Our latest Character of the Month, Batman, will return to the big screen in 2016 as Ben Affleck takes over the iconic role in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It'll be a brand new cinematic start for the Caped Crusader and we're all anxious to see how it turns out, but we're also lucky enough to have Christopher Nolan's terrific trilogy that we can watch over and over again. Many consider The Dark Knight to be not only the best in the trilogy, but also one of the best comic book movies in general. But what about the beginning and the end of the epic trilogy? Does the Comic Vine crowd prefer Christian Bale becoming Batman or the actor returning to the cowl to protect Gotham City one last time? Well, it turns out the voters think the fire is extinguished and a majority sided with Nolan's first chapter in the trilogy, Batman Begins.
The franchise took quite a fall with 1995's Batman Forever and 1997's Batman & Robin, but Batman Begins proved it can pick the mythos back up. Nolan's first project with Bruce Wayne did a stellar job handling the titular character's origin in a way that was gripping and absorbing instead of familiar and redundant. With a praiseworthy cast and a strong script, 2005's Batman Begins proved that the comic book genre can be exciting and compelling. Sure, the handling of the action scenes could use some improving, but the tone and the narrative was exceptionally well done and it did a commendable job incorporating two classic villains. The end result is an immersive journey that brought the franchise back to theaters in a stellar way and left us wanting more (they certainly followed-up on that Joker teaser, didn't they?). Now, let's check out the poll's results and see what some members of the community had to say about these two films.
- Batman Begins 58%
- The Dark Knight Rises 30%
- I can't choose... I like them both equally 7%
- Sorry, I'm not a fan of either movie 5%
- It brings me great shame to admit I haven't watched these movies and I won't be able to before Friday 0%
JV
"I liked both. In my opinion I liked TDKR a bit more. I always enjoy movies that involve a person rising above and making a comeback against the odds. Bruce being down and out and then finding himself again, then leading to (in my opinion) the climax of his return when he lit the bridge with the Bat symbol and Bane in disbelief. That did it for me. (but neither better than the second)."
Life_Without_Progress
"Batman Begins, sure Tom Hardy's Bane from TDKR was one hell of a performance and their first actual confrontation might be the greatest superhero movie battle of all time but it was way too long for my taste and overstayed its welcome.
Begins, however, brought back the greatness of Batman movies and is probably my favorite superhero origin movie."
Chaos Burn
"Batman Begins, not only because it was more enjoyable, but it was refreshing in establishing a new spin on superhero movies with it's realism and grittier tone, before TDKR focused on the political/terrorism threats of the day rather than relatable, developed characters (Bane/Catwoman).
I mean, Rhas al Ghul was a multi-layered bad guy who actually convinced me he felt he was doing the right thing, whereas Bane struggled to follow Heath Ledgers acclaim and became a better meme than a villain."
Dark_Stranger
"Loved both films TBH, and The Dark Knight as well.
TDKR was a great finale to a great story, had some good action, good characterization, and memorable scenes/quotes. But while Rises was an epic thrill ride from start to finish, Begins would have to win me over due not only to it's great take on the origins of Bruce Wayne/Batman (especially loved the building up of a Batsuit, rather than it just being there or some random material made into a Bat like outfit), but also due it's serving as a great means of reinvigorating faith in there being a good film made for Batman outside of Animation, as well that there can be something better than the Tim Burton film lol.
Though the Tim Burton film was good an memorable, it's just that before Begins... people either gave up hope for there being a good Batman film or liked to believe that we'd never get anything as good or better than the Tim Burton classic, and thankfully both sides were proven wrong with Nolan's 2005 film of Batman Begins.
