Who do you like as Batman?

[Swede]

We havn't seen Bale's performance yet,but it should be interesting.

[Dark]

1. Val's cute, but could be out-acted by a crumbling statue made of dung. n/t

[Mr. Blonde]

12. I beg to differ

Have you seen Tombstone? He was robbed by not even getting a nomination for that performance.

[mikehiggins]

2. Bale looks like he could BE Batman in real life

Keaton was good, but small. Kilmer and Clooney were jokes.

West wasn't "Batman" at all. His character was part of a campy and idiotic period in the Batman canon. All it took was a couple of hyper-realistic artists and writers to roll up that whole period and file it in the crapper.

Neal Adams and Jim Aparo come to mind, along with Kubrick.

[BigMcLargehuge]

3. Kevin Conroy is the only true Batman

[sir_captain]

5. Hell yeah!

I don't know how anyone could vote for Adam West

[AmyDeLune]

11. Damn Straight!

He's been voicing Batman for what, 13 years now?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

16. Hell yeah! One of my favorite series of boxed sets.

That show was so great...

[saltpoint]

4. Voted 'Val' and will vote 'Val' tomorrow, too, and the next day --

-- and the day after that, and on and on and on.

He was great as BatMan and great as The Lizard King.

[Osamasux]

6. Michael Keaton.

One of the most underrated actors around.

[New Earth]

7. MICHAEL KEATON, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT

I LOVE HIM. besides the fact i always thought he was really hot, he did the best performance as Batman. His acting in Batman was perfect in my opinion - the rest of them SUCK and do NOT compare by a long shot. He also looks the hottest in the Batman costume. AND HE MAKES THE HOTTEST CLARK KENT!!!!

Val Kilmer is fucking GROSS, he makes me want to vomit, i can't stand to look at him. i didn't bother to watch the one with George Clooney b/c i just knew it would suck - i won't watch it anymore unless it's Michael Keaton. :nuke:

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. Clark Kent? Don't you mean Bruce Wayne?

Personally, I thought Keaton was a better Bruce Wayne than he was a Batman.

[New Earth]

25. LMAO

yes that's i meant. wtf? i wasn't even drunk :shrug: man i am LOSING it!!! :hi:

[TOhioLiberal]

8. Obligatory George Clooney vote...

Hubba Hubba!

[edbermac]

9. Forget Batman....what about Batgirl??

Oh Yvonne, you used to make me feel so funny, like when I used to climb rope in gym class....:evilgrin:

[Beer Snob-50]

26. i think um thurman would be a great batgirl!

[Ready4Change]

10. Adam West. The one. The only.

The one against whom all future Batmen have and will be compared.

Viva le Crusader du Cape'!

(Yes, that's totally fake french. :) )

[sir_captain]

13. God I hope you're kidding

[Ready4Change]

14. Heck no!

I quickly tired of the modern Batman movies. Stiff acting, obvious fireworks for weapon effects to create non-existant excitement, lines that are cliches before they leave the script pages, and, worst of all, pointlessly dark.

The Adam West batman was unabashedly campy. Frankly, the lines and acting were just as stiff, just as cliche as todays movies, and yet you were allowed, invited even, to laugh along with them. What a relief.

Who couldn't tell the rope climbing Robins cape was held out with a string, or fail to notice they hadn't even bothered trying to hold up Batmans? It's as if the wall climbing scenes were subtitled "C'mon, who're we trying to kid?"

Further, I have a history with the '60s Batman series. When I was young I took it DEAD serious. Then, one day watching a rerun episode I realized that they had made a joke. I suddenly realized how tongue in cheek it all was. I got to re-watch them all, with a budding, new, slightly more adult mindset. I think my sense of humor has been forever warped. It's a wonderful thing.

The new movies can't quite seem to come to grips with whether to be gritty or campy. In the process they fail at both. With their big budgets they fear appearing campy, yet they are too obsessed with spending all that money realize that the glamour totally washes away any sense of the grit they so desperately need.

They need a tenth of the budget. They need no-name actors. They need a director who knows and loves film noir and isn't afraid go for the throat of the American public.

Or they need to give up and throw Robin Williams into the bat suit. Cast Carrot top as Robin. What the hell, why not?

[sir_captain]

17. Sure, the Batman movies

with the exception of the first one, have kind of sucked, but the tv show, other than being a bit of a fun, campy lark, totally blows as *Batman*

Batman is a dark, complex character, and though that has not yet been captured properly on film, it doesn't make the Adam West version any better. Think about it--his parents were murdered in front of him when he was a little boy, the guy never gets caught, and he devotes the rest of his life to insanely trying to track down the killer and protecting the city in the meantime. That's some dark shit!

Anyway, I have high hopes for the new film, as the director and writer have been heavily influenced by some of the better recent Batman comics. You should check it out--it may give you a new perspective on the Batman character.

[Ready4Change]

20. Oh, I totally get the true dark Batman.

I'd love to see it done well, and can't say the next movie won't (finally) manage to nail it. But I'll believe it when I see it.

And frankly, knowing the American publics viewing taste, I'll REALLY know it's been nailed when it flops in the theaters. The mass American movie viewing public can't handle and won't accept what the darkest of the Batman comics demand.

That's what I mean when I say these movies need a director that goes for the throat. He needs to be willing to make a movie that many people will outright HATE. That will make young kids cry. That will make people who wanted to see a costumed version of a Die Hard movie walk out midway through. It needs to be psychological torment followed by a despairing redemption.

It shouldn't be a movie with soul. It should be a movie that lost its soul long ago, and doesn't want that soul back for fear that it will introduce weakness.

[sir_captain]

22. You're totally right about the general public

And I'm sure they're concerned about appealing to both the Batman geeks and the Vin Diesel fans in middle america. I'm sadly confident that we'll see Batman with some cheesy one-liners, though as long as there's no "chicks dig the car" this time around, I'll deal.

In any case, the baddie in this film, Scarecrow, is one of my favorites, so I'm holding out a lot of hope!

[tjwmason]

24. Absolutely

It's rerun on one of our satelitte channels and because there is no pretence at all of a good script, good acting, &c. I can just relax and enjoy it.

I particularly like the little 'good citizen' drop ins, like when Batman and Robin are rushing along a street they stop and check both ways before crossing, and give some really cheesy line about how you should always do this.

Classic and nothing else can compare.

[jdots]

18. Jim Varney would have been the best Batman

Batman should be a wacko not a pretty boy.John Turturro is our best bet for this franchise now.

[kodi]

19. I would have liked to have seen Andy Kaufman as Batman

After all he was good as Mighty Mouse.

[Borgnine]

21. Michael Keaton.

I always loved his version of Batman as a neurotic little nutcase who's just as insane as the people he fights. Sure, purists have a problem with him, but he really was the most interesting Bruce Wayne and the most intense Batman. Plus, he's a really nice guy in person, and totally unaware of his own fame.

[Hatalles]

23. Keaton and West?! Blasphemy!!!

Michael Keaton and Adam West are the two top contenders?!?!

Batman has NEVER been done well on screen. The only *moving-picture* version that ever came close to matching the legendary figure from the comics, was the animated series on FOX and the WB.

I'm hoping Chris Nolan's new flick will change that, however. No, wait -- I take that back. I'm *praying* Batman will finally be done justice on the silver screen.