Whenever these types of arguments pop up, most of the actual arguing inevitably centers on the way the characters are portrayed on screen in relation to the source material. that's great and everything, but i find that type of argument to be limiting in many ways--specifically because it ignores the context of the film's release. if we look at two different objects made at very different times for somewhat different reasons (obviously both films were created to make $$ but the motivations for how the characters and events are portrayed on screen in a certain way will differ from production to production). it's silly to say which adaptation is more accurate because there's no underlying standard for what makes an adaptation a great one. jaws, no country for old men, a clockwork orange, gone with the wind and to kill a mockingbird are all classic cinematic adaptations, but they all differ in how they approach the source material. you cannot tell me with a straight face that there is some higher principle that mandates that a comic adaptation's level of accuracy is directly responsible for its greatness.
posters here always focus too much on the literary qualities of the films. there are other pleasures to be found in comic book films, and truth be told, accuracy isn't one of them...at least for me. that's the beauty of having all of these different adaptations-warner bros gets to make a ****load of $$$ and we get to choose which one we like best.
if i were to judge all of these films on their own terms then i would rank them 1. batman 89 2. batman returns 3. batman begins 4. everything else
i'd give burton's films the slight edge in cinematography and acting (overall ensemble in nolan's films is better but the principles are waaaaaayyy better in burton's). big edge goes to burton films in the set/costume design, score, directing, editing. i love how tim burton actually frames his shots like they're frames in a comic through the use of editing and dutch angles. i'd say the writing is about equal. i feel as if the characters are clearly better developed in nolan's films, but nolan's films also suffer from overwriting and expository dialogue. burton's films have more memorable and concise dialogue.
