The Five Faces of the Caped Crusader
With the release of ‘Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice’ looming in the not too distant future, I thought this the perfect time to have a look through the years and rank my Top Five actors who have played the Dark Knight in movies.
I am not including the old black and white serials from the 1940’s or any of the animated Batman movies.
5. George Clooney
Appearance
Clooney has the Batman/Bruce Wayne look. More so than Michael Keaton or Val Kilmer. In theory he should of went down a storm. In appearance you couldn’t of had anyone more fitting to look the part.
Bat-suit
Well, not sure what to say about this. I think the ‘nipples’ were enough to never want to see this incarnation of the Bat-suit ever again. I was going to go into more detail about this, but I don’t want to spend any more time thinking about how bad it was.
Transport
This Batmobile looked like a budget version of the Batmobile that Val Kilmer was driving around Gotham City. I didn’t like it. The over-sized Bat wings did nothing for the vehicle and were plain ugly. The grill at the front did not do much either. Overall it was not good.
Gadgets
The gadgets look like they can from the set of Star Trek. I mean, Clooney was given his fair share of them, but none of them looked very good. The Bat-Bomb, Bat-Laser and Grappling Gun all looked very sci-fi and not very Dark Knight.
Performance
The performance was enough to effectively kill the franchise and cancel any possible sequels. The movie consistantly features on ‘Worst Movies of All Time’ lists. The wooden acting. I am not even sure whether Clooney ever wanted to be Batman, his lacklustre effort seems to tell me he had no interest. George effectively became known as the ‘George Lazenby of Batman’. He is lucky this movie did not finish off his career.
4. Val Kilmer
Appearance
In my opinion Val never had the look of Bruce Wayne. He just didn’t look the type at all. Lets not even mention his hair was blond. You could just not believe that he had spent years training with the league of shadows to become a costumed crime fighter. His squeaky clean cut just didn’t fit the bill.
Bat-suit
The Bat-suit looked ok. It kept the black suit and took the muscle definition on the costume to another level. The utility belt was no longer yellow which I was disappointed at. I wasn’t sure what they were trying to do with the cowl, but I didn’t like it. It looked like it had ventilations shafts down both sides.
Transport
The Batmobile was a strange one. For some strange reason the had decided to give it an extra set of ‘Bat-wings’ on the back of the car. Not sure what the purpose of these were. They did not look stable at the best of times. The blue neon lights covering the Batmobile made it look like a mobile disco. The wheels were horrendous. I can’t think of anything positive to say about this. Not really sure what they were thinking with this. I would go as far as saying the worst looking Batmobile of all time. The Batwing suffers from similar problems, as does the short lived Batboat piloted by Robin.
Gadgets
The Bat-Bola? Lets be serious for a minute, really? the Bat-Bola? I will not mention that any more. The Batarang Launcher, The Batarang and the Grappling gun all appear, although all have been modified dramatically for comedic value it seems. A sign of what the director was thinking when he made this movie. A comedy.
Performance
Val Kilmer gives us an overall forgettable performance. He seemed to struggle to handle the role of both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Both roles seemed to make him look wooden. He was not helped by the script and direction from Joel Schumacher. I feel Val Kilmer was a little out of his depth trying to pay such a complex character, Batman is not a simple, straight forward character, lets just say … he has issues.
3. Adam West
Appearance
Adam West was never the most muscular of actors, and it showed through the costume. However, Adam West managed to pull it off. He looked every bit the playboy millionaire as Bruce Wayne and looked very comfortable playing the character. Equally, as Batman he seemed to naturally play the role to its full potential. This may be me looking at this movie through nostalgic eyes but I feel he perfectly fits the era and the character. He appeared very serious as Batman no matter what crazy contraption was put in front of him, from running around with a bomb on a pier to fighting of an exploding shark while hanging off a Bat-ladder, he always kept his cool.
Bat-suit
The Bat-suit does not leave a lot up to the imagination. The lack of body armour would certain leave him open to serious injury! The grey suit does not do much to help him hide in the shadows, and the short cape I think is mainly there for show, but this was a reflection of the look of Batman at the time, it did resemble the comic books it was based on. The highlight of this suit is definitely the utility belt for me which seems to house a never ending supply of gadgets. The pouches are very practical and iconic. I liked this Bat-suit, it has stood the test of time.
Transport
The Batmobile was another iconic vehicle. It got to shine in all of its glory in this movie, showcasing the very best of what the Batmobile had to offer. It was full of gadgets and hidden surprises, and the looks makes it very memorable. Other vehicles included in this 1966 movie included the Batcopter, Batcycle, and Batboat, each looking as impressive as the other. The detachable side-car on the Batcycle was a highlight. Batman was not short of transport in this movie. All vehicles carried the Bat logo so that everyone knew who it belonged to.
Gadgets
Batman has a huge array of gadgets in the movie. From the ridiculous Shark repellent Bat Spray, to the Bat Transmitter or the Bat Charge Launcher. The movie has gadgets that always seem in place with the movie. Batman has clearly invested his money in crime fighting equipment here. Yes there were quite a few used for comedic value, but that was part of the charm with this movie.
Performance
Despite the campy feel and plot in the movie, Adam West plays the role with complete seriousness, which is what makes his performance so good. He is believable and 100% believes everything he says giving it his all from start to finish. His most famous role and rightly so because he was so good as Batman. Again, this may be myself looking at this with nostalgic eyes but I think Adam Wests performance is what makes this movie, without Adam West, there would be no Batman!
