Batman Begins vs. Superman Returns

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Which movie do you like better Batman Begins or Superman Returns? I like Batman Begins better because there's more action in that film.

[Fonzie]

Why vs. threads?

Why not "or"?

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

Why vs. threads?

Why not "or"?

Who cares?...Besides you.

[Shiny]

Batman Begins, because I hate Superman. I always thought he was a lame superhero. The fact no one can recognize that he's Superman when the only disguise he has is a pair of glasses is quite ridiculous. Also, Christian Bale was wonderful as Batman so yeah.

[isaac17]

batman kicks superman's ass anyday! I don't get the Superman appeal...

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

batman kicks superman's ass anyday! I don't get the Superman appeal...

Hey I'm not asking who would win in a fight I'm asking which film do you like better? GEEZ read the smurfing title for god's sake.:rolleyes2

[isaac17]

I'm not saying in a fight... I'm saying he just kicks ass. I mean, look at batman! He's... 'kick ass'. Superman is not :D

[Slothy]

Begins was the better movie, but I like Superman more.

[Elite Lord Sigma]

When it comes to biggest improvement, Batman beats the pants off of Superman.

[Araciel]

no effin' contest

BB in every way.

[El Bandito]

Batman Begins is a good movie.

Superman Returns is a mediocre movie.

The thread starter sure is a snappy fellow. Interesting bible verse though.

[Heath]

Batman Begins surprised me with the quality of it. I wasn't really expecting much, as I don't tend from superhero films, but I found it really entertaining and a generally worthwhile watch.

Superman Returns, on the other hand, was a mediocre film like El Bandito said.

[Madame Adequate]

Superman Returns is better because Hux yeah Lex Luthor.

[Quindiana Jones]

Batman. Superman was good but WTF? Superman, after being stabbed in the gut with a kryptonite dagger (with the shard remaining inside), died, then came back to life and, whilst in his weakened state, still managed to lift a Kryptonite Canada off the Earth and throw it into space.

Yeah....sure. Also, bear in mind that he was standing on this Krypton-land for a long time.

[Slothy]

The kryptonite island wasn't the size of Canada, Superman didn't die, and a quick dip into the upper atmosphere to recharge his solar batteries could be all he needs to lift the island. Keep in mind, lifting it quite literally took almost everything he had (and frankly, I've seen more messed up crap in the comics so that doesn't even phase me). Also, it's easy enough to see that he took a chunk of the Earth's crust with it when he lifted it, likely to give him some protection from the radiation.

[Quindiana Jones]

There's so many holes in your counter-argument, it's like a piece of slutty swiss cheese.

[Slothy]

If by full of holes you mean logical and well thought out then yes. The only thing that's questionable is that that short exposure to the sun would be enough to recharge him, but like I said, I've seen them pull a lot worse in the comics.

You've also got to keep in mind that kryptonite in that movie isn't an instant win (heck, it's rarely an instant win in the comics. It just depends on the writer). It doesn't immediately take away his powers and acts in a more gradual manner on him, depending on how much he's around. It's unlikely that small sliver in his side would have been enough to stop him from lifting the island after his quick recharge. The island itself would have done more, but he wasn't really exposed to much of it's radiation until it was well on it's way. The largest amount of effort would have been in initially lifting it anyway. As it got farther from the earth it would have gotten easier to move, and not required as much effort on his part, so he could have kept it's momentum going even when significantly weakened. Keep in mind the Superman of this movie is based on the silver age Superman; someone who could lift 6 quintillion tons and easily fly to other galaxies. Given that, I find the movie incarnation to be refreshingly underpowered if anything.

[Vikeve]

What the hell am I the only one who voted for super man returns?

[The Fat Bioware Nerd]

What the hell am I the only one who voted for Superman Returns?

Yes because you're the only one who prefers that film over Batman Begins.

[Shlup]

I haven't even seen Superman, but Batman is awesome. Always been my favorite superhero anyway.

[Jon Thompson]

If it wasn't for a few cool scenes with wicked special effects it I'd hardly call Superman Returns a movie. Superman is already a lame superhero and this movie made him even lamer.

Batman Begins is a great film. I've gotten people who hate Batman to wach it and love it. The ensemble cast alone puts it over Superman Returns alone. Liam Neeson, Ken Wantanabe, Christian Bale, Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and, sadly, Katie Holmes but 8 of nine ain't bad.

DArk Knight is out soon and after adding talents like Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger and Maggie Gylenhaal my expectations are only higher.

[Kossage]

Well, both movies are quite good, but I'd say that I'd choose Batman Begins out of the two.

Superman Returns is a nice way of trying to bring him back to the screen. I thought the story was thought out well, and the actors did great most of the time. I didn't mind the focus on drama rather than action, because the story required it, and in the end it worked relatively well, although I wouldn't have minded seeing more action. One thing in Superman Returns was definitely better than in Batman Begins, though: the score. I liked the way how John Ottman used John Williams's classic score as a template and managed to stay faithful to it while adding his own themes and style into the mix, and he created a great score in the process.

Batman Begins had a good cast as well (Katie Holmes was the lone exception, although I didn't luckily cringe during her scenes), and I really liked the way how most of the time the movie concentrated on the drama instead of action, and it was fine as an origin story. The story worked well, tying many plots together in the end, and the cinematography really worked in the movie's favour. The hasty editing of the action sequences was a bit unfortunate, although I can understand it from a filmmaker's point of view: I just would've hoped that at least the final battle would've had longer shots instead of having that claustrophobic feel.

The score of BB sucked most of the time, unfortunately. Batman's pre-theme (or whatever you want to call it) was lame an uninspired, and the action material was pretty much standard Zimmer stuff except for the occasional touching subtheme that definitely had James Newton-Howard's musical signature in them. True, the music works for the most part in the film, even in action sequences, but if you compare it to, say, the first Batman film's score by Danny Elfman, it's a far cry from Elfman's masterpiece. I hope that the sequel's score will be more inspired, but we'll see how things go.

[Peegee]

I've watched superman films. SR is not too too different, and so I voted BB. Plus Batman is a far more complex character and thus is more engaging.

In terms of Superman, my biggest grip with him is that he's essentially near omnipotent in the comics. In the movies, is he a weakened copy of his normal self? He had problems stopping a plane from crashing (he had to strain himself), and then later he throws a much larger (mass-wise) object into outer space with non-congruent effort. So is Superman weaker or stronger than he needs to be depending on what the narrative needs? I'm confused.

Batman is incapable of letter the writers mess with narration in such a fashion, so I prefer him. Also, and off topic, Batman has defeated Superman several times in the comic, even though I disagree with the hows.

[Sefie1999AD]

While I thought Superman Returns was a pretty good movie, I prefer the movie Batman Begins. BB had a great cast of actors, and the dark storyline was well done. SR had interesting and likable characters, and the movie was fun to watch, but I don't think it had anything overly spectacular.

[Slothy]

He had problems stopping a plane from crashing (he had to strain himself), and then later he throws a much larger (mass-wise) object into outer space with non-congruent effort. So is Superman weaker or stronger than he needs to be depending on what the narrative needs? I'm confused.

He didn't struggle to stop the plane because it was heavy. He struggled with it because he had to slow it down without shattering the fuselage and killing everyone on board. Despite his power, he can't just defy what the laws of physics say will happen if he tries to stop the plane instantly with his bare hands.