I have to say Iron Man is one of the most polished Comic Book movies I've ever seen. Perfectly cast, wonderfully paced, and visually stunning. Iron Man was the first comic book hero I've ever seen that looked fantastic when adapted to a live action setting. Comic book fans had waited a very long time for a hero that was pure cool and had mass market appeal (not in the sense of mainstream gross, that's been a part of comic movies for a long time. More in the sense of drawing in people who would never even think about seeing a superhero movie). I honestly think Iron Man revived the super hero genre. Not to mention it introduced the concept of non-linear cannon into mainstream movies.
However Iron Man played it very safe. Iron Man was all about style over substance (which I actually approved of in that case). Not really any huge thematic elements or character development. Tony starts out as a dick and becomes slightly less of a dick. Pepper while clever and intimidating was ultimately a housemaid. Rhodey was not much beside a plot tool and happened to be a great token black guy. Obediah was the two faced corporate bad guy who was playing both sides against the middle to make some money. The bad guys were stock middle eastern dudes (which to be fair was a nice transition from the comic vietnam origin story). Everything was very standard blockbuster fair, except this time there was Iron Man.
The Dark Knight had one of the best performances ever seen on film. Ledger's joker was out of this world. And his character was wonderfully complemented by Nolan's dialogue and plot line. The organized chaos that the joker unleashes is nerd crushingly good. Not to mention Aaron Eckhart's criminally underrated performance as Harvey Dent. The downfall and transformation into Two-Face is wonderfully done even though it seems to happen a bit quickly. Gary Oldman is fantastic as always and Michael Cain is a favorite Alfred of mine. Great soundtrack, great art direction and set design. VFX and SFX are nicely gritty and lend themselves to the realistic tone of the Nolan universe. Nolan took a lot of chances but clearly respected the heart of Batman and understands the essence of the character and Gotham city.
However sometimes Nolan was a little too insistent on clinging to reality and his idea of what Gotham is. One of the best parts of Batman Begins is the introduction of Batman's "smart cape" which can become a glider with a little electric current. It was cool, it was practical, and it was Batman. However Batman's next innovation is multiple points of articulation on his neck so he can turn his head. That is the most disappointing enhancement to the the Batsuit I've ever heard of. On top of over-realism, I've never like Christian Bale as Batman. I think he makes a pretty good Bruce Wayne but his Batman is atrocious. The Bat growl was the most cringe inducing thing I had heard in a long time (and keep in my I totally realize that the growl is comic cannon, but it sounded stupid). Rachel was just a waste of screen time in the Dark Knight. Supposedly she was the catalyst for Harvey, Bruce, and just about everyone else in the movie. But I never saw why anyone cared about her.
In the end each film took the opposite approach to moviemaking. Iron Man took the straight and narrow while The Dark Knight had tremendous highs as well as tremendous lows. I think The Dark Knight is the more ambitious of the two and earned the right to be more respected as a smart and artsy blockbuster. But I think Iron Man did more for comic book movies than just about any movie ever. It made the nerd cool and made the audience believe that a hero could really be super.
I'll say Iron Man
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