The end has come. Over the course of the first seven months of 2012, four ambitious superhero films have entered the cinematic arena in the hope of impressing audiences and critics alike. The movies in question were Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises, each holding their own strengths and indeed their own weaknesses. As depressing a thought as it may be, we now have just under a year to wait until Iron Man 3 arrives to kick the genre back into action. Of course, the question we have now to ponder during the waiting period is this- which instalment was the best representation of the superhero genre as it stands today?
Everyone will no doubt have their own personal preferences based on either preformed allegiances to a certain spandex-clad character or just on what they perceived to be the quality of each piece. I’ll be interested to see what everyone has to say on the matter in the comments space below, but for now it’s time for me to pass a verdict on each entry into the superhero genre released this year, and ultimately to decide which one earns the crown of ‘Best Superhero Film Of 2012’! We’ll move chronologically through the four flicks, so let’s go back to a time when Star Warswas attempting a 3D comeback and Daniel Radcliffe was encountering some paranormal activity out in the Moors…
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15 Comments
TDKR always > Avengers. The only thing I didn’t like so much about the trilogy is how Batman was portrayed. He lacked the detective smarts of the comic and The Animated Series version. He just rushed head on into situations. He never really analyzed and deducted like Batman is known for. Also, his fighting gadgets weren’t really used in combat as much as he normally does. Mostly just fist fighting.
So you liked everything about Nolan’s Batman movies except the way the main character of the movie is portrayed? ………………………..
AVENGERS >>>>TDKR
awesome article, bang on to
Cheers Steve, I appreciate the positive feedback!
None of them measured up to what I hoped they would be. I found TDKR to be the most dissapointing in sheer character disservice. This version of Batman seems to be more concerned about a normal life with a wife and kids and a home with a picket fence. That’s not the Batman I know. It’s all about the mission, his duty, to protect the citzens of Gotham. I’m not interested in this domesticated mentality version. Epic fail.
Fair enough Tony, if that’s how you recieved TDKR then I won’t argue with you. I would argue, however, that Christopher Nolan’s Batman was never the same as the DC incarnation, and was if anything more realistic as a result.
TDKR = The Domesticated Knight Retires
You couldn’t name ANY real flaws in The Dark Knight Rises maybe you should read the multiple articles on our own site that highlight the MANY flaws with that disappointing film.
Hi Rodion- so what you’re basically saying here is that my opinion means nothing if other people say there were flaws? Go ahead, name me some of your favourite films, and I’ll be happy to point out shortcomings in them. What is so great about the world of movies is that everyone can have their own opinion; what I cannot bear is when people try to lament others for their own opinions. Perhaps there are people who consider Sucker Punch to be a flawless piece in this world- that’s their opinion, and unless you have a dictionary definition of ‘flaw’ in this context that clearly states it is nothing to do with opinion, you can’t possibly argue otherwise. Point made, I hope?
I just can’t get into Nolan’s interpretation of Batman. I found the first film to be largely a mess (BB C-), and the second one was only redeemed by Heath Ledger’s phenomenal performance (TDK B+, mainly due to Heath). I saw the last one and thought it too was only all right (I’ll give it a (TDKR C+). Bane was a weak villain and the fight scenes once again proved to be underwhelming — the back breaking scene which should have been epic was just, “wait was that it?”. I also hate the way the characters speak in these movies (not just Batman’s ridiculous voice) but the actual speechifying dialogue. The strive towards realism and yet the dialogue is always so clunky with people talking at each other. I don’t hate the films, but I don’t think they are particularly awesome as the majority I guess. They stories have so many logic and plot holes in them I get distracted. And in their strive for realism they lose a lot of fun and thrilling action the comics are known for. The most egregious thing about them is that Batman is always the least interesting thing in all the films. Batman doesn’t seem much like Batman to me: gone is the deductive reasoning, and as another commentor noted his brilliant use of combat gadgetry. For me the only definitive screen version of Batman there ever was is still Batman, the Animated Series. As far as I’m concerned if Brad Bird can make the leap to directing live action, then let Bruce Timm try his hand at directing a live action Batman reboot with Paul Dini writing the story.
Shut up! Like you could make a better batman movie! No, you can’t fan boy, just shut it! Your giving me weak news! Bane was awesome, Batman is awesome! Pretty much every superhero movie the end comes down to what your gunna do with your life afterwards.
