taffer

The "I'm not wearing hockey pads" line is the only time I laugh at the voice, but I think that line was intentionally supposed to be funny.

I don't mind the voice at all. Stupid internet fanboys always blow things way out of proportion.

The voice distorter thingy they use on the Arrow TV show is better though, and I hope Batfleck uses something like that.

Mike86

Yeah the hockey pads line I think was supposed to be played off as a joke.

stvn1974

I loved how Batman still talked in his gruff voice when talking to Lucious Fox about the surveillance towards the end of The Dark Knight even though he already knows that Bruce Wayne is fucking Batman.

hanshotfirst1138

Easy there, Dr. Freud.

RocShemp

That's a homage to the comics. Particularly when Denny O'Neil was writing the books. Bruce inhabits the persona of Batman (usually when he's wearing the costume but sometimes out of it as well) and he always speaks with the gruff voice when he's speaking as Batman.

That's why when Christian Bale is out of costume in certain scenes, his voice starts to get progressively gruffer. A good example is when he reunites with Selina Kyle in TDKR after she beats up the thugs chasing after the kid who stole their apple. As he becomes Batman during the conversation, his voice gradually changes.

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stvn1974

So Bruce Wayne is a method actor?

RocShemp

Pretty much. Yes. Which made Christian Bale perfect casting.

Abob Teff

What is this, a French hospital?

RocShemp

Not until the gangbang starts.

robin2099

And yet no one criticizes the animated series for doing the same freaking thing. Especially since lots of fan boys still hold that to be the gold standard of Batman.

Sgtsnake

Did I hear correctly that batman (Affleck) will be in Suicide squad to set up his one batman film? Didn't we JUST have a trilogy of batman?

TheMovieman

Maybe yes, maybe no. There isn't any definitive word. One source says it's just a monitor image while another says that he's in the flesh. Either way, did you think Warner WASN'T going to do a solo Batman movie?

Mike86

To be fair until something better comes along that series will continue to be the gold standard for Batman and that universe. I'd say The Dark Knight Trilogy comes close, but Batman: The Animated Series is simply amazing.

hanshotfirst1138

Conroy also did it much better than Bale did. I understand the idea behind the Batman voice, I just think Bale's infamous "Cookie Monster" rendition of it didn't work as well. That said, I understood why it was there, so I just sort of went with it.

I've been going back to the DCAU which I loved when I was a kid now that I'm a much more critical-minded grown-up. IMO, it is indeed the gold standard. It holds up remarkably well.

Mike86

It really does. I don't think its just a case of me liking it because I grew up with it and being nostalgic over it either because there's a lot of cartoons that I grew up with and trying to watch now can barely stand. For instance the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I loved growing up but find it pretty terribly dated now. Batman: The Animated Series is truly just in a league of it's own. The voice acting, the writing, the music, and even the really simplistic animation just are all so top notch. It manages to be the perfect blend of being friendly enough that kids can watch it yet at the same time manages to be pretty mature and is great entertainment for an adult. Just such a damn good series.

Hazel Motes

I hardly think "a career full of bad ones" fits Ben Affleck's filmography. He started out his career pretty good, had a stretch of a few years where he made a lot of shit, then in the last 7-8 years has completly turned his career around.

I consider all of these to be really solid films that Affleck was really good in:

Dazed & Confused
Glory Daze
Mallrats
Chasing Amy
Good Will Hunting
Dogma
Boiler Room
Changing Lanes
Hollywoodland
State of Play
Extract
The Company Men
The Town
Argo
To The Wonder
Gone Girl

And he seems to be getting better with age too.

Abob Teff

Being in good films and giving good performances are two completely different things. Holding up his Kevin Smith work (with the possible exception of Chasing Amy) completely negates your argument. Those (and a few others you mentioned) are the very films that have most earned him this reputation. Good movies? Yes. Actor's showcases? No.

I'm not saying he CAN'T be a good actor. I'm saying more often than not he was mediocre at best, phoning it in at worst. He is one of those actors who has trouble making the character shine over his own persona. Some of that is his his choice of roles, some of that is his acting sensibility. I will agree he seems to be overcoming this in recent years.

Even with that though, being a good or great actor doesn't translate to being a great (or good) Batman:

George Clooney can be a phenomenal actor at times. Has done some turkey work. Worst Batman ever.

Val Kilmer can be a phenomenal actor. Many underrated performances. Also has more than his fair share of turkey work. Mediocre Batman at best.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: was he cast because he was the BEST actor for the role or was he cast because he is Ben Affleck? I tend to believe the latter.

hanshotfirst1138

I grew up watching lots of cringe-worthy stuff-Might Morphin' Power Rangers, Voltron, but the DCAU really holds up. BTAS has top-notch voice-acting and really strong writing. The biggest problem with the older BTAS episodes is that some of them have sketchy animation, which is what led Timm to streamline on the process on later series and simplify the designs even further. That said, the Spectrum and TMS episodes still look breathtaking though. But though the original series had shaky start, once Burnett and Dini came on board, the quality skyrocketed. And Kevin Conroy is Batman. There's not even a distant second. And once they got to WB and Cartoon Network, I'm amazed at some of the shit that the censors let them get away with.

On a side note, when I was a kid, I always preferred BTAS to the Filmation-type shows, and even took to the darker seasons of shows I liked-Power Rangers in Space, Beast Wars, ReBoot,-and more serious, darker shows-SWAT Kats, Pirates of Dark Water, Samurai Jack, and most of the anime on Toonami with more complex mythologies. And I grew up pretty sheltered and conservative, so maybe it was my way of looking for something a little different, but I wonder if I was a weird kid (very likely), or if kids really are more mature than kids give them credit for, and genuinely do gravitate towards more mature-toned stuff.

I think that's a different kind of "hospital..."

I knew the French were a little odd, but what?

RocShemp

Damn, I miss Pirates of Dark Water.

RoboDad

This. Sooo this.

And while we're at it, there never has been, and never will be, a better Joker than Mark Hamill. The two of them together were absolutely perfect.

taffer

I always thought it was interesting that Arkham is part of Mark Hamill's name. Mark Hamill.

fumanstan

If only Batman was just a voice. Sorry, I love Conroy as Batman too but the way fans say that is kind of silly to me.

Mike86

How so? Just because it isn't a live action portrayal of the character? He still perfectly embodied the character and absolutely brought it to life like no one before or after. When I read Batman in comics that's the voice I imagine. That coupled with the fact that the way Batman was animated and the universe and villains within the series were brought to life I'd say the series was about as perfect in spirit to the Batman comics as anything has gotten. I don't think its fair to discredit it because it isn't live action.

taffer

Batman eats punks for breakfast.

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That line from the video game Arkham Asylum always cracks me up. It's so cheesy, but yet so badass when Conroy delivers it.

fumanstan

What do you mean how so? I think it's pretty self explanatory. Batman isn't just a voice, he's brought to life through a variety of methods and Conroy wouldn't be Batman if it wasn't for the animation, artwork, and the general quality of the rest of the show that you mention yourself. I don't think it's discrediting him to point that out, and it's not fair to credit him (or Timm) alone given the number of other pieces that it takes to truly embody the character depending on the format.