15 Reasons Tim Burton’s Batman Is Better Than Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight

[a-dev]

Yeah, it's unquestionably the best Batmobile ever. It just has all of the qualities a Batmobile needs. Such an amazing, truly timeless design.

Aesthetically cool but the way the front is so low to the ground. How does it even mount a kerb or drive down a hill with a sharply flattening road?

 

[karamazov80]

Interesting. Out of curiousity what are its greatest strengths and shortcomings in your eyes?

I think Nicholson is really the best thing about it. As a kid I don't think I appreciated his performance as well as I do now, and part of the reason for that is knowing Ledger's performance. As great as it was, Ledger (and Nolan in general) did a 180 with a Joker I had never seen before. Nicholson got the spirit of the comic Joker down even though he didn't really look the part.

The tone at times just don't connect with me though at certain points, and that could have been due to some inconsistencies. The surrealist environment mixed together with people who often behaved in ways that didn't fit. An exaggerated, surrealist comic movie can definitely work (though it isn't exactly a masterpiece, Mystery Men worked on that level, as does the '60s Batman), but many of the characters either seemed too 1-dimensional, or not fleshed out enough to make sense in relation to other characters and situations at a given time. Hard to put my finger on specific things, as it was probably summer last year that I saw it, but I remember finishing it and thinking that something about that disappointed me more than I thought it would. Nolan had a similar problem with the driver in Dark Knight who was cracking stupid jokes. Didn't fit in with the other stuff going on.

But maybe part of that was bad acting. I mean, Kim Basinger? But when people say they like Returns better, maybe in part it's because Burton wasn't trying to straddle a line between believability and his own surreal world, and he just went full throttle into doing his own thing. There is value in consistency of that sort.

 

[Khev]

Aesthetically cool but the way the front is so low to the ground. How does it even mount a kerb or drive down a hill with a sharply flattening road?

I don't know but it managed just fine in the movie so it's all good for me.

I see that Nicholson Joker is surprisingly affordable on ebay. Did they make a jillion of them or something? I can't believe that its half the price of Hawkeye.

 

[IrishJedi]

We got the covers for the machine guns all mounted last week:

And now we've also figured out a way to access the engine without taking the entire body off:

 

[karamazov80]

What's going on there? Is it being renovated for one of those Batmobile tour things?

 

[IrishJedi]

What's going on there? Is it being renovated for one of those Batmobile tour things?

No. This is my friend's replica Batmobile that we're building. Once done, he'll take it to conventions and such. But first, we're gonna drive it around town and take it through fast food drive-thrus.

 

[karamazov80]

Awesome. You've got to video that

 

[IrishJedi]

Awesome. You've got to video that

Oh, no doubt.

And, yes, DiFabio, it will have an MP3/CD player and stereo in it and imma blast "Descent Into Mystery" while driving this bad-boy. I've been wanting to do that since 1989.

I just hope no cops will be around, because it will be impossible to not wanna floor this thing.

 

[cerealkeller]

Design wise, I love Burton's version. The Batmobile and the suit in particular. My favorite Gotham is Begins. It felt "gothic" but also a place you could visit. In a perfect world, Keaton would play Batman and Bale Bruce Wayne. Each had their strong suits. Bale was great as both in Begins, but the stupid helmet in TDK ruined it by squishing his face and making him a mouthbreather.

But besides the music, the design and Keaton, I just can't enjoy Burton's films as films. The stories are weak, the plots by the villains are ridiculous and honestly I find both of them pretty boring. With Nolan's version, I feel emotionally invested in what is happening on screen because we got such a great origin story for Bruce Wayne and why he is doing his war on crime. I care about the character and want to see him succeed. With the case of TDKR, even if Batman isn't in it a lot, I was still enthralled because Bruce's plan was turning to crap and it all looked lost for him, even though you know Batman will win in the end. With Burton's version, there is such a disconnect between Batman and the audience. We never really get to know the character of Bruce Wayne. The films are so much less about the most interesting character in these stories which happens to be the main character. In Returns, he is barely in the movie. I guess I just enjoy the approach of getting to know Bruce Wayne and having an emotional connection to wanting to see him succeed.

 

[karamazov80]

Though he may not have had the dramatic screentime, Keaton is more relatable to me than Bale is in general. So I think I actually felt more for Keaton and his troubles than I did for Bale's.

 

[Khev]

We got the covers for the machine guns all mounted last week:

And now we've also figured out a way to access the engine without taking the entire body off:

Wow, that's insane. Any idea what road "descent into mystery" was filmed on? Was it even stateside? Imagine finding a dark autumn night and cruising over that same path to the "batcave," blasting the leaves as you fly by.

 

[IrishJedi]

It was filmed in the countryside outside of London (most of the film was shot at Pinewood studios). However... there are some similar roads here in North Georgia we're gonna take it on.

Yes, there will be photos and video.

 

[Magpie 7]

We got the covers for the machine guns all mounted last week:

And now we've also figured out a way to access the engine without taking the entire body off:

Absolutely AMAZING!!!

You could even end up like this........

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgO3CLVrn1U"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgO3CLVrn1U[/ame]

 

[Sithlord1975]

Speaking of these movies, just got them today!
The circle is complete!

[ame]https://youtu.be/7rpb163rqn8[/ame]

 

[Khev]

I do see the Nolan movies as better films but with regard to collectibles I find the Burton characters/designs more appealing with the possible exception of Catwoman.

Kind of like LOTR vs. Star Wars. LOTR = better. SW = more fun to collect.

 

[Cap'n Cook]

That whole article is so biased its laughable.

 

[TheProcrastinator]

Kind of like LOTR vs. Star Wars. LOTR = better. SW = more fun to collect.

Out of curiosty - is that becouse You personally prefer SW imagery, or becouse SW collectibles just happen to be much more diverse and attractive than the limited formats of LOTRS merchandise?

 

[IrishJedi]

I still like Star Wars OT more than LOTR. Especially TESB.

 

[M0NSTER]

That whole article is so biased its laughable.

Yeah. It is. After reading it through, it does make some good points. But most of it is subjective. Just as most arguments are. Especially the ones regarding Burton vs Nolan.

 

[Khev]

It's hard to say for certain. Could just be that SW has always been more ingrained into my life than LOTR. So it could be a time thing, or just the way the characters are designed.

Similarly when I picture the best sequences of the Nolan trilogy they top Burton's vision but I get greater warm fuzzy looking at characters/figures from the latter's films.