Which movie had Bale's best Performance?

Going with TDK. I think it's an under-rated performance, coupled with it being the best film in the franchise - IMO.

 

On Bale alone...his acting and his physique, etc.

Bb > tdkr > tdk

 

He's so good in TDK but the story in Begins and Rises called for more Bruce so he gets to put a bigger stamp on the character in those movies that bookend the trilogy. I never thought the 3rd movie would be so Bruce heavy, at least in comparison to Begins, so i was shocked to see a story where Bruce is back into focus. Christian really went all out in Rises, more than ever before. And that's VERY surprising since it is the third movie in a franchise and actors usually start to phone it in as a franchise progresses. He did the opposite of what i thought. Bale is one of my favorite actors so i knew he would deliver but i just didnt think he would deliver on that level. He always fools me. Of course when i say he went all out, i dont mean a Heath Ledger performance because Bruce is a more subtle character, and the third time seeing the same guy, you dont expect a transformation. But he hit it out of the park!

TDKR > BB > TDK

...and that ain't a knock on Dark Knight.

 

Toss up for me between BB and TDK. I'll probably go with BB because it was there that I saw how versatile he could be as either Bruce Wayne (scenes with Rachel), the millionaire (birthday party scene) or his intensity as Batman (Swear to me). He basically embodied all that I had hoped to see in a Batman on film in that movie.

 

Rises for me simply because it was the best material Bale had been given in the trilogy.

I was really moved by the performance as Bruce genuinely came across as a man who was broken and had retreated into himself. He basically became the embodiment of one of the most prominent themes in the trilogy: pain.

 

Agreed.

 

I'm gonna go Batman Begins. For me, it was the only movie of the trilogy where he wasn't overshadowed by a villain (as good as Neeson was).

 

Batman Begins for me, thought he was phenomenal in that movie. Dark Knight was pretty much the same and I loved his performance in Rises except for some of the Batman stuff where I think he seemed off, like he was going through the motions in certain scenes.

 

I agree Rises gave Bale the best material to work with, in terms of his emotional journey. The speech with Alfred about Rachel, being the recluse, being the angry and defeated prisoner who regains his will, and the man willing to die for his city.

 

That is one of the most emotionally understated scenes in any superhero film. It almost feels like it doesn't belong in an explosion-laden blockbuster, like in that moment the movie became a dramatic indie film or something. But it works because of the honesty of the characters and how their relationship was built throughout the trilogy.

 

No doubt. It's one of the best Batman film scenes period. Two top actors tackling an emotionally significant moment equals greatness.

 

Begins, no question.