Christian Bale's Ten Most Terrific Movie Characters

Christian Bale is a British actor and very well known for his roles in Christopher Nolan's Batman Series and The Prestige. He began his career with a ravishing role in Steven Spielberg's "Empire Of The Sun". He has done around 20 films and has given some memorable films in his short career. He's one of those few professional actors who has ability to get into the story and molds himself to the given character, who can forget the shocking and terrifying roles in "The Machinist", "American Psycho" and "Rescue Dawn". Let's see Christian Bale's ten most terrific and ravishing movie characters.

10. John Miller - The Flowers Of War (2011)

***Realistic, Tragic And Timeless***

"Sometimes the truth is the last thing we need to hear."

This is a masterful portrayal of wartime horrors, told through the eyes of a young girl (for the most part). The images and story shown in the movie are beautifully haunting.

This story chronicles the lives and actions of a number of people over what appeared to be less than a week: a young commander of the last group of Chinese soldiers left in Nanjing after the Japanese occupation, a drifter American mortician, a group of school girls living in a Catholic convent, a Catholic alter boy who was left in charge of the girls, one of the girl's father, a group of prostitutes, a Japanese commander, and Japanese soldiers.

The evolution of Christian Bale as an actor is something wonderful. The kind of roles he selects and able to deliver the best is something special.

9. John Preston - Equilibrium (2002)

***The Most Underrated Action Film Ever***

"DuPont: In the first years of the 21st century, a third World War broke out. Those of us who survived knew mankind could never survive a fourth; that our own volatile natures could simply no longer be risked. So we have created a new arm of the law: The Grammaton Cleric, whose sole task it is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man - his ability to feel." 

"Equilibrium" is one of the most passionate and emotional movies I've ever seen, and this comes from a movie that depicts a society that exists based on the concept that emotion and passion are the very things that led to the destruction of humanity, which is why feelings have been banned in the movie.

I recommend everyone to see this movie, why? Because of the good acting and the interesting plot. One moment everything is emotionless and the next you see people struggling to keep their emotions in check and trying to cope. Incredible. It takes good actors to deliver something like that and they did it.

8. Dan Evans - 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

***An Old Classy Modern Western Film***

"Time Waits For No Man"

"3:10 to Yuma", one of the best westerns and best all-around movies I've seen in a long time. That's largely due to the outstanding performances by the cast, ably led by the alpha male, bad guy, Russell Crowe. His protagonist is Christian Bale who turns in a nuanced performance as the down-on-his luck rancher. The scenes between these two men are riveting and a display of acting at its best. The supporting cast are all wonderful and in particular, Ben Foster, Fonda and Logan Lerman as Bale's oldest son.

This is one movie that any lover of westerns or anyone simply longing for a good movie with good acting will not want to miss. The two hours will go by in the blink of an eye and you'll be wishing there was more.

7. Dieter Dengler - Rescue Dawn (2006)

***An Incredible True Story And Classy Role***

"Dieter: I remember, I was in the attic with my brother. We were looking out, and we see this fighter plane, beautiful, coming right at us. And it's firing from its wings. And I see the machine gun, it's flashing and - whooosh - it goes flying past the house. It's so close. I mean, it's *feet* away from the house. And the canopy was open. And this pilot, he had his goggles up on his helmet. And I could see his eyes. And he was looking at me. Right at me. He's looking right at me. And then as he turns to go, he's starting back, he's looking right at me still. And the thing is, from that moment on, little Dieter, he needed to fly. "

Dieter Dangler, a German-American fighter pilot is shot down in Vietnam on a secret mission and is captured by Vietnam Soldiers. He suffers unspeakable torture at the hands of his captors. Determined not to become like the others who have been there as long as two and a half years, Dieter immediately schemes to break out of the prison. Rescue Dawn is based on the true story of Dieter Dangler and is something of a continuation of Werner Herzog's documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly.

