Alternate Takes 08.14.10 - Top 5 Batman Actors
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 08.14.2010
From Christian Bale's Dark Knight and Adam West's original to Michael Keaton's 1989 version and George Clooney's nipples, 411's Shawn S. Lealos ranks the actors who have portrayed Batman!
Welcome to Week 116 of Alternate Takes, my name is Shawn S. Lealos and you have entered my world.
I am going continue my look at the Batman franchise this week, but instead of jumping to Batman Returns, I am going to present my list of who I believe are the best actors in the role of Batman.
Before I get started, that brings me to a couple of points I want to make about this column. First, to the guy who said I "take my opinion and try to pass it off as fact." That is kind of the job of a film critic. Thanks for playing. For everyone else (since he said he isn't reading my columns anymore), I don't want anyone reading to think I am saying "I am right and you are wrong." Film is subjective. There are people who think Pretty Woman is the best movie ever and those who think nothing will ever top Citizen Kane. Neither of those people are wrong, because it is their opinion.
My opinion of the first Tim Burton Batman film is that it was a nice start but I don't think it holds up as well twenty years later. If you don't agree, that is fine too.
One last thing before the column starts is the question of what is the "Comic Rating" in the Bullet Section of the movie columns from here out. Each column dealing with a specific movie will have Bullets after the review. Most are self explanatory: "Quotes to Live By," "Who Was That Masked Man," "Thumbs Up," "Thumbs Down," and "What They Said" are pretty easy to understand. I also am considering adding a "Pivotal Scene" bullet as well in the future.
However, I want to explain the "Comic Book Grade" bullet. This is NOT the rating I am giving the movie as if it was a review. There is no 10 out of 10 or whatever in these write-ups. I hope that what I have to say about the movie will speak for itself and I don't need a silly star rating for each movie. However, the "Comic Book Grade" is how faithful I believe the movie remained to the source material. Batman received a "C." That does not mean I think it is a "C" movie but it is only average when it comes to bringing the actual source material to the big screen.
People pointed out that in the forties, Batman killed people. That's great gramps, but for the last fifty years Batman has a code he lives by where human life is important to him. He refuses to kill Joker regardless of what the villain does. Recently, I read a comic where Batman was about to kill Joker when Superman stopped him and reminded him he would be unable to live with himself if he took the villain's life. That is who Batman is now. That is what matters in a Batman movie made now, and it holds true for 1989 as well.
That is why Batman got a "C" in my "Comic Book Rating." If you want an analogy, figure a sports movie would get a "Sports Rating" based on how realistic the game in the movie is depicted. Something like Caddyshack would get pretty close to an "F" rating even though the movie as a whole is awesome.
On to the week's column. Before I get to Batman Returns next week, here is the ranking of my favorite Batman actors in order of preference.
5. George Clooney
Forget the nipples - not Clooney's fault. Joel Schumacher chose George Clooney because he felt the actor could make the character more light hearted and less serious than Michael Keaton or Val Kilmer did. What resulted was a colorful, lighthearted Batman film that killed the franchise for almost a full decade.
Even Clooney has ripped the movie, explaining they killed the franchise and it was a "waste of money." In a 2010 fan vote, Empire Magazine readers selected Batman and Robin the worst movie of all time, over even Battlefield Earth. Clooney is a fantastic actor, but he is right. He helped kill Batman.
4. Adam West
It is sacrilege to talk about Batman actors without mentioning the great Adam West. Believe it or not, he actually said he was disappointed Tim Burton didn't offer him the role in the 1989 reboot. That would have been interesting, to say the least.
What makes Adam West's Batman fail is only partially the actor's fault. The TV show was geared towards kids. Batman was a cartoony, fun character, answering the "Bat Phone" and always promising to be back at the Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel. However, Adam West also made a name for himself as the biggest ham actor this side of Captain James T. Kirk in his delivery, making him awesome on Family Guy.
I love Adam West, but his Batman is kitsch at best.
3. Michael Keaton
A lot of people love Michael Keaton in his role as Batman. I love Michael Keaton in almost every role he plays. However, what makes him land third on my list is my problem with his Batman not being that interesting. Every time he makes a move forward, there is a villain pushing him into the background. He is not the character that made the movies great. The Joker and Catwoman both upstaged him.
