A few days ago I watched a clip that posed the following question: Better Trilogy: Batman or Captain America? It is a great question and one that I will attempt to answer. For my money, these two trilogies are clearly the best that the comic book movie genre has offered thus far.
The best way I can think of coming to a verdict is by ranking the six films in ascending order, from worst to first. I’ll calculate the average movie rank for each trilogy and determine the winner.
#6 The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Don’t get it twisted. The movie is pretty good. However, it is the least re-watchable of the films on this list. The third act of the film falls a bit flat. It is a buzzkill watching the seemingly formidable Bane revealed to be nothing more than the lovestruck muscle for Ra’s al Ghul’s daughter.
#5 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). It is probably the least action-packed of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase I films. But it is a very fun movie, reminding me of the Raiders of the Lost Ark movies in terms of its nostalgic feel. It stays true to its stand-alone, superhero origin story roots. But most importantly, it blends seamlessly into the epic Marvel’s the Avengers.
#4 Batman Begins (2005). The impact of this film is HUGE. Sure, Spider-Man (20002) and Blade (1998) to a lesser extent, marked the rebirth of the superhero movie genre. But “Begins” marked a tonal shift, to more grounded comic book movies that rely heavily on humanity and character depth over action sequences and special effects.
#3 Captain America: Civil War (2016). It is a grittier Avengers. It too, includes superheroes galore (12). But the film somehow manages to provide enough screen time for each hero (no small feat) while sticking to the philosophical conflict between Captain America and Iron Man, which is at the heart of the movie.
#2 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). Similar to the excellent Iron Man (2008), the film deals with contemporary, political/warfare issues. But it stays true to superhero movie fun. The unique blend of action, comedy, and drama make this my favorite comic book movie.
#1 The Dark Knight (2008). It is the best superhero movie so far. And I do not see this changing for the foreseeable future. The deft direction by the great Nolan Brothers is on point. But what really sets this film apart is its heavy dialogue and the transcendent performance by the late, great Heath Ledger as the Joker.
And the winner is…the Captain America trilogy with an average rank of 3.3 over The Dark Knight trilogy (3.6) by the narrowest of margins.
The Dark Knight and Captain America trilogies are standards of excellence in the genre. No matter which one you prefer, you can’t go wrong with either. Enjoy them, because we are unlikely to see their goodness matched anytime soon!
