I think the "pursed and sober" is exactly my problem -- like, you are a grown man dressed as a bat, this is not a situation that calls for a Very Serious Face. (This is really more of a general Batman problem than a Bale problem; I don't get along well with grim and serious superheroism, because I feel that superheroes are by definition silly. I put up with Batman because he has the best supporting cast of any superhero, but I don't really like him or his universe much.)