It is not Keaton's fault but I still have problems with his extremely aloof manner. Bruce Wayne is not as aloof as Keaton made him out to be and it made the character of Bruce Wayne very boring. I liked him better in Batman Returns but he is still third on my list.
2. Val Kilmer
The Joel Schumacher Batman movies get a lot of crap but Batman Forever has a lot of positive moments. I hated Tommy Lee Jones' depiction of Harvey Dent but thought Jim Carey was great as The Riddler and Val Kilmer finally gave us a Bruce Wayne to get behind.
He was exactly what I felt Bruce Wayne should be. He was not aloof, but he was easily distracted. He was the billionaire playboy alter ego I want to see in a Batman movie. I don't know if he was a better Batman than Keaton but he was at least on the same level and, since his Bruce Wayne was miles better, he inches out Keaton for this spot.
1. Christian Bale
I like to tell people about the first time I thought Christian Bale should play Bruce Wayne. It was 2000 and he just wowed me in American Psycho. There was something about his portrayal of Patrick Bateman that screamed Bruce Wayne to me. When he played Batman five years later, I was like a kid in a candy store. The guy was amazing.
There is only one thing wrong with Bale's Batman, his voice. He is the playboy Val Kilmer was but remains dangerous even in his alter ego. He is a badass as Batman and easily matches Kilmer and Keaton's performances. I am not going to talk about Christopher Nolan's redesign of the franchise here but I am going to say that Christian Bale is the first actor to put the entire Batman/Bruce Wayne package together.
Upcoming Releases
August 17, 2010 - Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Season One, Part One
September 28, 2010 - Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
October, 22, 2010 - Red
2010 - Dead of Night (completed, no U.S. release date yet)
2010 - Tamara Drewe - Released at Cannes 2010
January 14, 2011 - The Green Hornet
March 04, 2011 - Priest
May 06, 2011 - Thor
June 03, 2011 - X-Men: First Class
June 17, 2011 - Green Lantern
July 22, 2011 - The First Avenger: Captain America
July 29, 2011 - Cowboys and Aliens
December 23, 2011 - The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
May 4, 2012 - The Avengers
July 03, 2012 - Spider-Man 4
July 20, 2012 - Untitled Batman project
Off the top of my head, havent there only been 5 actors to play Batman? Makes having a Top 5 pretty silly when there's only 5 to choose from. You should have just named your #1 and thats it.
Posted By: Dogpound7382 (Guest) on August 13, 2010 at 11:18 PM
I almost agree with your list but I'd definitely would put Keaton over Kilmer. Kilmer was a better Wayne but Keaton was the better Batman.
Something that bothers me is the hate for Bale's Batman voice. Yes, at times its a tad much but he's suppose to talk intimidating, someone thats going to kick your ass. Clooney, West, Kilmer all talked normal. Keaton was a bit different. Anyways my 2 cents.
Rock on with your column!
Posted By: Cotti (Guest) on August 13, 2010 at 11:22 PM
the best batman is Kevin conroy from animated series.
Posted By: Scott Liedle (Guest) on August 13, 2010 at 11:28 PM
Lewis Wilson
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on August 13, 2010 at 11:36 PM
Bale is a horrible Batman. Only Clooney rom the movies is worse, and West's version is a pathetic joke around.
Heck, while the film Kilmer was in was subapr, he is a vastly superior Batman to Bale. Bale's Batman has no heart, no soul, no deopth. He is bland, boring, and crap. Every other character in the moviem outshines him. the last two Btaman films are good in spite of him not because of him.
Micheal Keaton *is* THE BATMAN. the one and only. The true blue, the end of it, the Bees Knees. the cool dude with attitude.
-------------
As for bashing Keatan's Batman for killing... *shrug* I like that he did. That is who Batman. He si the one the vilalins fear. That is the true original Batman.
Posted By: Volourn (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:07 AM
Umm....no, Batman won't kill. It's his main ideal. That's why The Joker is fascinated by him. He realizes he is truly incorruptible. He tries everything to get Batman to kill him, but he won't.
Batman is scary, terrifying and intimidating to criminals, but he won't kill...hence, he is a unique hero.
Posted By: tapout42 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:16 AM
its a wonder why you said this is " your list " and not a official list...
my list..
5. ------------------
4. Adam West
3. Kevin Conroy
2. Michael Keaton
1. Christian Bale
Posted By: wylun (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:25 AM
Off the top of my head, havent there only been 5 actors to play Batman? Makes having a Top 5 pretty silly when there's only 5 to choose from. You should have just named your #1 and thats it.
