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‘Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Avengers’, ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ – Which Superhero Movie Was the Best?
by Kofi Outlaw
(4 of 3)
Best Superhero Movie of Summer 2012
If you're a superhero fan, or a movie fan, or a superhero movie fan, then you were probably looking forward to the summer of 2012 long before it actually arrived. Marvel kicked off the season with their superhero team-up event, The Avengers; Sony went for a (semi-)fresh start with their reboot film The Amazing Spider-Man, and Christopher Nolan closed out his Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises.
Indeed, it has been a most (the most?) epic summer for superhero movies - but which one did you like the best? We look back at the strengths and weaknesses (because yes, they all had some) of the "big 3" in summer 2012, to declare which superhero (or heroes) will take home the crown.
And before there are any "apples and oranges" objections: the particular type of apple we're looking at is superhero movies. Therefore, all three of our contestants qualify.
WARNING!!! THE FOLLOWING PAGES (AND COMMENTS) COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR ALL 3 FILMS!!!
Indeed, it has been a most (the most?) epic summer for superhero movies - but which one did you like the best? We look back at the strengths and weaknesses (because yes, they all had some) of the "big 3" in summer 2012, to declare which superhero (or heroes) will take home the crown.
And before there are any "apples and oranges" objections: the particular type of apple we're looking at is superhero movies. Therefore, all three of our contestants qualify.
WARNING!!! THE FOLLOWING PAGES (AND COMMENTS) COULD CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR ALL 3 FILMS!!!
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Ok, I saw TDKR last night. I came out slightly disappointed. I don’t know what it was. Maybe the hype was just to much. I’m not one of those people that was expecting it to be better then TDK. I don’t even like to compare them. I’m judging TDKR as a single movie. It had some incredible moments, but to many flaws.
Cons: Maybe it was because my freakin’ IMAX screen was slightly blurry for the first 8 minutes of the film so I was a bit annoyed, and couldn’t really focus, but I found some parts hard to follow. The first act of the film was extremely choppy to me. Jumping from scene to scene. Almost rushed.
Also, I thought it was just my theaters sound system (until I saw someone else say the same thing in the comments), but did anyone find some of the dialogue almost drowned out? Sounded muddy in some parts, and stuff like the water in the batcave was louder then the words. Don’t even get me started on Banes dialogue… Some parts were clear as day, but other parts, he would say whole sentences where I was like “what?”.
The middle act did not have enough Batman/Bruce. And maybe it just me, but some of the fights were a little anticlimactic. The Batman vs. Bane fight in the middle of the chaos when it was cops vs. Banes army was kinda average to me. It’s probably because of the costume, but Batman movements were strange. Just throwing punches. It looked like he was a novice. I wanted to see more Bat gadgets. I did like the second part of the fight though. When Batman started beating Bane. It was brutal.
Another thing that really let me down was the way Bane died (or was defeated). I LOVED Bane as the villain (his voice was so cool, it almost made the fact that I couldn’t understand him at times, not matter), and during his speech where he was reading Gordons letter, and the prisoners were breaking out of the prison was incredible. I feel like I liked him as a villain a lot more then reviewers. But when the twist came, although it was unexpected, it almost killed Banes greatness for me. After that moment, he was irrelevant in the film. Catwoman blasted him, and he didn’t show up again after that.
Pros: The first act of the film had some nice comedic moments (“So, that’s what that feels like”), which I didn’t expect, so that was cool. I loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. The scenes where her and Batman were fighting together were great. Those scenes were the only times it truly felt like a comic book movie. Her chemistry with Bruce Wayne was perfect. So, props to Bale and Hathaway. Great performances.
Bane is underrated as a villain, IMO. He was a monster (at least until the twist). I actually found his performance to be one of the films strongest point. His voice in IMAX made the theater shake. The Bane vs Batman fight (after Catwoman led Bat to Bane) was brutal. I felt the pain every time he slammed Batman down. Every time he wasn’t on screen, I was anxiously waiting for the next Bane scene.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was another one of the films strong points. I actually cared about his character even though he was a random cop being introduced for the first time. I got goosebumps when the lady at the end revealed he was Robin. I already knew it was him when Batman had the conversation with him about the mask, but it still hit me hard!
I love the whole disconnecting Gotham from the rest of the world idea. The scenes where the bridges/streets were exploding and they showed Gotham in smoke, gave me goosebumps. Spectacular scenes. It really gave that apocalyptic vibe to the film.
So, I guess those are my biggest problems. Unresolved points in the film. Usually that wouldn’t bother me because there would be a sequel, but since this is the last film, it bothered me. Many great moments to be excited about to though! Don’t get me wrong.
The Avengers – 4.5 – Weak plot, but the great performances, and chemistry between the whole cast made up for it. Not mention Whedon managed to give almost every character the perfect amount of screen time, and the action scenes were completely mind blowing. Great fun.
