It was a tight race, but Michael Keaton was voted the best Batman in the latest poll. Christian Bale gave him a run for his money, but Keaton deserved the win and pulled it off.
Val Kilmer received one vote and George Clooney recorded the goose egg. While I agree with the results, they are a little funny. Kilmer and Clooney are the more talented actors of the four competitors, but they just didn't fit as Batman. Clooney was a perfect Bruce Wayne, because he is Bruce Wayne in real life. He is a rich bachelor who all the ladies want. Unfortunately for him, he was a lame Batman.
What also hurt Clooney, and Kilmer for that matter, was that those movies were poorly written and the bad guys were jokes. If they had been in the first or last two Batman films, I think the results may be different.
So how did Keaton pull off what most will view as an upset? Was it Bale's Batman voice? Or perhaps the infamous YouTube clip of him flipping out at a light guy?
I think it was a combination of two things. First, Keaton is from the Pittsburgh area, and most of my readers are from the city of champions. Second, in Batman and Batman Returns, Keaton was not the star. Jack Nicholson as the Joker, and Danny Devito as Penguin were the stars. The movies were written around their characters more than Batman's. Yet Keaton pulled off the best performances of his career (although his special clone in Multiplicity was hilarious) and held his own.
I still think Green Lantern would rock Batman, but that's just me.
Living After Midnight - Judas Priest
You nailed the Bale batman voice thing. It was kinda cool in the first one, but it was annoying and downright absurd in the second one. Way too much.
ReplyDeleteA+ for the Multiplicity reference. The scene with the fourth clone shaving his tongue is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right on with the fact that Keaton didnt have to be the star. The other films were written around the villian. Batman Begins was written with Batman as the star and The Dark Knight was split between Batman and the Joker. And the voice was overdone badly in The Dark Knight. Good analysis.
ReplyDeleteThat is quite a compliment coming from you, Boss. Especially considering how much you love the new films.
ReplyDeleteI think as a whole the new films are better. The only one I would put up there with them is Batman with Jack and Michael Keaton. Didnt really care for Batman Returns, Batman Forever was ok, and the one with Clooney was awful.
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