DC Movies - To Infinity and Beyond

[The Realist]

Keaton is the best live-action Batman ever, by far. And Batman Returns remains the best Batman movie, again by a large margin.

(Disclaimer: I admittedly say this having not yet seen The Batman, though I very much doubt it would change my ranking. And as kirk55555 correctly notes uptopic, Adam West must also be given his due.)

 

[fireproof78]

Adam West is the best live action Batman.

 

[urbandefault]

Top 4: West, Keaton, Pattinson, Affleck.

In that order, or not.

 

[The Lensman]

Keaton is the best live-action Batman ever, by far. And Batman Returns remains the best Batman movie, again by a large margin.

We’ll you’re wrong on both counts (I kid!)but Keaton is one of my faves and I enjoyed both Burton Batflicks. And I love Burton’s Gotham more than any other live action Gotham, and it’s one of my favorite fictional cities on film. I think my personal favorite Batman is, to my surprise, Afleck. Keaton, Bale and Pattinson are all kinda tied for second. The rest can be jettisoned (talking live action here, Kevin Conroy is one of the greats).

 

[Awesome Possum]

Keaton is my favorite Batman.

 

[Samurai8472]

If anyone has been watching Fuuto Pi and is a fan of Kamen Rider Double. Here's a fan video recreating the original WBX OP to Fuuto PI:

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[kirk55555]

Keaton is the best live-action Batman ever, by far. And Batman Returns remains the best Batman movie, again by a large margin.

(Disclaimer: I admittedly say this having not yet seen The Batman, though I very much doubt it would change my ranking. And as kirk55555 correctly notes uptopic, Adam West must also be given his due.)

I'll admit that I can't stand Batman Returns at all, its barely a Batman movie (its obvious that Tim Burton really doesn't care about Bruce Wayne/Batman, and when given total control he just does weird creepy stuff with the villains and sticks just enough Batman in the film to justify the title) and I hate supernatural Catwoman and gross out Penguin (I think DeVito would have been a great regular Penguin, though). Warner Brothers was 100% right to go with someone else for the next movie in my opinion, unfortunately they over compensated and we got the crappy Schumacher films.

Also, because other people were kind of ranking them, here's my live action Batman ranking (of all the ones I've seen). Note: Only the first three people on this list are what I consider Great, everyone else is mediocre to terrible

1. Michael Keaton
2. Adam West
3. Kevin Conroy (His Crisis on Infinite Earths cameo counts )
4. Val Kilmer (beats Clooney because his film was slightly better and I think he was a better actor at the time)
5. George Clooney (I think Clooney became a much better actor in the time after this movie was made)
6. Christian Bale (A Good Brunce Wayne, but a terrible Batman)
7. Lewis Wilson/Robert Lowry (played Batman in the two 40s serials, which are awful, and they're both equally complete nothings in the role)
8. The Kid from Gotham (I guess he counts, and it evens out the list )
9. Ben Affleck (The Theatrical Cut of Justice League is the only reason he's not dead last)
10. Robert Pattinson (Maybe I'd think better of him in the role if his film wasn't a terrible slog with awful writing and villains, but as it is he's the live action Batman I dislike the most).

I will never watch a second more of Titans then I already did, so I can't rank that show's version of Batman even though I read he did eventually appear as an actual character and not just a suited up cameo.

 

[DigificWriter]

I'll admit that I can't stand Batman Returns at all, its barely a Batman movie (its obvious that Tim Burton really doesn't care about Bruce Wayne/Batman, and when given total control he just does weird creepy stuff with the villains and sticks just enough Batman in the film to justify the title) and I hate supernatural Catwoman and gross out Penguin (I think DeVito would have been a great regular Penguin, though). Warner Brothers was 100% right to go with someone else for the next movie in my opinion, unfortunately they over compensated and we got the crappy Schumacher films.

Also, because other people were kind of ranking them, here's my live action Batman ranking (of all the ones I've seen). Note: Only the first three people on this list are what I consider Great, everyone else is mediocre to terrible

1. Michael Keaton
2. Adam West
3. Kevin Conroy (His Crisis on Infinite Earths cameo counts )
4. Val Kilmer (beats Clooney because his film was slightly better and I think he was a better actor at the time)
5. George Clooney (I think Clooney became a much better actor in the time after this movie was made)
6. Christian Bale (A Good Brunce Wayne, but a terrible Batman)
7. Lewis Wilson/Robert Lowry (played Batman in the two 40s serials, which are awful, and they're both equally complete nothings in the role)
8. The Kid from Gotham (I guess he counts, and it evens out the list )
9. Ben Affleck (The Theatrical Cut of Justice League is the only reason he's not dead last)
10. Robert Pattinson (Maybe I'd think better of him in the role if his film wasn't a terrible slog with awful writing and villains, but as it is he's the live action Batman I dislike the most).

I will never watch a second more of Titans then I already did, so I can't rank that show's version of Batman even though I read he did eventually appear as an actual character and not just a suited up cameo.

