Why Jim Caviezel Should Have Been the Next Batman

Written by Byron Hendricks

July 30, 2013 Byron Hendricks

One of the most overlooked actors for the role of Batman in the Batman/Superman chase is Jim Caviezel. Although Warner may consider Jim to be slightly on the older side, he is a great actor and will be capable of being the type of Bruce Wayne that can guide this new Superman into becoming the hero he should be.

Jim Caviezel’s age may actually work to his advantage in this one. If you have problems with his slight greys (think George Clooney’s Batman), it’s nothing a little hair dye can’t fix.

Jim Caviezel is indeed a Person of Interest. He should not be overlooked and his current ongoing series proves this. Person of Interest is created by none other than Jonathan Nolan, the brother of the man who revolutionised the Batman franchise – Christopher Nolan.

The series follows two main characters, Finch (Michael Emerson) and Reese (Jim Caviezel), as they attempt to rid the city of future crimes, police corruption and the mob. Stop me if this story sounds familiar!

Reese prefers not to kill people, for reasons which are made known until later in the series, although he is exceptionally skilled in close hand-to-hand combat. Michael Emerson (who voiced The Joker in DC’s smash hit Dark Knight Returns) plays the role of Finch – a tech savvy, hacker and mission coordinator that has developed a way to determine future crimes. Think of him as a mixture between Lucious Fox (he is very proficient with technology) and Alfred (he has banters with Reese constantly). They even have a dog for crying out loud! Do I need to compare him to Ace?

Person of Interest is basically a Batman story with a few minor differences. We have a detective assisting the main protagonists (hello Commissioner Gordan). She attempts to rid the police department from corruption. On many occasions, we have Reese assume other identities in order to solve a crime, something that Bruce Wayne used a lot in his early career as Batman. There is also a bit of detective work in each episode. The main difference is that Reese is not afraid of using a gun. He prefers to down his opponents by making them take a bullet to the knee. Finch is also a billionaire. This makes Reese a billionaire by default, as Finch has no desire to really spend his money.

It is Caviezel’s unarmed combat that shines through in this series. The fight scenes are often gritty, calculated and brutal, just the way Batman likes it. Reese is a former CIA agent so he has various combat styles at his disposal and he does well with gadgets and weaponry.

Is Caviezel enough of a playboy to assume the role of Bruce Wayne? Before people hop on to the fact that the is a devout Catholic and family man, remember this is acting and he was placed on the TV’s sexiest men top 100 of 2011. Clearly we has ladies weak at the knees.

Although he may not have a superhero physique, let us not forget that Christian Bale didn’t initially either. Bale was even dubbed “The Fatman” in Batman Begins. The next Batman will not need to be overtly muscular. We need to see the size disparity between Batman and Superman. This would work to Caviezel’s advantage. It will bring to light the brains versus brawn notion that often causes heated debates between Superman and Batman fans.

Then there is the “Jesus curse”. After portraying The Messiah in Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson told Caviezel that his acting career may be severely affected by playing this role. Sadly it was, and it is only through Person of Interest that he is garnering attention again. He is known for giving one hundred percent to the characters he portrays and not even lightning could stop him from completing his role as Jesus. Although he has also not played any superhero character before, no one wants to see Magneto (Michael Fassbender) becoming Batman. What happened the last time an X-men character became a Batman character? We got a Catwoman.

So DC give the role to someone new. Someone unexpected. Someone who can concentrate on becoming Bruce Wayne and The Dark Knight. Jim Caviezel has had a great warm up on the set of Person of Interest and just needs someone to transfer him from the reserves into the team.

I strongly suggest that people watch Person of Interest. Once I started watching it I couldn’t stop – simply because it is a reminded me of Batman and features an actor with the Batman chin and Bruce Wayne look.