Why was Christian Bale so poor in this?

Christopher Nolan's 2008 mega success about Batman's attempts to defeat a criminal mastermind known only as the Joker.
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Of all the the things that can be praised about this truly wonderful movie, Bale's performance isn't one of them. I didn't notice it at first when I first saw TDK in theaters because I was so immersed by the story and Ledger's epic performance. But on repeat viewings I noticed how stilted and one dimensional his performance. It's always been a conundrum for me, especially when Christian Bale is a pretty good actor. Even without Ledger's overshadowing performance Bale looked like a shell in TDK. He wasn't nearly as good as he was in TDKR and even BB.

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gaspernoe wrote:Of all the the things that can be praised about this truly wonderful movie, Bale's performance isn't one of them. I didn't notice it at first when I first saw TDK in theaters because I was so immersed by the story and Ledger's epic performance. But on repeat viewings I noticed how stilted and one dimensional his performance. It's always been a conundrum for me, especially when Christian Bale is a pretty good actor. Even without Ledger's overshadowing performance Bale looked like a shell in TDK. He wasn't nearly as good as he was in TDKR and even BB.
Bale essentially had to play three characters, private Bruce, public Bruce, and Batman. I really think he did a great job in making clear distinctions between them. The interrogation scene, mourning Rachel, and the final montage were excellent. I know that Ledger is the star of that interrogation bit, but pay attention to Bale's movements, the changing tone of his voice, and all the anger and frustration with the Joker he had to show behind the mask using just his eyes and mouth.

I agree that it is the lesser performance behind TDKR and BB, but he is definitely not poor. I also agree that Bruce is slightly overshadowed in TDK, but BB already established Bruce and his emotions, it's not necessary to revisit that, we need to see Bruce reacting to the events occurring in the present.
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I've never though much of Bale in the first place so I'm glad he was overshadowed by Heath Ledger who was truly an amazing actor. For me the supporting characters throughout the 3 Batman movies have been way more interesting, mainly because the likes of Heath Ledger, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt etc happen to be much better actors than Christian Bale.

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gaspernoe wrote:Of all the the things that can be praised about this truly wonderful movie, Bale's performance isn't one of them. I didn't notice it at first when I first saw TDK in theaters because I was so immersed by the story and Ledger's epic performance. But on repeat viewings I noticed how stilted and one dimensional his performance. It's always been a conundrum for me, especially when Christian Bale is a pretty good actor. Even without Ledger's overshadowing performance Bale looked like a shell in TDK. He wasn't nearly as good as he was in TDKR and even BB.
:facepalm: Bale did exactly what the script and story required him to do. He played three Bruce Waynes: the careless, arrogant playboy billionaire, the dark, serious, "real" Bruce Wayne who only Alfred Lucious and Rachel see, and then the demonic beast that is Batman. Did Bale seem bored or wooden? Yeah, but that was the point of this Bruce. Socially there wasn't much to him. His love Rachel was dating another man. His manor was still being rebuilt. The mob was fighting harder and more desperately, turning to an insane clown for help. Though Bruce was in his prime Batman-wise, there wasn't a whole lot for him otherwise. There wasn't much to be jovial about. That's why he seemed so "dry and boring" in this movie.

Playing three different sides to a character well does not equate to being one-dimensional. And Cilogy is totally right.

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This thread is depressing. When I read the title I wanted to throw my laptop across the room.

Bale is awesome in this movie. Nuff said.

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BatMan528491 wrote: Bale is awesome in this movie. Nuff said.
:twothumbsup:

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Your opinion that Bale is poor in The Dark Knight is just that.

Poor.

But that's just my opinion.
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There are moviegoers out there who absolutely despise Christian Bale, and I get that, but that's no reason to say he was "poor" or "overshadowed" by Heath Ledger. Go ahead and hate Bale, but give him credit where credit is due - he had three complicated characters to play in TDK and Ledger played a character who was all surface, and flash with no backstory, and as brilliant as he was, I think the hysteria surrounding his performance is largely due to his untimely death. I would have loved to see these two work together again...

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DoubleD wrote:Your opinion that Bale is poor in The Dark Knight is just that.

Poor.

But that's just my opinion.
Or factually correct.

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BatMan528491 wrote:This thread is depressing. When I read the title I wanted to throw my laptop across the room.

Bale is awesome in this movie. Nuff said.
:clap:
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