Robert Pattinson might just be the worst choice for Batman
Other than Christian Bale barely any other actor has been able to portray the complex yet charming persona of the millionaire who spends most of his time in a batcave.
The caped crusader has sometimes been portrayed in all hilarity, and sometimes his true persona as the quiet protector of humankind found ground in some promising actors. Today the news broke that ‘Twilight Saga’ actor, Robert Pattinson, is set in talks to pick up the role of the masked crusader in Matt Reeves’ upcoming ‘Batman’ movie which is scheduled to release in June 25. 2021. The pre-production of the Warner Bros. movie is starts this summers, and Pattinson is being rumored to be the final choice after being shortlisted alongside Nicolas Hoult. However, if Pattinson really is entering the batcave then the actor might have to polish on a few things.
Batman’s character was already on the verge of turning into a comical being when S.Lewis Wilson portrayed the heavy paunchy character in the most ridiculous fashion. With his exaggerated action sequences, and comical portrayal, Wilson had managed to reduce Batman to a mere suited vigilant. Almost half a century later when Val Kilmer put on the mask in the movie after Michael Keaton joined hands with Tim Burton; Batman’s own storyline took a back seat. Instead it was pretty evident that under the mask it wasn’t Bruce Wayne who was trying to save his city, Gotham, but a rather angry Kilmer trying his best to look cool in a suit he was clearly uncomfortable in.
Robert Lowery portrayed yet another hilarious Batman. (IMDb)
Although in 1949, Robert Lowery managed to improve upon Wilson’s comical structure, there was still the undertone of a character who hadn’t found his suitable live-action replica. However, Lowery managed to pull off the amazingly smooth talking aspect of Wayne which finally found precision in George Clooney. Keeping aside the freakishly huge nipple on the batsuit, Clooney was one of those who added the angle of a rich boy’s fun in chasing a hobby where he gets to act God. Clooney’s batman was nearly perfect as with his million dollar face he was able to bring out the humorous side of Bruce Wayne but kind of lacked in delivering batman’s religious zeal when it came to protecting Gotham.
Clooney perhaps would have made a good vigilant had it not been for the hilarious suit. (IMDb)
However, nothing quite compares to Christian Bale’s portrayal of the caped crusader, and it must be said that Bale, with Christopher Nolan on one side and actors like Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, on the other side, found a solid foundation to retell a story which has always been grim in its approach. For the first time Bale portrayed the complex yet sensitive nature of Bruce Wayne who tries to make a sense of the world where he is left without parents. At the same time, Bale’s hoarse voice added a whole different edge to Batman as it was a clear deviation from everything that we had seen so far. Even when Michael Keaton put up the mask and adapted the same voice, it lacked the gravitas which Bale had managed to establish with his voice.
Bale was accompanied with a line of extremely talented actors such as Heath Ledger as the Joker, Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow, Tom Hardy as the imposing terrorist Bane, and Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth. Every single one of them added a new layer to Batman and just like the animated series, for the first time in live-action Batman was portrayed as a foil character who could have easily unwrapped himself as either a villain or a hero. However, throughout Bale maintained that grey area for which Batman stands out from all the other heroes in the DC Universe.
Bale finally gave Batman the religious he needed. (IMDb)
Unfortunately, when Ben Affleck picked up the mask in ‘Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice’, ‘Suicide Squad’, and Justice League’, he once again created the same imbalance that all the actors had done before. However, Affleck still retained the psychological turmoil of the character with his seemingly flat face and a voice that is naturally coarse. However, he tried a bit too hard to bring out the darker side of Batman, exactly why Affleck’s Bruce Wayne loses his charm as the playboy which was quite evident in Bale’s portrayal of the millionaire. Moreover, quite unluckily Affleck was cast in the movies that staggered to keep up the standards of superhero franchise, and in a time when Marvel is ruling the universe, Robert Pattinson coming in to play the playboy crusader is perhaps the worst choice.
Affleck tried a bit too hard to portray the caped crusader. (IMDb)
Pattinson came under the limelight with an extremely flat character like Edward Cullen in the ‘Twilight Saga’. His character really had no layers to him, other than posing as a mysterious ancient man who falls in love with a teenager and turns her into a vampire. Pattinson lacks the show of complexity in his acting, he can either pose as a heavy charmer- as he did with Cedric Diggory in the ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’- or he maintains a mere straight face as he did in the ‘Twilight’ franchise. Moreover, Pattinson lacks the gravitas in his tone and gait which might come to play if Reeves is able to guide him properly. Else, Pattinson will be nothing more than just another highly sad millionaire with all the fun and charm toned down to zero. However, it is yet too early to give a verdict and maybe we will have to until the movie comes out to see if Pattinson has managed to outgrow himself.