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"The James Bond"-quadrilogy vs. "The Dark Knight"-trilogy: Which is better?

Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
edited December 2015 in Bond Movies Posts: 11,119
I honestly would choose the "Craig"-quadrilogy. Why?

I think I enjoy the character development of James Bond more than that of Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne IMO always stays the same, slightly blue, neutral and bored with his character traits. Whereas James Bond really develops into a different character throughout 4 films.

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Comments

  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,583
    Craig-quadrilogy in a heartbeat.

    Honestly, the only Dark Knight film that I can truly watch and never get bored with is The Dark Knight itself. TDKR gets slow and drags in various spots.
  • Seven_Point_Six_FiveSeven_Point_Six_Five Southern California
    Posts: 1,257
    Batman and Bond, my two all time favorite characters.

    I'm leaning towards the TDK trilogy. These films had the benefit of the same director so they feel more consistent and cohesive, whereas Craig's quadrilogy feels more disjointed and tonally inconsistent.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited December 2015 Posts: 23,883
    For me there is no 'better' when it comes to these two franchises.

    I have been a fan of both (Bond films and Bat comics & films) since I can remember.....so very young.

    Up until 2005 there was no comparison. James Bond wiped the floor with Batman as far as films go.

    Batman Begins was a game changer for me. An all time classic film as far as I'm concerned and a great way to re-establish the franchise after the disappointing Batman and Robin. The same goes for CR, which re-established Bond after DAD.

    I find the Dark Knight trilogy much tauter as a story concept and more integrated. The fact that all 3 films are directed by the same director gives them a similar tonal feel and style, which makes them feel more cohesive to me. Additionally, the concepts felt original to me while I watched all 3 films. Wayne's story arc from losing his parents to leaving the Batman role is more effectively treated in the Batman films for me as a result of the directorial consistency.

    If I was to judge the Craig films as a tetralogy, I don't find them so united. Tonally the films are quite different, and some of the concepts (including suggesting leaving the service after the end of the final film) have been seen before in the TDK trilogy.

    If I was to judge the Craig films individually however, then I would rank CR ahead of all the Batman films (although only just ahead of BB, which is my favourite of the three Batman films), so my individual perceptions of the films on a standalone basis are quite different from the way I view these as a holistic set.
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    Posts: 11,119
    I think at least chronologically and continuity-wise the four Craig films are the first real quadrilogy within the Bond franchise, thus is therefore quite unique really.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    edited December 2015 Posts: 4,584
    Both franchises were rebooted about the same time...and there is one very interesting similarity: Bruce Wayne and James Bond are orphans; they always have been, but in the reboots, this aspect of their identities has been emphasized to greater effect.

    I prefer Bond, if only because I like his costumes a lot more. B-)
  • Cloud007Cloud007
    Posts: 29
    I would choose Craig's quadrilogy simply because I enjoy CR and QoS more than the Dark Knight and Rises. All four of them are amazing films but those two Bond films have resonated with me in a way that is really seldom for other films to achieve.
  • GetafixGetafix
    Posts: 11,425
    Not a fan of Nolan's Batman trilogy at all, so I'd say Craig's more varied Bond films.
  • fjdinardofjdinardo
    Posts: 1,970
    I have always said that Daniel Craig's run had Bond is the Dark Night series on the Bond franchise while all the other Bond films are all the Batman films before that.


    That being said I will always like Bond better
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,173
    I'm going to answer the same thing I would answer if anyone ever asked me which I like better, tomatoes or Dr Pepper: you can't compare them.
  • GettlerGettler USA
    Posts: 326
    I'm still in a my Craig-Bond mood, but I can never get enough of TDK trilogy. I love how Nolan was influenced by the older Bond films, and the newer Craig movies are influenced by Nolan.
  • Gustav_GravesGustav_Graves
    Posts: 11,119
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I'm going to answer the same thing I would answer if anyone ever asked me which I like better, tomatoes or Dr Pepper: you can't compare them.

    It depends to what extent you compare and how you use the means of 'comparisons'. Many times I see here that comparisons are mainly drawn out of negative experiences. I want to address, to use the means of comparing things in a more positive way.

    Hence why I think this topic is very valid.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,583
    Personally, I prefer Nolan's other films such as Inception and Interstellar to his Batman films.
  • Problem_EliminatorProblem_Eliminator Ojai, CA
    Posts: 613
    I prefer bond over batman always.
  • Crazysoul95Crazysoul95
    Posts: 3,336
    Quess i have to say batman for best, but my favourite would be the Craig films

    1. Casino Royale
    2. The Dark Knight
    3. The Dark Knight Rises
    4. Batman Begins
    5. Skyfall/SPECTRE
    6. QoS
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,173
    @Gustav_Graves, true, but I still can't choose between them.