You're really going to rank George Clooney's farcical and deeply homophobic portrayal of Batmanhigher than Christian Bale's vastly better characterized and non-offensive portrayal?

 

[Dee1891]

I'll admit that I can't stand Batman Returns at all, its barely a Batman movie (its obvious that Tim Burton really doesn't care about Bruce Wayne/Batman, and when given total control he just does weird creepy stuff with the villains and sticks just enough Batman in the film to justify the title) and I hate supernatural Catwoman and gross out Penguin (I think DeVito would have been a great regular Penguin, though). Warner Brothers was 100% right to go with someone else for the next movie in my opinion, unfortunately they over compensated and we got the crappy Schumacher films.

Also, because other people were kind of ranking them, here's my live action Batman ranking (of all the ones I've seen). Note: Only the first three people on this list are what I consider Great, everyone else is mediocre to terrible

1. Michael Keaton
2. Adam West
3. Kevin Conroy (His Crisis on Infinite Earths cameo counts )
4. Val Kilmer (beats Clooney because his film was slightly better and I think he was a better actor at the time)
5. George Clooney (I think Clooney became a much better actor in the time after this movie was made)
6. Christian Bale (A Good Brunce Wayne, but a terrible Batman)
7. Lewis Wilson/Robert Lowry (played Batman in the two 40s serials, which are awful, and they're both equally complete nothings in the role)
8. The Kid from Gotham (I guess he counts, and it evens out the list )
9. Ben Affleck (The Theatrical Cut of Justice League is the only reason he's not dead last)
10. Robert Pattinson (Maybe I'd think better of him in the role if his film wasn't a terrible slog with awful writing and villains, but as it is he's the live action Batman I dislike the most).

I will never watch a second more of Titans then I already did, so I can't rank that show's version of Batman even though I read he did eventually appear as an actual character and not just a suited up cameo.

I liked Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, David Mazouz and Iain Glen as Batman/Bruce Wayne. I found Adam West's portrayal amusing. George Clooney was forgettable to me as the movie he was in. Kevin Conroy in Arrowverse seemed interesting to me. I've never seen Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowry and Robert Pattinson in the role. But only Christian Bale and Ben Affleck are the only two Batmans that I consider my favorites.

 

[Mage]

The Keaton/Burton Batman is, together with Adam West, the one I grew up with. Born in 1982. The Burton films are amazing to me for numerous reasons. They are very much movies of the era they were made in, very much Burton movies which I love and Keaton is an actor that I think is just amazing and not mentioned enough outside of Batman and Beetlejuice. His role as Dogberry in Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing is wonderful, for example.

But he is not my favorite. Looking at the other incarnations sofar, the way I look at movies as a whole, the character of Batman....
I don't rank in numbers, and I find it hard to pick a specific favorite.
But Bale, Pattinson, Affleck and Keaton all embody different aspects of The Batman that all make them great versions of this beloved hero for me personally.

 

[Ethros]

It's the most basic level of respect you can show another human being, if you can't handle that low bar you have no place in society. It is literally the least you can do.

Totally agree I didn't write that very eloquently, but my point was how are you supposed to know? I didn't know till I saw that post yesterday, so if there's a zero tolerance and they'll instantly ban someone.. when you don't even know about it
Not saying I don't care about their pronouns, meant I don't care about checking up on what celebs are up to in real life. I don't follow any of that stuff.

"They" are not some "dude"

I was clealy saying that's what I thought of them until I read that post, as in I didn't even know about it. Also notice I didn't refer to them as he/him at all in that post...

Anyway, never mind, moving on..

 

[The Realist]

I'll admit that I can't stand Batman Returns at all, its barely a Batman movie (its obvious that Tim Burton really doesn't care about Bruce Wayne/Batman, and when given total control he just does weird creepy stuff with the villains and sticks just enough Batman in the film to justify the title) and I hate supernatural Catwoman and gross out Penguin

You say all this like it's a bad thing.

You're really going to rank George Clooney's farcical and deeply homophobic portrayal of Batmanhigher than Christian Bale's vastly better characterized and non-offensive portrayal?

Not sure exactly what you're referring to here, but FWIW, you do know director Joel Schumacher was gay, right? (Not, I suppose, that it's impossible for a gay director to make a homophobic movie, but my vague memories of Batman & Robin suggest rather the opposite.)

 

[theenglish]

I don't get how Clooney's portrayal was homophobic, especially considering what I know about Clooney's personal beliefs--

As for gender pronouns I know I forget sometimes, and try to make appropriate corrections when I do. I do have difficulty with they/them because I often wonder who the other people are who are being referred to and have to think about the context of a statement before I get--I'm not sure if other people have this difficulty. However, until there is a different commonly accepted pronoun in English this is what is now accepted and requested by the people who matter so I am doing my best to be respectful and accepting of the new use of the pronouns.

 

[Christopher]

If anyone has been watching Fuuto Pi and is a fan of Kamen Rider Double. Here's a fan video recreating the original WBX OP to Fuuto PI:

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Did you mean to post this in the tokusatsu thread instead of here?

