Bale used the bat as a symbol - Keaton WAS the bat !!!

[Batman333]

I posted this on imdb but was deleted...

Bale used the bat as a symbol to strike fear into his enemies.  He could easily put the bat in the closet and retire if he wanted to and he did for 8 years....  This is just Nolan's interpretation of the bruce wayne character. 

What was cool about Keaton and why I believe its superior , was that he WAS the bat.  You ever heard Burton discuss Bruce Wayne ?  He talks about duality which means he was Bruce and the Batman as one person.  Batman was a part of Bruce.  He was in the party with all the women, but he would much rather prefer to spend his time in the batcave watching monitors of Gordon discussing Napier.  Burton said he chose Keaton because he had eyes that looked like he was crazy.   Bruce's inner demons caused him to become the batman as a way of how he deals with the inner turmoil.  While Bale only uses the bat to fight crime because he's angry and upset about what happened to his parents.  I personally believed Burton's character had so much mystery and almost mental illness which led to Bruce to really being the batman.  I LOVED Batman Returns opening scene of Bruce.  He's just waiting for something bad to happen so he can truly be himself, which is Batman.  He's just sitting there waiting....So haunting in a way, and so much pain you see as he stares at nothing.  I really feel bad for people who don't see the brilliance of the Burton films.  Dont get me wrong, I loved Nolan's take on the franchise and really enjoy those films, but Burton did something so amazing with the franchise that made it from camp to darkness which is what every comic fan wanted such as myself. 

Nolan made the character into a story / plot.  Burton made it into art / visuals.  Gotham City - even the biggest Nolanite will admit the 40's noir style of Gotham in Burton's was 20 times better than Pittsburg / NYC from Nolan's film. 

[ElCuervoMuerto]

See, even with my disdain for the short tenure of Nolan's Batman I don't think I agree. Batan wasn't a suit he put on and off, it was a part of him. He might've only wanted to be "in action" for only as long as was necessary, instead of the open ended mission of all the other incarnations of Batman, but I still feel like it was part of his being. Look at Bruce's mental an physical state at the start of TDKR. He was a broken man mentally and physically. And that's because he felt he was forced out of being Batman before he was ready to be done IMHO (and then he failed again when he realized the reactor could be weaponized).

[Batman88]

I kinda agree with you both, guys. Although I love Keaton's Batman having no other purpose in life than waiting for something bad to happen so he can go out and kick the s**t out of bad guys, I understand Nolan's Batman's journey, though I am having a hard time digesting it.

[illgetdrivethrough]

Keaton and Bale both rocked that character! 


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[Batman88]

Keaton and Bale both rocked that character! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sure thing, man 

[riddler]

I have mixed feelings about Burton's interpretation.

Much has been made and debated about the first shot of Keaton in Batman Returns (interesting this is the only of the original bat films where we see Bruce outside the suit BEFORE donning it). It makes it obvious he's literally sitting there waiting for the signal. Or some interpret he spends his time pondering life. It does seem he's made some strides, we see his meeting with Shreck so he's at least evolved from merely an urban legend (remember his own party in the first film where nobody knows who he is). But clearly he doesn't come to life until he suits up.

Bale is obviously masking his duality by acting like a flakey playboy outside the suit. Other than Alfred, Rachel and Fox, everyone else would immediately chalk him up as a buffoon.

I kind of think both portrayals have weaknesses if the goal of Bruce Wayne is to keep his dual identity secret.
Keeping in mind everyone knows they're both rich and could afford those gadgets and the public knows both witnessed their parents deaths.

Keaton acts lonely and crazy and clearly idolizes warriors. If you suggested to someone who only met Keaton once (say the folks at the party) that he's batman, they'd be inclined to believe it on the grounds that he has the resources and is crazy enough to do something like that.

Bale clearly doesn't act like someone who'd be Batman in the public but I've posted in the other threads how he makes it obvious when Bruce Wayne comes and goes from civilization and every time 'Batman' comes with him so a person who follows both would easily piece together that Batman is only around when Bruce is.

[thecolorsblend]

Eh, rich people collect a lot of strange things. Plus, suits of armor and collections of ancient war weapons, particularly as they're presented in B89, are as much decorative as anything else. It's all part of the atmosphere. If that's the basis for thinking Bruce is Batman, surely that means Jeff Gordon is that "masked rider" motorcycle guy on YouTube who always outraces cops. I mean, they both know how to drive fast so they have to be the same guy, right?

[riddler]

Eh, rich people collect a lot of strange things. Plus, suits of armor and collections of ancient war weapons, particularly as they're presented in B89, are as much decorative as anything else. It's all part of the atmosphere. If that's the basis for thinking Bruce is Batman, surely that means Jeff Gordon is that "masked rider" motorcycle guy on YouTube who always outraces cops. I mean, they both know how to drive fast so they have to be the same guy, right?

Well add that to the fact that keaton is extremely reclusive and lonely. He's clearly alone at night. I'm not saying anyone should be putting the pieces together but there's enough there for an Alexander Knox type to at least build a lead.

Bale's character obviously by the time he returns as both batman and bruce wayne in TDKR has left enough evidence to be pieced together. I was on board with Nolan until his third film I just hate they way they did it. The 'injury' aspect was extremely poorly done and hated the ending. It got good for the second act (the second hour of the flm) but the third dragged on and wasn't a satisfying ending.

[thecolorsblend]

Bruce's behavior is the least of Nolan's clues. I find it hard to believe Lucius Fox personally designed and built every single toy in Batman's arsenal in a total vacuum. Somebody else somewhere in the company would've seen something he did. And I have to assume they would be asking a lot of questions if Batman is running around with toys that had supposedly been moth-balled ages ago. If we're going to play this "secret identity" game, I'd argue Nolan put more on the table before TDKRises was in itch in somebody's head than Burton did in either of his films. Knox might've had a starting point to ask questions in B89. The only way to argue there isn't a smoking gun by the time credits roll for TDK is if all Wayne Enterprises employees are complete retards.

[Heads Or Tails]

Bale was a convincing Bruce Wayne, but a meagre Batman, & unfortunately for Nolan & his pitiful films, people go to see Batman at the movies, not Bruce Wayne.