IGN's versus: The Dark Knight Rises vs. The Avengers. (Spoilers)

So, I know some of you guys probably don't care for IGN, or even vs matches, but when I saw this, I kind of had a harder time than I expected choosing. And rather than just divert your attention to this video I'm going to show and for you to vote, I'd like to discuss it here as well. The choices they have, and what you think is the better one.

Alright, so first off. The story. Personally, I chose The Dark Knight Rises, but the reason this was somewhat of a hard choice was because I came out of the theater of The Avengers totally satisfied with what it had. It wasn't the greatest story ever, but it was executed well, I don't believe I came out of it ever thinking "Wait, why...? What?" but with The Dark Knight Rises I did. The reason I chose TDKR though was because I think that although it wasn't executed as well as the other, it was an overall better story in my opinion. There was more going for it.

The action. Now, I had a blast watching both films, but the reason I chose The Dark Knight Rises again was because, maybe I'm in the minority, but I absolutely loved the fighting choreography. The intro, the fights between Batman and Bane, then the whole police chasing Batman once he first appears, and the last half hour or so, it was just amazing to me. This was still a hard choice though, because I almost felt that way for many moments in Avengers. I really liked the scene when Loki took over that crowd, then Iron Man crashes the party with Captain America, then the middle where the airship is being attacked, Hulk goes crazy, and then the whole final part. It was a tough choice, but I still chose TDKR.

As for sex appeal, I think Anne Hathaway did a very good Catwoman, she was good looking in it, and I thought her personality was sexy in a way, but the same could be said for Scarlett Johansson's character The Black Widow, and my choice was for The Black Widow. They both were good, but I think there was a little more emphasis on sexuality in The Avengers for her character, and well, it was more so before I saw TDKR that I saw Catwoman as a focus for sexual attention, but not after, she was more of a character in this, and while I could say the same thing for The Black Widow, I still see her as largely for sex appeal, even though she is more than that.

And for the bad guy, I thought Bane was better. His voice was pretty hard to understand a lot of the time and he got the short end of the stick at the end, but Loki to me, for the most part, seemed like a joke (Hulk even made of joke out of him). I was far more interested by the very, very, minuscule of time Thanos was shown at the end. Anyways, how about you? What did you think was the better film? Overall it was a lot harder to choose for me than I thought it would, but now that it's presented, it really does make me wonder what I would consider better. I think all along I would choose The Dark Knight Rises even though it's much more difficult than that. I really loved both films, and even more so than I had originally planned The Avengers because it surprised me since I didn't expect to like it as much.

I loved TDKR but I was fucking hammered/asleep for the majority of The Avengers so I really can't pick one fairly.

Man. For me, it's DKR. It was a real hard choice though man, both were great, both are getting bought on blu-ray the day they release, but at my core I'm a batman kid, grew up on the comics and toys, and to see something I grew up loving and still love being brought to the mainstream in such a great trilogy culminating in DKR... it was like the first time I saw star wars all over again man. I went to a theater that showed the entire trilogy in order, it was great.

I'm going to watch TDKR again before I decide. To be honest I didn't even really follow the first half of the movie, I didn't expect to have to pay so much goddamn attention to an action movie to follow it.

I refuse to choose between the two. Both are amazing movies in completely different ways.

TDKR is the better film in my opinion and I enjoyed it more. Avengers was a hell of a ride, though. Love them both.

I enjoyed The Avengers, but The Dark Knight Rises is just so much better.

The Avengers is fun as hell and a great popcorn flick but I think the TDKR is a better film. That being said, personally, I prefer The Avengers because as ambitious as TDKR is, it's falls short a bit too often. The Avengers was exactly what it needed to be and executed on that perfectly. The last 30-20 minutes of that movie is a complete and utter spectacle.

EDIT: Actually, thinking about it now, TDKR's ending had me absolutely grinning with joy. Dammnit, I can't pick one :(

I think TDKR is an amazing film. I was one of them who before disliked them adding Catwoman to the cast, and felt that TDK and Heath Ledger's Joker could not be topped. I was pleasantly surprised with the film and believe overall that it is better than TDK. The story was better, more emotional, and Bane was a fantastic and menacing villain. Hardy played the part brilliantly even with the majority of his face covered up, and that fight scene..wow. I still love Ledger's Joker, but Bane turned out much better than I expected. Excellent ending to the trilogy.

I liked The Avengers a lot too, but I love TDKR. I was surprised at how good The Avengers came out as well, thinking it was going to be an overcrowded mess. I will definitely be picking both up on Blu-ray. By the way, how does The Amazing Spider-man compare to these two?

Avengers because Thanos. ;)

It's hard to choose because they're both such different movies. The Dark Knight Rises was extremely serious and dark, and The Avengers was a spectacular box of fun. I'll probably watch The Avengers again before Dark Knight Rises though, and that's only because of how much fun it is.

I have problems with Dark Knight Rises due to problems with the structure (too many coincidences, too many times the viewer is told what happens instead of shown, etc) and how it ends up playing out while Avengers is just a fun movie. I ended up unsatisfied with Dark Knight Rises while I was quite happy with Avengers.

