Which film was better....Batman Begins or The Dark Knight?

Status
Not open for further replies.
autumnleaf said:
Begins doesn't have that stupid scene with the two boats so that's a big plus in its Pro column.
Click to expand...

It does have an entire third act revolving around a giant microwave emitter that destroys water molecules to release underground gas (what?). Let's be honest, the third act of both films are their weakest.
 
Begins. It's relatively tight and coherent.

The Dark Knight is 70% fantastic and then there's another 30% jammed into the movie that doesn't belong there (pretty much everything to do with Dent and then the dumb twin boats thing). The movie would be better with 45 minutes cut from its runtime.

Mask of the Phantasm stays winning.
 
I think Begins is better overall. The Joker elevates TDK but I think it's a weaker film as a whole.

Mask of the Phantasm is still the best Batman movie though.
 
Is it too much to ask that one day we get a Batman movie made by people who 1. actually read and love the comics and 2. don't get every cue from either Year One or The Dark Knight Returns?

Just give me a tight, 100-minute, single-villain movie that doesn't retell Batman's origin, rely on the Joker, or end with Batman killing somebody. Make it weird and wonderful. Like Morrison weird.
 
Fancy Clown said:
It does have an entire third act revolving around a giant microwave emitter that destroys water molecules to release underground gas (what?). Let's be honest, the third act of both films are their weakest.
Click to expand...

And somehow the third act of Begins is more believable than what happens in the third act of TDK. It was so cheesy.
 
I liked Begins much better. For me, it was a somewhat believable take on Batman, and at the time, one of the first realistic super hero films.

First thing that happens in Dark Knight is some wacky James Bond shit, with stupid gadgets, and eventually, Batman uses every cellphone in the city as a sonar to spy on people. Dumb.
 
Shake Appeal said:
Begins. It's relatively tight and coherent.

The Dark Knight is 70% fantastic and then there's another 30% jammed into the movie that doesn't belong there (pretty much everything to do with Dent and then the dumb twin boats thing). The movie would be better with 45 minutes cut from its runtime.

Mask of the Phantasm stays winning.
Click to expand...

Dent's parts were more cruicial than Joker ones. You can't cut them. Movie doesn't make any sense thematically or structurally without Dent. The whole movie is revolving around Dent.
 
I can get people preferring Batman Begins but judged purely on their critical merits as films its easily Dark Knight. As a film I'd say it remains the best comic book film by a fair way in terms of thematic depth, cohesion, performances and so on.

Begins is still damn good though.
 
Begins had the better ending and beginning, far worse middle though. Dark Knight had the better middle, but I hated the ending and the beginning was just ok (I still think the school bus getaway makes no sense).

Overal I give Begins the nod by a small margin as I think i enjoy watching it more. Both are some of the best Batman properties ever made though.
 
Inceptional said:
Batman Begins is a great Batman origin story.
TDK is a masterpiece that will be remembered alongside the all-time greatest films ever made.
Click to expand...

I love the hyperbole these threads generate. It's an excellent movie but c'mon.

Anyway, I pick TDK. It's far more rewatchable because of Ledger.
 
The Dark Knight is an immensely better film.

Just so long as you forget that the entire Harvey Dent storyline was in it.

With that storyline in it's only a moderately better film.
 
Batman Begins easily for me

The Dark Knight is good but Ledger put that movie on his back. take out his performance and you've got Dark Knight Rises Pt. 1. also Eckhart as Two Face was laughably awful. so much cringe and equal blame can be put on the writing and the performance itself.

Begins is also the only one to feel like a proper Batman movie
 
rogue74 said:
I love the hyperbole these threads generate. It's an excellent movie but c'mon.

Anyway, I pick TDK. It's far more rewatchable because of Ledger.
Click to expand...
It's not really hyperbolic at this point. The Dark Knight is easily among the most acclaimed and revered movies of the previous decade. Expect plenty of flowery 10 year anniversary articles about it next year.
 
The Dark Knight is the better film. I do enjoy Batman Begins more thought because it feels more like a Batman film than TDK.
 
I preferred Batman Begins. I still think Heath Ledger's performance was overrated (great, but not Oscar-worthy).
 
IMO TDK shits all over Begins. It consistently ramps up the tension, has incredible performances, and has some absolutely classic scenes. Gordon isn't a joke character, either.

Begins has its moments for sure, but after Bale's initial appearance as Batman it loses a lot of steam for me. The last third of the film just isn't great cinema, at least not in my house.
 
The Dark Knight is a good movie, but it's plagued with serious pacing issues.
Batman Begins on the other hand, is one of the tightest movies I've seen, each scene flows naturally and the film keeps momentum until the end. It's a much more complete movie, with better editing.
 
Both movies have issues. But I am more partial to the one that's actually about Batman. Heath Ledger is the only reason I really care about TDK.
 
Koyuga said:
The Dark Knight is a good movie, but it's plagued with serious pacing issues.
Batman Begins on the other hand, is one of the tightest movies I've seen, each scene flows naturally and the film keeps momentum until the end. It's a much more complete movie, with better editing.
Click to expand...

That's funny. I feel the opposite is true! :D

trikster40 said:
Who did Batman kill in The Dark Knight? He left the Joker hanging there.
Click to expand...

Two-Face?
 
That's like asking which Uncharted is better out of the first two. Of course it's the second. Begins is great, but the Dark Knight will be remembered as one of the best films of the 2000's - it's going to be seen as a classic like Pulp Fiction or The GodFather. It kind of already is tbh. It's crazy how influential that movie was
 
Batman Begins is the best out of the entire series and has been since the moment TDK released.
 
Alienfan said:
That's like asking which Uncharted is better out of the first two. Of course it's the second. Begins is great, but the Dark Knight will be remembered as one of the best films of the 2000's - it's going to be seen as a classic like Pulp Fiction or The GodFather. It kind of already is tbh
Click to expand...

lol, it shouldn't be.
 
The highs in Dark Knight are higher but begins is overall a better movie IMO. Dark Knight starts to feel over long and bloated about 2/3 of the way through.
 
Eidan said:
It's not really hyperbolic at this point. The Dark Knight is easily among the most acclaimed and revered movies of the previous decade. Expect plenty of flowery 10 year anniversary articles about it next year.
Click to expand...

I think a movie needs to stand the test of time before it is hailed as one of the greatest ever. Under 10 years doesn't cut it.
 
I prefer Batman Begins and most origin stories in general. Heath Ledger was great in The Dark Knight but the pseudo philosophy was moronic. It appealed to kids in the same way Ayn Rand does, by lacking all subtlety. And corruption was a catch all excuse to basically let The Joker do anything.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Top 100 Films of the 90s (Which is better, this or the New York Times list?)
16
225
Donald mac Ronald replied
  • Poll
Which was Apple’s best OS aesthetic?
35
1K
Ikutachi replied
Batman Beyond: Year One (Fan Film)
8
1K
Lambogenie replied
  • Poll
Who was the better sitcom dad, Red Forman or Al Bundy?
47
2K
Forsete replied
In the Dark Knight Franchise: Does Bruce have any defense against embezzlement (spoilers for the Dark Knight series)
17
1K
Raven117 replied
Top Bottom