The Amazing Spider-Man/TDKR – 3.5 – Both felt disjointed at parts, but the great cast and chemistry between the characters held them together.
All in all, I loved all 3 films. While every one else fights over which one was the best, I’m sitting with a huge smile on my face from knowing I got to see Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America all on the big screen in one summer (:
the one liners in tdkr were great!!! i thought they were hilarious and Bane was seriously a force to be reckoned with i honestly enjoyed watching him just as much as i did the joker and his voice was one of the scariest things ive ever heard i initially found it kind of funny but as bane started to show that he played no games it became striking intimidating. I thought the fights were great you have to realize that they were both trained by the same mentor and would both have very similar fighting styles and as for gotham being in la there were parts of LA, Pittsburgh, And Manhattan in this one and The Dark Knight was clearly Chicago i think thats one of those things where you just have to take off your real world glasses and step into the illusion of the film
I love batman and it hurts me so much that there wont be another one with Chritian Bale
I feel similar Jay. For the first time ever, I was able to see a film in IMAX, and I’m happy that it was Nolan’s final Bat film. I enjoyed Bane a lot more than the critics did. Although, a lot of the criticisms toward him aren’t so much that he was a bad villain. It was more that he didn’t stack up to Heath Ledger, in their opinion (however I have found some criticisms of the character on other points too). While I feel that his performance wasn’t as “in your face” as Ledger’s brilliant performance, I was completely taken by what Tom Hardy brought to the table. He was a savage brute, and a brilliant one at that. I found myself questioning who would win between him and the Joker, if they ever fought for control over Gotham. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in future versions of the film, Nolan had the sound modified to understand the character’s dialogue more clearly. In certain parts, it was very clear, but in other parts not so much. I can’t give Dark Knight Rises a rating right now, but I do know that of the three movies I saw this summer, this one left the biggest mark.
As for Amazing Spider-man, I’d give it the same score as screenrant. I listened to their podcast, and found that like them, I loved certain aspects of the movie (the human drama was really nice for me), but was really let down by other aspects (unexplored plots with Oscorp, rushed Lizard character development). Overall, I think this franchise has more potential, given the setup that TASM established, but it’s going to have to do better come sequel time if it’s going to be the definitive Spider-man movie series for me. Garfield and Stone were great though. Garfield has become one of my favorite casting choices for a superhero now, because he brings a lot of charisma to the role of Peter Parker.
Avengers was fun, for the reasons you mentioned. I couldn’t really ask for more from it, because what it lacked in story, it made up for in characterization. On a whole, I liked it more than TASM, even if TASM played at my heart strings more, and even though Spider-man is my favorite superhero.
So, in terms of my overall experience, I liked TDKR the most, Avengers second, and Spider-man in third. I’m more excited for the future of Spider-man than I am for anything else really, but I am very happy with this year and the movies.
Why is Bane even compared to the Joker? Was Green Goblin’s performance compared to Doc Oc? Since when do villains need to be compared and why should that affect the movie’s rating? Stupidity these critics and fans alike.
Yeah, I agree that comparing them is useless. Sure, it’s valid to say that the Joker’s performance was objectively better, overall. But that sort of thinking just holds you back when you’re watching the new film. If they were trying to compete with the Joker they’d have gone with the Riddler, because then they’d get a more similar vibe from it (and yes I do realise they’re pretty different villains, but much more similar than the Joker and Bane).
Tom Hardy’s Bane was great for what it is – an actual, realistic physical foil for Batman, and a menacing, brutal hulk. I really got into how brutal Hardy managed to make him – every punch and neck-twist sounded and looked so sharp. And the voice was great, no trouble hearing him at all, though admittedly some of the lengthier dialogue can be easy to miss. But it sounded like Vader at some points, especially with the breathing, and I thought it was great.
Hi ATG:
My experience this film wasn’t hampered by anything from The Dark Knight, and that’s because I was enveloped in the story that Dark Knight Rises was telling. I only made the comparison because it has been brought up by so many other people (critics especially). I’m not sure if you’re lumping me in with the fans and critics who did not enjoy the movie or the character (which is fine, everyone’s entitled to an opinion), but since you responded to me I think it’s kind of ambiguous as to whether or not I’m being called stupid too. I do think it would be a shame if people allowed their enjoyment of Heath Ledger’s turn at the Joker soil their experience with Tom Hardy as Bane, and I do have to admit that I’m seeing it happen. Personally, I think Hardy did a terrific job, but to each their own.
