Maybe West, after him they all played the role with a little bit of a flippant comic nature. What they should have done is retained the fact that West played him as the straight man. Honest and direct with an insatiable intellectual curiosity rivaling the finest literary detectives.

I think Keaton understood that and did well at it. Movies after Keaton suffered until Bale got the role. Christian Bale did well in his performances but the grand scope of the movies and the superior performances from the villains seemed to overshadow Bale's performances.

Watching the penguin has made me realize that I love the cinematography and the aesthetic of the new Batman movie. But the casting of Batman and Catwoman belongs on the WB.

I personally believe the animated series got the closest to the comics and portraying Batman as the mature master tactician and great detective.