Iron Man Versus The Dark Knight

This was a good year for comic book fans (i.e. nerds). Not one, but two good movie adaptations of two beloved characters were released. The first, Iron Man, debuted on May 2 and earned nearly $100 million its opening weekend. Beyond that first weekend, it has grossed $318 million domestically, $571 million world wide (http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ironman.htm), and was the year's best reviewed movie until Wall-E was released (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man/?critic=creamcrop). And Iron Man’s biggest feat was turning an unknown Marvel superhero into a household name over night.

The Dark Knight, released on July 18, was an even bigger commercial and critical success. In its opening weekend, The Dark Knight grossed $158 million, and has almost made $1 billion worldwide(http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=darkknight.htm). Critically, The Dark Knight easily rivals Iron Man, garnering an equal amount of positive praise(http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dark_knight/?critic=creamcrop).

Which movie is better, though? Is there a superior movie? Many people have their own opinions (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080901101601AAHtuYk), but let's try to look at this objectively.

Iron Man is about a multi-billion dollar business owner, Tony Stark, who inherited his parents’ business. He went through a traumatic experience, and even though he has no supernatural powers, he decided to use his God-given brain to create a suit and gadgets to fight bad guys.

The Dark Knight is about a multi-billion dollar business owner, Bruce Wayne, who inherited his parents’ business. He went through a traumatic experience, and even though he has no supernatural powers, he decided to use his God-given brain to create a suit and gadgets to fight bad guys.

There seems to be a similarity.

As much as the characters resemble each other, their profiles are where the similarities end. Iron Man is a patriotic film, bordering on nationalistic, about a capitalist business owner seeing the wrongs made in his company’s name. He then exercises responsibility and tries to amend his company’s wrong doings. Tony Stark has a crush on his personal assistant, and his business partner and former mentor, Obadiah Stane, ends up being the evil behind Stark Enterprise's shadowy actions.

Iron Man uses a lot of bight colors for effects and on sets. The colors could be to make the movie more dynamic, to give a certain representation of California and/or Stark as a person, or just to appeal to younger audiences.

The movie was geared towards younger audiences by avoiding graphic violence (although Stark does murder at least a dozen people in the film) but maintaining a continuous pace of action. Also by having a sense of humor made the film child friendly, as well.

The themes in Iron Man are shallow, but they exist. Responsibility is a major theme. As Stark goes through his journey he takes responsibility for what Stark Enterprises has done around the world, and he takes the responsibility to fix what he can. Also, in attempting to be responsible, Stark shuts down the weapons program his company runs.

Besides responsibility, there are other shallow themes such as perseverance, brain over brawns, and ingenuity. These, however, are touched on lightly and don’t add much depth to the film.

The Dark Knight is about Batman trying to clean up Gotham City, as per usual, but being interrupted by The Joker. The Joker, proving to be a devious fly in the ointment, creates a bigger and bigger name for himself until he nearly takes over the city. Bruce Wayne, however, is trying to resolve things with his would-be sweetheart and come to terms with her relationship to the district attorney Harvey Dent.

This movie is the epitome of dark, and considering the subject matter, it shouldn’t have been shot any other way. Batman, as his name implies, works at night. So, there’s a good reason for the film to be dark right there. But the characters are more menacing than run-of-the-mill comic book movies. The Joker, what many claim to be the best part of the movie, is sadistic, and even worse, nihilistic. He stands for nothing, lives for nothing, and is willing to die for anything if it fits his cause. His cause just happens to be destruction, so he’s willing to die for quite a lot in this movie.

The themes in this movie run throughout and have many tributaries that run off. One of the topics the film addresses is the concept of heroes. Does wearing a cape make you a hero, or does going out there and showing your face to the public everyday make you one? Which type is better for the public? And, possibly the biggest theme in the movie is the idea of human nature. The Joker spent most of the movie arguing, and proving, that people are scared, pathetic, and willing to do whatever it takes to save their own hides. Batman believes differently, and shows The Joker the error of his beliefs.

Both movies are great, but to answer which one is better is for you to decide. If you want a movie you can enjoy on a lazy afternoon with some popcorn, then Iron Man is probably your choice. If you’re looking for a movie with great depth, philosophical themes, and complex characters, then The Dark Knight is more up your alley. Either way, it’s hard to go wrong with either of these films.