Bat Battle: Who's The Best Movie Batman?

[InzeladunMaster]

Michael Keaton. Christian Bale. Val Kilmer. George Clooney. Even, yes, Adam West (he did a Batman film during the TV show's run). All of them have donned the bat-ears, the billowy cape, and the pointy gloves for one movie or another, to varying levels of success. Some became fan favorites; others, The Batmen We Do Not Speak Of.

We've gone back through all the batfilms and watched them exhaustively-even Batman & Robin, so that should tell you how seriously we took it. Examining criteria as diverse as ass-kicking ability, scoring tail, and homoerotic undertones, we crunch the numbers to give you the Best Movie Batman Ever (so far).

Read the full comparison here: http://www.cracked.com/article_15029_bat-battle-whos-best-movie-batman.html

This is a hilarious comparison from Cracked.

 

[Fyrestryke]

Hmmm. Haven't read the whole article, but I would rate them thusly:

(Thusly? Is that even a word? Ah, y'know what I mean. )

1 - Christian Bale
2 - Michael Keaton
3 - Adam West
4 - Val Kilmer
5 - George Clooney

 

[InzeladunMaster]

That is how I would rank them, too.

I thought "The Dark Knight" was one of the best movies I have ever seen.

 

[Fyrestryke]

Yeah, Dark Knight was super awesome. =)

Y'know, we shouldn't laugh at other folks misfortune, but that disappearing pencil trick was awesome.

 

[thormagni]

I guess I am just less forgiving of the goofy style Batman. My list of "video" Batmen would be:
1. Michael Keaton
2. Christian Bale
3. Gotham Knights Batman (Batmen?)
4. Val Kilmer
5. Batman: The Animated Series (Kevin Conroy voice)
6. Justice League series Batman (Kevin Conroy voice)
7. Batman Beyond (Kevin Conroy voice, again, as Bruce Wayne)
8. George Clooney
9. The Super Friends Batman (Olan Soule and Adam West voice)
10. Scooby Doo Batman (Olan Soule voice)
11. Adam West -- Yes, I like his voice better than I like his actual acting.

When I was 5 or 6, I actually thought the Adam West Batman was real. I had no idea it was supposed to be campy comedy. Once I figured that out, it was hard not to see how bad that show really was. Bad in a sort of funny way, I guess, but as far as playing Batman the way he "should" be played, exceptionally bad.

I haven't seen the new "The Batman" cartoon, nor have I watched the 1940s movie serials, but I suspect all of them would still rank higher than Adam West.

My only quibble with the Bale Batman is the growling Batman voice. Several times during the Dark Knight I found myself wondering if it was REALLY necessary to have it be SO faux gruff. Get that man a drink of water.

Hmmm. Haven't read the whole article, but I would rate them thusly:

(Thusly? Is that even a word? Ah, y'know what I mean. )

1 - Christian Bale
2 - Michael Keaton
3 - Adam West
4 - Val Kilmer
5 - George Clooney

 

[Grimhelm]

I have to admit that this was one of my complaints too. I got tired of the growly, "I'm mean," voice that he did.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

About Adam West:

1. As a kid, I believed in Adam West. Thormagni, you admitted to this as well. He pulled off the role in a manner completely believable for kids. He did this far better than Clooney.

2. Adam West has more charisma than Clooney. West dominated the role and the screen. Clooney was boring. West was interesting. He had interesting (and funny) reactions that were perfect for the medium. Clooney did nothing interesting. Even today, Adam West is a more entertaining, more interesting actor than Clooney, even if he is the mayor of a cartoon city. Val Kilmer was utterly forgettable in the role, so he fails here, too. One can't help but to remember Adam West.

3. Adam West was in an intentional comedy - and pulled it off, yet was still believable as Batman for the kids. Again, Clooney did not pull off his role - and his movie was vague whether it was meant as a comedy or an action-adventure flick, or what.

4. The most compelling reason to rank Adam West over George Clooney, however, is re-watchability. I can still watch the Adam West movie (and related TV show) with a reasonable amount of enjoyment. Some of the jokes are fairly clever, and a lot of it is just good, old-fashioned slapstick. Batman & Robin, with George Clooney, can barely be watched once, much less watched again and again. Re-watchability is also the reason I would rank Adam West over Val Kilmer. Batman Forever is a wretched movie, only outranking Batman & Robin because Jim Carrey did a great job as the Riddler - at least he did a good imitation of Frank Gorshin's TV Riddler. Tommy Lee Jones ruined the film for me, and Val Kilmer wasn't strong enough to save the film. Adam West, on the other hand, was good enough to stand out against the worst elements of the movie/TV show.

 

[InzeladunMaster]

Inor have I watched the 1940s movie serials, but I suspect all of them would still rank higher than Adam West.

I have them on tape if you ever want to see them.