Also, people do compare Doc Ock to the Green Goblin. The question might have been rhetorical, but the answer is “yes”. Back when Spider-man 2 came out, even Ebert and Roper had a little discussion on their show, “Ebert and Roper at the Movies”, over which villain they preferred more. It didn’t stop them from enjoying the movie though, (same situation with me here) but my point is, people do make the comparisons, be they fans or big time critics. There doesn’t need to be an objective reason for it, it’s entertainment. If villains are compared though, I don’t think it needs to affect one’s overall opinion on a particular film. Perhaps sometimes it depends on the two films being compared, there’s always acceptions, but as a rule, no. My point is, those comparisons happen to be what many people do when they dissect franchise movies. The fact that a new character can inspire the mind to create stories about that new character with other classic characters from the franchise is actually a great compliment. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.
I’ll say this though; I thought that TDKR more than made up for not having a villain like the Joker. TDKR didn’t need a Joker, whereas TDK did, even if there were other great aspects to TDK as well. Regardless, I found Bane to be a very interesting villain, more interesting than he’s being given credit for (my opinion of course).
@Levi
Wasn’t calling you stupid or trying to reply to you in a negative way. I just think it’s ridiculous when people criticize the movie because Bane isn’t as interesting as The Joker. I’m with you, I think Bane is a very interesting villain, I enjoyed the movie and Bane/Tom Hardy. Sorry if I came off wrong but I was agreeing with you.
Oh, my bad. Sorry about that.
I totally get what you mean about Bane. Although I think Tom Hardy suffers from having that mask on, he still turned in a great performance nonetheless. But the character’s importance totally went out the window when Talia appeared. Then the whole backstory about him being something hell spit out, about how he’s this dark reflection of Batman, suddenly switched over to Talia, who had no prior character development, no cool scenes and just barely 10 more minutes before she died.
And I was thinking it would be interesting to see if Batman would resort to killing Bane. I always got the sense that Bane might be the type of enemy too dangerous to imprison, and given the whole war situation in Gotham, I thought it would be a nice dilemma for Batman to face – to kill or not. But then they copped out by having Selina appear out of nowhere to blast him.
In fact, once the cool ‘we were right!’ factor of Talia wore off, I thought she was the weakest link in the movie. The character wasn’t written very deeply, she had this out-of-nowhere fling with Bruce and her reveal, while a cool twist, cheapened the main antagonist. She shouldn’t have been in the movie at all, IMO.
@Levi: Wow!! I can’t say the same, because I’ve seen about a thousand movies in IMAX, but this was a great movie for you to pick as your first IMAX experience! And I completely agree with you on Tom Hardy’s performance. It’s sad he’s not getting enough credit in the reviews I’ve read! What I loved about him was how brutal he was. That’s the best word I could think of to describe him. Brutal. Not only psychologically, but physically.
And that Joker vs Bane for control of Gotham idea is super interesting! I actually saw someone else bring that up on another site. It would of been really interesting. Hero vs Villain vs Villain. Wow. It’s a shame about Heath. I’m gonna try to forget about this idea before I get depressed.
As for TASM, I disagree about the unexplored plots thing. That’s the complain I see the most. But I don’t see it as bad writing at all! I see it as mystery. Usually with superhero films, I LOVE them, but I always know what to expect. We’re introduced to the main character, he get’s in a freak accident, gets powers, the guy he used to know turns into the villain, then the hero kills the villain at the end. In the sequel, it’s almost as if the previous film didn’t happen! Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t expect crazy plots from these films, I expect great characters, and chemistry between the cast. I got all of this from TASM, but also left the theater actually wondering what was gonna happen in the next film! What’s the mystery behind Oscorp and Peter’s parents? What role will Uncle Ben’s killer have in the sequel? Will The Lizard be a villain or will he help Spidey?
I almost feel like this one and the sequel will be much more connected then the usual superhero sequels. Plus, it’s obvious the writers didn’t just “forget” to finish these plot points off because 1) Lizard is still Lizard 2) “Did you tell the boy about his parents?”. I personally think TASM is a lot smarter then people give it credit for!
@Nick: FINALLY! Someone who agrees with me! I haven’t seen anyone mention this, and when I told my friend he said “wow, that’s not even a big deal!”. I’m thinking… Not a big deal?! The main villain, who was Batmans worse nightmare for the majority of the film, getting pushed to the side, and being reduced to a minion in the climax, isn’t a big deal? Not only that, but being pushed aside by a character nobody really cared about. Talia was a minor character. I would have preferred if she wasn’t in the film, and we got more Alfred, Fox, and (specially) Batman with Catwoman scenes.
I just feel like she was a cop out in general. It’s not even like her revealing herself/stabbing Bruce had an impact at the end. I definitely would have preferred seeing how Batman was going to defeat Bane. The only thing the “twist” accomplished was getting rid of Bane. Ugh. The more I think about it, the more disappointed I get.
