The Dark Knight Rises The TDKR General Discussion Thread - - - - - - - Part 156

[Brother Jack]

It's kind of unfortunate to hear him say that considering I think he was great in the role. One of my favorite iterations of the character for sure. There are aspects of it that have become the benchmark for me, though that has as much to do with the writing and directing as it does Bale's performance.

There's a lot of unappreciated subtleties to his performance and a real progression to it throughout the trilogy. I really felt like I had seen almost the full breadth of the man's life explored by the end.

 

[The Chris]

Feel that way too Brother Jack but knowing actors myself they can be very hard themselves, sometimes more so than us directors. I have an actress that i adore working with but she is definitely her own harshest. Not surprised that someone as chameleon like as Christian Bale would judge himself in such a way. Dude will forever be the Batman i had waited to see in live action though!

 

[craigdbfan]

I've long said that Bale never got the credit he deserved for TDK and TDK specifically.

Heath has a once in a lifetime performance but Bale's portrayal of Wayne and Batman in that are immaculate. I know everyone brings the voice up but looking at it from a pure form of artistry, what Bale did was beautiful and captured the character fully.

It is sad that he thinks of his performance in that way. I know I sure as hell don't.

 

[AnneFan]

As The Joker said, artists are their worst critics. Pierce Brosnan, love or hate his Bond, frequently says he wished he could've done more with the character. John Lennon often critiqued his work and said he would've done things differently - even though to us it's basically a masterpiece. Individuals can't see things like everyone else, because they're the ones experiencing it firsthand. They know the work that went in, and what else may have been planned. Outsiders just see the end result. To me, Bale did fabulously.

 

[JackWhite]

I thought Bale's Batman was pretty extreme in TDK as is; breaking Maroni's legs, beating the Joker to a pulp, wiretapping. The only thing I could have seen as taking it up a notch from there is if they didn't do the retired angle in TDKR and Bruce has become more paranoid because of the Joker and is using more "prevention tactics" like with the Sonar equipment in TDK. Perhaps even distancing himself from working with Gordon and even Lucius and Alfred.

But anyways I still thought his performances in the first two films were damn near flawless. He was extremely committed and captivating in TDKR but I felt his character was more fleshed out in the previous films.

 

[JackWhite]

Actors are often their own worst critics. And to be fair saying he didn't quite achieve what he wanted is not a terrible criticism to himself.

Yeah, I'm thinking maybe his critiques come from the way certain aspects of TDKR played out. I remember when he had those interviews before TDK came out he was really into where his Bruce/Batman was going and how he had to deal with the Joker and the escalation factor. The whole how do you deal with someone who wants you to kill them aspect really got his creative juices flowing lol.

 

[Travesty]

I totally agree with Bale.

 

[The Shape]

He can't be feeling much disappointment about it considering him and Morgan Freeman said today that they don't think Affleck or BvsS will top TDK or Begins; http://www.cosmicbooknews.com/conte...man-wont-beat-dark-knight-video#axzz41nfmJYIp

Morgan Freeman said something along those lines, Bale didn't. He said Affleck will bring his own element to the role, the trailers have been looking great, and he's looking forward to the movie. Class act, as usual.

 

[BatLobster]

I totally agree with Freeman.

All kidding aside though, I do have my BvS IMAX tix for the 24th, 6pm. Lincoln Square IMAX where I saw TDK and TDKR for the midnight showings, so the tradition continues. I don't think there's anyway this movie can disappoint me because I'm going in with pretty low expectations, so I'm feeling pretty zen about the whole thing. With TDK and TDKR I had this nervous anticipation where I desperately wanted the movies to live up to the hype. Here, I'm prepared for anything and just hoping I like it more than other Snyder movies.

 

[Travesty]

 

[The Joker]

Morgan Freeman said something along those lines, Bale didn't. He said Affleck will bring his own element to the role, the trailers have been looking great, and he's looking forward to the movie. Class act, as usual.

Bale said right on for Morgan saying that. It goes without saying that just because you don't think it will be as good as something else doesn't mean you can't think it will be good or look forward to it.

I don't think X-Men Apocalypse will be as good as DOFP or X-2 but I still think it will be good and I'm looking forward to it.

