Did Avengers Beat The Dark Knight Rises?

[Stu]

The summer movie season officially ended a month ago, and The Avengers just came out on DVD on Tuesday. Since then, I watched it three times and went back and read our threads about the Marvel film. Throughout our discussions - at least, the early part - there was debate over whether The Dark Knight Rises would out-do The Avengers, both in terms of quality and finance.

Well, now that all's been said and done, is it safe to say The Avengers officially defeated Batman on all levels, or just financially? Sure, there are people who say the Colorado shooting hurt Batman, but I don't think it took away a significant chunk of its revenue.

Personally, I'm totally leaning toward The Avengers. As I sat on my couch, watching it over and over last night, I couldn't imagine myself doing the same for Batman. Hell, even if I buy that DVD in a couple months, it'll be more for the helluvit than because of actual interest in seeing it again.

Thoughts?

[MGH]

Got the blu-ray and watched it again last night for the first time since May. Much more enjoyable than Batman, even though Batman is good as well.

Neither was as good as Amazing Spider-Man though, IMO.

[Deleted]

It's really hard to say actually, even if Avengers beat Batman in the box office.

Sure, there's the elephant in the room (the Colorado shootings) and it did put a damper on TDKR's box office numbers, but it's not like it's the end of the world or anything. It still made a decent amount of money, and it comes out on DVD on Dec. 4th which means we'll be seeing it under a lot of people's Xmas trees this year (to add w/ the people who are gonna buy it day 1 regardless). It'll be fine. Some people will be THOSE people and say "Oh, that's the movie that caused all those shootings. PASS!" but it shouldn't hurt the movie's legacy.

And the Avengers, well...nothing else needs to be said. It was a surprise the movie got made, let alone having it be one of the best movies of the year, but so was Batman in a perspective. They are two entirely DIFFERENT movies though. It just matters which cup of tea suits you.

Avengers is about a group of superheroes trying to stop a mad man from world domination (OF COURSE!). We've seen it millions and millions of times before.

The Dark Knight Rises had a lot more personal drama. Apart of a bigger picture. It feels more like a crime drama in a Batman universe more than anything.

So in my mind, the Avengers wins by just a hair. It's a tie in the long run. And it's about personal preference. As far as the money is concerned, yeah Avengers ANNIHILATED the Batman. Even if the shootings didn't happen, TDKR would be nowhere near the phenomenon that was the Avengers. People were excited about the Dark Knight, but the Avengers IS the story of the summer.

Either way, we got two great movies that will be officially in the annals of film from here on out. Two movies that people will be talking about for the rest of time. And I was glad to be there to see BOTH of them.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

For me, Avengers only won financially.

I still think TDKR was the better overall film, from a film perspective.

Avengers was a better superhero film, though. But, as Friskey said, TDKR was more of a crime drama with people in costumes than an actual superhero film.

[Stu]

Sept 27, 2012 15:29:12 GMT -5 @teamkillswitch said:

but it shouldn't hurt the movie's legacy.

While your statement is true, the shooting will unfortunately forever be a part of the film's legacy.

See the "Then, Now, Forever" thread in WWE Current.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

DKR was a better FILM, but I had way more fun at Avengers, so it wins for me.

[Red Impact]

Dark Knight Rises just didn't do it for me. It was just OK in the end (although I never had the hard on for Nolan films that others have had, so I may be biased on that end).

Avengers was purely a popcorn flick, and it did that really really well.

[Goldenbane]

Avengers crushed Batman in every way possible. It was a super hero movie that had something for almost everyone (didn't have much romance in it, so that's what I mean by "almost"). You want comedy? There's plenty. Action? Yep, tons. Drama? Definitely. Horror? A little bit. In Batman, you had not one mumbling f***er, but TWO mumbling f***ers. Thanks to the Nolan movies, those of us who enjoy the more "fun" aspects (guys made of clay, guys in big ice suits freezing stuff with ice guns, ect) of Batman have to now hide in shame because Batman is such serious business now.

I guess it does depend on what you're looking for in a movie, but frankly, Avengers just had more going for it than Batman. In that regard, I also stand by my opinion that, while Dark Knight was a fantastic movie, Iron Man was just as good...if not better.

[The Ichi]

I enjoyed DKR more. I dunno, maybe I need to see Avengers again because all I got out of it was a standard entertaining popcorn flick.

[dav]

For those who've seen the Avengers, did the stakes feel as high as they did in DKR? I know it's the fate of the world and all that but the Dark Knight Trilogy just felt like the stakes were higher in a way few other superhero movies have captured. Just having it focus on the rise and fall of a city helped a lot in that sense.

[Spankymac is sick of the swiss]

Sept 27, 2012 15:42:26 GMT -5 dav said:

For those who've seen the Avengers, did the stakes feel as high as they did in DKR? I know it's the fate of the world and all that but the Dark Knight Trilogy just felt like the stakes were higher in a way few other superhero movies have captured. Just having it focus on the rise and fall of a city helped a lot in that sense.

I'll be honest, any sense of seriousness in DKR was lost for me whenever Bane tried to talk. That was a f***ing stupid idea.

[The Ichi]

I'll still never understand how people couldn't hear what Bane was saying. It was crystal clear to me.

Was his voice silly? Yeah, a little bit, but he was still pretty terrifying.

[AdamAFL was sooooo wrong]

Sept 27, 2012 15:44:18 GMT -5 Spankymac is sick of the swiss said:

Sept 27, 2012 15:42:26 GMT -5 dav said:

For those who've seen the Avengers, did the stakes feel as high as they did in DKR? I know it's the fate of the world and all that but the Dark Knight Trilogy just felt like the stakes were higher in a way few other superhero movies have captured. Just having it focus on the rise and fall of a city helped a lot in that sense.

