Why there will never be a better Batman than Keaton

[Chris Wallace]

Kilmer was good-even if he had precious little to work with. I have every reason to believe that Bale will be great. But no one will ever surpass Keaton for one simple reason: He had to rely totally on his performance.
Think about it. He was completely physically wrong for the part. Wrong height. Wrong build. Wrong hair. He didn't have the "pretty boy Wayne' features. But he played the role so well that WE DIDN'T CARE. When he was onscreen in that ridiculous, confining rubber costume, we believed he was Batman. That's what sets him apart from all other actors in all comic book movies. We nitpick to death everything from muscle tone to eye color. But the complaints we get about Keaton are few & far between-not b/c we don't see the flaws. We just don't care.

 

[Captain_Obvious]

who is this we you are refering to?

 

[Chris Wallace]

1st "we"-moviegoers.
2nd "we"-Batfans & comic fans in general.
3rd "we"-moviegoers again.
4th "we"-all of the above

 

[Captain_Obvious]

hmmm you're just assuming moviegoers and batfans/comic fans think like that though

 

[Comic Book Boy]

I agree and disagree...

Keaton was amazing and did a great performance.

I think Bale will be better.

 

[P. Cushing]

There already is a better Batman than Keaton: Kevin Conroy.

 

[Proximo]

Keaton will always be the live action Batman for me.. no mather how bale pull it of in BB, im so sure about it. Keaton just had it in his eyes.. and ... omg alot more.. he is batman...

 

[DarkKnightYone]

I think your opinions will change once you see Begins. I liked Keaton too but Bale will deliver more to the fanboys and the general audience.

 

[Two-Face]

I think your opinions will change once you see Begins. I liked Keaton too but Bale will deliver more to the fanboys and the general audience.

I'm gonna like Bale as Bats/Bruce more and Keaton will be my second choice.

 

[bingy13]

There already is a better Batman than Keaton: Kevin Conroy.

HECK YA!!! Go Batman: TAS!!!

 

[AnavelGato86]

While Bale will probably do better. Im still going to Keaton for my favorite and better actor.
I mean aside from the serials in what the 40's? and the campy version doesnt count. Keaton was the first person to take a real crack at the role, and people enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. I think he played a great Bruce adn a great Batman. And yes while Bale may do a better job, Keaton had to try and define what hadn't been done before. Pioneers make mistakes, **** look at the Donner party ^^ But they did show people what not to do. Bale kinda has it easy cause he has references on film. Something Keaton didnt have.

 

[Guason]

While Bale will probably do better. Im still going to Keaton for my favorite and better actor.
I mean aside from the serials in what the 40's? and the campy version doesnt count. Keaton was the first person to take a real crack at the role, and people enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. I think he played a great Bruce adn a great Batman. And yes while Bale may do a better job, Keaton had to try and define what hadn't been done before. Pioneers make mistakes, **** look at the Donner party ^^ But they did show people what not to do. Bale kinda has it easy cause he has references on film. Something Keaton didnt have.

Keaton is the only Batman!

 

[Riven]

There already is a better Batman than Keaton: Kevin Conroy.

He's a voice actor.


Keaton was amazing, Bale will be too. Better? We'll see!

 

[DorkyFresh]

Keaton did a great job as Batman....but he didn't look the part.

Keaton's great job + Someone who looks the part = Bale

nuff' said.

 

[Infinity9999x]

idk Bale will really have to pull this off to make me say he was better then keaton. Like Wallace states, a guy has to pull of some damn great acting to sell us that hes batman when he doesnt have the build, look, or a good costume for the part. It would be like imagine some skinny dude playing superman, but he never puts on the super-man coustume, has light brown hair, and has a skinny face, but still pulls off the role. Bale will be great, but Keaton was damn Amazing.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Egg-ZACT-lee. I ain't knockin' Bale. I have very high hopes for Bale, but Keaton had to overcome several disadvantages to be accepted in the role & in my opinion, he did it.

 

[TheDarkKnight]

For me, Keaton IS Batman. Bale will take over that role, and will probably exceed it because movies now are much, much better than movies in 1989. Kilmer and Clooney aren't Batman IMO.

 

[P. Cushing]

He's a voice actor.

So? So was Orson Welles.

 

[DorkyFresh]

Egg-ZACT-lee. I ain't knockin' Bale. I have very high hopes for Bale, but Keaton had to overcome several disadvantages to be accepted in the role & in my opinion, he did it.

