Better Trilogy: TDK or Captain America?

[FunkMiller]

The Captain America Trilogy is a very, very entertaining comic book movie series - but that’s all it is.

The Dark Knight trilogy is more than just that, and therefore, better.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Batman Trilogy all the way, kudos to the CA trilogy for raising their game throughout and they are infinitely better films than one would expect from the character but TDK films are not just good CBM films, they are exceptional work as films in their own right.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I would say 2 of the 3 TDKT films are exceptional works of film. My opinion of TDKR is far lower than most people on the forum. I think of the 6 movies we would be talking about in this discussion, it's the worst and it isn't even close.

That said, TDKT is probably the best single trilogy just because the Cap trilogy kind of branches off into Avengers. I do find myself rewatching the Cap trilogy more these days (I think a lot of that has to do with me not liking TDKR much at all). At the end of the day, I just see these trilogies as 2 different ends of a spectrum, so I decline putting in a vote.

 

[scarlet-witch]

This is hard. I think The Dark Knight is the greatest comic book movie of all time, but both Civil War and The Winter Soldier are right after it, so the Cap trilogy has two near perfect films to Batman's one perfect film. Had to go with Cap.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I would say 2 of the 3 TDKT films are exceptional works of film. My opinion of TDKR is far lower than most people on the forum. I think of the 6 movies we would be talking about in this discussion, it's the worst and it isn't even close.

That said, TDKT is probably the best single trilogy just because the Cap trilogy kind of branches off into Avengers. I do find myself rewatching the Cap trilogy more these days (I think a lot of that has to do with me not liking TDKR much at all). At the end of the day, I just see these trilogies as 2 different ends of a spectrum, so I decline putting in a vote.

For me, there are 'moments' and aspects of TDKR that hit the same heights of the previous films but I get exactly where you are coming from SF. The 'event' of knowing you are watching the finale becomes the essence of watching TDKR rather than the actual quality of the film as such, it did for me anyway, in the sense of knowing 'this is the end' and feeling that rawness rather than having the ability (on first watch) and saying 'well actually, it's not so good in that place or this scene' etc.

 

[Fincher]

1. Batman Begins
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3. Captain America: The First Avenger
4. The Dark Knight
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Captain America: Civil War

Captain America for me.

 

[InfinityWar]

Captain America First Avenger is prolly the most under rated comic book movie of all time. It was fantastic.

 

[batfreakforever]

First Avenger is good not great but it is an ad for the Avengers.

Winter Soldier was getting better but the bromance between bucky and steve is very painful and more days of our lives type soap opera. Very bad and its full of Avengers @#$ filled references. Has a made for tv or saturday morning cartoon vibe. The fact that people tried to compare it to The Dark knight is pathetic and sad and that it tried to be compared to the competition. DC. This shows what is the superior film. The Dark Knight.

Civil war is Avengers 3.0 and more Iron man then Captain America.

Its not a trilogy. Its Marvel parts 5, 9 and 13.

Steves story as Captain America isnt finished. Bruce Wayne as Batman is.

A trilogy has a parts 1, 2 and 3.

The Dark Knight Trilogy all the way. Every film is perfection in Casting. Story telling. Script writing. Design. Action. Practial effects. Stunts. Cgi. The list goes on. The films are part 1, 2 and 3. Start. Middle. End.

Film makers are not saying I want to make a film like Marvel but they are saying they want a trilogy like TDKT or a villian Like Heaths Joker or an origin film like Batman Begins or pratical stunts like the trilogy or story telling like the trilogy. The list goes on.

The Dark Knight Trilogy is self contained and Stand on their own.

Cant even compare the two. Cap isnt in the same ballpark. Neeson's Ra's, Heath's Joker and Hardy's Bane @#$ on all the Marvel villians in those 3 films. Civil war had to use hero's as people to fight against because Cap's villians suck. If someone coming in to watch the so called 3 Cap films then they would be confused without watching the other Marvel films that fill in the gaps in those films ie: who's that hero, why is this important, wtf is that referencing..........oh yeah its things or stuff that happened in the other Marvel films that I need to watch first thus making this so called Cap trilogy (In name only) not a trilogy.

Batman Begins. This is what all film makers want their origin film to be like.

Dark Knight. The Comic book movie and sequel they all want to have and be.

The Dark Knight Rises. Now thats how to close off a trilogy and arc for a character.

 

[Mandon Knight]

The Dark Knight Trilogy all the way. Every film is perfection in Casting. Story telling. Script writing. Design. Action. Practial effects. Stunts. Cgi. The list goes on.

I give you all those things, but the CA trilogy dumps on TDK in the fight choreography.

I voted for the TDK trilogy BTW, I'm just conceding where in one area, CA (3) trumped TDK (3)

 

[Lantern Venom]

Captain America First Avenger is prolly the most under rated comic book movie of all time. It was fantastic.

I agree fully. It was a stunning achievement and it's still my favorite single-character origin story adaptation.

 

[LvtLeeTDK]

I give you all those things, but the CA trilogy dumps on TDK in the fight choreography.

I voted for the TDK trilogy BTW, I'm just conceding where in one area, CA (3) trumped TDK (3)

Actually, If Nolan keept the choreography in Begins it would be much much better. The 2 scenes where Batman intimidate Falcone's and Scarecrow's crew was just amazing, not flashy but extremely dark and Batman-esque.

TDK has 1 great fight scene, the SWAT scene (the music is epic af). Otherwise I agree with you.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Actually, If Nolan keept the choreography in Begins it would be much much better. The 2 scenes where Batman intimidate Falcone's and Scarecrow's crew was just amazing, not flashy but extremely dark and Batman-esque.

