Batman Begins Newsarama's Top 10 Comic Book-Based Movies of All Time: Guess Who's #1? Not TDK!!

[El Payaso]

It's nice to see Batman Begins at numero uno. It's underrated because of TDK.

Not by me. I found BB terribly weak in many important aspects since the moment it was released. I even had feared that TDK was going to be the same but it was so much better.

But it's solid at telling Batman's story the way it needed to be told.

The structure of the plot is solid. But the one-liners, some of the dialogue and the action were weak. Not to mention Holmes' performance.

We wouldn't have TDK without BB.

And we wouldn't have BB without B&R, but that doesn't help the movie itself.

 

[SurfDUI]

You guys will give all TDK lunatics abad name w/ your sound arguments.
I agree w/ both

I felt the acting by the citizens during the ferry boats scene was pretty bad, and I felt the idea of a "pick your poison" climax has been done so many times in action movies that it was no good.

Yea, but at least you got to hear from some of the citizens of Gotham about the whole thing. It's a POV that isn't usually taken in comic films.

Over the top and pointless. TDK loses quite a bit of steam after the Joker visits Harvey at the hospital.

Agreed

He catches the villain yes, but Joker pretty much won in everything he did except the boats. We have a main love interest who was developed over two films dying, and we have the hero framing himself for murder and being hated and hunted at the end of the movie.

Furthermore, it had an intelligent plot (not perfect, but it was smart) and it didn't simply try to only be an action movie. Also, it has multiple important characters, and it doesn't feel too jumbled or loose track of the it's narrative. It actually manages to juggle multiple characters and villains and make it work,

It in no way followed any previous mainstream comic movie. It took risks, and it paid off.

Yep

While the fist fights weren't amazing, I'd have to say that the car chases were pretty freaking good. I'd have to say it's probably up there as one of the best car chases I've seen, not to mention the whole Chinese building jumping/blowing out a window and being snagged by a plane scene, which had very good action, the last scene with the swats, and to add to all that the great explosion scenes.

So yeah, I'd say TDK had really good action.

Right, also they went away from all the quick cuts that weighed BB down-except for the temple scene.

Keepin the camera on the principle during a fight sequence i.e. the club scene...even if he's in a cape is a good rule of thumb for comic films going forward.

 

[Darkfly]

No comic book movie list without Judge Dredd, Hellboy, Hellboy II, The Crow, & Batman Returns I will not listen too since all of the above deserve to be in there & with 300 & Spidey 2 (first ones better) in there I can't even appreciate this list

btw I'm not being super wammy serious so don't go bashing my fellow Bat brethren, God forbid if I said Batman Begins & TDK didn't deserve to be in there

 

[Cain]

Men In Black but no Road to Perdition? 300 but not The Crow? I think Sin City and American Splendor also belong on a top 10 list for comic book not superhero movies. I agree with the above poster also, Spider-Man > Spider-Man 2.

 

[SheldonLevene]

I'm happy for BB it doesn't get enough credit due to TDK, in my opinion BB is great as TDK.

Agree 100%

BB was the seed, I give you that. But the action, one-liners, Rachel and some dialogues are quite weak. Whereas in TDK they're notoriously better. The action is much better, the one-liners are decent and not scene-ruiners as in BB, Rachel was portrayed by a better actress and had a better role in the story. And Jonah Nolan's dialogues are gold compared to the repetitive informative Goyer's ones, not to mention his moral-wannabes. The difference between both movies is too obvious for me.

I have to say I found the lines of the idiot that rides shotgun with Gordon in the chase scene far more enraging than anything found in BB. Although, I agree with some of the other things despite the fact that I view BB and TDK on even terms.

 

[Etienne]

It's nice to see Batman Begins at numero uno. It's underrated because of TDK. But it's solid at telling Batman's story the way it needed to be told. We wouldn't have TDK without BB. Both of Nolan's films have made me proud to be a Batman fan.

Batman Begins successfully rebooted the Batman franchise, with it's success other movies with failing franchises have done the same.

 

[[A]]

300 over TDK? Ok, I've seen it all now.. *jumps*

 

[Mutagen]

Yeah a few years ago i would've put spider-man 2 on top but after seeing Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, I'd have to put it a few notches down. It doesn't have the same appeal as it used to have for me.

I always thought Spider-man 2 was a little choppy to say the least.

 

[Travesty]

Have to agree Bale's batvoice is unbelievably awful in places. I think some people are kidding themselves sometimes when they say it is awesome and the like. It really works well in some places but in others it is atrocious. Like in the poor man's Long Halloween scene with Dent, Gordon and Bats:
"IF I GET HIM BACK, CAN YOU GET HIM TO TALK?"
I only figured out what he said when Dent responded "I'll get him to sing". Not to mention his casual talk with Gordon in the bank, Bale really needs to calm down in his talks with Gordon and others so that he isn't permanently growling.

Agreed. I actually despised his voice in TDK. I thought it was balanced pretty well In Begins. When he would talk to Rachel or Gordon, it was more of a whisper, but in TDK, he would growl EVERY time he talked.

