Every Batman Ranked From Worst To Best
1. Michael Keaton
Its a tough duel between Bale and Keaton, but Keaton just about edges it.
Later on, Batman would become firstly a brainless, meaty, punching machine, a characterless mannequin upon whom gadgets were slung while he parped out lame gags. Later still, hed remain a meaty punching machine but with his newly implanted brain stuck almost exclusively on the pseudo-philosophical gnomic aphorisms generator setting hed parp out borderline inaudible grunting.
With Keaton, though, the messiah complex is less extreme than Bales, and his lugubrious society chap reading of Bruce Wayne is more life-sized and likeable than the other incarnations. Ultimately, its very easy to pastiche Clooney, Kilmer, West and Bale. They all have their peccadillos (overly-knowing campiness, dead-eyed vapidity, unexpected moments of sagacious thoughtfulness and sincerity, and SHOUTING VERY LOUDLY out of his BIG MUSCLY HEAD respectively).
Keatons achievement is that he combines muscularity, sincerity, and just the tiniest hint of playfulness to make a performance which is far more layered than anyone elses.
Plus, hes a very early 90s kind of billionaire industrialist playboy, all cravats and roll-neck jumpers and owlish spectacles. Pulling that off is his greatest achievement.
Do you agree, or are you reaching for the Bat-internet-argument spray? Let us know in the comments below.