So yeah, I'm going with Begins on this, though again I like all three films equally :D"
mje360
"Batman Begins. It was not only a fresh new take on the hero we had come to know in a time when reboots when weren't so common, it was the redemption of a franchise that been ruined for what it should have been but was not when it was in Joel Schumacher's hands. Batman Begins has such a solid cast, and I prefer Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. I loved Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul, though it was not entirely who the character was, the new take was something that respectable, and Liam's delivery was something that great to pit him up against Bruce Wayne who was played by Christian Bale. I think in Batman Begins, all of the actors and writers deliver their best as it was the startup of something new. The story took notes from Batman: Year One. How often did we see a more realistic take on a character that been portrayed than larger than life dealing with real life villains such city thugs and addicts and mob? To make it interesting, the Scarecrow was added and I feel like that the villain brought the psychological factor that the made the movie feel darker, and the characters's first live screen appearance. More importantly to me, as I feel passionate about Batman Begins more than the other movies of the franchise, Batman Begins really showed great purpose and reasons why and how Bruce Wayne would become Batman. How often was the Wayne family ever included in anything, and more importantly show you reasons you need to care. This movie was great. Who could forget the first moment Batman showed his face to the mob boss and told him in his gritty voice, "I'm Batman." and then the brutality afterward. AWESOME.
Also, the soundtrack was superior here as Batman Begins had both James Horner and Hans Zimmer which amounted some spectacularly emotional and exciting tracks that still like to listen today."
vandinejd_1991
"Holy indecision Batman!!!
Both movies were great to me that I can't decide between them. The actors in both movies, old and new, gave some of the greatest performances in CBM history. There was good storytelling in both movies as well as Batman Begins tell of Batman's rise, and TDKR tells of his redemption after he had fallen in The Dark Knight. Lastly, there was great action in both movies, although I think The Dark Knight Rises fares better in that category since towards the end of Batman Begins it suffered from shaky cam.
However, there are two scenes in both movies that is the cause of my indecision because when I see them I'm screaming YEAHHH in my head. They both occur in kind of the same context with Batman revealing his secret identity to someone. In Batman Begins it's when he says to Rachel, "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me." Then in TDKR it's when he says to Comissioner Gordon "a hero can be anyone even someone doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hadn't ended." Those are some of the most amazing Batman quotes ever."
Wolverine08
"Batman Begins is my favorite piece of Nolan's entire Batman trilogy. I felt that it was an incredible origin story that managed to keep pieces of the source material it came from(Year One, etc.) while adding its own tweaks to things like the League of Assassins and such. Bruce Wayne was played spectacularly here by Christian Bale(Whom I felt put out his best performance of the trilogy here) and seeing his character development from the angry, confused young man whom was looking for revenge and wanted to essentially prove himself(Storming into Falcone) to a true hero protecting Gotham valiantly was a joy to see. The aforementioned journey to becoming Batman was crafted by Nolan in a way that allowed the origin story in question being presented resonate and touch me greater than most CBMs and let's even a non fan get a great grasp behind the concept of what Batman is and what he represents. I also enjoyed the Batman aspect of this movie more and I think Batman Begins had the greatest comic book like aura among the entire trilogy and liked the look and fight scenes. To continue with the idea of Batman Begins having the greatest comic book feel of the trilogy, I liked the presentation of Gotham City most here. The city really felt like the grimy hell hole barren of hope that we are often presented in Batman comics and through the different parts and aspects of the city that are presented the city almost felt like a character of its own. Batman Begins themes also touched me most among the entire Nolan trilogy. Things like conquering and essentially embracing your innermost fears( getting back up after being knocked down("Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.") were great things to ponder/learn from and were written well in Bruce Wayne's self journey. Liam Neeson was absolutely splendid as Ra's Al Ghul with his twisted ideals of justice and I also think he in a way represented a father figure Bruce was looking for after losing his own father. Scarecrow though a side villain commanded attention whenever he appeared and played extremely well into the theme of fear that was splattered all over this movie.
Overall, The Dark Knight Rises is a very good movie in its own right, but Batman Begins is not only my favorite movie from the Nolan trilogy, but my favorite comic book movie, and I happily give it my vote here."
Do you have a favorite moment from either of these movies, Viners? If so, tell us about it in the comments and explain why you think it's such a memorable bit! Also, don't forget to check the homepage next Monday for a new edition of this segment. If you want to suggest a future match-up for Batman (it can be comics, TV shows, movies, or video games), tell us below or reach out via twitter.