about Bale, though, was his daytime detective work as Bruce. Everything from setting up the business meeting with Lau to surveying the LSI building in HK, to investigating the location during Loeb’s funeral and following Reese and Gordon. We really got to see each facet of Bale’s performance as Bruce and Batman and it was magnificent.

AS great as Heath and Aaron were (and they were great), Bale’s Batman is still my favorite aspect of the film.

I agree with eveything! I was expecting Batman/Bruce to take a back seat but I was pleasantly surprised with what was shown here. We got to see a little bit of everything that made Batman who he is. Thank you Nolan and Bale

 

[TheDarkKnight08]

Add me to the chorus of people who loved Batman in TDK. Everyone else is hitting it on the head, so I won’t be a broken record, but I think Bale, Nolan and Co. did a fantastic job bringing the best live action Batman on screen. He was so much better than he was in BB, and he was effin’ great in BB!

I love that we got fascist Batman (the sonar device), adventurer Batman (the HK Skyhook), royally pissed off Batman (the interrogation of Joker), the sadistic Batman (“I’m counting on it"), the idealistic Batman (his speech to Harvey), and most of all Detective Batman. This is the first time live action Batman has ever done real, honest to god, forensic detective work. The whole scene in the apartment was beautiful, especially how he considers the GPD involvement contaminating a crime scene. HA! (BTW, I loved the way he said “Fingerprints” in his Bat growl. I know people have been *****ing about his voice, but I love the growl.)

The other cool thing about Bale, though, was his daytime detective work as Bruce. Everything from setting up the business meeting with Lau to surveying the LSI building in HK, to investigating the location during Loeb’s funeral and following Reese and Gordon. We really got to see each facet of Bale’s performance as Bruce and Batman and it was magnificent.

AS great as Heath and Aaron were (and they were great), Bale’s Batman is still my favorite aspect of the film.

Amen. Don't forget about Strategist Batman, with the cops at the construction site.

 

[Nivek]

Add me to the chorus of people who loved Batman in TDK. Everyone else is hitting it on the head, so I won’t be a broken record, but I think Bale, Nolan and Co. did a fantastic job bringing the best live action Batman on screen. He was so much better than he was in BB, and he was effin’ great in BB!

I love that we got fascist Batman (the sonar device), adventurer Batman (the HK Skyhook), royally pissed off Batman (the interrogation of Joker), the sadistic Batman (“I’m counting on it"), the idealistic Batman (his speech to Harvey), and most of all Detective Batman. This is the first time live action Batman has ever done real, honest to god, forensic detective work. The whole scene in the apartment was beautiful, especially how he considers the GPD involvement contaminating a crime scene. HA! (BTW, I loved the way he said “Fingerprints” in his Bat growl. I know people have been *****ing about his voice, but I love the growl.)

The other cool thing about Bale, though, was his daytime detective work as Bruce. Everything from setting up the business meeting with Lau to surveying the LSI building in HK, to investigating the location during Loeb’s funeral and following Reese and Gordon. We really got to see each facet of Bale’s performance as Bruce and Batman and it was magnificent.

AS great as Heath and Aaron were (and they were great), Bale’s Batman is still my favorite aspect of the film.

At 33, I'm happy to say Bale is one of my favorite actors in my generation.

 

[Hushed]

Add me to the chorus of people who loved Batman in TDK. Everyone else is hitting it on the head, so I won’t be a broken record, but I think Bale, Nolan and Co. did a fantastic job bringing the best live action Batman on screen. He was so much better than he was in BB, and he was effin’ great in BB!

I love that we got fascist Batman (the sonar device), adventurer Batman (the HK Skyhook), royally pissed off Batman (the interrogation of Joker), the sadistic Batman (“I’m counting on it"), the idealistic Batman (his speech to Harvey), and most of all Detective Batman. This is the first time live action Batman has ever done real, honest to god, forensic detective work. The whole scene in the apartment was beautiful, especially how he considers the GPD involvement contaminating a crime scene. HA! (BTW, I loved the way he said “Fingerprints” in his Bat growl. I know people have been *****ing about his voice, but I love the growl.)

The other cool thing about Bale, though, was his daytime detective work as Bruce. Everything from setting up the business meeting with Lau to surveying the LSI building in HK, to investigating the location during Loeb’s funeral and following Reese and Gordon. We really got to see each facet of Bale’s performance as Bruce and Batman and it was magnificent.

AS great as Heath and Aaron were (and they were great), Bale’s Batman is still my favorite aspect of the film.

Completely agree. IMO, Heath's Joker was the best, but I LOVED Batman/Bruce Wayne in this movie. He was wonderful to watch. I enjoyed the heck out of every second he was on screen. He was written wonderfully and Bale did a tremendous job bring that writing to life.

