For the mainstream audiences that equate Bale with the stoic anti-hero of Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” movies, Bale’s smoking-fuse performance in “The Fighter” could open eyes. This is the first film with popular aspirations in which Bale completely submerges into an edgy character. He lost weight to create a gaunt and wasting appearance, and I’m not sure how any normal human being could voluntarily make his eyes bulge like that. One wonders if he took a pair of pliers and plucked out his own real teeth just to heighten the authenticity.