Retro-Comparo: The Dark Knight Trilogy

As the loyal few of you who follow RetroBeliever are aware, there aren't many things I enjoy more than to wax nostalgic about some anachronistic 8-bit or 16-bit video game, lament about the lost simplicity of the past, or tie my somewhat antiquated interests to Christ. However, today's post is different because... well, it's about something currently popular: I'm talking about Batman, specifically the Dark Knight trilogy of films directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as the titular Dark Knight, aka Batman.

What am I writing about? Just to let you know, it's not a review of The Dark Knight Rises, which I happened to see on July 20th. Instead, I shall briefly compare the three movies as I have written my Retro-Comparos, in which I've compared video games. My comparisons between the three movies will be based on several categories I feel capture the various aspects of movies, such as acting, editing, story, special effects, music, and so on. So, here goes:

Acting: 
It is difficult to differentiate between the three movies because there are the same actors playing the same roles, though I would contend that the acting in Batman Begins was a shade better because the actors were fresh in their roles, working to establish the characters as they might develop in future films. Some may argue that The Dark Knight was the most stellar when it came to acting, but I'd take Katie Holmes' youthful vibrance over Maggie Gyllenhaal's school-marm-like demeanor as Rachel Dawes; and, call it controversial and merely personal preference, but I take Liam Neeson's quiet menace as Ra's al-Ghul over Heath Ledger's just-too-psychotic Joker. That said, Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Two-Face/Harvey Dent was emotionally affecting. It's really hard to choose... I'll give a shout out, though, to Tom Hardy for his portrayal as Bane; that was a tough role to play with a mask obscuring most of his face. Verdict: BB (Batman Begins)

Characters:
Batman Begins has the advantage of being the origin story for Bruce Wayne and Batman, so there is much character development, as well as introductions of all the principal supporting characters. However, The Dark Knight does not have to spend time introducing characters except for Harvey Dent and The Joker, who is only developed as a diabolical foil for Batman and as an instigator. Despite this, The Dark Knight is important in leading Batman down the path that would lead to The Dark Knight Rises.

Development aside, The Dark Knight presented strong, clearly-defined characters that guided the story, and not the other way around. The most impressive thing is that the movie seems plot-driven on the surface: after all, The Dark Knight is really about how much Batman would bend his own moral laws in his pursuit of the Joker, who is actively pushing Batman's buttons. It's splitting hairs, but TDK prevails. Verdict: TDK (The Dark Knight)

Direction, Action Sequences:
Many have lambasted Christopher Nolan's direction of the various fight scenes in Batman Begins, noting scattershot editing, too-closely-zoomed fist shots, and almost incomprehensible sequences. Nolan sharpened his direction for The Dark Knight, giving the viewer more time to observe fight scenes and action sequences develop. The Dark Knight Rises continued his superlative work. Verdict: TDK

Direction, Dramatic Sequences:
Action and fighting aside, Nolan coaxed out many more moments of emotion in Batman Begins than any of the three: the sadness of young Bruce Wayne, the anger of post-teen Bruce, the focused intensity and sense of justice of Batman, and the sympathy of the various figures who served as fathers to Bruce all served to make Batman Begins an affecting movie. I must note The Dark Knight Rises, which pulls in some of the emotion from Batman Begins and ends with a heroic crescendo that is evocative in its own right, particularly the last five minutes which provides the greatest payoff of all the three films. Verdict: BB

Editing:
As mentioned previously, the fight scenes in Batman Begins were the lone weak spot to the movie. The Dark Knight Rises didn't suffer from this weakness, but there were a few editing gaffes when it seemed like Nolan was forced to cut dramatic sequences for the sake of brevity; specifically, I refer to a romance between Bruce Wayne and one of the female characters because it seemed either inserted as a last-minute decision, disrupting the continuity of the return of Batman, or severely punctuated to cut down on what some felt was an overly long movie.