You didn’t mention the upcoming Superman film.
It’s great these days – good looking guys who can do the action.
Saw Henry Cavil in Immortals and think the new Superman film could be very good.
To me Christopher Nolan is a guy who seems to not like Superhero films. He’s done his best to deliver 3 films that are very different to normal superhero films. I think he’s cerebral -just likes twist after twist.
I think Zack Snyder did a good job with the action in Watchmen and Suckerpunch so hope the fighting sequences in Superman are better than the Batman films.
Christian Bale can do all kinds of amazing fighting sequences (see Equilibrium) it’s just the camera angles and editing in the Batman films that let down the fight sequences in the Batman films.
The Nolan Batman films usually have a few moments that I absolutely love…
- Batman questing Crane when Crane is hallucinating.
- Knowing the white knight will become Two face from the moment he flips the coin.
- Oh you shouldn’t have – Selina to batman when he give her the keys to the batpod.
Chris Nolan has “killed” the Batman entity – something I can’t forgive. No villain ever killed Batman so I found myself grieving towards the end of the film. I knew Bruce Wayne the physical man was not dead. But I also knew Nolan was giving Batman an ending. Knew it from when we saw the tagline to the 3rd film.
Apologies if I didn’t mention next year’s Superman movie A Stone, but believe me when I say that I can’t wait to see it! Warner Bros, Legendary and Syncopy clearly know who to recruit to make great superhero films, so I have every faith in them to bring us another stunner in 2013. I can’t wait for Iron Man 3 or Thor 2 as their protagonists are some of my favourite superhero film characters, but MoS seems to stand the most chance of surprising us with quality!
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TDKR may not have been as good as TDK, but there is a plethora of movies that aren’t as good as TDK, and they aren’t all bad movies. Some would be argued to be masterful. TDKR is a masterfully made film. To the people always criticizing Batman as a “detective”, do we really want to see Batman sitting around “deducing” a la Sherlock Holmes? No, I don’t think we do. In the films, Batman approaches things more like an ACTUAL detective, conducting interrogations, taking prints, running surveillance, tracking, etc., etc. His detective abilities through the series are VASTLY underappreciated by the fanbase. And I’m not even aware of what “rushing in headfirst” means. That’s kinda what he’s always done. Is that because he drops in and kicks @$$? Yeah, that’s Batman…
On the grounds of the technical aspects of filmmaking, the movie is stellar. Every shot means something, is beautifully framed and executed. The performances were stellar, the effects and fight choreography were best in show, and the vehicle designs were great as well. That stunt team? Brilliant work.
And you flow a resonant story through that level of filmmaking? I don’t see how ANYONE can recognize that this isn’t a great film. It’s a classic, honestly. There’s nothing else like it. TDKR>>>>>>>>>>>>TA, not even close. It has all the hallmarks of a great movie, including a menacing, intimidating antagonist played to perfection by Tom Hardy.
And it achieves all this in the shadow of TDK, which makes it more impressive. TDKR is not quite as good as TDK, TDK did a bit more with a good bit less, but TA is nowhere near TDK. I have far more problems with the Avengers than I do with TDKR.
There’s more plot than story in TA, the characters spend most of the movie arguing through admittedly witty dialogue that loses most of its bite after the first viewing. The action is HEAVILY CGI’d, the eye always knows, which causes the effect of “leaned back, appreciatin’ the view” action instead of the “edge of your seat” intent. No standout performances to be had, but there’s a general lack of focus on any particular character. Weak villain, Loki had all the menace of an Ewok, despite the powers of a god. And it’s honestly a bit too “out there” for me. The cinematography was pretty bland and cliche, New York looked generic, there was no real purpose or threat or impact to the violence, making it pretty gratuitous, and the humor was irreverent to life. “He’s MY BROTHER!” “He killed like 80 people!” “He’s adopted!” I found it tasteless in parts, essentially.
Anyway, all this sounds like I hated it, but I didn’t. The good parts were the action and humor, but the movie was pretty sorely lacking in almost every other category that should make for a good movie. It was basically the best case scenario version of what would be your standard over-produced Hollywood blockbuster, aka Battleship. I found it entertaining, but fairly standard and average. I’m not THAT easily impressed that I’m blinded by pretty pictures and funny jokes, I need more than that out of my “great movies”. The Avengers wasn’t great.