Batman vs. Batman

In 1989, Batman was released to great reception, with a followup of numerous sequels. In 2005, a reboot film franchise was green-lighted to total three films known as "The Dark Knight Trilogy". These sets of movies have been compared and many ask which are the better Batman films? Today I will do my own comparisons and give my own opinion as to which of the two films which started each line of movies is better, Batman (1989) and Batman Begins (2005).

Both films touch upon the origins of Batman, though Batman Begins goes much more in depth. The first thing to notice is the different atmosphere of the two movies. Batman has a much more unique take on the film. It is a blend of both an action movie with underlying dark comedy. While a person may not necessarily laugh, it is a much more easy going film despite intense scenes with people doing flips, kicks, and shooting bullets. Batman Begins takes a much more realistic and gritty interpretation. The characters are very serious throughout the film and at times feels more like a crime drama or mystery. The action scenes are more choreographed to show a life and death fight rather than a brawl.

Keeping this in mind, the atmosphere described affects the other aspects of the film. Take for example how Gotham City is depicted.

Batman (1989) Gotham City

Batman Begins (2005) Gotham City

Looking at these images, Batman is an imagination fueled city, with architecture that does not exist in our reality but instead puts the viewer into its own reality. Batman Begins looks like an actual location on the other hand giving a sense of realism. The story in Batman is much more eccentric and Saturday morning cartoony, while Batman Begins touches on realistic themes and ideas such as drug trafficking and organized crime. By this point it becomes obvious what type of movies these are and what audiences they touch. Words that describe Batman show how the film is a good representation of what a plot about a man in a costume fighting crime would be expected. On the other hand, Batman Begins was described numerous times as more realistic to represent how if Batman really did exist as non-fiction that this would be how events would play out. Both of these movies are very different, and which one would be better is mostly dependent on a person's taste entirely since they are both not just good Batman stories, but just good movies.

To choose one, I would pick Batman. It is one of the movies that is better as an adult despite being assessable to younger audiences. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but still can keep a viewer from finding it too campy. Like the original James Bond flicks, a movie like this is very rare to to be able to separate itself from the many other movies that are both imaginative and realistic and create a harmony between the two. If you haven't already, be sure to check out both movies sometime to see these points on screen.