How Warner Bros Should Have Approached Batman, Superman And Justice League Movies

Dc Cimeia Christian Bale had the look and the physicality, Michael Keaton had that brooding silence and those pointy eyebrows. But, as popular as the fans' favourite on-screen Batmen were, both Bale and Keaton had something missing. For Keaton it was Bruce Wayne's charismatic presence €“ face it, old Michael's always going to be closer to middle-aged Dad than he is billionaire Dark Knight. Bale on the other hand had Mr. Wayne down but went a bit OTT on that Bat voice. And both of them, when you really stop and look, were quite obviously blokes in very decent Batsuits struggling to make much headway beyond 6 feet in stature. Bale and Keaton certainly have their fans but, if you're looking for a general consensus, there's only one man who truly commands the mantle of The Bat and his name is Kevin Conroy. He is Batman. Well, at least, his voice is Batman. If Warner was to have cast Conroy in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman movie instead of Ben Affleck, there would have been even greater confusion and, probably, some conflicted but altogether more potent opposition. That's because Batman would have been a 57-year-old wiry bloke that looked like... well, a 57-year-old wiry bloke. When it comes to live action Batman, there's always going to be compromise €“ the voice, the look, the build, the suit, the acting chops €“ and so there's always going to be disappointment. The truth is, it's tough to find a devilishly handsome young man that's as stacked as a pro-wrestler, as agile as a gymnast, as talented a thespian as Broadway's finest and that still fits into a tux naturally enough to blend in with Gotham's rich list. Nevermind getting the voice right! But there is another way, a way to combine Batman's comic book characteristics and the live action spectacle that makes every superhero movie so exciting - and it's been staring us in the face for a long time. Take a look at this... The animation in Batman: Arkham City's Hugo Strange trailer was so rich both in terms of character movement and detail that, in certain places, you forget it's computer generated at all. And even if you don't, who cares?! It looks great. Not only that but all the comic book trimmings that Bat fans cry out for are there €“ the giant physique, the heightened abilities, the skin-tight batsuit, the Kevin Conroy €“ and none of them seem out of place for some reason because its CGI. And €“ most importantly €“ it's a trailer for a video game! Think about what would happen if a massive Hollywood studio got behind a movie based on that trailer. What's that Hollywood? You need your big name faces? Fine, re-create Ben Affleck's likeness if you have to, but stick him on a body of polygons that he's never going to be able to obtain at the gym. Want another? Ok... Again, all that comic book fantasy is there mixed with a heavy dose of shadowy detail and grit. The best bit is, the CGI treatment works for the rest of the Justic League as well. 2010's Comic-Con trailer for spandex-heavy MMO DC Universe Online may have leaned much further towards bright comic book styling compared to the above Arkham trailers, but for many that only means getting closer to the much-loved source material There's going to be a lot of room for whining when the inevitable Justice League movie hits cinemas, but you can bet it would be reduced to a minimum if each DC hero and villain was realised as faithfully as this.
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Tom Pakinkis hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.