Dawn of Serious Justice.....

Mandon Knight

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So with all these 'which one's better' verses threads of the DC world and inter-studio ones too, I thought Superman The Movie (1978) v Batman (1989) would be an interesting 'match-up', in the sense of the two major characters that effectively launched and allowed for comic-book movies to be considered as viable and worth 'making' and taking 'seriously'.

Which do you like most, is the better made film and has most 'heritage', the usual points and discussion for this type of poll thread.
 
There's been at least two versions of this thread.
 
There's been at least two versions of this thread.

Well given the search engine is knackered and no longer works for finding either ones' own threads or that of others, I thought we could, if no one's interested, fine.
 
I used the search engine, and found one of them fairly quick. Unfortunately, that poll closed after 39 days, and the other thread has been deleted for some reason. So, it turns out we needed a new version of this poll after all.
 
I used the search engine, and found one of them fairly quick. Unfortunately, that poll closed after 39 days, and the other thread has been deleted for some reason. So, it turns out we needed a new version of this poll after all.

:super::ybat:
 
I'll be honest, thought this choice would have more 'traction', two iconic DC films, appreciate they are 'old school' in today's multi-universe approach, but they are unashamedly, classics.
 
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Batman for me.
 
I know some like to point out that BATMAN 89 is "timeless" and think that being set so obviously in the world of 1978/1979 America that SUPERMAN:TM comes off too kitschy and dated by comparison...

I disagree for a number of reasons I won't get into.

No doubt how important both films are to the current influx of super hero based movies. No doubt both in their own ways, for their respective times, put forth versions of their title characters that were far more "epic" and "serious" and ambitous than any version that had preceded them.

But in terms of which one has appreciated as the years go by and which one has fallen in my estimation?

Supes takes this one hands down. Like the character itself, for good or ill, EVERY super hero film that has come since, up to and including BATMAN 89 are swimming in its wake.
 
I’ll go with STM. B89 has a more consistent tone, but like I’ve said before, it’s quite slow and boring at times. STM is consistently entertaining. Both are very good movies.
 
STM with B'89 close second.

First half of the movie is fairly non campy and should I say serious (?), but once we go to Metropolis it gets light hearted and campy.

I wish Donner had dialed back some humor but it works.
 
Which film is better is subjective imo.

I will say that while STM is the more influential film in terms of how to execute superhero origin films, B89 influenced Batman's portrayals in other media, and had the greater influence on the film industry .

STM influenced a generation of filmmakers such as Patty Jenkins, Sam Raimi, Bryan Singer, Chris Nolan etc.

They're both important films in not only comic book film history but movie history in general , but I think while Superman was more influential with filmmakers , B89 was more influential with studio heads and execs who saw it as a greenlight to exploit whatever properties they had the rights to.

While Superman reaffirmed people's perception's the Superman character, B89 was more radical in the sense that it changed the general public's perception of what Batman is, or should be.

It changed people's perception of Batman as a campy hero, into Batman being the dark knight.

Keaton originated the Batman voice , and created more of a distinction between Wayne and Batman in live action which is now considered an essential part of playing Batman .
 
I’ll go with STM. B89 has a more consistent tone, but like I’ve said before, it’s quite slow and boring at times. STM is consistently entertaining. Both are very good movies.


Funny. I voted Superman, but I would have said that it really drags in places ( especially Kansas) while Batman is much more consistent in its pace and it has more evenly spread out action sequences to keep the story moving.

What makes Superman the better film is the performance of Chris Reeve, which sets the standard against all which are measured. Some of his transitions between the Clark disguise and his real self are examples of great acting period.

Batman 89 is dominated by Nicholson's Joker- so that Batman feels at times like a secondary character. It's a great cbm, and I've seen it a million times, but it doesn't beat Superman IMO.
 
I will say I feel like Superman, while flawed , feels like it sort of sticks the landing in terms of a mission statement for a potential franchise.

Ironically the Reeve films hit their apex right out of the gate imo.

That maybe because Superman 1 and 2 were basically written at the same time and the writers knew where they wanted to go with the potential franchise.

B89 came after several years of development and at a point that WB just wanted to get the project off the ground and worry about where to take the franchise later.

In that sense I feel B89 is like a great pilot episode that's rough around the edges, and has room to grow.
 
I'll be honest, thought this choice would have more 'traction', two iconic DC films, appreciate they are 'old school' in today's multi-universe approach, but they are unashamedly, classics.

It doesn't have more traction because you titled this thread "Dawn of Serious Justice" instead of "Superman: The Movie vs Batman 1989".
 
S:TM for sure. 89 has a good atmosphere and I’m a big fan of Keaton’s Batman but it isn’t terribly compelling as a story.
 
It doesn't have more traction because you titled this thread "Dawn of Serious Justice" instead of "Superman: The Movie vs Batman 1989".

I wanted the title to reflect the film's 'standing' as such. As it happens, more people are getting involved now, no harm done. :up:
 
I'll be gearing up for a December watch of Superman as I always associate it with Christmas and it's Winter cinematic release.
 
I'll be gearing up for a December watch of Superman as I always associate it with Christmas and it's Winter cinematic release.

Same here mate, a few reasons why, 1 was the first time I saw Superman the Movie was at Christmas time and they were always on here at Christmas time usually between Boxing Day & New Years.
 
Batman '89 had great visuals, good though not-focused-on protagonist.

Superman was a great overall film and take on the character, let alone for a first film, very solid in itself as well as promising for more.
 
They're both on the "Mt. Rushmore" of superhero films. Out of the two, Batman is my favorite and I find it to be more rewatchable but what I've grown to realize over the years is that Superman is the better film.
 

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