It is difficult to bring up the topic of the new Batman movie without still having the death of Heath Ledger fresh on our minds, but as cliche as it sounds “the show must go on”, and I’m sure Heath wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. This is “The Movie Blog” and The Dark Knight is still coming, and with that in mind…
Our friends over at ComingSoon have gotten their hands on a couple of new Batman images that give a solid view on 2 points of contention:
1) The Bat-Outfit. At first I actually really liked the new design of the Batman costume while a lot of other people hated it. I have to admit the more I see of the new outfit, the more I’m starting to dislike it. Keep in mind, the design of the outfit will have NOTHING to do with how good the movie itself is… so even if it is a bad design (which is still up for debate) that doesn’t mean the movie won’t be great.
2) A smaller Christian Bale. Folks, I watched Batman Begins again last night… and it only reinforced my disappointment with how much smaller Christian Bale is this time around. In the picture below, Bale has to be at least 20-25 pounds down from the amazing condition he was in for the first Batman flick. Once again, that says nothing about how good the movie itself will be… it’s just a minor point of sadness for me. I want to see a Batman that looks like he’s about to rip your head off…. instead of one that looks like he’s about to do my taxes for me.
Interesting ideas… I wonder how the Hollywood media would portray this?
I’m really liking the new Bat-Suit! It looks kinda high-tech & he’s gonna have a lot more movement to the character so expect some cool fight scenes, yeah!
BATMAN FAN? Check Out The BAT-BLOG.com
http://www.bat-blog.com
Thanks, Tommy
I just saw the trailer for the first time over on YouTube… and I really think this movie is gonna be frekin awesome!
Just from that Trailer it does seem that Heath is gonna blow us all away!
The filmmakers are not trying to make the comic book Batman where he’s unrealistically buff and agile at the same time. John you have to understand that the filmmakers are trying to be realistic rather than dwelling in fantasy land. Have you ever seen an Arnold sized man doing acrobats? Better yet, have you ever seen an Arnold sized man doing acrobats in body armor. No you haven’t because they can’t. Doug brought up a good point about Bruce Lee. Looking at Lee fully clothed you’d think this was some small runt but underneath was incredible strength and agility that you can’t have if you are a walking mountain of muscle. Lee was fit as shit, strong as a bull yet he was very slim and small. If you are a fighter it’s better to be small and fast rather than large and lumbering. Batman is an acrobatic fighting machine, a fucking ninja. Ninjas aren’t bursting with muscles, they are agile little killers that move swiftly to kill your ass.
I’m also guessing that the slimming down is also done to make Bale more comfortable in the suit. He was far too big in the first one, couldn’t move properly and that resulted in weak ass fighting scenes. And that was a big flaw of BB, the quick editing in the fight scenes to hide the fact that Bale couldn’t move worth shit.
Whether or not these are real pictures, this is still gonna be such a great movie..Can’t wait!!
lol well to be honest i would rather be at his wieght in the picture…..i mean the amount of force it would take to fuck some shit up would be alot easier to acomplish in the art that batman gets down with….i mean wtf u want a 240 lbs batman or a 185 lbs batman….if u picked the heaver u are a sucker….shit bruce lee was thought to have been able to bench press 325 10 times at the wight of 135 lbs!!!!!
Bale looks skinnier,Bale looks skinnier,Bale looks skinnier….Seriously I think we’ve all heard enough.Yes,he looks skinnier,ok but in the end, I really dont think that his being skinnier really has an effect on his performance.Sure hes a little skinnier(by the way,25 pounds is certainly an exageration) sooo what.I think some people are missing the point,Batman ISNT soly dependent on strength.Batman uses high tec weapons,gadgets,martial arts, fear to intimadate his foes,and most importantly wit(not to mention his tumbler-like vehicles).Dont get me wrong,strength IS vital in the hand-to-hand combat that he will most-certainly engage in,however losing a few pounds dosent make him a weakling.The Bat will kick just as much butt as he did in the first film-I garantee it.
Maybe it’s with your common sense and manners ..
Where did my comment go?
His continued mention of Bale’s build is warranted, since in the film we are supposed to buy that he can run around and beat everyone’s ass. In that pic, he looks like he’d faint from food exhaustion in the middle of a fight.
John,
I see your point, he doesn’t look the part, but still.. your continued mention of Christian Bale’s build… Well…The gay subtext is rapidly becoming text… :-)
I wasn’t able to come on here, something was either wrong with the site, or my internet. Anyway John, Again, that’s my point. Your talking about Batman, I’m talking about Bruce Wayne. 2 different people. It’s really that simple.
Koko replies at 28th January 2008, 5:11 pm :
“I agree with John about the weight issue, Christian Bale really needs to be bulked up for this movie. He must’ve came straight from the set of Rescue Dawn.”
And I agree with u Koko. This pic made me think Nolan pushed him for the Rescue Dawn role so he would become the male Keira Knightley. I liked the bearlike look from the first one. If i didn’t know Bale is Batman, this look sure would have fooled me.
@Robert
It’s not the suit that makes Bale skinnier. Look at his face in the 1st pic. His face looks gaunt and sunken in. His cheekbones are very prominent compared to Begins. Dude is skinny.
I agree – In some pics, the suit looks pretty bad. I mean, REALLY bad. However, in other pics, the suit looks amazing. Can’t decide. I’m sure it’ll look good in the final production. Hopefully they’ll change it for the third movie – if they’re even creating a third movie.
For those of you moaning about the promo sheet. Keep in mind it’s being used for the REESE’S PIECES promotion. Not exactly serious stuff here.