This is a dumb conversation. It seems orchestrated purely with the intent to generate controversy and pageviews.

These two films operate on different paradigms altogether, on polar opposites of the cinematic spectrum.

Apples and Oranges. Delicious apples and oranges.

they're completely different. avengers is pure campy fun and action. the dark knight rises is more of a character piece and action. they arent really comparable. to do a "vs" of htem is kinda stupid and just asking for fanboy traffic comments.

pathetic.

@Berserker976: Well, you can at least choose what aspects you thought were better, but it doesn't necessarily have to culminate in liking one film over the other in general, right?

@bmehlers said:

By the way, how does The Amazing Spider-man compare to these two?

I didn't exactly want to see that movie, so I didn't. I might though. If I was just going off my opinion pre-exposed, I'd say it's worse than both those films, ha ha. I can't do that though.

I loved both films to be honest. But I have to go with TDKR. Avengers was a fantastic Marvel Movie my favorite one Marvel has ever put out. TDKR is a better film. Nolan's version of Batman with a realistic twist has always been unique to me. I loved TDK and this had a lot to live up to. I think it delivered perfectly. I was more hyped up for DKR even though Avengers had been setting up for about 5-6 years. Even thought both were by far my movies of the summer and possibly the year DKR wins in my book just a tad.

I must also admit Anne Hathaway has been my celeb crush since Get Smart. So her catwoman/ selina helped edge DKR for me. Granted Scarlett is also high on my list Anne's still #1 in my book.

Avengers because Thanos. ;)

I never really went crazy for any part of Avengers, though I definitely found it entertaining, while I really liked TDKR with a couple compromises, so I'd pick it in pretty much all categories. As a straight man, I was more attracted to Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, but I'm definitely going to point out that Avengers has had crazy sex appeal with those attracted to dudes and was filled to the brim with man-ass.

EDIT: In a less sleep-addled state, I said yesterday that the films should not be compared, so there's that. Not even sure TDKR should be compared with TDK, as one is aiming for "modern epic" and the other is aiming for "crime vendetta."

Avengers just felt like another Iron Man/Thor/Hulk movie. Just your average super hero movie, but they crammed all of them into one. So that makes it better I guess? A fun, enjoyable movie, but it is clearly out classed by TDK series. It really does not come close.

Bane had an army but the Avengers had a Hulk.

In all seriousness I thought that the Avengers flowed much better, had better pacing, and in the end TDKR only had one scene that really made me drop my jaw and say wow, whereas the Avengers had about five or six of them.

This stupid debate just won't fucking die, will it?

@zombiebigfoot: I find your comment kind of awkward. I just mean, you say it like it's a fan boy coming here and making a Console vs. PC thread or something, which from that, I can understand some heated discussion, but from my point of view, when I made this, that's not what the intentions were. I also had no idea this kind of thing was even that big of a debate. You make it seem like it's everywhere, all the time. The only thing I've ever heard or seen was the harmless "what's going to be the best film this summer?" And that was months ago.

The Avengers is boring. Its mindless and generic. There is nothing special about that movie nor any of the marvel films prior to it.

I wanna see The Dark Knight vs. The Avengers: The Movie.

On the other hand, I feel that Dark Knight Rises is needlessly complex and breaks suspension of disbelief upon light inspection of the story details. Just like some games, just adding complexity doesn't mean it is deep.

@EXTomar: Rises isn't complex at all it just moves at a very brisk pace, as many of Nolan's films do. I feel that compared to Avengers, Rises as a more compelling plot.

@SJSchmidt93 said:

I'm going to watch TDKR again before I decide. To be honest I didn't even really follow the first half of the movie, I didn't expect to have to pay so much goddamn attention to an action movie to follow it.

What were you expecting from a Nolan movie? He loves convoluted plots.

The new Batman wasn't even as good as the first two in the series. Corny performances from Bale especially made it laughable. Avengers blew it away.

@Dany said:

@EXTomar: Rises isn't complex at all it just moves at a very brisk pace, as many of Nolan's films do. I feel that compared to Avengers, Rises as a more compelling plot.

Yes because how "The Twist" ends up taking over Wayne Enterprises wasn't complex or require a long chain of borderline absurdities and giant coincidences to pull off.

It has to be the Avengers for me. The whole Dark Knight series is amazing and certainly an interesting take on Batman, but with the myriad ways Batman has been portrayed in various media throughout the years has caused the various iterations to disassociate in my mind. There was no real sense of connection to the Batman of my youth.

The Avengers, on the other hand, did exactly want I wanted to do: hearken back to the comic books I read as a kid in a meaningful way and bombard me with fanservice that was neither pandering nor condescending. Ruffalo was an inspired pick for Banner and Scarlett Johansson really came into her own as the Black Widow. Also I'm a bit of a sucker for ensemble pieces so the movie was basically made exactly for me.

@bmehlers said:

By the way, how does The Amazing Spider-man compare to these two?

