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Sunday Discussion: Is the Comic Book Movie Genre in for a Change?

by Alex Billington
July 20, 2008

With The Dark Knight well on its way to beat Spider-Man 3's opening weekend record at $155 million, I think it's safe to say that the comic book movie genre is not just a fad. I'm not sure how anyone ever got it in their mind that comic book movies would just be a temporary trend that would eventually go away, because it's been proven time and time again that they continue to be the biggest box office performers. And this weekend history was made - not only did The Dark Knight set numerous records, but for the first time ever, everyone is calling it a filmmaking masterpiece, even going as far as ranking it the #1 movie on IMDb's Top 250. I've been called out for making too many wild accusations about the movie recently, so instead of making any ridiculous claims, I simply want to ask if anyone's perception of the comic book movie genre has changed? Will The Dark Knight cause comic book movies to to continue revolutionize?

When I first saw The Dark Knight a few weeks back, I walked out calling it a cinematic revolution. My opinion hasn't changed much in the last few weeks, nor has it changed after seeing it two more times, I still think it's revolutionary and it's just a discussion of in what ways. What has changed is that now the general public has finally be able to see it themselves and most of them are not as viciously opposed any more. In fact, I bet it wouldn't be hard to find a few people who actually agree with me. Although that revolutionary aspect is still officially unconfirmed, the fact that it just had the biggest opening weekend in box office history pretty much shows that it may actually revolutionize Hollywood. It might not do much besides make IMAX much more mainstream, but at least it will have an impact.

As I continue looking at the comic book genre, I can't help but notice that most of the movies that top the all-time biggest opening weekend list seem to be comic book movies. There used to be a time where one could argue that just because a movie made lots of movie didn't mean that it was any good. And I think that's the most important aspect of The Dark Knight. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was the first fantasy film to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars, an immense achievement. If The Dark Knight goes on to get nominated for Best Picture and Heath Ledger goes on to win Best Supporting Actor, in combination with immense box office returns, I think this will undoubtedly revolutionize cinema and change the comic book movie genre forever. Thank you Christoper Nolan for showing us how profound a movie about a masked vigilante can truly be - that's the power of cinema!

As for where it all might go? Who knows. It's way too early to tell what sort of impact The Dark Knight will have. Which is why I'm not going to make any speculations of my own. Instead, I'm going to ask all of you what you think and what changes you believe are on their way... if any? There will undoubtedly be naysayers who think that The Dark Knight is just an anomaly and that the comic book movie genre still is a fad. While that can be argued endlessly, if you've seen The Dark Knight, you can't deny that it is a movie with impeccable filmmaking and speculator performances. Maybe those sort of great cinematic elements are no longer reserved for boring dramas any more? Maybe comic book movies finally have achieved a level of brilliance that only real life dramas and period pieces could achieve? I see The Dark Knight as a film like Silence of the Lambs or Return of the King that finally breaks past the bounds of the genre that it is in. So what do you think? Is the comic book movie genre in for a change?

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Brian

I think that film's have changed a lot. As far, comic book adaptations, I honestly believe that no other comic book adapted movie will come even close to this, ever! Most people don't see (including me) how Mr. Nolan and company, could outdo this one, let alone anyone else making a better picture. Hollywood will wake up and realize we are a smarter movie going audience, and play to that, instead of crap like - well - everything else. For my money, this is best movie there's been in 20 to 30 years, and I don't see anything coming up that could be this good. However, there is still Batman 3 (Whatever it will be called), to look forward to I guess. We'll see.
Nthngmn

As long as the well doesn't dry up. Albeit, it is a pretty deep one though. Yeah, sure, Batman and the other big boys are a given. But when I hear "Ant Man", i know I'm not the only one who raises an eyebrow. Also, I don't think we should necessarily be questioning "comic book" movies. I think we refer to it as the superhero genre. "Comic Book" means many a thing. As a visual storytelling medium, that well is endless. But, superheroes on the other hand.... As long as paper exists, comic books (like literature) will continue to give us material. (Although, Alan Moore only has so many books left to go through )
http://cartoonista.wordpress.com Nick

