TDK vs SM2

[Tequilla]

Tdk

 

[Tequilla]

I personally would say this is an unfair poll.

Someone should do The Dark Knight vs Avengers. Now that would be a close match.

Done

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=463725

 

[Senator Pleasury]

I personally would say this is an unfair poll.

Someone should do The Dark Knight vs Avengers. Now that would be a close match.

Probably, but I have much more problems when comparing TDK to SM2 than to Avengers.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

TDK is on a whole other level from every other comic book film ever made. An all-time classic regardless of genre and the only comic book movie I'd give 10/10 to.
TDK belongs in the conversation with films like The French Connection or Chinatown, not other superhero movies.

I do think the race for the number two spot is very close between TDKR and Spider-Man 2.

 

[Green Goblin]

TDK is on a whole other level from every other comic book film ever made. An all-time classic regardless of genre and the only comic book movie I'd give 10/10 to.
TDK belongs in the conversation with films like The French Connection or Chinatown, not other superhero movies.

I do think the race for the number two spot is very close between TDKR and Spider-Man 2.

Spider-Man 2 is much better than TDKR. I'd say TDKR on it's own is good but as a whole as a trilogy, it's mediocre.

 

[BatmanGoesToRio]

Spider-Man 2 by far.
Even the villain is much more interesting.

 

[Doc Ock]

No comic book movie has a chance against the popularity of The Dark Knight.

That's part of it's brilliance. It's a CBM movie that has a gritty crime drama feel to it with blatantly comic book looking characters in it.

That's a nice way to put!

 

[DACrowe]

I like both a lot. I think holding "cheese" against SM2 is just some people growing up. Spidey in the comics has always been melodramatic and kind of soapy, and the film captured that fine. Also, I got news for you, other than the first Iron Man, the MCU Phase 1 ain't gonna' look that "cool" in 10 years.

Anyway, I enjoy both movies thoroughly. Spider-Man 2 is, quite frankly, the best film ever based on a Marvel comic book that captures the essence of Spidey comics, even if it misses the essence of Spidey, Mary Jane and Doc Ock themselves. It gets the tragedy, pathos, humor, honor and exhilaration of Peter Parker's overall life, as well as having the best action sequences ever put in a superhero movie...at least until The Avengers. And I still think that train fight can give the climax of Avengers a run for its money in terms of visual flair and visceral rush that a camera wielding madman like Sam Raimi can bring to the proceedings.

But....

It is The Dark Knight by a mile and a half. Some claim it is not a "comic book movie," which I find silly.

It elevated the genre into great cinema. To date, I would say only TDK and TDKR (at least of the superhero subgenre) have reached that plateau, but others can join them. TDK is a terrific film that absolutely nails the Batman mythology and characters; it simply reconstrues them to film. But why Batman, Joker, Harvey Dent, Jim Gordon, Alfred, etc. and what their world means is beautifully captured with a certain defining quality in the film that also happens to be a terrific crime film that more than any other big budget, mainstream film captures the tone and paranoia of the 9/11 years. They will still be talking about that movie in a hundred years.

It really is no contest.

 

[Squaremaster316]

The whole CBM/not-CBM argument is similar to a comparison b/w Fantastic 4 vs. A History of Violence/Road to Perdition.

Is Fantastic 4 a better film just because someone would more likely assume it's based on a comic book due to certain visuals?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

As a movie: TDK wins

When it comes to how funny it can be: SM2 wins. Not because he cracks jokes

More enjoyable to watch: TDK

Better Hero: I love Spider-Man more, I honestly do, but Peter here is not the Peter Parker I'm used to from comics, he's Ross Gellar from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Comics Peter is more confident, Ross is awkward, and that's taken here
Batman here is Batman, realism induced in the movie realm made him weaker than comics Batman, but that excuses him, besides that he is Batman, and a great one
Batman wins this round

Better villain: TDK Joker is the best CBM villain so far, only Loki comes close
I love Molina's Ock, but he's no match for Joker

Better supporting cast: Between Aunt May and Alfred Pennyworth I guess I will call it a draw
Everyone else is better in TDK

Better love interest: MJ sucks in this movie, in every scene after Peter's birthday. Rachel suffered from the "2nd movie makes the love interest a b**** in a comic book movie" syndrome, but her good moments outweigh MJ's good moments. TDK wins

 

[Senator Pleasury]

As a movie: TDK wins

When it comes to how funny it can be: SM2 wins. Not because he cracks jokes

More enjoyable to watch: TDK

Better Hero: I love Spider-Man more, I honestly do, but Peter here is not the Peter Parker I'm used to from comics, he's Ross Gellar from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Comics Peter is more confident, Ross is awkward, and that's taken here
Batman here is Batman, realism induced in the movie realm made him weaker than comics Batman, but that excuses him, besides that he is Batman, and a great one
Batman wins this round

Better villain: TDK Joker is the best CBM villain so far, only Loki comes close
I love Molina's Ock, but he's no match for Joker

Better supporting cast: Between Aunt May and Alfred Pennyworth I guess I will call it a draw
Everyone else is better in TDK

Better love interest: MJ sucks in this movie, in every scene after Peter's birthday. Rachel suffered from the "2nd movie makes the love interest a b**** in a comic book movie" syndrome, but her good moments outweigh MJ's good moments. TDK wins

Heh, I think I have said the exact same thing myself. Same analogy and everything.

But yes, I also grew up with a Peter that's not a social loser that keeps being made fun of forever.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Both highly overrated by critics and fanboys, but TDK is the better one of the two by a considerable margin.