Doesn't compare at all sadly. IMO it's about on-par with the first Tobey Maguire movie with a fair amount of plot holes and general weirdness but some nice ideas. Since the first movie hewed very closely to the origin story from the comics they couldn't just copypasta and ended up making numerous twists and changes. Some were good, some felt forced, all in all I'd give it about 3 puppies. It's worth seeing if you're a Spidey fan that isn't afraid to suspend some disbelief. Also Emma Stone.

@Dany said:

The Avengers is boring. Its mindless and generic. There is nothing special about that movie nor any of the marvel films prior to it.

Nothing special about it? That's insane. It was a grand undertaking that has been building anticipation for years. The idea of creating several single-character movies and then having these characters meet in an on-screen collaboration is certainly interesting, if not special. As for Marvel movies as a whole, they've completely reinvigorated the superhero film genre. No longer are hero movies campy nonsense with bat-nipples and bat-credit cards. Studios take them seriously now, and you have Marvel to thank for that.

The Avengers was also some of the most fun I've ever had in the theater, but that's beside the point.

Action, Story, Villain and... sex appeal? Really IGN?

Couldn't you, like, have an acting category or something?

On-topic... it's Batman for me. The Avengers' appeal relies strongly on the action-packed nature of the film and I found TDKR's story much more compelling.

Avengers was important in a similar way that The Dark Knight was important. The Dark Knight rises was just a poor follow up.

@Meowshi said:

@Dany said:

The Avengers is boring. Its mindless and generic. There is nothing special about that movie nor any of the marvel films prior to it.

Nothing special about it? That's insane. It was a grand undertaking that has been building anticipation for years. The idea of creating several single-character movies and then having these characters meet in an on-screen collaboration is certainly interesting, if not special. As for Marvel movies as a whole, they've completely reinvigorated the superhero film genre. No longer are hero movies campy nonsense with bat-nipples and bat-credit cards. Studios take them seriously now, and you have Marvel to thank for that.

The Avengers was also some of the most fun I've ever had in the theater, but that's beside the point.

yeah, it worked but nothing is special about the films themselves. Avengers was, as I said, mindless fun and instantly forgettable. Batman and Robin were 15 years ago. Marvles films are safe, and at least Nolan tries to do something different with batman, creating his superhero films in a more grounded fashion.

@Deusx said:

@SJSchmidt93 said:

I'm going to watch TDKR again before I decide. To be honest I didn't even really follow the first half of the movie, I didn't expect to have to pay so much goddamn attention to an action movie to follow it.

What were you expecting from a Nolan movie? He loves convoluted plots.

Well I went into Inception and Memento knowing I'd need to be alert, but not this movie. I remember the other 2 Batman movies being pretty "oh here's the villain and here's Batman. Batman will try to stop the villian. The villian will try to stop Batman from stopping the villian. GO!"

i really hate "whats better!?!" arguments. especially between two good things. who cares?

they're both pretty good movies.

personally i liked the dark knight rises more, but i think the avengers is a more important movie, since its the first time people have done several one-off movies and had them all meet up in one movie. its pretty amazing that all worked out.

avengers is a good middle of the road movie.

batman rises is a plain good movie.

@Dany said:

@Meowshi said:

@Dany said:

The Avengers is boring. Its mindless and generic. There is nothing special about that movie nor any of the marvel films prior to it.

Nothing special about it? That's insane. It was a grand undertaking that has been building anticipation for years. The idea of creating several single-character movies and then having these characters meet in an on-screen collaboration is certainly interesting, if not special. As for Marvel movies as a whole, they've completely reinvigorated the superhero film genre. No longer are hero movies campy nonsense with bat-nipples and bat-credit cards. Studios take them seriously now, and you have Marvel to thank for that.

The Avengers was also some of the most fun I've ever had in the theater, but that's beside the point.

yeah, it worked but nothing is special about the films themselves. Avengers was, as I said, mindless fun and instantly forgettable. Batman and Robin were 15 years ago. Marvles films are safe, and at least Nolan tries to do something different with batman, creating his superhero films in a more grounded fashion.

Instantly forgettable? It was the biggest blockbuster of the summer. Marvel movies are "safe" in the sense that the studio insists on hiring the best directors, writers, and actors for the projects. Never in a million years would I have expected there to be a good Thor or Iron Man movie released in theaters, but they managed to make these characters appeal to a wide audience despite the outlandish, fantastical characters. In my opinion, that is special.

You're right that Nolan has a more original take on Batman, but it's also HIS version. It's not the character from the comics. You aren't seeing the character you grew up reading immortalized on the big screen. You're just seeing one man's loose interpretation of the character. The Avengers on the other hand felt like a proper comic book movie, with the characters being almost indistinguishable from those you remember from your childhood. A large part of the success of that film was nostalgia, as well as Whedon's sense of humor, experience with ensemble casts, and characteristic dialogue.

I think these films set out to accomplish to vastly different things, but I think they do them equally as well.

DKR all the way.  And the thing is, I watched the Avengers twice and DKR once.....