I know I'm not alone in being a comic book fan who will now demand more from movies in the genre than we have in the past. When the first Batman movie hit theaters in '89, we comic book geeks were just glad someone was even giving a shot at it. Spider-Man was a wake-up call, we saw that comic book movies could actually be done right. Now Dark Knight has changed everything again. The bar has been raised. Now everyone is saying that it can't be topped, that Nolan has shown us the pinnacle of what superhero movies can be. I'm sorry, that's garbage. When the bar is raised, someone will keep trying until they can raise it again themselves. And I'm saying this as someone who thinks Dark Knight is the best comic book film ever made, by leaps and bounds. It's a new beginning, people. Enjoy the ride.
http://www.movielegacy.com Dan Geer

I think Iron Man set the standard for what a comic-book movie should be. The Dark Knight set the standard for what Batman movies specifically should be. Batman is a different type of superhero than in most comic-books. He's dark. Gritty. Something Iron Man, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc. can never be. The Dark Knight set the standard for perfection in the world of the dark comic-book vigilante. I think in the end, comic-book movies with Superheroes that resemble Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc. should try to live up to the standards that those types of superhero movies have set. Movies with characters like Batman should try and live up to the standard set in this new Batman franchise, considering themselves almost in a separate genre of their own. There's the bright, fun comic-book franchise, and the dark, gritty vigilante comic-book franchise.
Mike

I have always thought that a "comic book movie" would at some point be as absolutely stunning as The Dark Knight is. This particular superhero movie transcends from an every day superhero movie to a more crime drama category, and that is exactly what Batman has to offer us. It is hard to say whether or not any other superhero can offer this sort of story. I do think there will be others that are made that will be more than just a superhero movie. So, I guess I can agree with you...although it would be a lot easier to agree with you if you could actually edit your own writing.
Caged Wisdom

having not seen the dark knight yet (released here in the UK on thursday), i firmly believe, even before TDK that comic books have well and truly arrived. I suppose this should have happened a looong time ago. Hollywood taking comics seriously. Think about this for a minute, comics are like a script, all the dialogue is there, all the scenes are set, characters established and a fanbase ready and waiting. Comic books should be a filmmakers dream! Sure, the director may tinker with the dialogue, the characters, the themes, but slap even the title of a comic on a book without keeping much of the comics story or theme itself and you WILL still have an audience. case in point- Wanted. That movie was drastically changed from the comic but it was touted as a comic book adaptation and it made big bucks! Its about time Hollywood! although i fear for the future. the big bosses over at hollywood have hit a goldmine, at this point in time, a lot of comic books are in the pipeline to be adapted. Great news for fanboys and the authors of these comics but baaaad news for originality man. Are we gonna have a summer where all we see are superhero after superhero movie? in fact, its not jus summer is it? Watchmen is being released in March!! soon, all year long, superhero after superhero movie! great original scripts will be relegated to the indie bin while iron man 2 and the avengers etc bring in the money! i urge caution. seein your fav comics on screen is great but too much and soon the general audience will rebel!
Banshee

I think, (and I hope I'm wrong,) that Hollywood is going to try to make EVERY superhero movie "dark & gritty. You know, Like Batman? That's what people want. So let's kill Lois Lane and have Superman destroy half the country on his quest for vengeance." They will try to shoehorn "grim & gritty" down every character's throat, even when the character doesn't warrant it. They'll try to turn every hero into Bruce Wayne. You watch.
Reza

