Who's the Better Big Screen Batman? [Archive]

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thedamndest

01-07-2010, 04:55 PM

What do you think? Will The Dark Knight stand the test of time? Or will people look back on it and say, "Man, The Joker is awesome, but Batman needs a lozenge." Is Batman Returns a sequel that is better than the original? How about The Dark Knight? Despite being a voice, is Kevin Conroy THE Batman?

Adam West
http://www.comicbook.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/adam_west_batman.jpg

Michael Keaton
http://goremasterfx.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/michael_keaton_batman.jpg

Val Kilmer
http://blog.newsok.com/nerdage/files/2009/06/val_kilmer_batman_forever_001.jpg

George Clooney
http://www.space-debris.com/bat_clooney.jpg

Christian Bale
http://snarkfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/batman-christian-bale.jpg

Kevin Conroy
http://i3.iofferphoto.com/img/item/440/185/91/BATMAN_ANIM.jpg

Kalyx triaD

01-07-2010, 05:00 PM

Conroy, easily.

Though if I had to choose live-action, I'd go with Bale. He needs to lighten up, though. And if they ever went with a Batman Beyond movie, Keaton would be nerdgasm. I'd say West for old man Wayne but he's too far into a comedic archtype (which makes my pic for Keaton ironic historically).

Dark-Slicer Diago

01-07-2010, 05:02 PM

I have to admit that I liked all of the movie,s but I liked Conroy's work the best especially in Mask of the Phantasm.

edit - completely agree with Kalyx, Clooney's was the worst of all the movies though.

thedamndest

01-07-2010, 05:18 PM

Conroy has a huge advantage in being a cartoon. With a movie you get devices and contraptions that you see in real detail and it's almost too much. Nothing is left to the imagination and as a result it becomes unbelievable. In the cartoon when Batman swings away or disappears I never really question what his grappling hook is connected to. But in the movie when he does that kind of thing I always think, "Hmmm" a little bit. That's not a make or break for me. Obviously if I'm watching Batman I'm willing to suspend belief a bit. I'm just saying that certain things naturally work better in the cartoon world than in the real world.

Lock Jaw

01-07-2010, 05:32 PM

The Jayman

01-07-2010, 05:37 PM

Michael Keaton

Kane Knight

01-07-2010, 05:37 PM

Bale.

Was there a big screen Batman cartoon? I remember there being hype behind "Mask of the Phantasm," but not whether it was a "big screen" release.

Anyway, this is one chunk of why I voted Bale. Also, West will go down in the annals as a joke, Clooney was an awful choice. Keaton was decent, and I think Kilmer was better (though the movie he starred in was worse), so overall, Bale is the best current choice.

El Fangel

01-07-2010, 05:38 PM

El Fangel

01-07-2010, 05:38 PM

Kalyx triaD

01-07-2010, 05:46 PM

'Mask was released in theaters.

weather vane

01-07-2010, 05:47 PM

KEATON BIG TIME

thedamndest

01-07-2010, 06:20 PM

Christian Bale. He kind of overdid the voice in Dark Knight a bit. I liked it in Batman Begins, but he made the growl even more pronounced in Dark Knight.

Pretty much only Bale and Conroy were able to get across the different personalities in Bruce Wayne/Batman.

I disagree. I think Keaton had a distinct Wayne/Batman as well. The difference was that his movie wasn't as gritty, and it didn't feel like Bruce was as consumed by Batman as Conroy and Bale. It felt more like Bruce had a greater separation between himself and the cowl. I don't think that's all Keaton's fault though. In the Burton films, greater attention was placed on "Okay, you're Batman because your parents died. Go to it." They didn't really focus on the larger torment that the Nolan films did. I think it's just the evolution of the back story.

CSL

01-07-2010, 06:33 PM

Only on an internet message board would Conroy be leading this poll. There is no way you can 'compare' what a voiceover guy has done with the role in relation to Christian Bale (my choice)

Keaton was good, Kilmer was alright, didn't watch much of the Clooney film or the old Adam West shows

XCaliber

01-08-2010, 12:14 AM

Bale to me potrays both Bruce Wayne and Batman the best all the others seem to play one side of the character better than the other. I must admit I really liked Kilmer's potrayal too for some reason. I only liked Keaton as Batman but I disliked him as Wayne. As for Clooney I would say the exact opposite but at the time I don't think it was much of stretch for him.

