Avengers 1-4 vs The Dark Knight Trilogy

Avengers 1-4 or The Dark Knight Trilogy


  • Total voters
    95
TDK trilogy are great films but are they really great CBM based on Batman? They just don't really feel much like Batman to me while the MCU films actually feel like marvel comics even if not completely accurate.

I ain't looking for award worthy films but cbm that actually embraces the fantastical elements and the characters to actually resemble themselves from the source material

Most definitely they are. The movies are jam packed with Batman comic influences. I made a blog based on Joker's ones alone because I am a huge Joker fan (you'd never guess would you lol); Jokerfan's Blog

He didn't need any of the 'fantastical' stuff like be perma white, or squirt silly gag flowers and use hand buzzers, or drive a big goofy Joker mobile etc to feel and be an amazing Joker. Something Phoenix's Joker also steered away from and was still a terrific Joker in the recent Joker movie.

All three are heavily comic book influenced. Whether they 'feel' Batman to you or anyone else is a personal subjective feeling.
 
The battle of the titans!

Score each movie on a scale from one to ten then give me an average for each trilogy/quadrilogy.

Example...

Batman Begins 9
The Dark Knight 10
The Dark Knight Rises 8

Average = 9

Avengers 8
Age of Ultron 8
Infinity War 10
Endgame 10

Average = 9

Tie
The battle of the titans!

Score each movie on a scale from one to ten then give me an average for each trilogy/quadrilogy.

Example...

Batman Begins 9
The Dark Knight 10
The Dark Knight Rises 8

Average = 9

Avengers 8
Age of Ultron 8
Infinity War 10
Endgame 10

Average = 9

Tie
 
TDK trilogy are great films but are they really great CBM based on Batman? They just don't really feel much like Batman to me while the MCU films actually feel like marvel comics even if not completely accurate.

I ain't looking for award worthy films but cbm that actually embraces the fantastical elements and the characters to actually resemble themselves from the source material
They are very much CBM's and they are very true to the character of Batman and his world. the difference between TDKT and the MCU is that Nolan decided to ground his movies in a world that feels similar to our own while still staying true to the source material. I like that because it allows a director to leave his stamp on the character, and creative while still remaining faithful. one of my biggest issues with the MCU is that at times, the films feel almost the same. From the tone, to the cinematography, to the direction. There's not a whole lot of room to be creative and I know if I was a director, I probably wouldn't be able to work in those conditions. But yes, to answer your question, the films are very true to the character of Batman.
 
Ok, this is my first time on this forum but I can't resist this one. For me, Batman Begins is one of the great all time movies of any genre. It kick started the grounded superhero trend, unless I'm wrong in that? Blade 3 was pretty ripe in it's language and also by David S. Goyer, but Batman Begins was the first superhero who could actually happen. The first Iron Man was also along these lines, but I can't remember if Batman Begins was first.

Dark Knight was 20 mins too long for me but had iconic performances. Dark Knight Rises had the right cast and characters but something badly went wrong. I think Nolan told a Tale Of Two Cities allegory at the expense of a Batman story. But Bane's cave and the climb, Cat Woman and the beginning were remarkable.

Avengers Assemble made me elated when it came out. The script was awesome, building on the humour and realism of Batman Begins. The Avengers disassembled in the sequel. 3 and 4 were almost as good as the first, but too long and weighty for me. I can't see myself watching them again. I could watch Iron Man, Batman Begins and Avengers Assemble every week.

To grade them, The Dark Knight Trilogy wins for the first two and elements of TDKR. Avengers Assemble is of the same quality, but the second was a turkey and 3&4 were a slightly maudlin marathon I'm unlikely to sit through again.

Batman Begins though. Wow.
 
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Ok, this is my first time on this forum but I can't resist this one. For me, Batman Begins is one of the great all time movies of any genre. It kick started the grounded superhero trend, unless I'm wrong in that? Blade 3 was pretty ripe in it's language and also by David S. Goyer, but Batman Begins was the first superhero who could actually happen. The first Iron Man was also along these lines, but I can't remember if Batman Begins was first.

Begins came out 3 years before Iron Man, and Favreau cited it as a major influence for how he approached Iron Man. It's no surprise that I still think the original Iron Man is one of the best MCU films. The mixture of amore grounded, clear character arc, a fun sci-fi/fantasy blend, and witty humor was a real winning combination.

Here's an old quote from Favreau on it:

Did you have a vision of the movie in your head?
‘Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” set the bar very high for the superhero movie, as it showed that you could get a great cast for these movies and take a real filmmaker’s perspective. There were some other superhero movies, the titles of which I don’t want to mention, that were making a lot of money and which I thought were trash. I didn’t want to end up making one of those types of movies, I wanted to make a movie like Christopher’s.’

Jon Favreau: Interview - Time Out Film
 
You thought Civil War was a good conclusion to Captain America? A conclusive enough conclusion with Captain America ending up a renegade fugitive (and/but more or less declaring that he will team up with Iron Man again eventually) and Bucky Barnes free to be in hibernation (until he wasn't)?

Ditching the shield and going Nomad was a great way to end the series and taken right from the comics. Also, The Raft breakout was cool and Wakanda ain't a bad place to spend time, even as a Bucksickle.