TDK has 1 great fight scene, the SWAT scene (the music is epic af). Otherwise I agree with you.

Yep, I don't get the grief Begins gets for how it's staged, people banging on about the editing choices, it's supposed to be brief, snappy inter-cuts of seeing Batman, he's had ninja training. That's the point, the scenes you point too are excellently handled and agree, I too wish, they'd kept with this dynamic throughout, appreciate the Bane fights would be brutal, heavy hitting but TDK fights were for me 'laboured'.

 

[batfreakforever]

I had no problem with the fights in the TDKT because it kept with the realistic tone and themes and also with the more powered down/human Batman (a more realistic one than in the comics).

Same as the fights in the Cap movies fit those films. Winter Soilder is actually a good movie with good action its just the bromance gets a bit much for me. I do own it and watch it every once and a while. Not as much as TDKT.

In Begins at the docks you were not ment to see how Batman fights. Thats how is was shot and planned so I never got the complaints. Nolan said thats how he wanted it.

When I was young. People had their Star wars trilogy. Indiana Jones trilogy even Jurassic park trilogy etc and I wanted a Batman trilogy with the same Batman actor. I enjoyed the 4 Batman movies (the later 2 were not too bad but nothing great like the level of the first 2) before but the tones and actors were all over the place. I nearly got my trilogy with Keaton/Burton but we all know how that played out.

When Bale/Nolan came along it started off properly with a Batman origin and not a Joker origin (89 is my favorite from the last 4 films) then tdk arrived and it blew me and nearly everyone who watched it and then I had to wait (not knowing nolan or bale would come back) 4 years for tdkr and then I finally got a serious Batman trilogy with the same actor as Batman. Same director. Themes that I could understand as an adult. The trilogy could stand next to but above in my eyes the original star wars trilogy. It just was a dream come true for me.

Maybe the Cap films are like that for those fans.

 

[DACrowe]

If we are ranking individual movies:

1. The Dark Knight (10/10)
2. The Dark Knight Rises (9/10)
3. Batman Begins (9/10)
4. Captain America: Civil War (8/10)
5. Captain America: The Winter Solder (8/10)
6. Captain America: The First Avenger (6.5/10)

 

[Hammer!]

Dark Knight: 9/10
Winter Soldier: 8.5/10
Civil War: 8/10
Batman Begins: 8/10
First Avenger: 7.5/10
Dark Knight Rises: 5.5/10

Have to give it to Cap. Rises was just a fundamentally flawed, lazy movie that disappointed on practically every level.

 

[Travesty]

Batman Begins: 9/10
The Winter Soldier: 9/10
Civil War: 8.5/10
The First Avenger: 8/10
The Dark Knight: 7.5/10
The Dark Knight Rises: 4.5/10

 

[Erzengel]

Tdk - 10
tws - 9
cw - 9
bb - 8
tfa - 8
tdkr - 7

 

[kedrell]

Cap easily for me. I only liked 1 film in the TDKT(BB).

 

[Deck Rickard]

Tough call. I voted for TDK but I'm still wavering on it. Comparing them movie by movie, though...

BB>CA:TFA
TDK>CA:TWS
TDKR<CA:CW

 

[Hammer!]

Tough call. I voted for TDK but I'm still wavering on it. Comparing them movie by movie, though...

BB>CA:TFA
TDK>CA:TWS
TDKR<CA:CW

Yeah, Rises kind of almost ruins the entire series for me. Loved the first two but never wanted to revisit them after TDKR came out in fear I wouldn’t like them nearly as much anymore.

 

[NotNickFury]

Giving it to Bats. If mostly because of Cap's three films, Winter Soldier is the only one of the three to me that feels like a great film first and a great comic book film second, while First Avenger and definitely Civil War feel like great comic book films. Now there's nothing wrong with that, even though Civil War is part Cap/part Avengers films, but of the three, Winter Soldier is only one I would revisit.

With Batman, conversely, at least more so with Begins and Dark Knight, they feel more like crime dramas first and the protagonist happens to be Batman. That often helps the replay value of these comic films when they transcend their genre, like Winter Soldier, Begins, and more recently with Logan. I ultimately lean more towards Batman primarily because Batman Begins is still my favorite comic film period and is a great character study on top of being a solid comic book film.

 

[m2k]

TDK trilogy has the advantage of a single director so the story is more focused with each film moving from one villain to the next giving it a tighter grounded continuity.

Cap trilogy however has a bigger variation in story scope and different feel from each movie to the next which I prefer.

Enjoy both, but for rewatchability sake and due to its more 'comic to life' feel of it, I pick the Cap trilogy in the end.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

I definitely pick TDKT over the Cap movies.

I think Winter Soldier and Civil War have incredible action scenes, but that's about it.

 

[HammerDown]

It's easy for me. TDK trilogy wins.
If i had to rate all the movies i would probably rate them like this...

1. The Dark Knight
2. Batman Begins
3. CA: The Winter Soldier
4. CA: Civil War
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. CA: The First Avenger

My reasoning behind the choices... Batman is one of my favorite superheroes ever. Nolan is without a doubt a superior filmmaker and the hole trilogy is his. Best villain in a comic book movie ever with The Joker. TDK is also one of the best movies ever...

 

[The Batman]

As someone else mentioned earlier, the only thing the Cap trilogy has over TDKT is the action scenes. And even then, that's only in the realm of hand to hand combat. Nolan's vehicle chases were nothing to scoff at.