The thing is, I'm not sure Dark Knight is the comic book movie that will truly break past the genre's shell. It was a spectacular movie, and if there's any justice in the world, will be considered a top contender for Best Picture and Heath Ledger WILL win Best Supporting Actor. But the problem with every revolution is that a small one has to occur before the truly GREAT revolution, the one that breaks away all hindrances and achieves the goals of all of its predecessors, happens. I think the Dark Knight is that smaller revolution. And Watchmen will be that larger one. First off, Watchmen already has an enormous amount of clout. It's the only graphic novel given any literary merit in the hoity toity circles that we all know most of the Academy immerses themselves in. It's also the only graphic novel to not have familiar, idolized, iconoclastic superhero characters in it. Using that kind of anonymity, combined with the already present weight of its merit based solely off the comic book, creates a film that has a clean slate in the minds of the Academy. None of the silliness of previous Superhero shenanigans are present in their minds, none of the camp or the excessive cultural exposure (to all those who think that Watchmen has sufficient exposure in our culture, please, step outside of the comic book world no matter how magnificent it may be and talk to a person off the street.....they WON'T know what Watchmen is). All of those surrounding factors will most likely lead to a win for Best Picture, if Watchmen director Zack Snyder holds his end of the deal: making an incredible movie. The problem is, very rarely does a movie of any kind get nominated without a superb, standout performance from one of its actors, let alone does any movie without such a performance go on to win the category. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was an anomaly, and to tell everyone the truth, Peter Jackson's win was more up to his damned persistence in churning out fantastic movie after fantastic movie. Each one of his three movies could have won Best Picture, Return of the King did it because it was the last hurrah, so to speak. SO, hopefully Watchmen will have a standout performance, something not necessarily on the enormous scale of Heath Ledger's, but something really damn good. Otherwise, it'll be tough for the ensemble cast to get Watchmen noticed by the Academy. I'm hoping it will, and I'm pinning my hopes of respect and legitimacy for the genre on THAT movie. Dark Knight? SUPERB BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS! But the Academy just isn't used to a comic-book movie being so damn good. Give 'em time, and pray Zack Snyder really does kick butt. That's my two cents, for what they're worth.
GutZ

well i think that its not the only reason but were in a era where we have the technology to make wat comics could do that live action movies simply couldn't perform years ago. I really don't care that if every single movie that comes out are comic book bases as long as they are pretty true to the original and have pretty kick ass watever it is ripped straight from the original version. I also enjoy just watching eye candy, watevers about story, thats all comic books were about ie. oh that issue of batman was crazy casue he beat the crap out of joker, Why? becasue he tried to rob a bank. Hell yea. Leave the story part to the 3 - 5 other movies a year that come out with actual depth
Daas

#4 Dan Geer said- "I think Iron Man set the standard for what a comic-book movie should be. The Dark Knight set the standard for what Batman movies specifically should be. Batman is a different type of superhero than in most comic-books. He's dark. Gritty. Something Iron Man, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc. can never be. The Dark Knight set the standard for perfection in the world of the dark comic-book vigilante. I think in the end, comic-book movies with Superheroes that resemble Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc. should try to live up to the standards that those types of superhero movies have set. Movies with characters like Batman should try and live up to the standard set in this new Batman franchise, considering themselves almost in a separate genre of their own. There's the bright, fun comic-book franchise, and the dark, gritty vigilante comic-book franchise." You hit the nail on the head Dan! I totally agree with you here. The Dark Knight is not like a normal comic book movie, not all of them are gonna be dark and gritty but that doesn't mean they can't be just as great either. Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man are the standard bearers as far as superhero comic book movies go while The Dark Knight is the standard bearer as far as dark and gritty comic book movies go. And along those same lines, X2 set the standard for team comic book movies. These movies each did an incredible job at what they set out to do, which are rather different things. Comic book movies aren't going to all become "dark" like The Dark Knight, it just wouldn't work for every superhero. They're all different cases.
jono

alex never shut up about this film u love it i love fuck all these pussys talk about it as long as u want
Robbie Clark

I find that this movie and Watchmen will bring upon the new age of comic book movies.
Mr Pockets

#4 & #11... you took the words right outta my mouth
Britt

As a few people have mentioned previously, I think this summer proved that you can have comic book movies from both ends of the spectrum (Iron Man, Dark Knight) that are truly fantastic. I went in with high expectations for both and was not disappointed in the least. The Dark Knight utterly amazing and I enjoyed Iron Man a great deal as well. As long as there are writers and directors who truly care about making good movies, not just "popcorn movies" I believe the genre will continue to grow and be something great.
Boo-Yah

I have to agree with #4 and #11 (and everyone else agreeing with them). However, The Dark Knight should not be a blue-print for comic book/superhero movies from here on out. Taking every superhero down a dark alley is just going to make them all bland if it becomes the same "dark" view of the characters. Instead, I think comic book movies should take away that with great directing, great acting, great story, etc. they can ultimately create a great movie regardless of the superhero. With Marvel landing the first punches with Iron Man and Hulk, and now DC landing a huge right hook with Dark Knight (and Watchmen next year), these studios now know they have to step up their games and produce films on a high level. In the end, I think this is only going to bode well for the fans.
ALC