They went off to do something on their own, Tony convincing Bruce after a few minutes of pressuring and thinking about it (knowing that others in the team wouldn't approve and despite relying on them being assured that they're much more right) and then after another few minutes it went against them to be destructive. And Tony later decided to again be risky and further raise the stakes and dangers, though that time it worked.

But that's our Tony, both in the comics and onscreen. That's why we love the arrogant SOB!
 
...If they're not, how are they not?

How did you respond to Batman stories like "Batman: Year One"? Or his very first appearance?

No point in going into it. I realize now that it's all just my nitpick in personal preferences.

I responded much differently than to the trilogy overall and especially Rises. I like them but some stuff rubbed me the wrong way is all
 
I was cringing all throughout AOU and Ultron specifically but nothing is worse than a supposed serious scene and Batman is running out of breath trying to deliver simple dialogue.
 
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Batman Begins - 7
The Dark Knight - 9
The Dark Knight Rises - 6

Average: 7.333

Avengers - 9
Age of Ultron - 7
Infinity War - 10
Endgame - 8.5

Average: 8.625

Despite the lower score, I do really like the Nolan-verse. But The Avengers movies will always beat it.
 
I don't think saying A is better than B is a sign you don't like the other. I enjoyed BB & TDK quite a bit. TDKR not so much, though. But, what I love about comics and superheroes in general is definitely more emphasized in the Avengers films. They just speak to me more artistically. But hey, that's fine. You can prefer the more realism heavy Nolan films if that's what you like! I like them also. Just not as much as what I get out of the Avengers.
 
BB and TDK are comic movie gold. TDKR not so much although there is a lot to like there.

All the Avengers movies are comic movie gold to me. So I go Avengers.

But love both series.
 
Ironically, while Raimi's Spider-Man films are what kind of helped set the tone for the MCU, I actually think Nolan's trilogy ultimately has more in common with the Raimi films than the MCU does. Even with the wildly different tones, they both have that same type of emotional earnestness and thematic power that's reminiscent of the Donner Superman films.

I actually think Nolan and Raimi shooting on film for both trilogies help define their visions. And they both opted for practical effects when possible, Nolan even more so.

A lot of the digitally shot MCU films look bland and have a similar visual style. Iron Man, TIH, and Thor have a distinctive film glow to them.

As for which I prefer, I love both Batman Begins and first Avengers equally. I've kinda soured on TDK apart from Ledger's fantastic performance, but it's still a good movie (and still more enjoyable than AOU). Infinity War was good, capped off by that cliffhanger ending. Rises could've been trimmed down story-wise, because it dragged in places (unlike Endgame, which flew by) but a satisfying conclusion.

If you subtracted AOU from the Avengers canon, it would be a stronger package than the Nolan Batman trilogy. But I liked the happier ending in TDKR, so it's honestly a tie for me.
 
I realized I haven't rated the films. Here there are but I don't know how to come up with the average scores.

Batman Begins - 8/10
Dark Knight - 9/10
Dark Knight Rises - 7/10

The Avengers - 9/10
Age of Ultron - 7.5/10
Infinity War - 9.5/10
Endgame - 9/10
 
I was cringing all throughout AOU and Ultron specifically but nothing is worse than a supposed serious scene and Batman is running out of breath trying to deliver simple dialogue.

Fair point, not sure if this is the scene you meant but I found it memorable in a bad way.

"THIS CITY ... JUST ... SHOWED ... YOU .... THAT IT'S FULL OF PEOPLE READY TO BELIEVE IN GOOD."
 
I actually think Nolan and Raimi shooting on film for both trilogies help define their visions. And they both opted for practical effects when possible, Nolan even more so.

A lot of the digitally shot MCU films look bland and have a similar visual style. Iron Man, TIH, and Thor have a distinctive film glow to them.

I didn't want to sound even more like a snob lol, but now that you mention it-- film is absolutely a factor in what I was getting at there. The combination of being shot on film + the emphasis on practical effects gives those films more of a timeless quality for me that is hugely appealing. I think maybe it just suits the timeless, iconic quality that these characters are meant to have.
 
I didn't want to sound even more like a snob lol, but now that you mention it-- film is absolutely a factor in what I was getting at there. The combination of being shot on film + the emphasis on practical effects gives those films more of a timeless quality for me that is hugely appealing. I think maybe it just suits the timeless, iconic quality that these characters are meant to have.

Yeah it does play a factor, aesthetic wise.

It’s a shame Marvel Studios mandates digital on every project now and not allowing directors the choice to use actual celluloid or pixels.

The last two Avengers films would’ve looked even better on actual 35mm and 65mm stock.
 
Fair point, not sure if this is the scene you meant but I found it memorable in a bad way.

"THIS CITY ... JUST ... SHOWED ... YOU .... THAT IT'S FULL OF PEOPLE READY TO BELIEVE IN GOOD."
I can *see* that sentence and I am exhausted.

But I do remember most Batman scenes in TDK and Rises being this laborious. Though there was one scene in Begins where Bale...workshopped...this type of line delivery. Must be why that was the only movie I gave a 9 to.
 
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