@ Jay I was thinking that it was a shame that Ledger died because I would have loved to have seen a cameo by Joker somewhere in there, imo, especially as the “judge” in the courtroom scenes. Lol I was also thinking that it would have been great if Joker had killed Bane to rescue Bats instead of Catwoman because of what he said in TDK: “You won’t kill me out of some sense of self-righteousness and I won’t kill you because you’re just too fun.”
totally agree i think her appearance took away from bane’s whole character it just pushed him to a side kick position towards the end and to top it off with the most anticlimactic end to a villain i wanted soo much more from his last moments a one on one with batman . even though it was a good twist it took away from bane’s whole characterisation
totally agree that was a good review
Completely agree with your ratings. Avengers > TDKR > Spidey.
I liked The Avengers a lot, but it has a lot of flaws. The witty dialogue was alright until it started cutting the tense scenes. Too much screen time given to Black Widow. Under utilizing Cap. A lot of the strong scenes of Cap seemed silly to me. There were some pretty big flaws in the story. All in all it was a fun movie, and it was really cool to see all the characters together, but I think it could have been done a lot better.
I liked The Amazing Spider-Man, but I still prefer Raimi’s first two. I liked Uncle Ben in this one a lot, but what happened to The untold story of Spider-Man? Seemed to be a pretty basic reboot to me.
The Dark Knight Rises was the best for me. There was so much about the movie that was a treat to me. I really liked the character arc Batman/Bruce went through in this one. I loved Bane, I liked Catwoman, even though I was pretty worried about her role in the movie.
I liked the story, I liked the action, I liked the new characters. and I liked the ending. It was an excellent conclusion for me to an awesome trilogy. The shortcomings of this movie seem to be that it suffered from too much hype, hype that like many have said was almost impossible to live up to.
1.The Dark Knight Rises
2.Avengers
3.The Amazing Spider-Man
dude who said was the untold story was. If u read the comics u would see that spidey always had web shooters no organic like in the first three . And another is his parents were both CIA agents who died in a plane crash. U have too see part 2 to see the rest of the untold story. And my opinion is spidey Way better than dkr because I love spidey
Funny, I was told I would be able to watch THIS movie to see the untold story. Instead they ripped virtually all references out of it out (lots of deleted scenes we have already seen in clips) so they could continue to dangle the carrot on a stick. Talk about your bold faced lie.
The way I look at it is this. TDKR vs Avengers OR Cinema vs Cartoon. TDKR was a much more brilliant film than the Avengers, had much better acting, WAY WAY much better story, more interesting in every department etc. In my honest opinion TDKR blows Avengers away easily. I enjoyed Avengers also, but nowhere near the level of TDKR. Avengers is nothing more than a cartoony fun really comedic movie. Too lighthearted for me honestly, still enjoyed it though but never had the urge to go watch it a 2nd time. Watched TDKR last night, dying to go back to the theatre to watch it again and again. This is a really stupid comparison, you can’t compete a Masterpiece to a cartoon. End of debate
Yes, because you say end of debate, that’s the end. Just because you probably sleep in your Batman jammies doesn’t mean everyone else does.
If you sincerely and honestly think that Avengers>TDKR filmwise you need your brain checked up on. But it’s not a huge suprise to see how many dumb people there are in this world, more specifically this country.
Haha, I guess you’re right about the idiots in this world. I mean, someone who gauges their intelligence on “which comic book movie he prefers” has got a lot of other problems besides missing toys in the shed. Unless, of course, you are like 10 years old, then I’m very sorry.
I’m not a moderator or part of the ScreenRant staff, (I’m just a regular reader and commentor), but I would just like to say something here…
Screenrant’s rules: “No profanity or personal attacks.”
Calling people dumb for not sharing your views and saying a person’s brain needs checking because they disagree with you kinda goes against the whole “no personal attacks” thing.
Keep it CIVIL guys (and this goes for everybody who’s making these childish comments insulting one another).
We’re all entitled to our opinions and just because someone has a different opinion than yours, doesn’t give you the right to diminish or belittle their views or thoughts.
I’ve already said my piece about comparing the movies on Page 1, but I guess comparisons are inevitable… so at the very least, if people are going to compare the films, can’t we do it without getting personal or insulting? – that’s not too much to ask for, right?
Regards,
The (narcissistic and self-righteous) Avenger
You are right and I’m sorry. I have a very hard time staying out of these discussions when people get rude. I feel like I should become something of a lightning rod so people aim their hilarious rage at me and not others on this board. I hate bullies.
I’m fresh off my 3rd back surgery so I have nothing but time to get into these, what I call, “Stoner Discussions”. (Also if no one has watched the “Stoned Debates” this site linked to they should. Spider-Man vs. Batman)
If I go to far in my responses please just slap me back into reality. I live my life with a light-hearted attitude so nothing I say is EVER personal. Just having fun.