Christian Bale delivers another performance where he undergoes dramatic weight loss. He is a good choice to play Dengler - he has a great ability to portray just the proper hint of craziness that I am sure that Dengler must have had in order to conceive of plotting the escape and thinking that he could actually make it to rescue by slashing his way through the forest.

6. Patrick Bateman - American Psycho (2000)

***Christian Delivers Knockout Performance***

"Patrick Bateman: Harold, it's Bateman, Patrick Bateman. You're my lawyer so I think you should know: I've killed a lot of people. Some girls in the apartmentuptown uh, some homeless people maybe 5 or 10 um an NYU girl I met in Central Park. I left her in a parking lot behind some donut shop. I killed Bethany, my old girlfriend, with a nail gun, and some man uh some old faggot with a dog last week. I killed another girl with a chainsaw, I had to, she almost got away and uh someone else there I can't remember maybe a model, but she's dead too. And Paul Allen. I killed Paul Allen with an axe in the face, his body is dissolving in a bathtub in Hell's Kitchen. I don't want to leave anything out here. I guess I've killed maybe 20 people, maybe 40. I have tapes of a lot of it, uh some of the girls have seen the tapes. I even, um... I ate some of their brains, and I tried to cook a little. Tonight I, uh, I just had to kill a LOT of people. And I'm not sure I'm gonna get away with it this time. Iguess I'll uh, I mean, ah, I guess I'm a pretty uh, I mean I guess I'm a pretty sick guy. So, if you get back tomorrow, I may show up at Harry's Bar, so you know, keep your eyes open."

Without a doubt the most underrated movie of the past decade, "American Psycho" is a piece of American cinema that shouldn't be missed by anyone, Regardless if they do not like the violence (which does have its reasons).

Christian Bale gives a flawless performance as the troubled, deep down Wannabe Yuppie who has psychotic, violent impulses. This is true acting here, folks. Not phoned in Tom Crooze acting. Some people object to Patrick Bateman narrates the movie [always a weak sign in a movie] and not letting us figure his motives out on our own, but if you watch closely, Bale shows us Bateman's vulnerability through every minute of every day of his life. The movie is at times hysterical, as his character uses dominant Alpha Monkey behavior around the opposite sex. But again, it's all for good reason.

5. Dicky Eklund - The Fighter (2010) 

***A Well Portrayed True Story And Knockout Performance***

"Dickie Eklund: Are you like me? Was just good enough to fight Sugar Ray? Never had to win, did I? You gotta do more in there. You gotta win a title. For you, for me, for Lowell. This is your time, all right? You take it. I had my time and I blew it. You don't have to. All right? You fuckin' get out there, and use all the shit that you've been through, all the shit we've gone through over the fuckin' years, and you put it in that ring right now. This is yours. This is fuckin' yours."

Trained by his former-professional boxer half-brother Dickie (Christian Bale), Mickey is going from fight to fight making little money and usually getting his arse handed to him. He is what is known in the boxing world as a 'stepping stone' - someone to knock out the way just before your big shot. Things aren't helped by the fact that Dickie is an unreliable crack-head, and his manager mother, is selfish and only sees what would be beneficial to her family, rather than Mickey's career.

The main interest in this film is to see an absolutely frightening method acting performance from Christian Bale that is both unnerving and Oscar worthy. A really fantastic movie and worth watching it.

4. Batman (Bruce Wayne) - Batman Begins (2005) 

***Simply Amazing And Delightful To Watch***

"Bruce Wayne: They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me. "

"Batman Begins" focuses on Bruce Wayne becoming Batman and looks at the psychology of the man. It showed his personal angst and fears and how he used it to fight crime. The starts with a flashback of Bruce and his friend Rachel Dawes as children before seeing Bruce in a Chinese prison, aiming to understand the mind of criminals. Fear was a major theme

Christian Bale plays the perfect Batman/Bruce Wayne. Charming, Handsome, and "rich," as Wayne. Terrifying, maniacal, sadistic, and Blacker than black as Batman. "It's not who i am underneath, but what i Do that defines me." Michael Caine as Alfred, humorous, he is the rock of the Batman family. Almost always, the exchange between Bale and Caine where Christian tells him "You still haven't given up on me, have You?" Caine answers "Nevah.".

