Culture

The Debate Over Whether ‘The Batman’ Is Better Than ‘The Dark Knight’ Has Already Begun

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Movie Fans Debate Whether 'The Batman' Is Better Than 'The Dark Knight'

Warner Bros.


  • Robert Pattinson stars as the Caped Crusader in The Batman.
  • The Matt Reeves-directed film hit theaters on March 4.
  • Movie fans are now debating whether or not it’s better than Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

This was inevitable. Given the undeniable quality of Matt Reeves’ The Batman — read our five-star review here — it was only a matter of when not if fans of the iconic vigilante would begin to compare the film to Christopher Nolan’s seminal The Dark Knight.

The debate is actually more complex than you think because while The Dark Knight may be a better “movie”,  it’s not a better Batman experience. At the end of the day, The Dark Knight isn’t a Batman movie. It’s a Joker movie. Heath Ledger’s infamous and iconic Joker is the character whose scenes you look forward to and whose words you hang on. Not Chrisitan Bale’s Batman. And when you aren’t even the best part of your own movie, can you truly claim its legacy as your own?

And that, ultimately, is my personal take on it: when it comes to being a Batman movie and understanding what a live-action Batman film should look like, sound like, and feel like, The Batman is superior to The Dark Knight. But in terms of entertainment value and rewatchability The Dark Knight still holds a slight edge.

With The Batman now playing in theaters, allowing fans to finally consume the highly-anticipated film, this very debate about which movie is “better” is already spreading like wildfire on social media.

‘The Batman’ Review: The Dark Knight And Gotham City Has Never Felt More Alive

https://twitter.com/octaslasher/status/1499616298468360193

https://twitter.com/MadKing1981/status/1499817568516911107

https://twitter.com/gjkcentral/status/1498434957445763077

The fact that the debate is even remotely legitimate should tell you just how good The Batman is as The Dark Knight is widely considered to be one of if not the greatest comic book movie ever made.

The Batman — which stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/Riddler, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, Jeffrey Wright as Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham District Attorney Gil Colson — is now playing in theaters.

RELATED: The Villain Easter Egg In ‘The Batman’ That No One Has Noticed Yet (SPOILERS)

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