Posted By: Dogpound7382 (Guest) on August 13, 2010 at 11:18 PM
he said he was ranking the batmans in general you retard
Posted By: Guest#9924 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:32 AM
Geek time. Live action Batmen- Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, West, Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale.
Animated- West, Kevin Conroy, Rino Romano, Diedrich Bader, Jeremy Sisto, William Baldwin, Bruce Greenwood, that's top of the dome. And yet I have a life...
Posted By: Kyatollah (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:35 AM
Kilmer at 2? I suggest going back and watching these movies. Kilmer's Batman was ridiculous.
Posted By: James Barkeep (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Adam West rulez.
Mo' better Bat-toosie!
Posted By: Cabbage (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 01:03 AM
Michael Keaton hands down was the best. Bale was completely upstaged by Ledger. In fact, there were times I forgot he was in the movie. And that voice. How can anyone take that seriously. If i was a criminal I would die laughing.
Posted By: wolvie316 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 01:23 AM
Kevin Conroy. Voice actor? Yeah. But still. The man IS Batman.
Posted By: Capt Sassypants (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 01:26 AM
Kevin Conroy is the only true batman just like the only true Joker is Mark Hamil
Posted By: The Rev (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 02:02 AM
Again, Batman originally did kill people when he first came around and Keaton's Batman reflected that early era feel. The sooner you people accept this, the sooner you can admit all you know about Batman comes from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, people.
Posted By: Alfred (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 02:07 AM
I second Conroy as the best Batman.
I love The Dark Knight, but when I read Batman I still hear Conroy's voice in my head. And Hamill's Joker as well.
Posted By: Fire Lord Hubbard (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 02:18 AM
It's uncanny. I too saw Bale in American Psycho and thought he screamed Bruce Wayne. He totally had the look. I marked out when I heard hw got the role. Perfect choice.
Posted By: Steve (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 02:58 AM
"Umm....no, Batman won't kill."
Uhm... read the original Batman comics from the 40's. He whacked people left and right, sometimes even shot them. The "no killing" policy was part of the silver age reinvention of Batman. There's no need to get butt hurt over someone remembering the early continuity and using that to make a good movie.
Posted By: Coyotespaw (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 03:54 AM
"The TV show was geared towards kids. ... I love Adam West, but his Batman is kitsch at best"
Take some bong rips, watch the Adam West Batman movie (maybe the show too), and tell me that again.
Posted By: James (Registered) (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 04:32 AM
christian bale does a awesome bruce wayne and a shitty batman
Posted By: shabba (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 05:50 AM
I'd almost leave West off the list just because of how much I love him, but you are correct, he hammed it up. Good list, you were spot on in the descriptions and aside from changing it to a top 4 in love of West, I'd not change a thing.
Posted By: Rage (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 07:47 AM
It's a shame fan films didn't get a nod in this column. Kevin Porter played a pretty outstanding Batman in City of Scars.
Has 411 ever considered doing a small column featuring fan films? You'd be surprised how often you can find little gems on the internet amongst all the usual low-budget satire.
Posted By: dyingstars02 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 08:16 AM
I think the key to Bale's performance is the fact he clearly doesn't want to be Batman but by the end of Dark Knight realises he needs it just as much as Gotham needs him. On top of this its quite clear that once he becomes Batman he literally is releasing a beast from within, and anyone who says his Batman lacks heart has missed out, because when I watch the ending of Begins and all the sequences in Dark Knight its quite clear that as an entity his Batman is relentless in his pursuit for justice.
Keaton's Bruce Wayne very obviously preferred being Batman, and thats fine but the two sides of his life don't really conflict aside from when he realises who Selina is in Returns.
Kilmer gets the clash of his life choices too but his Batman is a bit non descript, but I'm not sure if thats simply because I've not seen Forever nearly as much as the Keaton and Bale versions.
I can't comment on West having never really seen the TV series and its unfair to judge Clooney because of the shit storm that is Batman & Robin.
Posted By: caboose (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 08:49 AM
Conroy is absolutely what Batman should sound like, and since I grew up with BTAS, he's my de facto Batman.
As for Bale's Batman voice, how many playboy billionaires live in Gotham City? He's famous, and using his natural voice in the suit could tip someone off to his identity and risk harm to himself or Alfred especially. So he went deep and gritty. I don't think it sounds that bad, though.
