spetznaz
Senior Fanboy Killer
My personal thoughts (I've some martial arts experience ....2 decades worth).
The style Batman used in the movie BB was, in my opinion, perfect for the character archetype he (actually the movie makers) were trying to allude to. That of the efficient fighter who can take down an opponent(s) ruthlessly with optimized efficacy.
Hence, that style.
If you look at REAL fights (I am not talking about Karate Kumite tournaments, which are far from real, or even UFC type bouts which are more realistic but still not the same as an actual street fight) you'll notice several things. Real fights are fast, they are hard, they are brutal, and they are not pretty.
You will NOT see a Taekwondo style Ax kick in a real street fight (unless your opponent is a total fool and just stands there like some imbercile). You will NOT see a Capoiera style flying sweep, nor a Hapkido jumping 480-degree crescent kick, nor a Karate style reverse punch.
In a real fight the moves will be simple, will be fast, and will NOT win awards for 'fluffiness' or being pretty.
Now, if you look at movie fights it is all about cinematic appeal. That is what has been shown for around 4 decades now (with the exception being the Bruce Lee movie Enter the Dragon where he tried to show some realism, and to a lesser extent the half-finished 'Game of Death' where in the 20-30 minute scene showing him - for the rest of the movie they used a standin since Lee had already died - Lee tries to expound upon the concepts of JKD against other styles). Anyways, most movies have always gone for the flashier aspects of martial arts.
The main impetus for this is simple .....flashy moves look good on the silver screen (or on your telly for that matter). If one has ever seen some adept exponent do an Ax kick, or a Savate practioner do a sweep kick, or virtually any move from capoiera, or any move from ANY style of Northern Gungfu, then you will know it looks good.
Compare those moves with those of Krav Maga for example. The bloody style is UGLY. There are no kicks above the knee, the movements do not have complex names, and you don't spend 30 minutes getting in touch with you chi. Or combat sambo ...same thing. Or some of the more modern Close Quarter Combat styles taught to the Marine Expeditionary Units. Add to this some styles of ninjitsu (although the two major styles taught today tend to have some 'flashy' moves added to them that are straight from the movies, but traditionary ninjitsu wasn't flashy ....although they did have some ingenious devices).
Anyways, the move makers were probably trying to go for realism ....and in the process they went for a style that wasn't as flashy as expected.
Although to be honest I think that if they had had Batman doing Ax kicks and flying Mortal Kombat style moves it would HAVE BEEN fake. It would have looked weird.
The only way flashy moves would have worked is if they (as someone posted) used CG, and the thing about CG is that when it is good it is REALLY good, but when it is bad .....oh boy!
I think the compromise they settled on was alright.
As for them not showing the moves he was making, I think the reason for that is if they did they would have seemed even more pathetic since most movie-goers would have been more disappointed that they already were.
However I think next time round they will probably try to incorporate some clever CG to give Batman some of his comicbook exploits (which by the way are also not 'flashy' ....they are more along the lines of impossible, but you don't see Batman doing Ax kicks in the comics either. ......now, Nightwing is another case, and Batgirl does stunts that even a Capoeira master on freakin' drugs couldn't even imagine yet alone attempt).