Kail shut up just because you hated it doesn't mean there aren't other fans out there. They probably make up the majority right now. And given this is a Sunday, a slow newsday, any news or article is welcomed. And if you do not want news of The Dark Knight why do you keep reading the articles and posting comments?
Ck

the news is in THE DARK KNIGHT BROKE THE RECORD WITH $155.34 MILLION! WOO HOO!!
hephaestu5

Comic book movies will not change. The Dark Knight is an exception and most likely the peak. No other directors are as skilled and appreciative of the material and storytelling as Nolan to make something to match this. Iron Man 2 will just be another fun ride with explosions and the entertaining Robert Downey Jr. After that what do we have? Nothing but second and third tier superheroes that nobody but comic book nerds care about. Those "typical" super powered characters are cheesy and could never be grounded in reality like what Nolan has done with Batman. They will never carry the same weight and depth that The Dark Knight has achieved. The extent of all those characters is what you see in the X-Men movies and that boring show "Heroes" - cheesy super powers and ridiculous special effects.
Kail

Dude I'm sorry, I love the site and all and I visit it every day, but you post way too much about The Dark Knight. Move on to the next movie already, please, for the fans and loyal readers.
Darrin

i got to go with no.4 and no.11, you cant just give the dark knight the overall for all comic book films. Each comic book has its own personal character. So dark knight is good for batman.
Shige

Whats the deal with placing a film into a box standard? That is drama that is comedy that is adventure that is comic book film that is Sci-fi etc. TDK is just a film with a big budget, well crafted, with a good cast and with an absolutely ridiculously huge promotion campaign. With the amount of work everyone put into it it is bound to gross a lot of cash and get a solid fanboy tail. You really think this is something unique ? Titanic did that LOTR did that, Spiderman did that Harry potter did that. It is not any revolution as you want it to be, this is the essence of hollywood blockbusters when all the things get right. TDK did not do anything revolutionary it just repeated the standard formula with good precision.
Rodpop

Movies had been and always will be, an experience of getting away from our regular lives and for a moment, to get to be in a world until that moment alien to us, and with the freedom of being an spectator of it, with our own independent opinions. The comic book genre does that to us: for the comic book fan who gets to see their heros and villains more palpable in the protray of the actor (s) and to the person interested in a new story, of love, hate, morality, fantasy, honor and whatever issues movies bring to us. I think this movie deliver in every angle, makes a young person think and grown one evaluate and consolidate, take that as you want. In short, is a damn good movie! Since 1985, with the new rebirth of the comic genre, the themes of their stories had been more complex, more mature, dealing with regular issues: bad vs. good, what are the consecuences of being a defender of the law, and how it affects the people around them and themselves. These are very current aspects of many lives and somebody don't have to be a superhero fan to understand them. The genre, well scripted, is here to stay. Nolan gave us a story in a world of fantasy with common sense, and that will please any moviegoer, comic fan or not.
Omega728

to #21 you said that TDK didn't do anything revoluntionary? When was the last time you saw a superhero movie like this? Never!
Shige

#23 try to read everything I wrote instead of ripping a word out and then come back.
Omega728

Yeah, I guess I don't get what your point is then. You said that TDK didn't do anything that these other films hasn't done before by using the standard formula. So by doing that, TDK didn't do anything revolutionary?.. that's what you said, am I right or am I not understanding your point? If you're going to say that just because TDK followed these steps that these other films has done before, and there for it's nothing revolutionary then that's where I disagree with you. TDK is revolutionary because it's done something that no other superhero movie has never done before, not because of your so called "standard formula." What would you constitute a movie being revolutionary then? So I think YOU should read what you wrote and then comeback.
Joshua