 

[DSET]

Bales batman voice was different from BB
I thought the voice was good in BB but the scream was Terrible
This time around teh one or two screams I heard were perfect
and the voice was great BUt
the first and second scene where batman talked was horrible
along with the ending where there was sound effects going on in the background and him trying to talk to joker with a loss of breath you could hardly understand what he was saying.
They should have just kept it the same as BB nobody disliked the voice that much at least i dont think it was screaming that people hated.
Even though the animalistic talk in TDK worked for the better in most parts the parts where it falls off it really falls off.

 

[Jinnobi]

I agree. As a huge comics fan of Batman, it was a pleasure to see Bruce acting out his part as not only a playboy, but as something else entirely. His reconaissance of certain places where Batman would be out of place was perfect. I can only hope that they don't mess up this franchise.

 

[TNC9852002]

One of my favorite deliveries of Bale as Batman has got to be when he says, "I don't need help!"

-TNC

 

[Bim]

I thought bale did great as both Batman and Bruce. I know the voice has bothered some, but i personally dont have any issues with it

It was a real treat to watch Bale and Heath interact, they both did an amazing job t:

 

[MMoralN10Tion]

I know the movie had a lot of fast editing, but I REALLY wanted to see more of the sad/enraged Bruce about Rachel's death, and how he dealt with it.

 

[wootbaby]

While Ledger and Eckhart get the glory. (and add Oldman for completely DISAPPEARING into Jim Gordon) it's BALE who anchors this movie.

He is so awesome I dont think people have had a chance to step back and actually understand the impact Bale's work has had on them. In fact it's the things that people DONT TALK ABOUT that illustrates Christian's total mastery of the role. Consider just 2 things:

1) Remember a time not so far back when people would engage in HUGE threads about which was the "real" Batman and which was the mask? Is Bruce Wayne just a mask and Batman the real character. Or is Batman merely a persona for intimidation for Bruce Wayne? Such discussions now strike viewers as trite and contrived... like we've moved PAST that because Bale's performance makes all parts of Bruce's psyche relevant to the character. When Bale's Bruce Wayne talks with Alfred or Rachel you can feel the pathos and pain the man lives with... and the enormous weight of the responsibility. When Batman growls at his enemies you feel real menace and anger, it's not Bale or Bruce playing at being Batman, at that moment that's who he IS... a torrent of primal rage and vengeance and juuuuust on the edge. I mean when I first saw BB, Batman felt... violent... when's the last time you saw an actor play Batman who felt violent. Past writers and actors have played it as an 'either-or" scenario. But Bale's performance makes you subtly understand that these are true aspects of a truly troubled but noble man. Bale's singlehandedly shut down discussion about an area of Batman's characterization and impacted the perception of the character so fundamentally yet subtly that most people dont even notice. That's badass

2) Furthermore Bale's extended the lexicon for Bruce Wayne... he's expanded his portrayal from what was traditionally 2 "either-or" characters into 3 fully developed separate characters: Private Bruce, Public Bruce and the Batman. He makes all 3 so believable. Even for Michael Keaton... his public Bruce persona was only slightly differentiated from his private Bruce.. for example when he was dealing with Kim Basinger his Bruce was still basically the same person as with Alfred or the public.. cocky, bit twisted but still the same guy. In contrast, Bale makes even his Paris Hilton persona very real... remember that it's not ENTIRELY a mask... he WAS truly that guy for a period when he was getting kicked out of Princeton and wasting his life... it does come from a real place contrary to people thinking it's totally just mask. And the way Bale plays it you can still see that connection.

To me it's amazing how well Bale understands the character, even better than writers like Jim Lee. Often you have scenes from Lee where Batman is sitting around in his Batman costume minus the mask growling at Alfred... like Lee cant quite get his head around where each character ends. You really dont get ANY of the from Bale. He understand that ALL parts of the character are Bruce but he never gets muddled as to which is which or what part of Bruce is talking at any time. And all this is totally seamless. Even compared to Ledger and Oldman, there's no question that Christian Bale is one of our best actors

 

[LostSon88]

Exactly. I mean as mentioned in the "Psychology of Batman" doc, when they discuss who is the 'real person', I believe someone said that at the end of the day, it is Bruce Wayne's humanity at the core of the other facets of his character (Batman/Playboy Billionaire) and thus Bruce is the real person.

 

[Herolee10]

You know after watching TDK for the first time yesterday, it just hit me that it's kind of interesting on how long it took Bruce to realize how uncomfortable it can be fighting in his old batsuit, I mean he had to fight in it in tougher situations at the end of BB, but one encounter with the Scarecrow and a couple of dogs makes him decide to get another one.....either that or it something building up inside his mind for quite some time.