Posted By: Charles (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 08:53 AM
Kevin Conroy.
Case closed.
Posted By: Ollie By Golly (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 09:23 AM
clooney was a great bruce wayne but a horrible batman.
kilmer was a great batman but a horrible bruce wayne.
bale was the first actor to portray the role as two separate entities.
Posted By: rey (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 09:39 AM
"I almost agree with your list but I'd definitely would put Keaton over Kilmer. Kilmer was a better Wayne but Keaton was the better Batman."
It's quite the opposite, Kilmer was a very bland and mellow Wayne while he looked brillant with the bat suit.
Keaton looked like Midgetman with the costume IMO.
Glad to see some love for Kilmer, he was vastly overlooked as The Dark Knight.
Posted By: Hal Jordan (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 10:14 AM
Kilmer over Keaton?! Seriously?!
Posted By: JACKANAPES (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Again, I would argue the factory scene in Batman was more about destroying the chemicals than killing anyone. I mean, you don't even see any of these people die so you could claim they all escaped to a rendezvous point or some such. Now the timebomb-in-the-belt in Returns is a different story...
While I'll admit an obvious bias in literally having grown up with the two Burton flicks, I doubt they'll ever be topped. Keaton is the perfect Batman/Bruce Wayne combo: a small guy you believe would use his fortune to outfit himself to combat evil, and hides his identity in the middle ground between Clark Kent's mock ineptitude and Tony Stark's brashness.
Posted By: neverAcquiesce (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 11:18 AM
Batman the TV series was purposely campy and reflected the character of the 1960s. It was both a kid's show and cool young adult's show. Adam West's over-the-top delivery fit the series. Comparing the Batman TV series to the movie franchise is comparing apples to oranges.
Posted By: NoirFan01 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 11:30 AM
"There's no need to get butt hurt over someone remembering the early continuity and using that to make a good movie."
Except that wasn't what was done. Tim Burton hates comic books and had only ever read the Killing Joke before he did the Batman movie.
Posted By: DeimosMasque (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:40 PM
the point of Batman killing the henchmen in the 1989 was simple.
he was heavily outnumbered and MILLIONS of lives in Gotham were endangered.
even Ghandi, one of the greatest pacifists in human history knew that there are times when you have to outweigh the rights of hundreds to save millions.
should Batman, perhaps, have gone around and bitchslapped every single Joker henchman into submission, tied them up and let people die in the streets, gone after the Joker and let the henchmen escape not having paid for their crimes or engage in a necessary evil?
which is better?
let the villians escape and save innocent lives or terminate as much of the threat as possible and still save innocent lives?
Batman isn't Superman, he can't do both.
Posted By: Gramps (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Okay buddy, you're truly not a Batman fan. How can you pick Kilmer over Keaton. Keaton by far is the #1 Batman followed by Bail. I think I would even put West over Kilmer. The only sense you make is Clooney @ #5. At least you got that right. Maybe you'll do better @ who the better Superman is. On second thought, doubt it.
Posted By: Guest#6821 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 01:51 PM
Um the Joker AND Two face pushed Bale forward at every turn of the much over rated Dark Knight.
Keaton and Kilmer both outdo Bale. You can't really compare West, because it was played for camp.
Bale is only better than Clooney
Posted By: Guest#3740 (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 02:26 PM
"but thought Jim Carey was great as The Riddler"
How was he great as The Riddler? It was absolutely nothing, NOTHING like how The Riddler actually is and even Carey himself admitted he was way too silly in the role and there were much better choices.
I absolutely hate it when people say, "Well, say what you will about Batman Forever not being a good movie, but at least admit Jim Carey was a good Riddler". No he wasn't!
Posted By: Jeremy (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 03:05 PM
Keaton is the best Batman by a long margin.
The eyes,everything about his performance was brilliant.
Clooney was shocking as was the movie.
Posted By: y2hepp (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 03:19 PM
Sad thing about that list is that all of the actors who have played Batman in his animated form are miles ahead of all of the live-action actors combined, despite the fact that VA is actually harder than stage acting. Kevin Conroy, despite looking nothing like what I'd imagine Bruce to look like, IS BATMAN to me.
Posted By: Cactus (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 06:35 PM
Keaton>Bale
Posted By: Jim (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 06:48 PM
Diedrich Bader should be number 1! The guy was in "Office Space!"
