TDK vs CA: TWS

[Human Torch]

Well,no one was gonna make the obvious poll,so I gots to do it.

There has been lots of comparison of the two.So which do you prefer?

 

[Spider-Fan]

The Dark Knight is going to win the poll. I enjoyed TWS more. But, I am a Cap fan and acknowledge a bias.

 

[zeroapoc]

I'm a completely biased Marvel fan.

 

[Ms. Marvel]

TDK is obviously going to win this. For me it's pretty close in terms of quality but I find CA more entertaining.

 

[samsnee]

I'm not a Marvel or DC fan. I'm a fan of good movies. That being said, I enjoyed them both but TDK falls apart for me once we get to the ferries. The acting from the people on the boat is so bad, I have to fast forward.

Granted I've only been able to watch TWS twice, but there seems to be less to nitpick. The hand to hand combat is much better. The narrative feels more purposeful, rather than just waiting around for Joker to do something interesting. The only gripe I have with TWS is the disaster porn ending. I'm tired of these movies where it's just massive explosion after another in the third act.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Cap 2 is a perfectly executed modern Captain America movie.

TDK was a pop culture phenomenon.

But without Ledger's legendary performance Cap 2 would win easily.

 

[DA_Champion]

Within my lifetime I don't expect to see another comic book movie as good as TDK. It is perfectly-executed on every single front.

The only aspect in which CA:TWS is competitive is action choreography, and even there TDK had the best individual action scene, the car chase where Joker is trying to kill Harvey Dent in the tunnel.

ETA: CA:TWS has better jokes. TDK only has one joke, "I'm not wearing a hockey mask" and maybe "that's not my diagnosis". Those are excellent jokes, really funny, but CA:TWS has more good jokes.

 

[DA_Champion]

Cap 2 is a perfectly executed modern Captain America movie.

TDK was a pop culture phenomenon.

But without Ledger's legendary performance Cap 2 would win easily.

Each of Batman, the Joker, and Harvey Dent had a significant character arc in TDK. They changed massively as individuals between the beginning and end of the movie in ways that made sense and that were well-integrated in the screenplay.

Rogers, Pierce, Fury, Romanov didn't really have character arcs in CA:TWS, Fury had a small one and that's it. They were the same at the beginning as they were at the end.

 

[jmc]

Yeah, look as good as Winter Soldier is there are still elements that TDK has that are superior, the acting all around is without doubt the better of the two and it's not just Ledger, it's a complete ensemble performance. Winter Soldier is solid but overall nothing spectacular, in fact if anything Scarlet drags it down a bit in my opinion because she's never convincing in the role. Music is the other factor, TDK's score is almost a character of the film itself. Scores are one area where Marvel films have traditionally been very weak in and WS doesn't alter that much. Then there's the cinematography which is not even worth comparing. Both stories have depth and ask questions of the audience but TDK has more to chew on, it requires a bit more concentration and requires multiple viewings, WS is lighter on the story front and is a bit more spectacle, repeated viewings I feel aren't going to bring to light many more subtleties overall. About the only place WS is superior is the action set pieces I find, although it's hard to really give fair comparison given the two universe allow for different things to happen, but ignoring that objectively WS has the better action. Winter Soldier is definitely in the same ballpark as TDK, but overall it's still lacking that extra spit and polish for it to be truly equal.

 

[flickchick85]

I love Cap, and I especially loved TWS, but TDK remains the ultimate CBM for a solo character, imo. To me, the acting, the cinematography, the music, and the handling of the contemporary themes are all superior to those elements (which were also strong) in TWS.

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

Cap 2 is a great movie and no one had to die for people to think so.

That said, they're are pretty equal quality wise while they are very different in approach and tone, so I don't feel like I want to compare them both for that reason

 

[Shikamaru]

TDK is still the greatest, but I do think TWS is in the same ballpark. I'll have to see the film more than once but as it stands at the moment, I think they're both the top two comic book movies we have, being DC and Marvel's best respectively. I'll have to watch at the film at least one more time to solidify that, though.