Oh, and I wonder why the moderator took off my quote from Billy Madison. “Donkey Kong Sucks. You Suck!” Just a quote pointing out how ridiculous people can get about their opinions.
/slap
Always try to take the high road, be the bigger person, blah blah, blah.
I just got an insider tip that they are retooling RR a bit for the GotG movie. Here is the new concept art….http://media.onsugar.com/files/2011/04/15/4/1437/14373728/ba7d3d3ab629d3c5_sandy-cheeks-from-spongebob-squarepants.jpg
Haha, well if the CGI is gonna be that awesome then I stand corrected.
Is this a joke. Batman is so far ahead of the other two movies its not worth discussing. This was the best Batman yet and Bane outdid the Joker.
We must have watched different movies, because TDK is far superior to TDKR and Bane isn’t even close to The Joker in terms of villains. Good movie, but not as epic as TDK was and not as entertaining as Batman Begins was.
Not as epic as TDK? Not as entertaining as Begins? You must be lost.
No, I just don’t have my head shoved up Nolan’s butt like you do. If you came up for a breath of fresh air and looked at the films OBJECTIVELY you’d see what I am talking about.
Its a difference of opinions not facts. Play nice guys.
finallly i found someone wh o agrees i thought in this order tdk bb then tdkr the first two got straight to the point tdkr was slightly dragging i preferred the first two even though tdkr was amazing
@joe. I think joker was a much more better villain cause even though I expected for maranda tate to be ras-a-gul’s daughter cause lets face it he had a girl not a boy but that so called ending when she is telling batman who she was and why she was doing what she was doing it just made Bane a puppet / hench man cause she was the actual master mind behind it all
And I have to say my opionion on cat women well lets just say she sucked because their was no back story on her you had to guess on what ever trouble she was into and that’s why she was trying to escape. They mention her as salina Kyle which we all now is cat women but it never references her as cat women just a thief and it never even showed what her goggles can do so what was the point of having them. Just a horrible character to have in that film just someone who showed up. And also if Gordon receives a new Spotlight with a bat symbol and then shows us that JGL is robin. Who is he gonna be Robin or Batman. That was just confusing
THEN BANE IS ONE HELL OF A HENCHMEN. I THINK THAT BANE IS THE MAIN VILLIAN, DESPITE BEING A HENCHMEN
A main villain who had one of the most cheesiest deaths. His death should have been done by batman in a better way then just being shot by Selina Kyle on the bat pod
Eh, I think his death was kind of done right. This Batman tries harder than the previous onscreen incarnations to not kill his enemies outright. He was pretty much beaten there and Catwoman had to do something to rescue him and since she would definitely not be a match for Bane physically, she had to do the only thing she could.
I’m sure there is tons of love in the comments section of this article. Can’t wait to read all of it.
In my opinion, the Dark Knight Rises is a great masterpiece; all in itself. For all the complainers, haters, fakes, and hacks; let me see your latest film. I am more than sure that your film will not be of the caliber of Chris and Jonathan Nolan. I’m not saying that they are Gods, I am saying that they are great film-makers and deserve all the credit as such. It is a great story, a great twist, and hats off to acknowledging the Batman fans while making the movie its own masterpiece. This film, was the best in the trilogy, in my opinion. The Dark Night Rises; the film of the decade, an awesome, no, and outstanding send off, all around!
The Avengers in itself is outright awesome,but two steps behind TDKR.
Don’t get me started on Spiderman. It was a better reboot than the previous trilogy but it was not what I expected story-wise. I walked out and asked for my money back. Kidding. It was OK but still not as good as the Avengers; and no where near The Nolan series.
I agree with you on TDKR being the best overall in the trilogy and being possibly the best movie of the year. Not to take anything away from Avengers and Spidey. They were good films (Avengers being great). In terms though of overall story and movie-making in general, TDKR is the best. Personally, I grade movies on how emotionally involved you get with them. With Avengers, they did a great job with keeping me entertained and the acting was superb. The pacing was exceptional (I never felt I watched a 2 plus hour movie) and while the story was good, I never felt there was a possibility of the team losing the fight; even when Ironman looks like he will sacrifice himself, I pretty much figured he wouldn’t end up biting the bullet because he is such an integral part of the story.
Spider-man was a better movie than its predecessors and I felt Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone had 100% better chemistry than McGuire and Dunst did. The acting overall was really good and I was pleasantly surprised by Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May (I still feel the original actors in those roles in the previous movies were perfect though. They were what helped keep the previous Spidey movies from being worse than they were) While there were some touching and slightly emotional deaths, they didn’t move me as much as I thought they should have.