 

[BatLobster]

I'm sure Bale still proud of the trilogy and happy to see a former cast mate unafraid to wave the flag high for what they accomplished together, even as the new shiny thing is about to come out. And Bale even made sure to emphasize that he was talking about himself, not Nolan's work. So he obviously knows they set a very high bar with those films, collectively speaking.

I'd never expect for a second for him to come out and say anything bad about Ben or BvS though, cause he's a class act as TheShape said. Minus the whole Terminator rant thing. t:

 

[The Joker]

Not to mention all he said was he didn't quite achieve what he had wanted. That is not a bad criticism. That sounds like he set a standard for himself, and in his own eyes he didn't quite reach it, which is common in actors about their own performances.

I've seen actors and directors say worse about their work (Burton thinks Batman '89 is largely boring for example). If Bale had labeled it as disappointing, boring, unsatisfactory or anything along those lines, that would be a legitimately deflating criticism, IMO.

 

[BatLobster]

Right, I totally agree. It's just reflective of his own high standards he holds for himself.

And heck, you have Keaton who says he doesn't even watch his own movies, and claims to have never seen Batman Returns. Actors in particular have a strange relationship with their own work sometimes.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

It's true no matter what profession we are in. We'll always be self-critical of our own work... always feeling like it could've/should've been better or hoping that we could go back and just tweak some things.

Bale was wonderful as Batman/Bruce Wayne and should be incredibly proud of the legacy he has left behind with the character. In decades to come, he certainly won't be a footnote in the character's long history. Batman Begins alone secures that for him.

Hopefully Nolan gets wind of this little comment, contacts him and tells him to wise up. He was brilliant. t:

 

[The Batman]

Bale is one of the three most iconic actors to play the part, and love it or hate it, his Batvoice is easily the most identifiable at this point.

 

[Kane52630]

Mondo posted this a couple months ago...

THE DARK KNIGHT by Laurent Durieux

 

[The Joker]

^ That is beautiful.

 

[shauner111]

Bale is the number 1 or number 2 Batman for me at this point and the best damn Bruce Wayne. It means nothing when an actor thinks he didn't nail it, after the fact. He's only saying this when he looks back at it. Actors do this all the time.

Affleck could be the number 1 Bruce and Batman after this month. I may see things that way. I dont want to walk in with my arms crossed, looking for ways to dislike Ben. But that doesn't take away my love Bale's version. And as of right now, i still think Bale's batvoice is better than Batfleck's.

 

[JackWhite]

Bale is the number 1 or number 2 Batman for me at this point and the best damn Bruce Wayne. It means nothing when an actor thinks he didn't nail it, after the fact. He's only saying this when he looks back at it. Actors do this all the time.

Affleck could be the number 1 Bruce and Batman after this month. I may see things that way. I dont want to walk in with my arms crossed, looking for ways to dislike Ben. But that doesn't take away my love Bale's version. And as of right now, i still think Bale's batvoice is better than Batfleck's.

When Bale's bat-voice wasn't over the top I thought it was fantastic.

Still wish Batfleck's voice was only modulated in the mech suit though.

 

[shauner111]

Yeah exactly. Especially the latest tv spot where he says something like "here i am", it's just really off to me. It doesn't sound like a batman voice in that particular clip. Almost more for a Darkseid or some villain like that. I hope i like in the end. The only batvoice i don't like in live-action is Clooney.

 

[Ryan]

Interesting interview and quotes by Bale and Freeman. I wonder what Freeman thought of Dark Knight Rises.
The bale and bane voice critiques do drive me a bit crazy. Sure there are some moments that make me wonder what the audio dept was thinking but the whole thing has taken on such a life of its own, that it doesn't matter how 'blown out of proportion' the whole thing is. I have a hard time seeing anyone top Bale's performance in Batman Begins, but I'm open to new performances.

 

[The Joker]

Interesting interview and quotes by Bale and Freeman. I wonder what Freeman thought of Dark Knight Rises.

Yeah that was interesting. He cited TDK as being 'it' as far as Batman movies go. Then he says Batman Begins was brilliant, too. But not a mention of TDKR....

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Freeman is turning into such a cranky old man, I love it. t:

 

[Ryan]

Yeah that was interesting. He cited TDK as being 'it' as far as Batman movies go. Then he says Batman Begins was brilliant, too. But not a mention of TDKR....

Yes, I was both surprised and pleased to hear the shout out for Batman Begins.