-When he said, "cause I don't wear hockey pads", I literally couldn't understand what he said until the fake Batman looked down. I thought he said, "cause I don't carry hockey masks". I didn't even think that made sense, then I saw the fake Batman look down, and then I thought thats a catchers pad.......oh, hockey pads!

-"Then you'll love me". I was really hoping that line wouldn't be in the movie at all.

And was I the only person who HATED Gambles, "why shouldn't I have my boy here rip your head off" line? Its just the way he said it sounded like he was reading a line in a monotone voice. It was just god-awful.


I like TDK, don't get me wrong. I've been a HUGE bat-nerd for around 22-23 years now, but TDK isn't my favorite bat-flick, hell, maybe not even top 3. It has just as much flaws, and things wrong with it as Begins, B89, Returns, etc. They all have pluses and minuses, things that balance themselves out, but to me, Begins deserves the higher score then TDK.

 

[Ben Reilly]

I would definately remove some of those entries and include some others.

I actually agree with a lot of the comments on BB. It was the 10 year anniversary for Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) was only 8 years into the past. To give Batman a comeback was a great challenge. And while Marvel was going strong DC hadn't kept up at all.

I think the storyline of BB is just as strong as the one in TDK. I would only put TDK ahead because it keeps evolving the character and the story with great succes - and because of Ledger.

Iron Man definately deserves a place in the top 5. I would also have included the first Spider-man movie somewhere on the list because I think it does a great job of building his character. And I believe it was the superhero movie that took the game to a new level. The first X-men was good, but not as grand.

Personally I also love the first Hulk movie. I really do. And the first FF movie. I can't help it. I watched them both on the big screen and I was just swept away. I don't mind when they tweak the stories a bit. I'd never expect a comic (or book) adaption to be excactly like the source material. After all they're two very different artforms.

I agree with the comments on Burton's Batman. I always liked that one as well. And Superman - The Movie is a classic.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Agreed. I actually despised his voice in TDK. I thought it was balanced pretty well In Begins. When he would talk to Rachel or Gordon, it was more of a whisper, but in TDK, he would growl EVERY time he talked.

-When he said, "cause I don't wear hockey pads", I literally couldn't understand what he said until the fake Batman looked down. I thought he said, "cause I don't carry hockey masks". I didn't even think that made sense, then I saw the fake Batman look down, and then I thought thats a catchers pad.......oh, hockey pads!

-"Then you'll love me". I was really hoping that line wouldn't be in the movie at all.

And was I the only person who HATED Gambles, "why shouldn't I have my boy here rip your head off" line? Its just the way he said it sounded like he was reading a line in a monotone voice. It was just god-awful.


I like TDK, don't get me wrong. I've been a HUGE bat-nerd for around 22-23 years now, but TDK isn't my favorite bat-flick, hell, maybe not even top 3. It has just as much flaws, and things wrong with it as Begins, B89, Returns, etc. They all have pluses and minuses, things that balance themselves out, but to me, Begins deserves the higher score then TDK.

Agreed. He's trying too hard. He should take a cue from...You guessed it, Kevin Conroy. TAS is so perfect.

 

[El Payaso]

I would definately remove some of those entries and include some others.

I actually agree with a lot of the comments on BB. It was the 10 year anniversary for Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) was only 8 years into the past. To give Batman a comeback was a great challenge. And while Marvel was going strong DC hadn't kept up at all.

I think the storyline of BB is just as strong as the one in TDK. I would only put TDK ahead because it keeps evolving the character and the story with great succes - and because of Ledger.

Iron Man definately deserves a place in the top 5. I would also have included the first Spider-man movie somewhere on the list because I think it does a great job of building his character. And I believe it was the superhero movie that took the game to a new level. The first X-men was good, but not as grand.

Personally I also love the first Hulk movie. I really do. And the first FF movie. I can't help it. I watched them both on the big screen and I was just swept away. I don't mind when they tweak the stories a bit. I'd never expect a comic (or book) adaption to be excactly like the source material. After all they're two very different artforms.

I agree with the comments on Burton's Batman. I always liked that one as well. And Superman - The Movie is a classic.

I agree with almost everrything you say. But FF is in my list of worst superhero movies.

 

[Ben Reilly]

I agree with almost everrything you say. But FF is in my list of worst superhero movies.

Almost is close enough

It wouldn't make my worst list at all. FF 2 probably would, but not the first one. And I'd be sure to make room for movies like Ghost Rider, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Superman IV (sorry, Christopher), some of the Crow sequels and probably some of the tv-movies from the older days (I remember Spider-man, Hulk, the Flash and Captain America from when I was a kid).

 

[Ben Reilly]

I agree with almost everrything you say. But FF is in my list of worst superhero movies.

Almost is close enough

It wouldn't make my worst list at all. FF 2 probably would, but not the first one. And I'd be sure to make room for movies like Ghost Rider, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Superman IV (sorry, Christopher), some of the Crow sequels and probably some of the tv-movies from the older days (I remember Spider-man, Hulk, the Flash and Captain America from when I was a kid).