 

[CrypticOne]

Christian Bale as Bruce/Batman is the perfect fit. Bale really brings the character to life and in my eyes, no one has or can do better than him. He has amazing energy and his voice as Batman, that's the way it should be.

Bale is a great actor and fully dedicates himself to the character's he plays. Just a really amazing actor.

 

[Raiden]

At 33, I'm happy to say Bale is one of my favorite actors in my generation.

Heh, I was watching the Biography channel's spotlight on Christian Bale, and discovered that he was born in 1974, same year I was born. Nice to see such a gifted actor who was born in the same year as I am.

I also have to say that although Heath Ledger had the best performance in TDK, Bale did a masterful job as Batman/Wayne as well. One thing he improved upon BB was the voice he did; I thought the growl he used as Batman sounded better this time around, and not as forced as he was in BB. It's also great to see him doing the detective work sans his costume, and to various locations (like HK). I think Bale is the best actor for Batman, and like Reeve as Superman, he'd be a tough act to follow once Bale retires this iconic role in the future.

 

[The Batman]

What I really appreciated about Batman in this film was how far they took him to another level in terms of his methods and intelligence. He had a plan for everything; he was always thinking and always active, even during the day, as Wayne. He was a schemer, and unlike Batman Begins, where he mostly took instruction, here he was really taking charge. His plans for Lau, the sonar device, all that sort of stuff. He was a detective, and he used his brain.

The sonar device has gotten some flack, but I love. I love it because that is exactly the sort of thing Batman would do. He'd come up with something like that, he'd have that plan, and he'd put it to use. It was like Brother Eye, except born out of necessity instead of paranoia.

Batman really stepped up, and the film is the first to really nail the vigilante concept--that Batman could, in fact, wage a one-man war on crime. It's the first film to show that he's just that good.

This film, IMO, summed up why hes a great character, and the best part was that they didnt need to portray him a overly paranoid, overly obsessive, and as an *******

 

[wootbaby]

This film, IMO, summed up why hes a great character, and the best part was that they didnt need to portray him a overly paranoid, overly obsessive, and as an *******

Right. When you watch Bale, the idea of "WHY???" never pops into your head. Why would a billionaire who could literally do anything in the world dress up like a freak and go wrestle with thugs? AND when he gets them, why does he screw around? why not apply the FINAL SOLUTION and make the streets cleaner for good.

It's something that even a number of batman writers couldn't get their heads around. Looking for motivations they went in all kinds of directions... being paranoid, facist, or even liking pain, being schizophrenic or being as insane as the criminals he hunts... basically grasping at all kinds of seemingly superbad fanboi directions that actually didn't make sense for the character. Part of the reason the first series of Batman movies imploded wasn't just corporate greed to dumb down the franchise but a true loss as to where to take the character, what motivated him, and how to create logical obstacles and conflict for the character... and all that came from basically NOT understanding what drove the character. I like Kilmer but his performance and Clooney's both didn't really know what to do with batman because they couldn't clearly articulate what would drive a man to do the things Batman does (of course also blame the script but they clearly didn't understand batman like bale did from the beginning).

Watching Bale, none of those hobgoblins gnaw at you. For the viewer, it just effortlessly makes sense. You just buy him as Bruce and as Batman and as Paris Hilton... and all that has to do with how Bale juggles all those personas. Think, Bale actually had a lot less to work with in this movie than BB... he doesn't get much screentime as Bruce and a lot less (maybe 3 short scenes) as the dumbass Bruce and you leave the theater feeling like you've really seen all 3 Batman personas.

I particularly like how they left the "daddy complex" stuff behind in TDK. Nolan had a plan. People QQed and moaned about it as being too boring or labored in the first movie but Nolan truly did explore that vengeance/loss/revenge angle with Thomas Wayne as the focal point. He said all he needed to say about that then he moved on. Compare that to someone like frank miller (who of course we all respect) who seems obligated to talk about Batman's father fixation ("father father" while looking in the mirror etc) in every book or imply that batman is unhinged for doing what he does. No, he's not crazy he's is a single-minded, cold, logical man determined to do what it takes to clean up the damn city. Bale portrays that amazingly so there's no confusion in the audiences' minds

 

[The Caped Knight]

New from bluedragon77

 

[0neW0manSh0w]

I think bale is the best batman/bruce ever.. imo.

 

[Hole Shot]

By the way I was very happy to see he didn't have to learn polo and picked up a kick ass reason for his beaten body - SPORTBIKES! (even though I wish he would have talked to me before getting that piece of crap MV Agusta)

 

[raxor]

I just heard that Bale is charged for assaulting his mom and his sis