#24 He read everything and you obviously don't understand his response or your own writing. Or perhaps you've missed the point of this article. It is not suggested to be revolutionary in how much money it will make....wait, wait, wait....have you even seen this damn movie?! I can't believe I'm trying to explain why it's so phenomenal. Does someone have to spoon-feed it to you?!
atg2040

i think that as long as hollywood follows the lead of nolan and gives us the quality of story, script, and casting as they did on the dark knight, we will all be happy! the reason this movie works so well is not only it's dark tone, but it's well written script, and brilliant casting. if this kind of effort is put fourth in the future, comic fans, and average movie goers alike will come in droves!
Joshua

#25 you snuck your comment in before i could hit submit. : )
ImaginaryVisionary

While I agree with the article that this is a revolutionary film, I still have my qualms with the super hero genre. The Dark Knight is outstanding in every way a film should be and I think it does show that super hero movies can stand on their own and are an unstoppable force at the box office right now. BUT just because this movie has set some impressive records doesn't mean anything for the genre, after beat out another comic inspired movie, and a bad one at that in Spiderman 3. The problem is this movie is so good, it's going to make other super hero films look bad. This movie made Iron-man and the Hulk look amateur and those were both good movies. What made this movie different was that it walked away from the cliche's of it's genre. Comic book movies always revolved around character development, fight scenes, and the cool factor of the gadgetry or super power. This movie gave no back story on the Joker or any other character. It stood on it's own like a high octane powered drama propelled by the power of it's story. I don't know how many comic book films are going to be able to do that with the type of density and intensity as Batman, and this film in particular. Comic book films thus far have tended to reflect the somewhat cheesy aspects of comic books, and as much as I like them Spiderman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Ironman....they're kind of all the same story. This movie will stand on it's own aside from the comic book genre, because I don't think any of the upcoming movies that are already in production are going to be able to keep up. I mean can anyone seriously see a super hero like Captain America, as cool as he may be on paper, stand up in his own movie to this masterpiece of a film? I don't see it happening. Captain America and a lot of other comic characters just don't have the density in the stories as this movie had, let alone the insane amount of talent the Dark Knight had from start to finish. The Dark Knight deserves Oscar consideration because it has redefined it's own genre, and if you take out the super hero aspects of it, it's still a damn good crime drama. But even if this movie were to win a best picture Oscar, there's no guarantee there either that it will propel the comic book genre to new heights. Look what has happened to the fantasy genre since Return of the King won....not a damn thing. Several box office failures, even this summers Prince Caspian failed to interest audiences, which many considered a sure bet. The Return of the King was the pinnacle of perfection for it's genre, and everything since has seemed like fodder for fantasy geeks. I think the Dark Knight is going to be the same for the super hero genre. It's so good, it's going to make the next series of comic films seem mediocre, and before the studios have a chance to reshape their views towards how to approach the genre, audiences are going to wane and find something else to obsess over. That's not to say it couldn't happen, but there are so many good comic book characters that will make decent, non-cheesy films, and Hollywood is cycling through them pretty fast.
XYZ

TDK is revolutionary I think because it transcends it's genre.
Omega728

#28 it's all good, #29 nicely put, you read my mind!!!
Luke

Why TDK is so amazing is the simple fact that the story was already written, but in many different versions. What Christopher Nolan did was take all the best bits and make it realistic (to an extent). It's basically just redrafting something that has already been written. I am a writer and most of you should know, the more drafts the better it usually is, as long as you don't get lost along the way. What Hollywood seems to do most of the time is accept a script even when it should be redrafted ten more times and a lot of the time they loose what they are trying to bring across in their movies. I personally would have loved to see Hancock redrafted a few more times. It had a real lot of potential, but wasn't very rounded in the end. There is also the fact that The Joker is possibly the greatest comic book villain of all time. That definitely helped make this movie spectacular, but if you took The Joker out, it would still blow my mind. It had amazing performances from all its characters and was shot brilliantly. Personally I am looking forward to Chris's next instalment of Batman and his future projects. He is an outstanding director, who is great in all aspects. He writes an amazing story and then makes it look as good as the story. If only he were a composer too. Obviously it's your choice if you liked the movie or not, but I thought it was amazing and well deserves it's spot on the imdb.com #1 in the top 250 movies of all time.
Daas

