Affleck vs. Bale vs. Keaton vs. Kilmer vs. Clooney vs. West

Now that BvS is out, we have now gotten a taste of Ben Affleck as Batman, and he's gonna be Batman for quite a long time to come. So now I think it's safe to discuss who we think has played the best Batman/Bruce Wayne on the big screen.

For me, it's a very tough choice between Keaton and Affleck. Part of me wants to go with Batffleck, but I'll still go with Keaton. He was the first one to truly play the "Dark Knight" and his look and actions were the blueprint for every actor that played Batman/Bruce Wayne after him.

So what say you?

For me it's a very easy choice.

__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.

B A L E !!

B A L E !!!!

B A L E !!!!!!

I find this impossible to answer. The material matters too much. Bale gets the best stuff to work with, but I'm not sure that makes him a better Batman. Keaton has more charisma, but "feels" less like Batman to me.

And though I wouldn't choose him over either, I think Kilmer was kinda underrated.

I suppose, but Bale being in the better movies really didn't make me think he was the best Batman. I know that many like Bale the best, but I liked Keaton way more. More dark, mysterious, and just liked his overall look better.

Ben Affleck - haven't seen the movie, but based on the previews, he filled out the suit well and his voice sounded pretty cool.

Christian Bale - the movies were good, but Bale was not my ideal Batman. He's gaunt & skinny. The thing they did with his voice was terrible. The last thing you want to do is make all your lead character's lines unintelligible due to a garbled voice or a lack of articulation. (Not Bale's fault, but the Bat-suits in the Nolan movies became increasingly un-Batman like in appearance.)

Michael Keaton - I was shocked & a bit dismayed when I first heard about this casting of a somewhat unattractive comedic actor for the role. But Keaton did succeed in capturing a certain feel as Batman that reflected the character's obsession & inner pain. Still, he made a very short looking Dark Knight.

Val Kilmer - although looking pretty good in the suit, Kilmer always had this beach-boy look about him. He just didn't look he part as Bruce Wayne and his performance seemed slightly stilted.

George Clooney - made a great Bruce Wayne. His wealthy haughtiness & apathy served the guise of "billionaire playboy" well. The only problem was... the personality he portrayed as Bruce Wayne seemed to be the same as that of Batman, as Clooney seemed to bring the same sense of apathy to the entire role. It seemed Clooney simply "showed up" for this performance.

Adam West - there was never anything Batman-esque about West. For what he did - created a dead-pan, comedic, camp version of a once serious character that satirized superheroes - West did it well.

Lewis G Wilson?
Robert Lowry?

__________________

It's difficult to really examine their performances due to the ill-fitting costumes and low budget production values of those 1940's movie serials.

Both actors were probably considered in "good shape" relative to the ideal of athletic movie stars at the time (but not quite so compared to modern times).

Also, neither set of films had a true idea of exactly who or what they wanted Batman to be - in the first set, they practically say he's a government agent who represents the patriotism of war-time U.S.A. (sounds more like they wanted him to be Captain America). They didn't really go into addressing his origin or his comic book roots (as far as I recall) that explain his trauma & obsession that led him to become a nocturnal vigilante.

I'll never forgive George Clooney's Batman for proudly exclaiming that he possesses a bad credit card, so... Bale or Keaton.

__________________
Letterboxd Profile: https://letterboxd.com/GatsbyG/

Bale is a much stronger actor than Keaton was back then, so I would have to go with Bale just based on how seriously he took the character. Keaton was too wisecracking and it felt like Keaton in a suit that was a little too tight, but Bale filled out the suit well and brought more passion to the role; you can tell this because he was the one who came up with the raspy voice. I also think that in Batman Returns, Keaton was just collecting a paycheck and barely even acting.

__________________
It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.

KEATON!

__________________
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa

Christian Bale by far

__________________
''Haters are my favourite. I've built an empire with the bricks they've thrown at me... Keep On Hating''
- CM Punk
http://threemanbooth.files.wordpress...unkshrug02.gif

I heard that in the summer of '89 the marketing and hype for the Batman movie was really crazy. Did you see it in theaters?

I won't argue against you thinking that he's the best. But saying he's the best by far? Definitely don't agree with that.

I did see it in the theater in '89. I was such a Bat-geek that I even wore a Batman shirt to the showing!

So he's responsible for the thing which made it laughable more than anything else? And that's a show of passion and acting ability? Y'see, this kind of thinking is why Crowe won the Oscar for Gladiator.

Kevin Conroy.

__________________
Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

Same.

I wore a Deadpool shirt to see Deadpool and I wore a Superman shirt to BvS. My friends son that went with us wore the Batman hoodie that I bought for him for his birthday.

__________________
You are no Vader. You are just a child in a mask.

I went with Bale. He was the one so far that I liked the MOST in the role. Granted there are close, close seconds. Keaton would have been my second choice followed by Affleck then Kilmer, Clooney and West. West is last mostly because I haven't seen much of his portrayal of Batman.

Bale by a country mile. Go back and watch the 1980s and 1990s movies, even the first two were so childish and cheesy. They do not stand the test of time. Keaton didn't even look bothered in any of the movies.

__________________
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"

"I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle"