Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Which one do you prefer. They are hard to compare as they were made in two completely different manners. I heard that the first Batman was pitched more like the Dark Knight but the producers didnt go for it. Anyways, i'm expecting the Dark Knight to win since many people tend to vote for the "new" but i personally will always see Jack Nicholson as the joker.
There are elements of Burton's Batman films I like --- the design of Gotham city, Joker, Catwoman --- but even those good pieces couldn't save a lacklustre whole.
Both Nolan films are far superior in every way, and TDK is one of the best superhero movies ever made.
I HATED Nicholson as the Joker. Being a fanboy, to me the last two Batman movies were better in part because they were based on actual comics.
I read somewhere that Burton walked around his set with a copy of The Dark Knight Returns (a limited series written by Frank Miller credited with making Batman "gritty" again) constantly saying, "It has to look like this" but he just didn't capture the Joker and his script was more losely based on Batman's origins where Begins and DK used actual adaptations of books (Batman: Year One for Begins and Batman: The Killing Joke for DK). Nicholson as the Joker wasn't funny, was too old and wasn't a convincing maniac. He was great as the Jack Napier persona but not as the Joker. Burton did keep the chemical origin and I liked that but it wasn't enough to save the character. Also, the Joker was just way too outmatched in that one. In DK he could at least fight and even managed to get the upper hand on ol' Bats.
Did Michael Keaton make a better Batman than Christian Bale. I would have to say yes. The new movies have a better Batman, yes, but not an actor better suited (no pun intended) to play him. Could Keaton play him now? No because he's just too old to do it well.
The suit and Batman's arsenal are almost on par in both franchises but the batmobile and the batwing in Burton's looked way cooler.
Michael Cane is a much better Alfred than the last one as well. His smartass remarks are great and he shows that he cares for Bruce way more than the old one did.
The villains are way better in the second franchise and not making them "cartoony" is a big part of this. Raj Al Gul and his cult were great in the first one and the fact that the Joker managed to be such a bad ass and still funny (and he was funny) in the second one makes the second franchise the better of the two.
I've already mentioned the story being better in the second version but this is why: In the first one, the only reason for Batman being created by Bruce was the death of his parents. This is also the only reason given in the first origin in the comics way back in the 30s but that's no longer good enough. It doesn't make sense that a man who believes in justice would continue to be Batman after he found his parents' killer. That's why the origin was revamped in the comics to begin with. The second version (both in the comics and in the movies) makes Gotham overrun by crime thanks to a corrupt police force. This makes more sense because, without the police, Gotham NEEDS a Batman. Burton's version didn't have a corrupt police force or even an inept one, really, so Batman is reduced to a mere vigilante who's out for revenge.
Sorry for the rant. I guess it's pretty clear which one I think is better though.
I'm a huge fan of Jack Nicholson. One of the great American actors. Even if he has been basically playing himself for the past 20 years, he's still fun.
But I have to agree that he wasn't a good Joker. He was simply miscast. If he'd been able to play the Joker when he was younger, it might have worked. But Jack was just too old and paunchy. And the character definitely lacked the pathos of Nolan's version.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatmancomics
Did Michael Keaton make a better Batman than Christian Bale. I would have to say yes.
No. Bale is a far better Batman and a million times better as Bruce Wayne.
Burton actually really screwed up in casting Keaton as Batman. Keaton would have made a brilliant Joker. He was certainly much better suited to the role than Nicholson.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatmancomics
The suit and Batman's arsenal are almost on par in both franchises but the batmobile and the batwing in Burton's looked way cooler.
Disagree. I hated both. Burton's Batwing especially. Seemed pretty obvious that designed that with action figure toys in mind and not much else.
That being said, I'm not a huge fan of the new one either. None of the films have nailed this design yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatmancomics
The villains are way better in the second franchise and not making them "cartoony" is a big part of this. Raj Al Gul and his cult were great in the first one and the fact that the Joker managed to be such a bad ass and still funny (and he was funny) in the second one makes the second franchise the better of the two.
Yep. Although I have to admit I was a lot more underwhelmed by Batman Begins than most folks. I loved the first half or so. But the latter half of the movie completley broke my suspension of disbelief. Rhas al'Ghul was set up brilliantly as the leader of a cult of assassins (and Neeson was perfect casting), but his motivation and means for destroying Gotham seemed really forced and cartoony. I half-expected him to tie the maiden to the train tracks and cackle as he tweaked his mustache.
Really, the only thing I prefer in Burton's version is the design of Gotham itself. Burton's Gotham looked gothic, dark, and scary. Pitch perfect. Nolan's Gotham looks like Chicago. No spooky character at all.
But Nolan's film in terms of writing, direction, casting, etc. is far superior to Burton's.
I prefer DK but I think Keaton was the best Batman. Even when he was just being Bruce Wayne he had an air of mystery about him. I do agree that the dark knight didn't have that creepy spooky feel that is classic burton think if we could merge the films by using keaton as batman and burtons gotham city and everything else DK it would be great.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