#29, The Dark Knight is a great and different comic book based film but that certainly doesn't diminish Iron Man, or Spider-Man, or X-Men in any way. The Dark Knight is "darker" and strays away from the superhero genre quite a bit. That doesn't mean that comic movies that stay closer to their source material like Iron Man and Spider-Man 2 are any less great than they ever were. If you find comic books "cheesy" then that's you, but its insulting to comic book fans to suggest that all comic book based movies have to become "darker" and stray away from their source material to be good. The Dark Knight is of course a great movie but that doesn't change the fact that Iron Man was as well. P.S. The Captain America movie obviously won't as much money as Dark Knight but I think it will surprise a lot of people at how good it is. Its set during WWII so I think it will have that real world feel to it that Nolan's films have had.
Davor

i have one thing to say about this movie. which is that the movie industry can learn from this. that you don't need a lot of money to make good movie. so i dont want to hear MPAA crying about movie piracy. make good movies and people will pay for it to see it. as the movie its self is concerned Nolan has set a standard that a lot of movie makers especially in comic book genre will have to adopt to. he also has set high standard for audience as well which is good because now when movie comes out there is something you can compare it to or judge it to that standard. like 1989 batman movie was and then almost 20 years later dark knight comes out and blows it out the water. as far as batman 3 is concerned if they make the third on it will never be as good as this one because of the simple fact that it had a lot of to do with timing. heath ledger death good marketing camping and so on. stuff like that is hard to replicate again.
Thorn

I think what people who are not at all familiar with comic books and the world of graphic novels need to remeber is that there is several different takes on Batman. I think with Dark Knight, that Nolan fashioned his Batman after the graphic novels. In which Batman was dark and gritty and there was blood and killing and no shiny blue cape and brightly colored side kick. Marvel comics in contrast set thier comics in that family friendly mode. No hero is really dead and they kill only as a last resort. Only in the graphic novels for Punisher and Wolverine do you really get the whole sale carnage and the dark gritty feeling that Nolan brought to his movies. I am of two minds on the subject in one respect I hope that Marvel and DC keep churning out the family friendly movies, they are good entertainment and keep the studios coming back for more. I think though that they shoudl strive to reach a higher standard with them Iron Man was a shinning example. On the other hand I hope there are more movies like the Dark Knight in the works. I hope the the forthcoming WOlverine movie is dark and brooding. I hope that they take a serious look at the Green Arrow graphic Novels, again a simple gun and explosives type movie no fancy lasers or ice beams just one man facing the darkness both in the world and himself
Jeremy

im agreeing with people who have said TDK is a small revolution and Watchmen will be the big one. But 300 definitely deserves credit for transcending the genre and the film industry. It was a gigantic success. It has the dark and grit that batman takes so much further, and the Watchmen will be the next step that 300 couldnt be. It will be a hard-R rated comic book movie with more adult themes that 300 could never have, and a relatability with audiences in contemporary times. As for changing the film industry, the Watchmen's march release is following 300's own successful march release, a season that hollywood wouldn't have found if it weren't for 300. so in conclusion, TDK....AND 300 have broken boundaries. Now the watchmen is gonna deliver the final blow.
Shige

#25 My point being that I never understand why people have e need to classify things. This is an action and drama film as well as comic book film. Just because it based on some special premise does not automatically make it fall into some special cathegory. The Ring is a comic here in Japan (among other films you regard as dramas thrillers etc) as well but nobody ever said that "gee people start to like comic book films". TDK is well crafted piece of film with all pieces fint nicely together but it is not revolutionary no.
Robert P. Forsythe

I once created my own comic book about a Japanese Samurai that had relations with a geisha on top of a waterfall. During the action, a giant squid came out and shot ink all over the god damn place! The Samurai then looked at the squid, then looked at the geisha, and then looked at the squid, and then looked at the geisha... He muttered one sentence... "WHERE MY HOT POCKET AT!". Then he climaxed. I hope they make my comic book into a full length feature film, Leonardo DiCaprio will play the hot pocket.
http://jeffengelhardt.blogspot.com Jeff Engelhardt

