MovieChat Forums > Rescue Dawn (2007) Discussion > Steve Zahn is a better actor than Christ...

Steve Zahn is a better actor than Christian Bale! PERIOD

posted 15 years ago by Jakt82
55 replies | jump to latest

Steve Zahn was so good in this movie, playing a soldier in shellshock and the fear in his eyes was so believable. On the other hand Christian Bale's character didn't do it for me, he wasn't realistic at all and lacked the appropriate emotional responses. He's just a bad actor in my opinion. It's almost like he rushes his performances because he can't wait until the movie is over so he can cash in his check.

It's a shame that actors like Steve Zahn aren't offered better roles and then there are actors like Christian Bale who gets leading roles like 'Batman' and 'John Connor' because of his chizzled appearance. He doesn't deserve his celebrity, he treats his own mother like dirt and downgrades movie crews for not doing their job right, pfff he's the one who can't act and has no soul. Simply put - I hate Christian Bale and you should too!

[–] s_5 14 years ago

"Of course Steve Zahn's character is more depressed. He was supposed to act that way. He has been there for more than a year! He has suffered more, and probably lost all sense of hope.

Christian Bale's character has just arrived there. He probably still thinks that the air force is going to rescue him. His "shell-shock" moment probably hasn't come yet. He was still this optimistic young pilot who had a plan which lucky for him, it worked." - username teh_kotak

precisely. the op should try to put at least a minimal amount of thought into understanding the characters in movies so as not to embarrass him/herself by writing incredibly dumb threads like this. zahn, bale and davies were all excellent in this movie with their given characters.

[–] Jakt82 14 years ago

I did put thought into this thread and I don't feel embarrassed at all for posting it. I kept in mind that Zahn's character was a p.o.w. much longer than Bale's character but he was just more believable. Bale just rushed certain scenes and was always smirking, what’s there to smirk about? Yes his plan worked really good didn't it? I mean he did get Zahn's character killed after all while he got all the glory in the end, yeah real honour there my friend!

s_5, I've read some of your other posts on here and you are the one who is embarrassing yourself, defending crappy celebrities who in turn would screw you over the first chance they get, do you think Christian Bale gives two shakes about you if you two were to meet?..lol..if you're not heavily medicated then may I suggest you call a shrink asap!

[–] Bml-93 14 years ago

Do you think he planned to get Zahn's character killed? No, besides that was not the person Christian Bale's choise. Besides do you think Zahn gives two shakes about you if you two were to meet? No, I didn't think so...

For me it looks like you have a crush on Steve Zahn and then decided to hate Bale because his character survived. So you fail, sir. PERIOD

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I want to play a game.

[–] kmrcc 14 years ago

I kept in mind that Zahn's character was a p.o.w. much longer than Bale's character but he was just more believable. Bale just rushed certain scenes and was always smirking, what’s there to smirk about? Yes his plan worked really good didn't it? I mean he did get Zahn's character killed after all while he got all the glory in the end, yeah real honour there my friend!

Watch the documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly before you make more stupid, ill informed comments about Bale's performance. He is portraying a real life person. It doesn't matter if you think his reaction to certain situations is unnatural. That is how Dieter behaved when he was a POW and how he responded to these situations-smirk and all. He had an unusual, child like optimism/arrogance. His hard to relate to optimism in the face of despairing circumstances is the main reason he was the only American POW to ever escape a Laotian prison camp.

Would you prefer he portray Diengler as the typical, despairing POW because it would make for a more believable performance? Screw the fact that Diengler was an unusual person who behaved in ways that most people find hard to relate to. The actor who plays the more humane, broken character that the audience can relate to is of course giving the better performance

I'm not even going to bother addressing the stupid title claim of this thread...

It's almost like he rushes his performances because he can't wait until the movie is over so he can cash in his check

Rumour has it that Bale worked on this film without salary (as is confirmed he did for Harsh Times). If he *did* get a salary, it was scale pay at best considering the film only has a 5 million budget. What a stupid, stupid comment.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kmrcc 14 years ago

I don't agree with it either, but that is how the general audience rates characters. They feel for the broken character more and equate that kind of acting as being the superior acting. It isn't true at all. Just like audiences always think the over the top villian type character is the more impressive performance. Scenery chewing acting is the easiest kind of acting there is. Subtlety is much more difficult and is a higher caliber of acting.

[–] AlftheSacredBurro 14 years ago

Lacked the appropriate emotions....heh...heh heh...ha, ha....hahaha...ahahaha....AhHhahahahahahahahahaahhahaaa!!!!

You're killing me man...KILLING me!

Seriously, haven't even seen the film. That's just a ridiculous thing to say.

Luck has never been pushed as much...the sun felt good on your sweater.

[–] hoitydoity 13 years ago

Bitch bitch bitch moan moan...I would like to see you starving yourself almost to death for movies and then getting completely pumped up and muscular in one year. He's a fine actor and he deserves what he gets paid (more so than many top of the bill actors).

[–] xanxei 12 years ago

But he's so pretty.

[–] IEatWords 12 years ago

Bale sucked ass in this movie - Zahn and Davies both showed him how it's done. They were both really good.

[–] slayerjmk95 12 years ago

You really have no clue about acting, dumbass. Steve Zahn may have been better than Bale in this movie, but not as an actor OVERALL. The Dark Knight films are some of the greatest films ever made, and Bale in the new Terminator was just outstanding. Plus, you FAIL at giving a sound argument; Bale doesn't rush ANYTHING. You just hate the man because you're a Steve Zahn fanboy. Go hate somewhere else or create a sound argument before opening your mouth and acting like a tool and an eejit

[–] BrainGremlin 12 years ago

That whole second paragraph is a load of horse sh*t, and man, what a change in tone. From "just didn't do it for me" to "I hate [him]". Bipolar, by chance?

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Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

[–] HeyFoxymophandlemama 12 years ago

I think Zahn is a great actor and so is Bale but after hearing him screaming at that crew member for minutes on end and the *beep* he said, I don't know, it just turns me off from watching him. You just don't treat other folks like that. I can't see him as Batman, I see him as an *beep* who has a superiority complex. It ruins it for me, same as seeing some of the interviews with Ed Norton who I loved as an actor. I wish I knew nothing about actors real lives just their work and I'm sure they do to. I guess we all have the ability to snap and be *beep* and I'm sure Bale is a decent guy buy we don't hear all the decent things people do as much as the times they slip up and say or do something unflattering. With that said I still love Mel Gibson, I guess if he didn't have drinking problems I wouldn't but there are things, drugs, love, stress whatever, that can make us a-holes. But yeah, Steve is the shizit.