TDKR on the other hand, bested both movies in every category. On the emotional level, I think this was partly due to the fact that this was Nolan’s last Batman film; however, the Nolans and Goyer also did an excellent job developing the story and writing it. Throughout the whole movie, I was never 100% sure if Batman would be able to stop Bane (and later Talia) and towards the end, when Batman pulls an Ironman, I was unsure if Nolan would kill him off or not. The actors also helped, especially Michael Caine. I teared up when he was at the family plot. IMO, Caine should win a best supporting Oscar for his part. I was really surprised by Anne Hathaway. I hope Nolan casts her for more of his movies because with him directing, she seemed like she really improved her acting skills. Personally (and I know I’m gonna get ripped by Burton fanboys for this), I believe she was a better Selina Kyle/Catwoman than Michelle Pfieffer (Not Pfieffer’s fault, Burton’s). I really enjoyed Hathaway’s chemistry with Bale.
In terms of fight scenes, I felt Nolan finally got them right in terms of filming and choreography. When Batman drops down onto the rooftop to help Catwoman fight Bane’s thugs, I felt that was a true Batman moment straight out of the comics. I liked how we could see the fight moves and that the choreography was faster than in TDK. It really bothered me how slow Bale looked in that movie when his costume in the story was supposed to make him faster.
Ultimately, there were three things that I was slightly bothered by in TDKR. First, I didn’t like how Tom Hardy made Bane’s voice go higher in pitch when he became more (I guess I could describe it as) enthusiastic. His voice should always be deep imo. Second, I didn’t like how there was no mention of Joker. I mean I understand why Nolan didn’t mention the character but on the same token, I felt like it would have been more of a tribute to Ledger’s memory to include the character in the story as a flashback since he was the main villain in the last movie. And finally, I do wish he had shown JGL after the credits as either Batman or Robin. It would have been pretty cool. Nevertheless, these little things didn’t keep me from enjoying the movie.
I’m with the crowd that was very happy with all three.
To say which one was the best is an exercise to prove the elusiveness of subjectivity. Even though all three are based on comics, each strived to achieve something quite different from each other.
No doubt, TDKR was the most ambitious and for that it deserves special mention.
But if I had to watch one again – I would pick Spidey for the purely subjective reason that I dig that character the most. And I am very excited to see where the sequel goes.
I don’t even know why amazing spiderman was considered a part of ‘the big 3′ for this summer. That movie was crap. It should be between TDKR and the Avengers.
The dark knight rises made the avengers look like a Saturday morning cartoon. Spiderman was god awful. The dark knight rises outdid the dark knight in every way. The film, comic book or otherwise, this year.
I would put TDKR as number 3 on my list. I rank movies by entertainment value, and while TDKR had great acting and cinematography, Avengers was far more entertaining and is number 1 on my list.
totally agree farr more entertaining
I thought the Avengers was really overrated. The first hour and a half was boring and very Thor-like (Thor was the only one of the lead-up films I hated). All of the weaknesses you name for the Avengers are accurate. I felt TDKR was a very strong film, and that had it not been for TDK being so amazing, this film would have been regarded as greater than it is being regarded. No villain in all of comic lore is better than the Joker, and no Joker has been better than Ledger, so it is unfair to judge this film negatively because it was not as captivating as TDK. Unless Nolan resurrected Heath Ledger and wrote Joker back into the script for the third film, there was no living up to TDK. And by the way, even if he’d done that, people would have criticized the film because we have already seen the Joker.
It was obvious to me that it was going to come down to the Avengers or Dark Knight Rises (Spiderman was never in the running).
Which is the best? Avengers was fun and entertaining, while the Dark Knight Rises has more adult related themes.
Your choice depends on who you are, where you are in life, and what’s important to you. I chose the Dark Knight Rises simply because I felt more engrossed/emotionally connected to the material than the Avengers. It helps that the film is the last in a series, since we could follow Bruce Wayne’s journey from beginning to end.
1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. The Avengers
3. The Amazing Spiderman
I should start out bye saying that if these movies were released seperately over 3 years they would each earn best superhero film for that year. I really loved all 3.
But IMO when grouping them it’s TDKR. Maybe I’m bias to Batman a bit but I also look at it this way…
If someone said that tomorrow I can watch 1 of these films again before they were all sealed in a vault never to be seen again I’d pick TDKR without a second of thought.
I’m really amazed at how many people are coming out of the wood works not gushing over The Avengers anymore.I personally didn’t think it was worthy of the praise that it got,but that’s just my opinion,and that coming from a guy that much more likes Marvel comics than DC comic.As someone else mentioned,it’s comedic elements took you completely out of the more serious parts.
Anyway,I loved The Amazing Spider-Man.I thought that it was better than Raimi’s version in almost every respect.And it’s one of the rare times that the 3D didn’t bother me not once throughout the entire movie.
