I was reading a lot of posts about Dark Knight Rises vs. Avengers - which do the fanboys want to see more....I think if you are interested in one of these, chances are you are interested in BOTH. However, if I had to choose, it would without a doubt be AVENGERS ! And I'll tell you why...
I didn't care for Thor comic, Iron Man comics, Capt America comics (i did like Hulk comics) and I certainly didn't care for Avengers comics. I love Batman, Superman, X-Men, and Spider-Man comics the most.....But when it comes to film, its a different beast. The way Marvel did the movies of those characters really sparked my interest. They made excellent FUN films. ANd superhero movies are suppose to be fun. I understand DC like Batman and Superman are suppose to be more character driven, serious stories and I get that. Nolan Batman really takes itself VERY seriously. Very dark films about the character development. Very great films that belong in oscar category. But the thing about Marvel films is that they really are just so fun to watch. I'm a huge fan of popcorn cinema. I like big budget explosions, great one liners, on screen chemistry with the actors. Marvel fulfills that.
Thing about Dark Knight Rises is there is no Heath Ledger / Joker which was the appeal of the last one. Tom Hardy (not main stream at all) & Anne Hathaway (too wholesome for the seductive thief Catwoman) does not appeal to me as the villains. I understand that its all about Bruce Wayne's fall of Gotham and how he will triumph, possibly with sacraficing his life, but I've seen 6 Batman films with 3 director's interpatations of the character. We have NEVER seen anything like Avengers in the history of film. They are taking 4 different movies main characters and putting them all in one film and getting all the same big actors to reprise their role (except hulk). WB could not even get Batman & Superman together. Bale would say **** no and there isn't even a main superman until 2013. Marvel somehow managed to pull off a mega all star flick.
Avengers looks to be a fun popcorn movie full of one liners. And we've already invested 10 hours (5 marvel movies) to get to know these characters and see them grow, now we get to see them together and fight the greater evil (another character we've grown to know - Loki). 10 hours of getting to know these characters, so now we get to see them in their biggest challenge. We get to see Paltrow, Sam Jackson, Renner, ScarJo return as well....Its just so much fun, plus its being directed by a comic book guy - Joss Whedon who did an excellent job on Astonishing X-Men series in 2004 - so this guy knows his comic books. Nolan is doing HIS version of Batman, which is more of an oscar film than a comic book film - but I'm in the mood for a comic book film of action adventure... We've invested 4-5 hours of Nolan Batman films to see Batman, Alfred, Gordon & Lucious Fox. Well, thats great because of the amazing talent who fills those roles, but ...
Iron Man, Capt America, Hulk, Fury, Thor > Batman, Alfred, Fox, Gordon . . IMO
On screen chemistry, no comparison. Robert Downey Jr and Gwenith Paltron were fun to watch. Their onscreen chemistry was hilarious to watch. When Pepper found out that Tony was dying and they were arguing during the height of the battle in Iron Man 2, that was gold. Katie Holmes & Christian Bale ? What chemistry ? When Maggie G died , did the audience cry ? No, the character Rachel Dawes sucked and we just thought how bad ass Joker was. Imagine if Pepper died, there would be a lot of people upset. MAggie G & Bale had no chemistry. The characters of Avengers are so rich, Tony Stark - cocky, confident, smart ass......Capt America - conservative, traditional, well mannered.......Thor - different world, loud, does what he wants......Bruce Banner - troubled, nerdy ......We've been introduced to them , now lets see these different type of characters interact. I would love and HOPE for a scene where Capt America wants his 'dance' with the grand daughter of his love interested on his movie and taking advice from both Tony Stark & Pepper. That would be hilarious as Tony gives bad advice and Pepper corrects him, and they end up arguing over it. Thats the kind of stuff I'm hoping to see in Avengers.
TDKR will be a great movie, no doubt. But the appeal is how Nolan will do Bane, Talia, and Catwoman in this movie. The people portraying the roles, we aren't sure about. Going into the movie, we are curious more than excited. Anne Hathaway as Catwoman is NOT exciting me. I am more curious than excited. Bane - who knows...Maybe a poor man's Joker ? I dunno.... But TDKR is def number 2 on my list of things to see in 2012 along with Prometheus, but Avengers tops mine. The previous 5 movies were so good that I've become a fan of comic book characters I originally did not care for. Now that I like the characters so much, I cant wait.
2013 will be just as exciting with Iron Man 3 & Superman Reboot to top off the summer.