11. Christian Bale's Growl
The inherent duplicity of Batman's character, and the need for disguise inevitably means that some degree of vocal enhancement or tampering is necessary. From Michael Keaton to George Clooney, whispering was about the only concession the actors made in their performance, and sometimes, they didn't even stick to that rigidly, but then along came Christian Bale who took the need to the extreme, and impressed Christopher Nolan so much, he was immediately bowled over by his audition. The thinking behind the growl isn't up for criticism - not only does the growl hide the voice of one of Gotham's most recognisable society figures, it also adds to the mystique and threat of the character - but the delivery became something of a joke over the course of the trilogy. When he gets particularly excited, Bale is just as indecipherable as Bane, and as an indication of how the actor lost sight of the fundamentals of that part of his performance, he uses the Batman voice when he clearly doesn't need to. It's hard to tell whether Bale is actually self-parodying, given how overblown his growl becomes - particularly when he gets all animated. By the end of The Dark Knight Rises, Bane's mumble, Batman's growl and Alfred's chewy cockney were all getting a little out of hand - especially the latter pair, who seem to have decided to dial up their vocal tics in an effort to bring more emotional intensity into their performances. The result was the film feeling like the actors were doing bad impressions of their own performances, which was hardly the best way to make what they were actually saying matter.