TDKR is a movie that I’m going to have to watch a second time.This could actually be dangerous for me.While watching it I found myself not gushing over it,but I did enjoy elements of it.I think that on my second viewing it will either further highlight the flaws that I found,or boost up the parts that I enjoyed.
Overall,TDKR is the best made film of the three,but I think I enjoyed TASM more as a movie going experience.
That’s because everyone has moved on. People only have enough memory to remember what’s fresh
I’m with the group who is simply happy just by having three (yes, even Spiderman) great comic-book movies this year. Each have its own goods and bads, each delivers and not a waste of money and time.
However, the worst thing about this, is that they also have devoted fanboys who loves to bash the other movies and not even respect other who obviously have the mind of their own. Batman fans cornered The Avengers in every possible ways, and vice versa (though from my observation, not as harsh as the first)… and well, Spiderman was just lucky to be able among the big two.
They are all great movies, and they are the BEST ones so far (though, IMO placing the not-too Amazing Spiderman here felt off in a way). If I had to choose which one is my favorite among the 3, I would have to recall on what I felt after watching them, what was the most entertaining, and that will go for The Avengers.
I walked out from The Avengers feeling satisfied and also unsatisfied, because I already have the urge to see it again and again. The flow of that movie was just smooth for me personally, and it felt like a great motion. Yes, the first hour was kinda slow… but it was important in term of character chemistry, and even on my 2nd and 3rd viewing, it didn’t bore me at all. There were many memorable sequences that I want to re-live again and again. Best of all, the movie even managed to attract and pleased many of my family and friends who always thought that superhero movie are not their taste. Heck, even I’m already starting to save for the bluray.
I walked out from TDKR feeling satisfied, but half of it because I had almost all my predictions before and throughout the viewing correct. It’s a great movie, and a very splendid ending to the trilogy, but I would prefer the prequels to this. The first hour went off a bit draggy, and a bit too heavy for me (hey, but it’s a Nolan movie, so make sense), an though it was important, I can’t help to wonder if it could’ve been better with better pacing. Thankfully the last hour didn’t disappoint. Will I go and watch it again though? Nope, just once is enough… why? Because I’m already spoiled with all the secret, and watching it again will make me feel cheated. This one is somewhat missing memorable moments, and I don’t know, I just really don’t have the urge to re-watch it again soon. Perhaps later on the bluray, but it’s currently not on my plan now
Finally, I walked out from Spiderman… impressed. Sure, they’ve done a nice reboot, they went to a more comic-version Peter than the previous one, but it’s too soon to be rebooted, and I couldn’t help but having the Raimi trilogy overshadowing almost every moment I had while watching this. Will I go watch it again? Nope… it’s a good movie, but that’s just it. For some parts, I even prefer the original trilogy compared to this one. Oh, and the news about the already planned sequel totally threw me away as well…
Without counting Spiderman, I think The Avengers and TDKR owe their success to one another. The Avengers, as I said before, made average movie-goers who was initially NOT interested in these genre, convinced… and eventually checked out Spiderman and TDKR. TDKR, having the fame of the final of the trilogy, eventually triggered audience to be curious on how The Avengers could live up to this piece. In conclusion (ignoring all those sometimes-scary devoted comic/director fanboys): The Avengers made people wanted to watch TDKR (proof? a lot of people who watched with me said they came because they wanted to know if it’s as awesome as Avie). TDKR made people want to watch Avengers as well. Last but not least… both made people want to watch Spiderman…
That’s what I feel and what I had in my mind, as an average movie-goers. I’m more into Asian flicks, totally not a Marvel/DC/Whedon/Nolan fanboy, so not speaking from a fanboy point of view. However, I believe people have their own version of the story, and each of us has liberty to like or dislike one or another, right? So why wasting time bashing other people’s opinion just because it doesn’t rhyme with yours. Let’s just celebrate that we have an awesome summer feast with these 3 movies, and stop bringing un-necessary war among them. They are all super HEROES, they aren’t enemies with one another, so don’t pit them with each other just because we craze for one side hahaha.
Thanks for reading…
You’re crazy Screenrant. The Dark Knight Rises was much better than the Avengers. Just bc the avengers has multiple superheroes doesn’t mean it’s a masterpiece.
Wow, it’s great when I leave a perfectly innocent comment, taking time out of my night, and it is flagged for SPAM. That really takes the fun out of posting on here. Guess I can just go post my pointless opinions on Comic book movies dot com
I can’t make judgement about which of the three is best , but I can say which was my favorite: The Avengers by far. It’s the reason I go to movies, to overall have a good time , and leave the film with a smile on my face. ASM had too many plotholes and dragged too much, while TDKR was too depressing while losing the tight writing, and spark, of the previous films.