2. Michael Keaton
Appearance
For me, Michael Keaton would not be your typical Batman or your typical Bruce Wayne, I can understand why people were skeptical when he was announced for the role. But somehow Keaton manages to do it. I am not sure how but he does. That is every credit to Michael Keaton, once he is in the role playing the character, he looks like a Bruce Wayne and when he dons the cowl and cape he is definitely Batman.
Bat-suit
The Batsuit that Keaton wears is great. The costume does not change much between the two movies and that is because it was so good. The decision to go with an all black costume was an excellent idea, making Batman able to disappear into the shadows with ease and also makes the Bat logo stand out on the chest even more. The body armour muscles make up for any lack of muscle mass that Keaton has and at the same time makes him look indestructible.
Transport
The Batmobile used in the Michael Keaton movies was iconic and my own personal favourite. This was full of gadgets, including machine guns at the front, bombs coming out of the wheels and the most excellent shields. The shields were always a highlight for me, they just look so damn cool. On top of that the Batmobile was voice controlled, allowing Batman to control the shields and allow it drive by itself and pick him up (think KITT from Knightrider). It can also turn itself into the Bat-Bullet a motorbike version of the Batmobile. Batman also has the equally impressive Bat-Wing at his disposal which he uses to collect the Jokers balloons during his parade. The Bat Ski-Boat seen in Batman Returns was not as impressive as the Bat-Wing but still looks slick.
Gadgets
Batman was given a set of gadgets in this movie that all looked very realistic. The Grappling Gun was introduced and looked amazing. The Batarangs were nice on screen, and designed very well. Smoke pellets were extremely handy when Batman wanted to escape into the shadows. The microphone that controlled the Batmobile was very cool. However, the programmable Batarang was laughable, it was able to take out for or five of the Penguins goons, but was stopped by a dog? All in all though, Keaton was well kitted out as Batman.
Performance
Michael Keaton puts in a career defining performance, showing he is more than capable of doing a serious role. He plays the dual role of Batman and Bruce Wayne with ease. The only negative in his performance is that he only got to do two Batman movies. He played it with the full seriousness that he needed, putting on a darker spin than was previously associated with the character and bringing the mainstream respect back to the character. His performance of Batman was definitely a lone vigilante of justice.
1. Christian Bale
Appearance
Christian Bale trained obsessively for the role bulking up his muscle mass, so much so that he became too big and had to lose so muscle mass during filming. But he brought to the role everything that director Christopher Nolan wanted. This version of Batman was grounded in realism so it was important that Christian Bale looked like he could really put on a suit and beat up loads of bad guys. His battle scarred body was a testament to the late nights fighting crime in Gotham City.
Bat-suit
Again, grounded in realism, the Bat-suit evolved greatly throughout the three movies starring Christian Bale. starting as a simple ski mask and black clothing and going on to a full body armor suit full of hidden gadgets, built in communication systems and military grade materials, all the while being customised for his ninjitsu training with the League of Shadows. Lucious Fox, the man in charge of Applied Sciences at WayneTech made sure Batman had state of the art clothing. Again the evolution of the suit over the movies is a testament to the realism that the equipment was based on. A complete black suit made sure Bale looked the part. Even the suit used during his fight with the Joker, that basically allowed him to see everything looked cool.
Transport
The ‘Tumbler’ Batmobile was another of Lucious Fox’s creations. This vehicle was a monster capable of jumping across buildings, disappearing in ‘stealth’ mode and having built in weaponry. Although not the usual Bat-looking vehicle, it was simply amazing. The perfect transport for Bale’s depiction of the Dark Knight. However, after taking a heavy beating and crashing, the Tumbler was able to transform into a motorcycle (Batpod). In the third movie we were introduced to a flying vehicle simply known as ‘The Bat’. Another impressive mode of transport for Batman, this was capable of flying and was prominent in the movie. A great looking vehicle in the same mould as the Tumbler, ‘The Bat’ was a military style vehicle used to great effect and continued to keep the character grounded.
Gadgets
A Batman grounded in realism had to have a full set of realistic gadgets to help in his crime fighting and throughout the three movies Bale was blessed with his fair share of outstanding gadgets. The grappling gun was very cool. The Batarangs that Bale carried were very small and resembled ninja stars. He had some nifty gadgets built into his suits. Bale had Lucious Fox to constantly supply him with top of the range gadgets designed for the military. Bale uses his gadgets as and when necessary, but more importantly they are all practical.
Performance
Christian Bale’s dedication to the role and the character was unprecedented and he threw himself completely into the role. His Bruce Wayne was every bit the troubled playboy millionaire complete with swagger and style, while the gravel voiced Batman was dark and deadly, constantly walking that thin line between right and wrong. You would probably think the two roles would be played by different actors if you had not known better. The darkness of the Batman that Bale presented was fantastic and breathed new life into a forgotten superhero franchise on the silver screen. The performance was flawless.
Ben Affleck has big boots to fill following on from Christian Bale and I hope he manages to do it. Affleck looks to be taking on a much older Batman, something we have never seen before in cinema. I hope he manages to do the role ‘Justice’ (sorry I couldn’t help myself) and looking at the trailers he looks like he has done a solid job.