3. Alfred Borden - The Prestige (2006)

***Remarkable And Top Notch Piece Of Work***

"Every magic trick consists of three acts - the first is 'The Pledge', the second is 'The Turn' and the final, hardest, most important act is 'The Prestige'."

"Alfred Borden: You went half way around the world... you spent a fortune... you did terrible things... really terrible things Robert, and all for nothing.

Robert Angier: For nothing? 

Alfred Borden: Yeah.

Robert Angier: You never understood, why we did this. The audience knows the truth: the world is simple. It's miserable, solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder, and then you... then you got to see something really special... you really don't know?... it was... it was the look on their faces..."

In the end of the Nineteenth Century, in London, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), his beloved wife Julia McCullough (Piper Perabo) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are friends and assistants of a magician. When Julia accidentally dies during a performance, Robert blames Alfred for her death and they become enemies. Both become famous and rival magicians, sabotaging the performance of the other on the stage. When Alfred performs a successful trick, Robert becomes obsessed trying to disclose the secret of his competitor with tragic consequences.

The amazing dispute between the outstanding Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman is supported by the extraordinary Michael Caine and a wonderful cinematography.  If you enjoy Christopher Nolan films, you should see this movie. If you enjoy movies in general, you should see this film. It is a shame this movie did not win any academy awards. "The Prestige" is Recommended! 

2. Jim 'Jamie' Graham - Empire Of The Sun (1987)

 ***Courageous, Uncanny And Solid Performance***

"To survive in a world at war, he must find a strength greater than all the events that surround him." 

"Jim: Do you know where we are? We're here, see? And now we have to turn left. Do you hear me? When I say turn left, you turn left! When I say turn right, turn right! You have to do what I say otherwise we'll never get to Soochow then you'll be shot! "

"Empire Of The Sun", Jamie (Christian Bale), lives in a lovely home with servants and his parents in Shanghai. He's lived there his whole life as the British have had a presence there for a long time. He has a wild imagination, loves airplanes and sees the world with rose-colored glasses as he ought to at his age. When the Japanese invade in December of  1941, Jamie gets separated in the streets from his parents and begins a brutal journey that ultimately brings him to Soo Chow internment camp where he's known as Jim. He carves a new life for himself as a crafty and inspiring young man.

Christian Bale is absolutely extraordinary in this film, I do like him very much as an actor, but I don't think I have ever seen him this powerful or poignant. Highly recommended and worth checking out. This is one of Spielberg's lesser known films but it is an absolute gem.  

1. Trevor Reznik - The Machinist (2004)

***A Shocking And Creepiest Character Ever***

"Trevor Reznik is four letters away from the truth."

"BALE(On His Role) : I have a very sissy job, where I go to work and get my hair done, and people do my makeup, and I go and say lines and people spoil me rotten. And everyone has that kind of curiosity of how far can you go, how far can you take it. I think it's always a good testing yourself. With various things that could be incredibly unimpressive to other people, but there's some meaning to it within yourself — and also stupid, which many people called me during that time."

"The Machinist" story is about Trevor Reznik (Bale) who is not your every day man. For starters, he is emaciated beyond belief, weighing in at about 120 pounds. There's also the fact that he hasn't slept in a year. Insomnia to the fullest. After a horrible exchange with a co-worker (Michael Ironside), we see him begin to doubt everything from the loyalties of his friends to his own existence.

Bale delivers another outstanding performance here. It's amazing how versatile he is. Not only being able to lose 60 pounds for the role, but showing his character slowly dissolving into insanity as well - truly incredible. None of the supporting cast really stands out, but it's not their film. The only performance that matters is the leading one, and it's a great one. 

If you liked "Lost Highway" or "Memento" go and give "The machinist" a chance, you won't repent.

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