Bale is obviously the Neal Adams/Year One era Batman. And, in that, Keaton is the Golden Age original: psychotic, mysterious, and simple.
See, the problem is that I got none of that from Keaton. His Batman didn't come off as psychotic and mysterious, just absent-minded and introverted. Basically, Tim Burton turned Batman into yet-another "patented Tim Burton misunderstood childlike genius."
Don't get me wrong. In the right role (Beetlejuice, Pacific Heights, Out of Sight, Jackie Brown) Keaton's a very good actor. He just wasn't a good Batman.