Source: batman-on-film.com
@John
He looks skinnier now because the suit from Batman Begins was different. The mask was sticked to his back and his neck looked bulkier, so he looked like having more weight… This new suit has a mask that has a newer mechanism.. Bale can turn his head to either side without moving all his body. The mask was built like the helmets people use with their bikes, so that’s why he looks skinnier or with less muscles, just look at the neck of the suit, it’s smaller, the old ones (including the 4 movies before Batman Begins) had the suit’s neck connected to the back part, that way it was very uncomfortable for the actors to move freely, because they couldn’t turned theri heads without moving their WHOLE body towards that side. So i think that’s the reason why he LOOKS skinnier… but he’s not, he kinda has the same weight he has on Begins, just remember the scene where he was on the dinner (when he said “A man that dresses like a bat, clearly has some issues.” or something like that…)
Just look at this picture of batman begins and compare it any picture of the new suit:
PICTURE FROM BATMAN BEGINS —– http://www.movie-source.com/stills/1353_4.jpg
And I like the new suit, its great, it works… so its all about different tastes. BUT CHECK THE PICTURE, YOU’LL SEE WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT.
Well I personally dont care if Batman is thin athletic or Bulky Bursier in the end of the day Bale is still playing Batman. Sure the suit look off the norm and Bale looks thinner, but were looking at pictures. I remeber watching the trailer and not really noticing Bale looking thinner than he did in the last movie. Also some pics did surface showing Bale in the BB batsuit so if he did lose lots of weight it could be a plot device.
regarding batman being smaller i agree he does look smaller but smaller doesn’t always = weaker. I mean if he’s toned down to that but its all muscle i’m sure he will still look pretty badass.
um i guess these pictures are ok
i like the darker more maniak pistures tho- like the poster that has the bat sign written in blood- even tho thats not a “picture” its the poster that made me smile the most cuz it was so original and the joker is raw
@ krystina
he doesnt look that thin- but yes thin. but i would never be too sad about having katie holmes leaving me- shes not THAT hot. jesus the european chicks from the 1st movie wer so much better!!!
but they were bviously lesbos
(nothing wrong with that)
Plus losing some bulk, would make him faster. That could be the reason for the loss. Speed is always better over brawn.
I mentioned this the last time everyone bitched about the size of Bale in The Dark Knight.
In Batman Begins he was fresh out of training constantly with the league of shadows for 7 intensive years.. in this he pretty much has his hands full dealing with taking down the mob.. do you think he’s going to be keeping up his training as much as he was when he was in the league of shadows? that more or less justifies the weight change; not to mention he’s rebuilding Wayne Manor where I’m sure most of his training would take place anyway.
I agree with John about the weight issue, Christian Bale really needs to be bulked up for this movie. He must’ve came straight from the set of Rescue Dawn.
Look at how thin his face looks in that first picture. If that bat suit wasn’t in the backroundn, there is no way in the world that man could pass for Bruce Wayne. Way too small.
Hey Teller,
You said:
“Bruce Wayne isn’t supposed to look like he’s going to rip your head off. That’s the whole point. Regular guy by day.”
Dude, who told you that?!?! Batman is the most perfect physical specimen that a normal human being can ascend too. He is as physically strong as an olympic weightlifter. THIS is what Batman looks like:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/05/smart_heroes/image/intro.jpg
And I stand by that 20-25 pound remark. Watch BB again with the scene where he gets out of bed and drops to do push ups…. THAT man is at least 20 pounds bigger than the guy in the picture above.
Anything will be an improvement on the first one.
I like the sleeker look – more Ninja-like.
Second poster looks like Batman Forever. Not a good thing. And Bale is much too thin. Looks like Bruce got sad over Rachel leaving him and stopped eating.
well first image is old and 2nd image is so fake
That poster (second image) is the WORST promotional shot for a film EVER. What is this 1982? Why not just show him and the Joker with the two faces head tilt design. That is just as bad.
As for the suit, I dig it. I like how it is more “real” than a latex bodysuit. This one looks like it might actually have armour under it instead of being thick rubber.
Oh, and no nipples. Thats a plus.
am I the only one calling fake on that second image (the poster)?
I’m actually having the opposite reaction to the new suit John… the more I see it, the more I like it. I must say though, I never really disliked it. As much as I loved(and I mean LUUUUUUUUVVVEEEDD) “Batman Begins”, the suit was always somewhat of a weakness in my eyes. It just looked like a rubber costume to me.
Instead of a costume, the new suit actually looks more like a functional suit of armor, while still maintaining the classic “Batman” look.
It’s still gonna’ be a bit of a bittersweet experience watching the movie and realizing that it is Heath Ledger’s swan song. He really did leave us before his time and if his Joker is as good as I think it’ll be, it’s only going to make his passing all the more tragic.
~~sniff~~
I have heard some crazy things from you John, but this takes the cake. First of all 25 ibs.!!! What’s wrong with you. He did not lose nearly that much
2. Bruce Wayne isn’t supposed to look like he’s going to rip your head off. That’s the whole point. Regular guy by day. The bat suit isn’t going to look any less dangerous because Chis lost weight. And even if they did trim the suit down for chris, that’s better, and cooler if you ask me. The one problem I had with BB is that Batman’s punches were way too slow in that damn suit, looked sorta unbelievable. He’ll be more flexible this time around.
The suit in Batman Begins wasn’t fully bulletproof.. and given he’s going up against the mob in this one he’s gonna need something with a bit more “armour” on it.
As for the size of him, he was supposed to be this size in Batman Begins.. I can bet Bale still gets damn mean when he’s got the cowl on though. I can imagine it not doing Bale’s body any good gaining all the weight again after Rescue Dawn, having done damage with The Machinist to Batman Begins.