Jura

01-08-2010, 02:45 PM

Christian is my favorite actor and I was happy when he got the role but the voice is like ugh and I grew up watching Batman TAS so I gotta pick the legend Kevin Conroy.

DaveBrawl

01-08-2010, 03:16 PM

Bale's movies have been the best as far as story by far and character development, but I really like the job done by Keaton and Kilmer. Kilmer made the better Bruce Wayne between the two of them though so he gets my vote.

Jeritron

01-08-2010, 06:35 PM

I've always had a soft spot for Keaton's Batman, no matter how short he is, or how unable to turn his neck he is.
He had the voice and attitude down amazingly.

With that said, I still go with Bale just because he plays Batman in what I think are the superior films. The Dark Knight is definitely now the definitive Batman. For the most part I think Bale's presence as Batman is great. When he's Bruce Wayne and when he's in the suit he's great. The voice is definitely something that could use some work.

Arashi Kage

01-08-2010, 07:01 PM

Adam West Batman is awesome, he's the best at what he does in that series, and I just can't compare the Batman tv show to the feature film Batmans.

Keaton has always been my favorite.

I like Val Kilmer, but he fell victim to being under the direction of Schumacher.

Clooney - don't need to say much there :n:

Bale - arguably the best, but not my favorite.

Cartoon Batman is a whole different animal (like Adam West). He is the voice of Batman, it was so cool that after all these years, he did the voice in the new videogame. Can't compare against the film actors, but like West, Conroy is the best at what he does, no one else could ever voice Batman (other than Adam West voicing in the old Super Friend's cartoon, hahaha).

Sixx

01-08-2010, 08:27 PM

Keaton. No doubt. With Bale behind him, but it's not really Bale's creation that made his Batman movies good.

Also, Clooney was the worst. His nipples made me feel uncomfortable.

Jura

01-09-2010, 04:50 AM

Funky Fly

01-09-2010, 06:04 AM

Bale followed closely by Conroy.

Juan

01-09-2010, 06:08 AM

I voted for Adam West only because he was the first live action Batman I ever watched (and was entertained by)

Juan

01-09-2010, 06:14 AM

Not that I wasn't entertained by the other Batmans, but my earliest memory of a live action Batman was from the 1966 series and it holds a special place in my heart

El Fangel

01-09-2010, 06:18 AM

Wow, Bales batman with Conroys voice is excellent.

Reavant

01-09-2010, 03:20 PM

Keaton was the best bruce wayne in my opinion, while bale was the best batman

Jeritron

01-09-2010, 04:19 PM

I disagree. I think Keaton had a distinct Wayne/Batman as well. The difference was that his movie wasn't as gritty, and it didn't feel like Bruce was as consumed by Batman as Conroy and Bale. It felt more like Bruce had a greater separation between himself and the cowl. I don't think that's all Keaton's fault though. In the Burton films, greater attention was placed on "Okay, you're Batman because your parents died. Go to it." They didn't really focus on the larger torment that the Nolan films did. I think it's just the evolution of the back story.

Although the last part is true, I disagree with this. If anything, I think it's the opposite. There is virtually no seperation between the character of Bruce Wayne and Batman in Tim Burton's movies.
When he's not out fighting crime, he's sitting in his house moaping. He sits in a dark room waiting for the signal, or sits in civillian clothing looking at case files in the batcave all day and night.
There really isn't a Bruce Wayne and a Batman, but rather Batman in the suit and Batman out of the suit.
From the way he interacts with Vicki Vale later in the movie, you can see that he obviously has a hard time seperating the two.

You never see Bruce Wayne being much of a public figure. At his own party he's hiding from the crowds and people don't recognize him.
The only other time you see him in public he's mourning his parents, and for a large part he's pretty much a hermit who sits around waiting for the cover of night.

I think it's subtle, but there's a lot of torture there. Also, in Batman Returns we see a scene of Batman simply driving around the city with no particular agenda. There is no crime occuring, and Penguin isn't a threat yet, but Batman still subjects himself to cruising around the night looking for a fight.