Bale has to overcome the disadvantage of everyone comparing him to Keaton.

 

[bbb]

if kilmer and clooney were chosen to play batman in the first 2 movies then i think they would of gave the same or possibly better performace than keaton as batman, also you seem narrow minded with your comment there will never be a better Batman than Keaton as you havn't seen bale's performance in batman begins yet and assume noone can touch keaton's performance

 

[DorkyFresh]

To tell you the truth...Keaton's performances as Bruce Wayne aren't anything all that special. Actually there we a couple of moments that made me go "WTF?" like....."You wanna get nuts???? C'MON!!! Let's get nuts!"

Don't get me wrong....Keaton did a great job, but it's not like his performance as Bruce Wayne struck any real emotions from the audience. Whereas even in Mr. Bale's worst movie (IMO)...in Equilibrium, when he started crying on the steps....you could feel his pain.

 

[Bruce_Wayne29]

Please ! You can go and watch Batman when Keaton is remembering the Wayne's death and you can feel his pain as well and he didn't even need to break out and cry, his eyes said it all.
Chris, great post buddy. You really got it. Keaton is an awesome actor who loves challenges. It's what estimulates him as an artist. He hates to be bored. Batman was one of those roles in which he had alot of fun overcoming all of the odds. And he did it. Maybe he could have been even better had he trained with weights but that was something he was told not to do. He did train martial arts and kickboxing and his instructor in both movies said he never had a fastest learning student.
And in my opinion it's better when you have both characters (Bruce and Batman) and not suspect that one is the other based on their physique. In comics sometimes it's almost insulting to your intelligence when they paint Bruce with a HUGE body and there he is entering the parties in tuxedo , the biggest guy in the room and nobody suspects he's Batman. I rather believe in a smaller guy who then becomes bigger with his body armour.
And that's why I always said performance wise (I think Bale will be better as Bruce, in action sequences also because he has a better suit and the help of special effects that Keaton didn't have at the time) Keaton is unbeatable. He had a harder job.
I take great confort in knowing how well he's still respected. Crowds cheer very loud and clap when he's in talk shows and mentions Batman. And no matter how hard some fans are enamorated with Bale will try to take down his credit, he will always be Batman to millions.
I do wish Bale good luck and if he impresses me more than Keaton I will be here to admit it. If not, there's no small feat either. He doesn't have to be better. He just has to be good enough. He will be great. But Keaton was amazing.

 

[BatmanRules33]

Please ! You can go and watch Batman when Keaton is remembering the Wayne's death and you can feel his pain as well and he didn't even need to break out and cry, his eyes said it all.
Chris, great post buddy. You really got it. Keaton is an awesome actor who loves challenges. It's what estimulates him as an artist. He hates to be bored. Batman was one of those roles in which he had alot of fun overcoming all of the odds. And he did it. Maybe he could have been even better had he trained with weights but that was something he was told not to do. He did train martial arts and kickboxing and his instructor in both movies said he never had a fastest learning student.
And in my opinion it's better when you have both characters (Bruce and Batman) and not suspect that one is the other based on their physique. In comics sometimes it's almost insulting to your intelligence when they paint Bruce with a HUGE body and there he is entering the parties in tuxedo , the biggest guy in the room and nobody suspects he's Batman. I rather believe in a smaller guy who then becomes bigger with his body armour.
And that's why I always said performance wise (I think Bale will be better as Bruce, in action sequences also because he has a better suit and the help of special effects that Keaton didn't have at the time) Keaton is unbeatable. He had a harder job.
I take great confort in knowing how well he's still respected. Crowds cheer very loud and clap when he's in talk shows and mentions Batman. And no matter how hard some fans are enamorated with Bale will try to take down his credit, he will always be Batman to millions.
I do wish Bale good luck and if he impresses me more than Keaton I will be here to admit it. If not, there's no small feat either. He doesn't have to be better. He just has to be good enough. He will be great. But Keaton was amazing.

^ well said my friend, well said. Keaton WAS and IS !

 

[Chris Wallace]

Bale has to overcome the disadvantage of everyone comparing him to Keaton.

I'll give you that.

 

[Riven]

So? So was Orson Welles.

So? Did Orson Welles ever voice Batman?

You can't compare a voice actor's performance to a regular actor's performance of one and the same character. It's two entirely different mediums that requite two entirely different approaches and skills.

I'm not saying voice actors are inferior to regular actors, I'm saying it's silly to say Conroy was better or worse than Keaton, since they did different jobs with the same character.