 

[Flint Marko]

TDK. I'm a marvel fan with a bias, and I definitely prefer CA: TWS personally since I grew up reading captain america comic books, but you can't deny how perfect TDK is in nearly every regard. So that's why it gets my vote.
That being said, it's dang close because I think CA:TWS is almost as perfect.

 

[DA_Champion]

- delete -

 

[Tony Stark]

Ledger, Eckhart and Oldman (and to a lesser extent Michael Caine) are about the only standout performances from TDK, so as far an ensemble film TDK wasn't it. Bale is a great actor, he just had nothing in TDK, his standout performances for the character were in the first and third films.

I'll give the cast to TDK just because of Ledger, but it's clear that Chris Evans isn't just some pretty face, he is surprisingly good in this cast.

TDK as someone said was a cultural phenomenon, and it's hard to beat that. Only Avengers really compares.

The one thing that strikes me between the films, is that Batman isn't really a commendable character, he's a vigilante that gets his hands dirty but he doesn't want to kill anyone while the Joker slaughters thousands. Cap is the ultimate in honor and nobility, and he has no problem killing people. He's a soldier and he will take a life if it means protecting freedom and innocent people. Yet at the end of TDK Batman kills really the only commendable character in the film. Cap having every right to kill Bucky to save people, refuses to fight him and nearly sacrifices himself, because he believes the good man is still in there somewhere. Almost a Luke/Darth Vader moment.

I'll give the battle to TDK for Heath only, but only to reinforce that while TDK might be the ultimate superhero movie, it is the worst portrayal of Batman as a side show circus to everything that was going on. Cap 2 was the ultimate portrayal of who cap is and his struggle with the modern world, and from a character perspective there's no question Cap 2 was superior in that regard.

 

[Marvin]

all this cap 3/BvS is a good opportunity for fans to air all their angst out but I figure people would draw the line in this comparison. Interesting to see some people haven't completely re-written history.

Someone should set up a poll between Cap2 and IM1
Or Cap2 and Spiderman 2 next. A shame all these films didn't come out the same year...save for IM/TDK

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

I really liked WS (8/10), but TDK was just on another level for me (9/10).

The only thing I liked about WS more than TDK was the fight choreography.

But story, performances, characters, score, cinematography, production design, etc all goes to TDK for me.

 

[Ms. Marvel]

all this cap 3/BvS is a good opportunity for fans to air all their angst out but I figure people would draw the line in this comparison. Interesting to see some people haven't completely re-written history.

Someone should set up a poll between Cap2 and IM1
Or Cap2 and Spiderman 2 next. A shame all these films didn't come out the same year...save for IM/TDK

Rewritten history in terms of what?

 

[lordofthenerds]

Tdk

 

[eplo]

TWS is the first movie that I have found comparable to TDK . While tDK is probably the better movie, I voted for TWS because it has more rewatchability.

 

[Thoix]

TDK, but CA:TWS is definitely in the same ballpark. Overall TDK has the better performances, story, characters, cinematography, and music. That being said, I hold CA:TWS in very high regard in each category and the action is undoubtedly better.

In the end they're bog 10/10 films in my book.

 

[Xandrea]

Never mind. This is the wrong thread for this question.

 

[samsnee]

Each of Batman, the Joker, and Harvey Dent had a significant character arc in TDK. They changed massively as individuals between the beginning and end of the movie in ways that made sense and that were well-integrated in the screenplay.

Rogers, Pierce, Fury, Romanov didn't really have character arcs in CA:TWS, Fury had a small one and that's it. They were the same at the beginning as they were at the end.

What was Joker's arc? The only thing that changed was he didn't want to kill Batman.

I would argue that Romanov had a small arc.

 

[CyclopsWasRight]

Cant vote as I haven't seen the latter.

But "obvious poll" seems not obvious at all. Comparing a brand new but trending movie to a longstanding hit movie seems very premature

 

[DA_Champion]

What was Joker's arc? The only thing that changed was he didn't want to kill Batman.

I would argue that Romanov had a small arc.

The joker had a significant arc. At the beginning of the movie he is only interested in money. Later on he sets fire to a pile of money in an incredible scene.