I agree both are overrated

But TDK at least is more fun to watch, was serious when aimed to be serious, crammed all things Batman and Joker in a good way, and did not make Two-Face the cheesy villain he is in most of his comic appearances. It deserves respect, even with its issues

Spider-Man 2 is laughable when it tries to be serious, seriously makes me laugh, the best serious scenes are the ones with May
It has more issues than the praise it gets, easily the most overrated comic book movie

If TDK & SM2 are so overrated, I'd really like to know what CBMs are better.

The Avengers is better than Spider-Man 2 at least

 

[Harley2004]

X-men,FIrst Class, IM1 all better than SM2, imo.

Against the TDK, not even close.

 

[Human Torch]

I just watched both recently and I still can't decide.I think TDK may have an edge storywise,but I really enjoy the cast in SM 2,so for me it's a stalemate.

 

[RustyCage]

Speaking as a fan of both franchises who went to both films Day 1, this was actually an easy choice for many reasons, but this one most of all: The seat-grippingly intense and layered story for TDK is, hands down, far more compelling than Spidey 2's.

I love both stories in their own ways, but it's like comparing Mickey Mouse to Cowboy Bebop or Full Metal Alchemist. The drama of Spidey 2 feels simple and cartoonish - which is fine in it's own contextual bubble, but compared to The Dark Knight? It's a candle flame trying to outshine a full-on forest fire.

I'm sure I don't even need to go into the emotional pull of Hans Zimmer's score. Spidey 2's score is epic, don't get me wrong. I even teared up a little bit at some of it's peak moments. But Zimmer's work in The Dark Knight made me feel things I didn't even know were feelings. Zimmer made me fear the Joker perhaps more than Heath Ledger himself did. The sweeping, shadowy, loomy theme for Batman enveloped my imagination, and I never get sick of listening to it and getting all broody and motivated (really wish it was expanded upon more in Rises).

Both films have this in common for me: They have exactly one flaw above all the minor nitpicks that I have trouble overlooking.

In TDK, it's Batman's behavior. This revolves mostly around the writing, but also includes the voice quality in a couple of scenes compared to it's quality in Batman Begins.

In Spidey 2, it's Doc Ock's BIGGEST PHILOSOPHICAL POINT he is meant to make in the entire movie. He literally gets it backward when he repeats it at the end of the film as he's about to sacrifice himself, which totally throws off the emotional power of that moment. I am, to this day, utterly mindblown that they never noticed it. It isn't fixed on the DVD release, or, to my knowledge, the Blu-ray release either.

Comparatively, Spidey 2's sore thumb is much more swollen and distracting to me. So, yeah, TDK wins there too.

In terms of villains, I think Alfred Molina and Sam Raimi definitely revolutionized Doc Ock... just, not with nearly the same punch that Goyer/Nolan/Ledger revolutionized the Joker. I don't think that one needs much explanation.

Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent/Two-Face performance on the other hand is powerful and underrated. The character as interpreted in this film is one of the most defining, pivotal moments in Batman's character growth ever. While you could probably argue that he died too soon, the point made in the time he had was still very potent, and the delivery edgy and stellar.

So with two such villains to compete with, the odds are kind of stacked against Molina here, as cool as he was.

In short, it's really a simple matter of gravity, on all fronts. TDK has it in spades over Spidey 2. Again, I love both (even politely excusing Kirsten Dunst and the writing she was following being a terrible way to do Mary Jane and the character of Peter/Spidey being weakly interpreted too), but it's no contest.

 

[Loki882]

SM 2 is a great movie, but TDK is MUCH better in pretty much every way. TDK and TA are the two greatest CBM's of all time imo.

 

[RustyCage]

And some really cringe-worthy lines ("Punch me I bleed!").

...Oh god. I totally forgot about that. Wow, damn... wow.

I think I maybe need to go back to SM2 and re-evaluate how much credit I've given it over the years.

 

[Green Goblin]

Every film loses by quite a bit to TDK Trilogy here. Even rises.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Every film loses by quite a bit to TDK Trilogy here. Even rises.

And some say I don't make sense

 

[Green Goblin]

And some say I don't make sense

I have yet to see a comic book film lose to any film in the trilogy here.

 

[redfirebird2008]

...Oh god. I totally forgot about that. Wow, damn... wow.

I think I maybe need to go back to SM2 and re-evaluate how much credit I've given it over the years.

There is some really cheesy crap in that movie. I was whining about it for years. People jumped on the bandwagon when Raimi took it over the top with SM3, but the seeds were already there with the first two movies (especially SM2). That being said, I do like SM1/SM2. In SM2's case, I love Molina's performance and the action scenes are great.

 

[Green Goblin]

There is some really cheesy crap in that movie. I was whining about it for years. People jumped on the bandwagon when Raimi took it over the top with SM3, but the seeds were already there with the first two movies (especially SM2).

Regardless of interpretation, SM2 did some amazing things. I felt it showed the gritty aspect of superhero life well.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Regardless of interpretation, SM2 did some amazing things. I felt it showed the gritty aspect of superhero life well.

That was good, I guess. They'd ruin it every 10 minutes by having one of Aunt May's awful scenes. My favorite things about the movie are Molina's performance and the action sequences. Probably top 3 in the genre along with X2 and Avengers when it comes to really well-executed action scenes.

 

[Green Goblin]

That was good, I guess. They'd ruin it every 10 minutes by having one of Aunt May's awful scenes. My favorite things about the movie are Molina's performance and the action sequences. Probably top 3 in the genre along with X2 and Avengers when it comes to really well-executed action scenes.

The Train Sequence is my favourite action scene in any comic book film.

 

[redfirebird2008]

The Train Sequence is my favourite action scene in any comic book film.

That's an awesome action scene, but then gets undermined with some mushy melodrama at the end of it.