Honestly, with no biasim included, spiderman was the only movie I didn’t walk out of…. They were pretty lame.. Cartoon movies are even better like the batman begins short story movies… Face it, Batty needs to be rated R and they need to show bullet holes for once instead of blanks all the time! Avengers was good until the end.. Why do the greatest Hero’s ever assembled have to fight zombie space aliens. It was just like watching transformers all over again… Spiderman was simply more entertaining even though the producers obviously changed the movie after it was made.. Overall Spiderman had the best action(incredible). It’s amazing how they can bring spiderman to life because he was so similar to the comic books(as far as movement and fighting) lol and they truly displayed his strength… I don’t even like spiderman as a superhero but the movies web slinging and fighting put it over the top. Loved the library scene… But who cares about my opinion
Holy crap DKR wasn’t good at all! Just watched it and there were spots in that film where I just laughed out loud. Movie was bad IMO. I can’t believe how bad it was. Nolan failed to entertain me for the first time in his career. Couldn’t be more disappointed right now.
Holy crap DKR wasn’t good at all! Just watched it and there were spots in that film where I just laughed out loud. Movie was bad IMO. I can’t believe how bad it was. Nolan failed to entertain me for the first time in his career. Couldn’t be more disappointed right now.
While I agree that TDKR is not the best of the trilogy and did not really live up to the massive hype that it was given, The Avengers is simply not a better film. It is what it is, another mindless alien-invasion flick with superheroes. It never gave the impression that the protagonists were in real trouble, it’s like they’re only battling their own egos the whole time. Tom Hiddleston’s performance as the villain does not give the same amount of threat to the Avengers. Nowhere near Tom Hardy’s menacing performance as Bane. Loki is just there because he looks good. The same can be said for ScarJo and Hathaway’s characters. Is there really a need for Black Widow? It’s laughable that we even compare these two films, and it’s even more ridiculous to say that The Avengers was the better movie just because of 4 superheroes.
I really enjoyed The Avengers, it’s probably the best popcorn movie I have ever seen.
TDKR is in a different league.
I’m sorry to say, but this article has soured Screenrant for me. Of course I will keep coming back to the website to check stuff out since I usually think it’s pretty decent.
Wow, so b/c someone asked an opinion (and they didn’t agree with you on your choice of movies) it soured the whole website for you?? I guess I’ve been out of the fanboy game for a while but people take things way too personal. It’s not like they insulted your country, God, or family. Unless Batman is your uncle and Robin is your weird little cousin. In that case, carry on.
I’ve just come from the theater (saw TDKR) and after letting things sink in for a while, I can safely say that it was terrific IN MY PERSONAL OPINION.
Here are my ratings of the films in order of release:
Marvel’s The Avengers: 9.5 out of 10
The Amazing Spider-Man: 8 out of 10
The Dark Knight Rises: 9.5 out of 10
For me there won’t be any comparisons because I loved both movies (TA and TDKR) equally, but for very, very different reasons.
As a cinephile I’m ecstatic that my list of all-time favorite movies has gained two new names in one year!
The Avengers Assembled and The Fire Rose… what a great year for the movies…
The argument between the Avengers and TDKR shouldn’t exist. The Avengers destroyed it in my opinion. Yes, they are two very different movies, but Avengers 100% succeeded in what they were trying to accomplish while I don’t think TDKR did. The plot holes were too large and numerous and I think Nolan tried to do a bit too much. Still a great movie, but not on the level of the Avengers.
The real argument is between the Avengers and TDK. That I can see as a legitimate argument. TDKR I just don’t see.
A better argument is between TAS and TDKR in my opinion. Both were great movies but both had big flaws and some downright dumb moments in each. I think with repeated viewings TDKR will get worse while TAS will get better. But right now, TDKR was the better movie.
1. Avengers
2. TDKR
3. TAS
or just do like me and watch ALL the movies
pretty sure everyone in this thread did.
I watched all movies and enjoyed all movies. Only one of them made me leave the theater with a smile on my face and wanting to go back in and watch it again.
The Avengers was good but not nearly the cinematic event that TDKR is to me. Nolan gets you so emotionally involved and tries to be so much more than entertaining that there is more to criticize with Batman. Nolan just tries so much harder than any other director to give us everything we desire that I find myself talking about his films more and for so much longer than any other movies. Absolutely loved TDKR and thought The Avengers was pretty good. Spiderman wasn’t bad either but Batman takes the cake.
I think the real winner of the debate is the Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Anyone who doesn’t agree with me is stooopid. I’m gonna go light my head on fire and run around my neighborhood.
Peace Out
TDK way better than TDKR! Too many convenient plot holes filled. Blake shows up to help Gordon in the sewer. Wayne is in exile and shows up in Gotham while its on lockdown. The fights were not epic in scale. And it was way too long…and the ending c’mon