I'll be honest, any sense of seriousness in DKR was lost for me whenever Bane tried to talk. That was a f***ing stupid idea.

Still don't understand how Bane's voice ruined or even diminished the film for some people. I'd heard a lot about it on the internet before I went to see it and presumed it was gonna ruin the film for me but I thought it was just fine and the voice actually sounded pretty cool. It only seems to be on the internet I hear complaints about it too. Never met anyone in person who had a problem with the voice. More had a problem with Bale's Batman voice than Bane's.

[Red Impact]

Sept 27, 2012 15:42:26 GMT -5 dav said:

For those who've seen the Avengers, did the stakes feel as high as they did in DKR? I know it's the fate of the world and all that but the Dark Knight Trilogy just felt like the stakes were higher in a way few other superhero movies have captured. Just having it focus on the rise and fall of a city helped a lot in that sense.

As a viewer, I didn't really feel like the stakes were higher in either movie. Maybe it's just me as a jaded movie viewer, but it's obvious once you have a man in a cape that the villainous plan isn't going to go through. It's just a matter of how they get there. Nolan did it super serious, which works in a way, but also makes any plot missteps more critical in my eyes. Avengers did it as an action comedy, so you can overlook any plot contrivances more.

But watching both, I never felt like there was any actual threat of them losing. Dark Knight Rises ended up having the villains have the same goal as the first movie, but will much less intelligence in execution.

Sept 27, 2012 15:49:41 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

Still don't understand how Bane's voice ruined or even diminished the film for some people. I'd heard a lot about it on the internet before I went to see it and presumed it was gonna ruin the film for me but I thought it was just fine and the voice actually sounded pretty cool. It only seems to be on the internet I hear complaints about it too. Never met anyone in person who had a problem with the voice. More had a problem with Bale's Batman voice than Bane's.

Tom Hardy trying to do a bad Irish accent is pretty funny to me, coming from a guy who looks like a metal facehugger is on his mouth. But aside from me finding it funny at first, I didn't really have a problem with it. I guess there are some problems when you clearly have to dub a voice because a mask makes speaking clearly impossible, but that wasn't high on my list of things that underwhelmed me.

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2012 15:49:41 GMT -5 AdamAFL was sooooo wrong said:

Sept 27, 2012 15:44:18 GMT -5 Spankymac is sick of the swiss said:

I'll be honest, any sense of seriousness in DKR was lost for me whenever Bane tried to talk. That was a f***ing stupid idea.

Still don't understand how Bane's voice ruined or even diminished the film for some people. I'd heard a lot about it on the internet before I went to see it and presumed it was gonna ruin the film for me but I thought it was just fine and the voice actually sounded pretty cool. It only seems to be on the internet I hear complaints about it too. Never met anyone in person who had a problem with the voice. More had a problem with Bale's Batman voice than Bane's.

There's your problem. It's the internet.

[Deleted]

Even though they're both superhero films, to me, they exist in two very different genres.
It's like comparing Seven to Lethal Weapon.
Although in the long run, I think Rises will hold up more. There's going to be more adventures within the MCU and those films could surpass or tarnish The Avengers.

[King Ghidorah]

I enjoy Banes performance over both films, but enjoy Avengers more overall.

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2012 15:49:30 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

I'll still never understand how people couldn't hear what Bane was saying. It was crystal clear to me.

Was his voice silly? Yeah, a little bit, but he was still pretty terrifying.

I loved his voice. It was bombastic and had a theatrical vibe to it. I liked that it took over the sound whenever he spoke, it made him feel larger than life.
Plus, as stated earlier, the outcome of TDKR was unpredictable and the fate of Batman could've went anywhere. You knew going in The Avengers were going to save the day and the enemies were basically jobbers. That didn't hurt the film to me but it was very predictable.

[andrewgilkison]

The theater shooting seemed to effect the opening weekend of TDKR, but it's still made a shit load of $$$$ during it's run, in spite of the horrific tragedy in a packed theater on it's opening night and the media shit storm and bad press (hollywood movies are too violent, the killer said he was The Joker, etc) the movie had to endure days afterward.

To be honest, Avengers seemed like a better structured movie than TDKR was. In spite of how long TDKR was, a lot of scenes got rushed and plot holes you could drive a mack truck through, and in spite of the build up he got, Bane's motivation for attacking Gotham was weak (wanting to further Ra's legacy) and when the Vince Russo like "twist" came, it further weakened him as the bad guy.

[Red Impact]

Sept 27, 2012 15:59:42 GMT -5 @ricrocket said:

Sept 27, 2012 15:49:30 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

I'll still never understand how people couldn't hear what Bane was saying. It was crystal clear to me.

Was his voice silly? Yeah, a little bit, but he was still pretty terrifying.

I loved his voice. It was bombastic and had a theatrical vibe to it. I liked that it took over the sound whenever he spoke, it made him feel larger than life.
Plus, as stated earlier, the outcome of TDKR was unpredictable and the fate of Batman could've went anywhere. You knew going in The Avengers were going to save the day and the enemies were basically jobbers. That didn't hurt the film to me but it was very predictable.

I'm actually surprised people didn't see the end of DKR coming. Nolan's not the type of director to throw in a big, hammy speech earlier in the movie and not call back to it. Sure, they could have ignored it, but Nolan's not a hack filmmaker, so he's not going to.