Top 5 Actors to play Batman

There are hardly words to describe how terrible "Batman & Robin" really is. The movie starts by showing Batman and Robin suiting up, bat nipples and butt plate included, and the corniness never stops after that. I can’t believe no one ever took a step back and went, “does Mr. Freeze really need to make an ice pun in every line?” Is that Clooney’s fault? No. He’s the victim of terrible writing decisions, but his performance as the Dark Knight is underwhelming to say the least. He’s a pretty convincing Bruce Wayne, as he has the looks and the charm to pull off the role, but when he’s in costume he just doesn’t look like he cares a whole lot. It’s almost as if he knew how terrible the movie was so he just went through the motions long enough to pick up his check. Clooney was the easiest decision to make on this list because he is so far behind everyone else.

Christian Bale got to wear the cape in easily the best Batman movies to date. He is probably the best Bruce Wayne to ever grace the big screen. Bale is perfect as the billionaire party boy and has a silky delivery in that role. He also nails his role as Batman, showing the audience how serious his vendetta against the crime and despair in Gotham City really is, while being probably the most athletic actor to ever take the role. He looks fluid when fighting the countless thugs he encounters, but there is one thing that nobody can overlook: He sounds like he has a bucketful of sand stuck in his throat whenever he’s in costume. A change in voice is certainly necessary for keeping his identity hidden, but Bale is just a little over the top. All in all, Bale comes in a very close second for his deep performance.

There have been five men to portray Batman in the character’s eight live-action feature-length films, from Adam West in Batman ’66 to Christain Bale in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. All five actors came with their strengths and weaknesses, but the best was Michael Keaton, who played the DC Comics superhero in 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns.
In the first major scene of Batman ’89, Keaton famously grabs a terrified mugger by the collar, holds him off the side of a building, pulls him close to his face and hisses, “I’m Batman.” watching that moment on a VHS tape in my living room, I believed Michael Keaton. And I still believe him as a grown man watching it on DVD 25 years later, even after having seen a half-dozen different Batman movies since.
I realize declaring Michael Keaton’s performance as Batman to be not only my favorite Batman but the best Batman is a somewhat controversial statement, even (especially?) among my fellow writers at ComicsAlliance, but allow me to make my case.
Playing Batman is a dual role. An actor has to portray both a fabulously wealthy socialite-with-a secret Bruce Wayne and the caped crime fighter Batman. The latter necessitates a strong chin, a good set of expressive lips with a range of smirks, smiles and grimaces, and the ability to act with one’s eyeballs alone (unlike comic book Batman, all the movie Batmen have had visible eyeballs, unobscured by the stylized white triangle eyes the drawn Batmen almost always have).