Why Michael Keaton Is The Best Batman

Michael Keaton had all the qualities that made Batman such a compelling character. More than any of the other actors who played the role.

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[franklinpierce]

Keaton once said that Jack Nicholson gave him the best advice on playing the role: "Let the costume do the acting."

[smokemist]

Keaton had the look! The eyebrows, the Charisma, the mystery, the coolness, the low-keyness.. the silent treatment car drive with Vicki Vale really set it all

[MelancoliaI]

For me, it's Keaton's eyes when he's in the Bat suit. Just full of darkness and ferocity.

[devankgulati]

Keaton was the first Batman I saw and Nicholson was the first joker. They both are close to my heart. Not to mention, Danny Devito's Penguin was also awesome.

[Cosmicmindset]

This was exactly how I felt. No one could top Michael Keaton's performance. It was just pure perfection. The films back in the 90's had the best runs because it wasn't overrun by stupid storylines and all these graphic CGI. You should do one about Jack Nicolson as the Joker. He was also my first favorite.

[knull]

Keaton IS Batman! You did him justice with this video for sure.

[Funinightmare]

The way you describe Michael Keston is absolutely stellar and I always knew that there was so much more than what I was seeing and you put it into very appropriate words.

[lturner]

I’ve always felt that No one can hold a candle to Keaton’s portrayal as Batman/Bruce Wayne. He looks like an authoritative figure and a mysterious force to be reckoned with. He is always two steps ahead of you and when he kicks it hurts.

[jackoneill]

Batman is all about projection - casting out a beacon of menace that psychically defeats the criminal before physically overpowering them. Nobody-NOBODY...did that better than Keaton. He embodied that feeling, that spirit. It was all in his eyes...Keaton did it all by looking at you. He didn't need to try, he didn't need to go overboard with intimidation....he WAS pure intimidation. Nobody else had that power, that depth.

[jgrillo]

Keaton will always be Batman. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise.

[chibang]

I wish Michael Keaton would of been on all the 1990s Batman movies because its definatley true he was the best batman of all time.

[Littlekideva]

Michael Keaton's suit looks cool as fuck in the 1989 movie, the batmobile looks cool as fuck in the 1989 movie, and Michael Keaton's body language, eye movements, facial expressions, sound of his voice, way he talks, way he turns his head, way he walks etc looks and sounds cool as fuck. Best movie ever.

[natalieps]

Keaton is the gold standard for batman. He isnt the billionaire playboy his bruce Wayne is a bit anti social, a bit awkward & hes traumatized & obsessed. Basically he seems like a guy nutty enough to dress up as a bat. Even though alfred letting viki vale into the batcave was controversial I think the lines in that scene are perfect. " are we gonna try to love eachother?" Bruce : " I'd like to but hes out there right now ( joker ) & I've gotta go to work. Perfection. They also tried to show that bruce & joker are two sides if the same coin when bruce comes into vikis apt he says nice place lots of space. The joker walks in & says the exact same thing. That was purposeful.

[elichilton]

I wholeheartedly agree. I remember Michael Keaton saying that when he wore the suit, he was shut off from the world, meaning he couldn't hear or see much in his peripheral. He said he learned to use this in his characterisation, which is a brilliant choice in spite of the limitations of the great looking suit the filmmakers created for him.

[TwistedMindChern]

At last some people start realizing that Keaton is the best live action Batman.
His psychedelic eyes were enough to be the best Batman/Wayne.
Great video and nice explanation.

[Immortalsouls]

You hit the nail on the head with this one. Remarkable performance by Micheal Keaton that is totally overlooked. At the time I was extremely excited for the first movie to come out and to this day it's hard pressed to get that sort of excitement for anyone else after Keaton's Batman.

[darthgoku]

I certainly agree with everything you said about Michael Keaton's Batman. He really did set the standard for every dramatic portrayal of the hero. He's also always had the coolest Batsuits and Batmobile in my book. I didn't agree with your opinion on Kevin Conroy though (RIP). You should rewatch BTAS episodes like "Perchance to Dream" or "I Am the Night" or even the Mask of the Phantasm movie, cuz they showcased his own talent at portraying the tortured version of Batman. And as far as kids cartoons go, BTAS is just about the edgiest kids cartoon show there's ever been (especially compared to past superhero cartoons before it). Anyway, great vid about Keaton's version. Can't wait to see him play Batman again in the Flash movie, even if the movie itself turns out to be a mess like most other recent DC movies have been.

[slash]

What I love about Keaton's Bruce Wayne which differed from the comics and other iterations was his reclusiveness. No one at the party in the '89 opening knew what he looked like, nor was his parents deaths well known as Vicky and Knox discovered it digging through old newspapers. He wasn't about the spotlight like Kilmer, Clooney, and Bale, yet he gives the police a spotlight at the end of the film so they can call Batman. It's as if the role was reversed between Batman and Wayne's persona, as Wayne was the more mysterious one in a similar vein to that of Reeve's distinctions between Superman and Clark Kent.

[varunemani]

Talking about the duality (Which Tim Burton alone truly understood) just made me realise why Tim could see Keaton playing the joker as good as Batman! Now for any actor that's unique.

I think this review could have hit the bulls eye for a definitive answer to how Keaton made the cast. The entire premise of Batman 1989 was the fact that while Batman was keeping an eye on the Joker the reporters / Vicky was interested in the more dangerous and mysterious freak according to them - the Batsy!

And then in the finale they spill it out literally when Jokers says - 'You made me' and Batman replies - ' You made me first! ' which shows how they were both effected directly by the actions of the other and are like two side of one twisted coin -'Gotham'. 🍷

[wiredtardis]

My favorite Batman moment from Keaton was in Batman Returns. His verbal confrontation with Penguin that ends with Penguin asking "You don't really think you'll win do you?" with Batman scoffing and replying with Penguin's line "Things change".

Just the ability to have these mannerisms and reactions within the suit that give the character so much more depth than any other actors before or since could accomplish. Keaton's style of performance allows for more humanity to shine through the limitations of the suit than Bale's Batman desperately needed.