A lot of this is likely unintentional, but it's there. I don't think Burton or the screenwriters put much care into capturing the character of Bruce Wayne and creating a duality. They seem to have just gone for Batman, and everything he does while not in the suit is more of an afterthought. From there, Tim Burton just fills in the blanks and makes him a dark, quiet character.

thedamndest

01-09-2010, 04:23 PM

Jeritron

01-09-2010, 04:25 PM

Watching George Clooney's performance in Batman and Robin really is fascinating. He plays Batman as if he were another actor playing George Clooney

thedamndest

01-09-2010, 04:35 PM

Although the last part is true, I disagree with this. If anything, I think it's the opposite. There is virtually no seperation between the character of Bruce Wayne and Batman in Tim Burton's movies.
When he's not out fighting crime, he's sitting in his house moaping. He sits in a dark room waiting for the signal, or sits in civillian clothing looking at case files in the batcave all day and night.
There really isn't a Bruce Wayne and a Batman, but rather Batman in the suit and Batman out of the suit.
From the way he interacts with Vicki Vale later in the movie, you can see that he obviously has a hard time seperating the two.

You never see Bruce Wayne being much of a public figure. At his own party he's hiding from the crowds and people don't recognize him.
The only other time you see him in public he's mourning his parents, and for a large part he's pretty much a hermit who sits around waiting for the cover of night.

I think it's subtle, but there's a lot of torture there. Also, in Batman Returns we see a scene of Batman simply driving around the city with no particular agenda. There is no crime occuring, and Penguin isn't a threat yet, but Batman still subjects himself to cruising around the night looking for a fight.

A lot of this is likely unintentional, but it's there. I don't think Burton or the screenwriters put much care into capturing the character of Bruce Wayne and creating a duality. They seem to have just gone for Batman, and everything he does while not in the suit is more of an afterthought. From there, Tim Burton just fills in the blanks and makes him a dark, quiet character.

That's true about Burton's Wayne. He doesn't get nearly as much time as Bale's, and when he does he's usually just hanging out with Alfred. But there are certain contexts where he seems like a normal guy. Take the party. Even though he had been kind of bored before he encounters Vicki and jokes around with her and Alex(?). In Returns he bumps into Selina Kyle on the street and awkwardly asks her out for a date.

In the same way Batman puts on a mask, so does Bruce Wayne. He needs to assume the mask of the bumbling fop billionaire, but only when he is around people other than Alfred.

I think you're right in that much more attention is placed on Batman's story. But if there's less separation between Batman and Bruce Wayne in these films it's because Batman isn't as gritty and Bruce Wayne isn't as developed as the other films.

Jeritron

01-09-2010, 04:40 PM

I agree

The Mackem

01-09-2010, 06:00 PM

I can't work out if I prefer Keaton's bumbling Wayne or Bale's wild celebrity type. Kilmer's seemed too much of an assured sucessful businessman. Clooney's holds no interest.

ct2k

01-09-2010, 07:08 PM

Bale

Re: TDK. Personally, much as I enjoy it, I do feel it is slightly...Dunno, bloated? Like I dunno, Ledger was obviously 'amazing' as the Joker. But I always have felt like BB is the more well rounded of the two Bale films.

Verbose Minch

01-12-2010, 08:06 PM

I just like Keaton too much.

01-13-2010, 08:49 PM

One thing to consider about the Batman/Bruce duality is that Bale is portraying an earlier Batman.

In Batman Begins we see Wayne become Batman and TDK follows only shortly after in terms of the movie timeline. I would say that Keaton's Wayne would be more consumed by his alter-ego after years of doning the cowl 'n' cape and thus there would be less defined lines between Batman/Wayne.

IC Champion

01-14-2010, 12:21 AM

Clooney...:shifty:

Zeeboe

01-18-2010, 12:55 PM

Michael Keaton was the Batman I grew up with, and will always be Batman to me. I wish Keaton would have done the later sequels, even if they were not as popular as the first two just so he could have finished what was started. Sometimes I am very OCD about continuity too.

Even though I love Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, I would have also loved it if they would have made the new Batman film in 2005 called "The Dark Knight Returns" which could have been somewhat based off the 1986 Frank Miller comic where an aging, 50-year old Batman comes out of retirement, and it would have been cool as hell if Keaton would have returned to play Batman in that.

(I say somewhat based off that comic because I think certain things would have to be removed such as including Superman so it could follow the film's storyline.)

But as I said, I truly enjoyed the Bale Batman films, so I'm happy regardless.

Kalyx triaD

01-19-2010, 10:33 PM

Pfft, a legit post by Zeeboe. Nice.

SlickyTrickyDamon

01-20-2010, 07:10 AM

(Does the Bat-too-see)

Adam West wins

The Franchise

01-20-2010, 04:03 PM

Christian Bale by miles. Conroy would be #2 definitely.

The only flaw I saw in Bale was his voice in Dark Knight and even that wasn't that big of an issue.