Why I loved this version of Bruce Wayne (possible spoilers)

This version of Wayne felt very vulnerable, both emotionally and physically. I liked that. They set it in a time period where Batman is established (the signal) but still learning (pays off in dividends in the last quarter of the film), and that allowed them to show more of Bruce's trauma and his own pain.

I did think that Burton's films gave us a haunted character with layers of "masks" on as armour. The party where nobody recognizes the host, for instance, or in Batman Returns when he's sitting in the study awaiting his call, only to rise into the signal's light... But Burton was also an older Batman, a bit more experienced, so he was dealing with it better. He also had learned how to use not just Batman, but Bruce Wayne to help people (shown in the scene where he confronts Schrek about the power plant/capacitor, and the fundraising he was doing).

In the new film, The Batman, Patt-Bats is just learning that he needs to do more than just smash crime, he needs to be fearsome, but also provide hope; that's something Keaton-man already had learned (again, further in his journey), and I loved that about this film, too: it challenged what Batman needed to be. He isn't just a blunt instrument, or he propagates more crime, he has to be even more than he was.

In another parallel to the Burton films, I thought this movie did an excellent job of "less is more" with Batman, making him pretty taciturn and closed off and allowing the actors' performances to come through. Nolan's films said more, and I love them a lot, but I found a lot of subtle depths in Keaton's and Pattinson's performances precisely because they were very still and quiet.

I agree, but I don't want to see him carry on as emo-Bruce for the next two movies. In this movie, he felt completely disconnected from Gotham's citizens. That would make the citizens of Gotham wonder when/how he was going to start living up to the same legacy as his father.

The potential problem with emo-Bruce, is that someone clever would be able to maybe speculate that the equally moody Batman -- who clearly needs a lot of money to finance his operation -- and Bruce Wayne might be the same person.

He needs the alter-ego for reasons of security.

I too, don't want to see the ascot-wearing character of the series.

I thought Bale and Keaton were good as the Batman alter-ego. I even give the slight edge to Keaton. His Wayne seemed a bit oblivious to his privileged station in life -- part of his assumed persona -- which made for a few quiet jokes here and there. Down in the cave, before the bank of computers, though we'd see him still dressed as Bruce, but scanning computers as he gathered information. It emphasized that he was Batman first -- whether or not he was wearing the cowl -- and Bruce Wayne second.

Bale's version was also good. The playboy with a model on each arm was a bit overdone. Moreover he must have confused people at times when he suddenly turned on them such as the first movie when he did it as a means to save them from Ra's al Ghul.