I liked Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, David Mazouz and Iain Glen as Batman/Bruce Wayne. I found Adam West's portrayal amusing. George Clooney was forgettable to me as the movie he was in.

I actually found George Clooney to be the most credible Bruce Wayne of all the live-action movie Batmen, both in appearance and character. I think he could've been terrific in the role if he'd had better material. (Though I am a bit biased, since his father Nick Clooney was a casual friend of my father, as well as my favorite local newscaster in my youth.)

And the material does make a difference, as does the direction. For a long time after seeing Superman Returns, I was convinced that Brandon Routh had been miscast as Superman. I didn't have a problem with his acting, I just thought it was the wrong role for him. But then I saw him as Ray Palmer in the Arrowverse, and I thought, "Wow, he would've been a great Superman given a proper chance!"

Totally agree I didn't write that very eloquently, but my point was how are you supposed to know?

By listening when people point out that you got it wrong. There's no shame in not knowing something the first time. It happens to everyone. The important thing is to listen when others give you the right answer, so you can remember it going forward. You didn't know Miller's pronouns before, but now you do, because others have let you know.

Heck, there have been a number of times in recent weeks that I've initially called Miller he/him, but then noticed that other posts or articles were using they/them, so I corrected myself. "How are you supposed to know?" By listening to others. Nobody expects you to have all the knowledge in the world already in your head. Non-binary pronouns are very new to a lot of us, and we're all slowly working our way up toward greater understanding. But we can learn it together and help each other move forward.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

That is not what I said.

My post was not replying to yours. I responded to Dee18981's post.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

You're really going to rank George Clooney's farcical and deeply homophobic portrayal of Batmanhigher than Christian Bale's vastly better characterized and non-offensive portrayal?

Clooney was terrible--his so-called "Batman / Bruce Wayne" was no different than his Doug Ross character from ER, because he often played the same character over and over again, particularly at that time in his career. If he wore a doctor's coat over his foam rubber monstrosity, the audience would not have questioned it at all.

I've never seen Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowry

Of the two serial Batmen, Wilson arguably moved a bit closer to the "lazy rich guy" act seen in many Golden Age Batman comics, but Lowry was unmotivated and slobbed his way through the role.

But only Christian Bale and Ben Affleck are the only two Batmans that I consider my favorites.

They understood the age and period of Wayne/Batman's life they portrayed, which almost perfectly mirrored so many of the best of published Batman. West was increasingly farcical as his series moved forward (and not at all what Semple conceived for the series), and led the public to believe superhero productions were satirical romps with the "hero" being a buffoon. Thankfully, West's impact faded, giving way to superior, defining interpretations from Bale and Affleck.

Of course Keaton was a joke himself--with his mumbling, lack of a strong stature and inability to divorce himself from his comedic actor nature; he was completely alien to the concept of Batman and Wayne, much like the man who directed his Bat-films. If it turns out that Keaton will only appear in the Flash movie, that will bring a sigh of relief to the innumerable Batman fans who grew tired of actors delivering wrongheaded garbage tossed in front of the camera, posing as the character (essentially every live action Bat-performance of 20th century TV and movies).

 

[DigificWriter]

Not sure exactly what you're referring to here, but FWIW, you do know director Joel Schumacher was gay, right?

Yes, I know Schumacher was gay, but he still allowed and encouraged Clooney and O'Donnell to lean into all the worst stereotypes about gay people that existed in society in 1997, and said so in an interview, as did Clooney and O'Donnell.

 

[suarezguy]

I admittedly say this having not yet seen The Batman, though I very much doubt it would change my ranking.

To me it was a really lacking redo of Bale plus with some Keatonisms.

I'll admit that I can't stand Batman Returns at all, its barely a Batman movie (its obvious that Tim Burton really doesn't care about Bruce Wayne/Batman, and when given total control he just does weird creepy stuff with the villains and sticks just enough Batman in the film to justify the title)

Batman tends to be not focused on, at very least overshadowed by, the villains in the films but also elsewhere.

I hate supernatural Catwoman and gross out Penguin (I think DeVito would have been a great regular Penguin, though).

Non-supernatural Catwoman tends to be barely villainous, let alone a challenging villain. Interesting you seem to also think The Batman Penguin and maybe Catwoman were awful.

 

[suarezguy]

They understood the age and period of Wayne/Batman's life they portrayed, which almost perfectly mirrored so many of the best of published Batman.

Really liked Bale's portrayal in BB, then was very disappointed with the sequels having him retiring after a year.

 

[Samurai8472]

Really liked Bale's portrayal in BB, then was very disappointed with the sequels having him retiring after a year.

Largely because of the "realism" factor that someone that dresses up as a bat can't do this crusade for very long.

It really makes the Nolan trilogy an outlier to later interpretations. Affleck's Batman has been operating for 20 years and Pattinson is in his 2nd year(with a long battle ahead)