Of the three, The Dark Knight had the best balance of action and fight editing, as well as the appropriate length of set pieces and dramatic exchanges to establish and develop characters. Verdict: TDK

Music:
Each of the three movies have very similar musical themes, but with flourishes that distinguish them. Batman Begins is a bit more upbeat, particularly in the final third of the movie. The Dark Knight has themes that are darker, featuring more low strings. The Dark Knight Rises features more drum beats, which mimics the chanting in the movie. It's all good. Verdict: Push

Special Effects:
This one is especially subjective, though I must admit that The Narrows in Batman Begins LOOKS like a miniature set. As technology advanced, Nolan and his crew were able to synthesize more convincing special effects. The Dark Knight Rises attests to this, as the bridges exploding and the stadium field imploding were two of the best effects sequences in the entire series (both of these are viewable in the trailers, so I'm not spoiling anything). Verdict: TDKR

The Batsuit:
I am partial to Batman's Nomex Survival Suit-derived armor and stiff cowl in Batman Begins over the much more modular design of the suits in the subsequent movies, mostly because of the relatively simplicity and story-appropriate clunkiness of the first suit. I just think the armor got weirder and weirder with each passing movie. Verdict: BB

Props:
I find it odd that Batman relied on his trademark utility belt in Batman Begins much more than in the next two movies; the grappling gun, Bat-grenades, Bat-throwing stars, and some nifty hallucinogenic gas capsules all make appearances, while we only see a lame gun-barrel-bending/van-door-cutting hand tool (and the grappling gun) in The Dark Knight. Sure, there was that sonar-based internal mapping technology that proved so pivotal in the finale, but that just wasn't as nifty as anything that can come off Batman's utility belt.

Oh, and as I recall, there were NO Bat weapons in The Dark Knight Rises, but we get Bane's medieval gas mask and Catwoman's eye disguise/visor. Verdict: Tie, BB and TDKR

Vehicles:
Batman Begins was about the Tumbler, The Dark Knight was about the Batpod, and The Dark Knight Rises was about both AND the "Bat," which is simply an inverted helicopter with missiles and a dual cockpit. Verdict: TDKR

Sets:
With each successive movie, the sets became more elaborate, though I enjoyed the eldritch trappings of Wayne Manor over the rebuilt one in The Dark Knight Rises. Also, we can rule out The Dark Knight because Bruce Wayne's penthouse in The Dark Knight is sterile and dull, and, inexplicably, there is NO Wayne Tower; instead, we have the monolithic Wayne Building, which appears again in The Dark Knight Rises. However, I won't rule out The Dark Knight Rises because that Indian prison is grimly exotic and the Batcave returns with a revamped raising platform. Verdict: TDKR

Final Verdict: Batman Begins

Though The Dark Knight Rises had the most toys, most complicated and visually-appealing special effects, and most jarring sets, Batman Begins edges it with acting, origin story, a more simplistic Batsuit, and more utility belt gadgets. Sure, it's highly subjective and many people will attempt to discredit me in my preference of Batman Begins over The Dark Knight, but the most outstanding issue I have had with The Dark Knight is that it is a movie largely detached from any positive emotion; for most of the film, we observe the moral challenges Batman/Bruce Wayne has to face and how the Joker prevails on many fronts, even though he is captured. Some may point at this as the benchmark of an exceptional superhero movie, but I watch superheroes to see them overcome great odds to win the day. I suppose, in that sense, that The Dark Knight is an appropriate middle movie, just as The Empire Strikes Back was an appropriate middle movie of the original Star Wars Trilogy. As Harvey Dent says in The Dark Knight, "The night is darkest before the dawn," right?

Anyway, Batman Begins runs the full gamut of emotion, but emerges with a optimism and a sense of hope that always compels me to watch it again. Bruce Wayne truly comes full circle as a character vis-a-vis his father and the memories he has of him: from love to guilt to rage, and then to a deeper admiration for his father. As for The Dark Knight Rises, the movie is mostly dark and grim, but there is triumph, in a manner of speaking. I'll just say that the emotional payoff is huge in The Dark Knight Rises.

Retro-Comparo: Super Mario Bros. 3 vs. Super Mario World

Comparing two classic games out of a mega-popular franchise is extremely difficult because... well, both games are unilaterally considered classics. But, it becomes even more arduous of a task when both games were for consoles of different generations. In this case, I'm going to look at Super Mario Bros. 3 (SMB3), which was originally released for the NES, and Super Mario World (SMW) for the SNES. Now, to level the playing field, I will actually compare the SNES version of SMB3 that was included in Super Mario All-Stars, a compilation of the first three Super Mario Bros. games that were first released for the NES in the United States (not counting Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Worlds). SMB3 was remastered with enhanced graphics, colors, and sound and programmed with the ability to save progress. So here goes - my comparison of SMB3 and SMW:

Graphics:

Comparing SMB3 for the SNES to SMW, graphics are of similar quality, driven by the SNES' 16-bit graphics processor. That said, the sprites and backgrounds in SMW are prettier and smoother than SMB3 with more detail and rounded edges. Colors are also more vivid in SMW, despite the revamping of SMB3 in All-Stars, which was released three years after SMW. Win - SMW