Posted By: Trashy (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 08:49 PM
Bale FTW.
And for the record, both Burton films are drastically overrated, especially Returns, which was just as bad as B&R.
Zombie Catwoman and rocket pack penguins are easily more absurd than a Batman credit card.
Posted By: COTD (Guest) on August 14, 2010 at 10:32 PM
Wow... I love the HISTORY of Batman... every part of it.
You guys take it way too seriously.
Calm the hell down, watch what you like, don't watch what you don't like and be entertained.
Posted By: Guest#1927 (Guest) on August 15, 2010 at 12:12 AM
So, this has nothing to do with Batman actors, but the scripts and characters given by those scripts.
Put Christian Bale in the 1960s show, and you would have the same exact thing (in fact, I think he would do a worse job than West, who hammed it up just like he was supposed to).
It's idiotic for people to trash the 60s and 90s shows/movies. They were products of a different time. It's like you retards are looking for a 2010 movie from 1989. Without computer graphics and a mega-budget, the Dark Knight would have been worse than either of the other series.
Posted By: Jimbob Jones (Guest) on August 15, 2010 at 12:27 AM
the best batman is Kevin conroy from animated series.
Posted By: Scott Liedle (Guest) on August 13, 2010 at 11:28 PM
Mostly agreed. the only reason he may not get it is as he is animated. Still he deserves at least a honeralbe mention.
Posted By: Ult (Guest) on August 15, 2010 at 05:12 PM
Gotta go with Conroy FTW...assumed you skipped him cause he didn't portray a flesh and blood Bats. Which gives me an idea...instead of jumping to Returns, why not rank the CARTOON Batmen? You'd have TAS/JL(U), Super Friends, Brave and the Bold, Filmation, and the DC D2V movies to consider, among others. Oh yeah, and The Batman too. :-)
How would the Columbia Pictues serial Batmen measure up in this list, BTW?
And I'd say Bale gets it by default if only because his character and world is written like the MAJORITY of the character's history in the comics, more or less. (not that I hate the Burton movies, even if nowadays saying so would lump me in with the Hot Topic mailing list) But yeah, TONE DOWN THE VOICE, DAMMIT. As I said last article, he could stop using the Cookie Monster on Crack Voice in the third movie and could even make a throwaway joke about it bothering his throat, like they did with the new costume in TDK (the "easier when I back up the car" comment).
Posted By: Guest#1791 (Guest) on August 15, 2010 at 06:10 PM
Clooney could play Bruce Wayne, but not Batman.
Kilmer could play Batman, but not Bruce Wayne.
Bale can play both.
Keaton could play neither.
Mr. Mom never should have been in the ballpark to play the role. He was HORRIBLE and should only be seen quoting TLC songs.
Posted By: Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls (Guest) on August 15, 2010 at 06:43 PM
George Clooney Made Batman Looked gay! Christian Bale and Micheal Keaton were made to play Batman/Bruce Wayne
Posted By: Rahman Khokhar (Guest) on August 15, 2010 at 08:25 PM
I'm pretty sure Michael Keaton was the guy who came up with the "rougher voiced batman" and Conroy perfected it. Neither Kilmer or Clooney even tried. West comes from a different era, it's like comparing Austin Powers to James Bond. you can do it, but it's not really fair.
As for Keaton killing people-- at some points it bothered me, and at other points it didn't. The thing at Axis Chemical didn't bother me at all-- it was like a 2 second snippet of the film, I think you're weighing that too heavily.
Aside from that-- Batman killed 2 other times I know of in the Keaton movies: the bomb in Returns (which I'll give you, but you could skip that 10 seconds of film as well and the movie wouldn't suffer for it), and the other one is the Nicholson's Joker... which is probably because there was no way Jack was coming back for a sequel
Posted By: M:-X (Guest) on August 17, 2010 at 11:59 AM
Adam West's Batman "fail"? The most popular version of the Dark Knight EVER, and you use the word "fail"?
The man who sold more Bat merchandise than ANY ONE ELSE and you say "fail"?
Sorry dude, but YOU fail!
Posted By: Gordoman (Guest) on September 02, 2010 at 08:21 PM
Michael Keaton was and still is the best Batman. Period.
Posted By: Rebel (Guest) on September 23, 2010 at 03:00 AM
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