Batm-e-n of the old

It is never too old to talk about Batman. While the character itself has evolved over a much longer period, Batman has been surfacing in feature films since the late 90's on a much regular basis (though there was a feature film made in '66 as well). It was Tim Burton who really showed the potential of the character to attract big crowds to theatres with his 1989 flick Batman. He had a sequel released in 1992 before Joel Schumacher took it upon him to destroy the character with two Batman movies that came in the mid and late 90's. The 1997 Batman & Robin received such a terrible reception that it created a hiatus of eight years before Christopher Nolan released the beginning of his epic The Dark Knight trilogy in 2005 and made the world wonderful again! 

In the last 24 years, seven Batman feature films have been released and the iconic caped crusader has been played by five actors - Michael Keaton in the first two films, Val Kilmer in the next, George Clooney in the fourth and Christian Bale in the latest three films. With this thought in my mind, I looked up on the photos of the old and new Batmans and pieced them together. 

That's Keaton to Bale going clockwise from top left side. Minor alterations in the suit is what I noticed first, with Bale's costume standing out for its lesser cartoonish feel. But apart from that, when you look at the still images, the others do not seem to make a bad Batman, eh? They did lack the hoarse voice that Batman carries which Bruce Wayne does not, that Bale perfected in Nolan's trilogy and was something I specifically enjoyed in the animated series of Batman. And of course, the previous movies lacked a good script, good performances, daylight when they could have reflected on the wrongs they were committing, live bats, and a few other minor details. 

And while we are talking about the older Batman movies, though I'm now wondering why, no harm in looking back at the characters of the older times prior to when they lit up Nolan's Batman series. 

This one is Bane from Batman & Robin, too beefed up and acting like a dumb brute rather than a master mind of any sorts. 

Here's Jack Nicholson playing Joker from Batman, a role which was quite acclaimed then but would no doubt pale in comparison to the levels Heath Ledger took it to. 

And this is Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman from Batman Returns, probably the best portrayal of Catwoman on the big screen until Anne Hathaway made it her own.

Now, awaiting the next one to don the famous Batman suit...