Bale completely did his own thing. Either you get it and flat out like it ... or you were really just wishing that he repeated and copied one of the other actors interps of Batman's voice. But really? There was no where else to go that was fresh and new. It's described verbatim in Batman Year One as a very deep growl. Bale did this in spades. So it all boils down to opinion. And in all the reviews of the movies from professional critics, I haven't heard one article or complaint on it (till recently) that it distracted them from either Batman Begins or The Dark Knight. Honestly, the only ones who complain are either a) Conroy groupies b) Keaton groupies or possible c) Adam West groupies??? haha ... either way it's opinion, but it certainly works in both movies and never overshadows or takes away from a scene. Bale was excellent with both Bruce Wayne and Batman as characters.