WHO IS THE BEST BATMAN?
I’m talking about the best
live-action film version of Batman. If
we had to go to the greatest portrayal of Batman across all forms of media,
hands down it would be Kevin Conroy as Batman in the Arkham games. I firmly believe this series (specifically
Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City) are the absolutely the best
version of Batman, his villains, and the overall mythos.
As far as live-action
films, it’s clearly between three actors: Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and
Ben Affleck. While they all have pros
and cons to their performances, here’s what I think they are each able to do
really well:
MICHAEL KEATON
No matter how you might
feel about Michael Keaton’s performance, no one can argue that it defined how
Batman would be portrayed for decades to come.
Before this, Batman was campy and not taken seriously. When I look back and watch this late 80’s
movie, I’m not particularly impressed (being born a few years after its
theatrical release), but when I consider how this movie pioneered the way for a
more “serious tone”, I can appreciate Keaton’s performance.
Michael Keaton was able to
portray the internal struggle between Bruce Wayne and Batman. While he sought vengeance for the death of
his parents and was willing to dish out justice to criminals as Batman, he
almost seemed a different character as Bruce Wayne. When first trying to tell Vikki Vale of his
dualistic nature, he struggles to find the words, almost as if he doesn’t know
how to describe this other part of himself.
However, Michael Keaton
claims to have never seen another Batman film.
Which just rubs me the wrong way.
As a side note, I’d like to point out that I love
Adam West’s campy Batman. The 1966
Batman movie was the first superhero film I had ever seen, and served as the
beginning of my love for all things Batman.
CHRISTIAN BALE
Christian Bale is Batman. While Keaton was able to show the duality
between Bruce Wayne and Batman, Bale’s performance mostly focused on the Batman. Even though we saw him plenty as Bruce Wayne,
we always got the feeling that it was just a ruse, and he was really the angry,
vengeful, brooding Batman underneath.
There isn’t one defining scene or monologue where I would say, “Yeah, that’s why Bale Batman.” By contrast,
it is his overall performance captured the tortured, angry Batman, without
being boring and two-dimensional (compared to Hayden Christenson’s whiny, flat
Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith).
Without much dialogue, Bale
showed us just how deep Bruce Wayne was willing to go to fight injustice. And we believed him.
BEN AFFLECK
The first time I saw Batman
v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I knew immediately that I loved Ben Affleck as
Batman. While some may not approve of
his cavalier attitude toward “collateral damage”, I love it. And of course, the action is awesome. It definitely feels like something straight
out of the Arkham games.
While Keaton highlighted
Batman’s dualistic nature, and Bale’s role focused more heavily on just the
Batman, Ben Affleck is best able to capture the unity of Bruce Wayne and
Batman. Instead of Bruce Wayne being a
totally different person, or just a ruse so no one could figure out his secret
vigilante lifestyle, Affleck’s version is equally devoted to fighting crime whether he's in or out of costume. Bruce and Batman are one
person trying to fight injustice.
Whether it’s personally hacking
Lex Luthor’s computer during a dinner party, totally wrecking a group of
Luthor’s trained mercenaries to save an old lady, or just simply scaring the
daylights of Luthor in his own prison cell, Affleck’s Batman is going to get
you one way or another.
THE BEST BATMAN
So who’s the best one? It really depends on your taste. I personally don’t think any one actor can
ever fully capture Batman’s complicated character in a live-action film. The Batman is not only complex but also
constantly reinterpreted, from campy to kiddy to gritty, dark, and
psychological. This is why Kevin Conroy
in both the animated series and the Arkham games is truly the best version of
Batman we can possibly get.
As far as the live-action
films, for me, Christian Bale will always be Batman. I was in high school and college when the
Dark Knight Trilogy released in theaters, so it has a certain nostalgic quality
for me. It redefined the superhero
genre, and is almost technically flawless.
While Ben Affleck’s Batman might be more like the comics compared to
Bale’s “realistic” portrayal, I’ll always view Bale as the best Batman.
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I agree with you that Bale is the best Batman. I disagree on Batman being his only focus. He naled both Bruce and Batman: he didn't present only the Bruce Wayne facade but also the real Bruce Wayne when he was with Alfred, Lucius, Rachel and Ra's - also, there were many times that Bruce confronted his enemies without the cape and cowl and he really did much detective work being Bruce Wayne.
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