Sound:

Differentiating sound effect quality between these two games on the SNES is like picking nits, so I won't do that. If anything, both games feature the technology of the SNES well, especially when comparing it to the Genesis' 8-bit sound. Win - push

Music:

SMW has the advantage of musical composition for a 16-bit system, which means (I think) more tracks and more layered sound. But, SMB3 has the benefit of nostalgia and outstanding melodies, even compared to games today. To be honest, the music in SMW is a cut better, despite the fond memories of SMB3. Win - SMW

Stage Design:

Though SMB3 would have the advantage of nostalgia, SMW put forth some serious complications in its stage design, such as different stage endings depending on how quickly you finish the initial parts of a stage. That said, SMB3 is just plain classic with killer suns and those levels where everything is giant. Win - SMB3

Bonus Stages:

The Ghost Houses and hidden fortresses of SMW versus the mushroom houses and flying ships of SMB3... Give me the latter. Win - SMB3

Hit Detection:

Direct landings from above squash bad guys in either game, though SMW benefits from a spin jump that eliminates baddies in one landing. However, both games suffer when interpreting landings from a down angle; hit detection is iffy, in my opinion. Win - push

Miscellaneous:

This one is hard. Both games have the grow-to-giant-size mushroom and the fire flower, but SMB3 has multiple power-ups, such as the raccoon suit, the frog suit, the hammer suit (which lets you throw hammers), and a tanuki suit that gives you the ability to turn into a stone statue (!). Conversely, SMW has a super cape and probably the most important "power-up" in the Super Mario Bros. franchise: Yoshi, a dinosaur that Mario can ride and use to devour bad guys. Also, both games have world maps that allow you to navigate to different levels in an order you choose, and memorable foes in each level. So hard to pick... Win - push

Overall winner - SMW!

I prefer Super Mario World because it was originally designed for a 16-bit system, so it benefits from the capabilities of the SNES. SMB3 was originally designed for the 8-bit NES; though it was enhanced for the SNES, levels are not as complex and rich as those in SMW. SMW also has Yoshi and a cuteness factor that is more apparent than with SMB3. It's really hard to pick, but if pressured I'd pick Super Mario World.

Retro-Comparo: Sonic 2 vs. Sonic & Knuckles

Kicking off a new section here at Retrobeliever, Retro-Comparo is a series of articles that compare two similar games or sequels by rapidly breaking down elements of the two games and deciding an overall winner.

First up are two sequels in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for the Sega Genesis: Sonic 2 (S2) and Sonic and Knuckles (S&K).

Graphics:

For color and rendering, Sonic & Knuckles has the obvious edge because of its release after Sonic 2, therefore its more effective utilization of the Genesis' graphics capabilities. However, Sonic 2's graphics are oddly sharper. Win - S&K

Sound:

Sound effects are very similar between the two games - so much so that neither game stands out. Win - push

Music:

Though S&K came out later than S2, S2's music is less funky and cleaner-sounding. This one is subjective, though listening to S&K themes during its long levels irritates me more than during the much shorter zones in S2. Win - S2

Stage Design:

S&K has much more intricate zones than S2 with longer runs and more paths; but S2's is pleasingly elegant and shorter, which makes for more zone finishes in, say, 10 minutes than S&K. This lends to S2 a sense of accomplishment. Win - S2

Bonus Stages:

Do you like the half-pipe runs of S2 or the 2D/3D grid exploration of S&K? Because running the half-pipe with Tails can be extremely frustrating, I'll take the awkward navigation of S&K's grid. Win - S&K

Hit Detection:

In S2, foes are vanquished with spin jumps on top of or into them. In S&K, it is the same ideally, though in practice S&K's hit detection is spotty, leading to cheesy ring loss even though one spin-jumps into a baddie. Win - S2

Miscellaneous:

S&K has fire, ice, and lightning force-fields, as well as Lock-On technology; both are advantages borne from being released after S2. Also, you get to play as Knuckles, who is a really cool alternative to Sonic. That said, S2 allows for faster runs and offers fewer annoying impediments. For example, those wind-blowing weathervane roosters and restraining chains in the Mushroom Hill Zone in S&K slow down the action needlessly. Win - push

Overall winner - S2:

Yes, S2 may have nostalgia on its side, but there really is less cheese in S2 than in S&K. I'd take S2 over S&K if asked, but I enjoy both games. My advice: plug in S2 on top of S&K and play S2 as Knuckles. You get the best of both games!