14 DAY TRIAL // Now that both director Chris Nolan and lead star Christian Bale have confirmed that the third Batman, the upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises” will also be the last, fans are already starting to feel bad about it. On this note, EW argues Bale was just the hero the franchise needed and deserved.
In a recent piece, Entertainment Weekly argues that, though the franchise goes back many years and has had countless respectable stars as the caped crusader, only one managed to do it justice: and that person was Bale.
It’s not that the other actors playing Batman didn’t put on amazing performance, it’s just that Bale had that inner darkness needed to bring to the hero some edginess.
Of course, the fact that Nolan helmed the films also contributed to that, since his vision of the rebooted franchise went hand in hand with the depth Bale could bring to the character.
Clearly, the EW report argues, Batman will live again, perhaps very soon after Nolan is done with it with “The Dark Knight Rises,” but woe the daredevil director and actor who will have to step in their predecessors’ shoes.
To illustrate how valuable Bale’s contribution has been to the Batman franchise, EW cited an older story according to which director Joel Schumacher cast George Clooney in “Batman & Robin” after drawing the bat-mask on his face with a Sharpie, to see whether he’d be good for the part.
Clearly, Bale has been more to Batman than just a face that looks good in the bat-suit, the report says.
“His Batman / Bruce Wayne was much more complex than his modern cinematic predecessors’ (Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, and Clooney),” EW says.
“I think it had something to do with the fact that Bale’s hero wore his responsibilities of protector as a burden and Bale the actor never took that role lightly – even for a winking instant. His Bruce Wayne doesn’t seem to enjoy his work, and that made him the perfect hero for Christopher Nolan’s dark and gritty Gotham,” the report explains.
“Some folks derided his character’s relentless gloominess – and that hoarse whisper – but Bale makes you believe that Bruce Wayne’s dressing up as a bat-freak is an inevitable consequence of his life experiences,” EW believes.
Because of this, because of his massive contribution to the franchise, even if the third film hasn’t even started shooting yet, fans are already feeling sorry he’ll be done with it after “The Dark Knight Rises.”
“Bale’s dedicated Bruce Wayne rivals Christopher Reeve’s Superman when it comes to an actor whose talent, physicality, and disposition best reflect their superhero character, and even though he hasn’t yet donned the Batsuit for Nolan’s third and final film, I’m already bummed that the end is in sight,” EW says.