The Avengers vs The Dark Knight Rises

There was this post in 9gag that really caught my attention shortly after it was announced in major movie ranking sites that the Avengers was the highest grossing film of 2012, with sales going past the billions mark. In the post, you can see the Avengers cast looking at someone in the foreground, with the image of Batman from The Dark Knight right in front of them. Under the picture was a simple but very obvious challenge, "Your move, Batman."

I laughed at this because it sparked memories of countless arguments with DC Fanboy Jeri Tan with regards to the superiority of the DC franchise over that of Marvel. It was an obvious ploy to spark a massive flame war between the two camps between fans of DC and Marvel. A war that I think is moot and will never show a true winner.

But which one is actually superior, in my opinion? I am not trying to be neutral but all I can say is that you really can't compare them. It's very much like the age-old saying where you can't compare apples to oranges because they're that much different. 

Although technically, at this point in time, The Avengers is so far the higher-grossing film, it does not mean that it is totally superior to The Dark Knight Rises. Besides, it really is too early to tell, as the film has only had what, three weeks in the theaters, and the fact that it was not shown in 3D could also explain the difference. 

But then earnings alone don't really show how good a film is. Take for example, Titanic. Brr... (shiver). It was the second highest grossing film of all time, and yet, I (and a lot of people like me) felt it wasn't something you want to write home about.

Anyway, back to my point. As I was saying, its sort of hard to compare them, seeing as the Avengers and the Dark Knight rises are two sides of the same coin. To illustrate, I want to describe what the movies are about.

The Avengers was, for all intents and purposes, THE best depiction of what a superhero movie was supposed to be. The Superhero genre was supposed to be about incredible superpowers, struggling against incredible odds, lots of action and a great super-villain you would love to hate. This movie has it all. Sure there was drama, but it never really was the centerpiece of the movie. The story? What story? If you ask me, the plot was one of the most predictable and driest I have ever seen. They probably just put it in there as an excuse to bring together the different characters in one film. However, when I left the IMAX movie theater, I did not feel cheated. In fact I thought it was awesome! Other people went on rambling about the lack of the story and depth and drama, but who cares? It was never supposed to be like that anyway, and I had fun all through out the movie. Who did not laugh when Hulk punches Thor out of camera for no apparent reason or when he beat the godlike Loki to a pulp? Who did not stare in open mouthed wonder as Tony Stark merged with his Iron Man Mark IV suit. 

The Dark Knight Rises on the other hand was totally different. Take the description above about what a superhero film is all about. And then watch this film. If you analyze it carefully, this isn't really a superhero film. You don't get a guy with incredible powers, in fact for most of the film Bruce Wayne is as human as he gets. He failed multiple times against a well-organized group. He was beaten and broken. Even the main antagonist is not what most super-villains are all about. Although for most of the film, Bane was being depicted as the ultimate evil, the film actually turns around and tells you his origins. After that origin montage, can you really hate him? I didn't. I could not. I actually felt sympathetic. In short, I went to the theater to watch a super-hero movie, but instead saw this. But again, after I left the cinema, I did not feel robbed. It was a totally different feeling. I wasn't hyped up with all the action, but was totally engrossed at how the story played out and how befitting it was to end the trilogy that started with Batman Begins.

So again we go back to the question, Avengers vs Batman? I again say neither. Both had their redeeming qualities and faults, but their entertainment value was undeniable. All I can say is enjoy these movies for what they are. And don't be such a fanboy that you lose the very essence of watching a movie in the first place. As what I always say to my friends, who cares if a movie had a great story, or out of this world special effects. For me what really matters is that you come out of that movie house feeling you had one hell of a time.