    The Nolan trilogy of Batman films is great, though it started on a higher note for me than it ended. As a Batman comics guy, there are things about these films I like less. Then again, the power of the Batman universe is that it can take its material in a whole variety of directions. I love the Bruce Timm universe over the Nolan and Burton universe but the skill with which the Nolan films were put together is impressive to say the least.

    Now, for Bond I prefer to follow the formula in a stricter fashion. So the reductionist approach of the Craig Bonds, allowing familiar elements to glide back in over the span of four films, works fine for me. The average of the Craig Bonds certainly beats the average of the Moore or Brosnan films IMO.

    But which do I like best? The Nolan Batman films or the Craig Bond films? Impossible to say. I can't judge the Nolan Batmans as Fleming inspired spy films and neither can I judge the Craig Bonds as DC superhero material.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Bond.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I'm going to answer the same thing I would answer if anyone ever asked me which I like better, tomatoes or Dr Pepper: you can't compare them.

    This. I can't compare the two at all, so it's impossible for me to say which is better.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    BB is a cheap copy of The Shadow, QoB was a poor copy of the last two Bourne movies.

    But I prefer 007 over the Bat by Nolan.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Craig's Bond films by faaaaaar. The Nolan Batman films just don't do it for me.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    edited December 2015 Posts: 7,653
    this is for me about the summery of the Nolan movies.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    I'll say this. Batman Begins I liked because of its smooth rip off of The Shadow. Then Bale employed the growl to the nth degree & the movies became about dark confrontation forgetting that Batman was first & foremost a detective. Blast motive & character, we can blow s**t up.
  • GetafixGetafix
    edited December 2015 Posts: 11,425
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I'm going to answer the same thing I would answer if anyone ever asked me which I like better, tomatoes or Dr Pepper: you can't compare them.

    This. I can't compare the two at all, so it's impossible for me to say which is better.

    But Batman and Bond are both long-running movie franchises/series. Hence very comparable.

    Tomatoes are fruit and Dr Pepper is a soft drink. Not very comparable.

    Surely it's more like saying what is your favourite soft drink - Dr Pepper or 7Up.
    chrisisall wrote: »
    I'll say this. Batman Begins I liked because of its smooth rip off of The Shadow. Then Bale employed the growl to the nth degree & the movies became about dark confrontation forgetting that Batman was first & foremost a detective. Blast motive & character, we can blow s**t up.

    I found all the Nolan bat films tedious beyond belief tbh. May be that's why I wasn't such a fan of Mendes's homage to Batman - SF. Ponderous, uninteresting 'darkness' posing as serious drama.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Getafix wrote: »
    May be that's why I wasn't such a fan of Mendes's homage to Batman - SF. Ponderous, uninteresting 'darkness' posing as serious drama.
    Ah, yep.
  • GetafixGetafix
    edited December 2015 Posts: 11,425
    I hate vacuous posing in films. Don't get me wrong, I love proper drama, but making everything literally dark and having everyone in a bad mood is not high concept drama - it's Sunday night period drama. Or Eastenders ( you may not get the reference).
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited December 2015 Posts: 23,883
    I certainly preferred Batman Begins, but really liked TDK as well. Sure, it was dark, but that was the whole point of that film. The Joker was darkness personified. Madness personified. A chaos rendering wrecking machine bent on showing everyone that they are all just as bad as him. The concept was chilling and has similarities to the crazies from ISIL & other groups. They can't be reasoned with. They have only one aim, and that is chaos.

    That is a little more palatable to me than Silva working for Blofeld but still having mommy issues. I was happier just with Silva with mommy issues - pre SP. Bardem sold it well. I believed he had issues with her.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited December 2015 Posts: 4,399
    .
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    "I say you made me, you've gotta say I made you ... how childish."
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    The Bond films are a 50-year plus franchise. It's hard to compare 23 films with such varying attitudes with a random superhero trilogy, which is what we're comparing, not Batman as a whole.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    The Bond films are a 50-year plus franchise. It's hard to compare 23 films with such varying attitudes with a random superhero trilogy, which is what we're comparing, not Batman as a whole.

    Agreed.
    Still, Keaton is the Dalton of Batman. :))
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,584
    And thus Adam West is the Connery of Batman? ;)
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