You point to The Return of the King and The Silence of the Lambs as revolutions in their respective genres. While these films were revolutionary, they did not redefine entire genres. There are still fantasies like the incredibly average Narnia films; there is still a slew of unintelligent, shock value based horror movies. The same will be true with The Dark Knight. It is a masterpiece, and it has shown the potential for comic book films. But subsequent comic book movies, though they will certainly be influenced by Nolan and Co., will not automatically be of the same caliber. It is difficult to make movies of this quality, and the majority of Hollywood simply is not up to the task. Great films must have a unique combination of great writing, great acting, great directing, etc. This cannot be expected from every movie made in the same vein as a masterpiece. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece and has shown how to transcend the comic book genre. It is a shame that there is not enough talent in the world of movies to continue its brilliance.
Omega728

#37, I really don't get where you're coming from, every movie has to be classify. That's why the word classify exists. It is what it is. That's like me saying that Star Wars shouldn't be classify as Sci-fi, because it has romance, drama, action, and so on. Now first off the majority of people don't even know that The Ring was based off a comic book, I didn't know that myself if it's true. Second, The Ring did not revolutionize anything, so don't compare it with TDK. It's not a mainstream comic where people are going to associate The Ring with the comic genre. Third, it seems like you only based this off the financial aspect of movie making. Forth, revolutionize means to bring change, and that's what TDK certainly did. If you're saying that TDK hasn't changed the way we look at superhero movies then I say you're dead wrong. Again what do you constitute what a revolutionary film is? Give me a film that you think has revolutionized the movie industry. If the Dark Knight doesn't fit into your definition then I'll swallow my words.
Shige

#40 Who are those people that have an urge to classify everything ? I did not see TDK as a comic book but that is up to me. Others (that included my wife), thought it was a thriller. Granted she did not know anything about Batman before she went to see it, as Id imagine the average woman will not have a clue either. Secondly I did not say The RIng revolutionize anything. I did not say the movies are based on a comic book either. I said there are comic books based on the tale and movies are based on even older story. Just as with some other famous films. The whole point being that I do not divide films into any category. I just go to a theater with expectations of seing things blow up or hearing some jokes or see some clever story etc. I do not automatically think, ohhh that is based on a comic book or ohhh, that is bases on real events. For me it was a well made film and in that film I did not see anything revolutionary.
Omega728

#41 Who are the people who have an urge to classify movies? Everybody else besides you and your wife! I'm sorry but the majority of the public knows who Batman is, my wife who is an average woman and isn't a comic book fan knows who Batman is. Even my mom and dad knows who Batman is and they're old!!! You're not making any sense. Your words alone spoke for me. The reason why TDK is revolutionary is because it was able to make people see it for more than just a superhero movie, as you said that your wife did. I'm sure that when she saw Spiderman or Superman, she would classify those into the superhero movie genre instantly, am I not correct? If you don't divide films into categories then how do you know what you're going to go see?????? That's just stupidity! I'm not walking into Mama Mia this weekend without knowing if it's a drama, musical, thriller, or based on a superhero, etc..... from the sound of it, it sounds like you don't really care to know the source/background of the movie before you see it... if you've seen any other superhero based movies, you would quickly see that TDK is way different from what was previously offered in this genre. Anyways, you contradict yourself so believe what you want. Oh and just to point out, you did say that The Ring was a comic, here's your exact words "The Ring is a comic here in Japan" either that or I'm illiterate.
Shige

#42 I really do not know how to talk to you people. You seem to be so convinsed that TDK is the return of the christ that you just choose random words and phrases and fail to grasp everything else and even if you do, you are 100% sure about that your particular opinion is the only right one that can exist. My wife did not see it because it was more than just a superhero movie. What on earth made you believe that ? She went with me since our friend invited us to the prerelease screening here. (the real premiere is 8/9) "If you don't divide films into categories then how do you know what you're going to go see" You know there is something called a trailer and a plot synopsis. You might feel an urge to place the film into a particular category after seing and reading both but that is you, not me. Let me spell it out for you again #42 The ring is a comic here in japan. Did you get that ? Again, The Ring is a comic here in Japan. Then again, The ring Movies were not based on the comic. Got it ? One more time.. The ring Movies were not based on the comic. Tried to make this into a discussion as the OP suggests but the only way that this kind of discussion should head to, according to the vast majority of fanboys, is to the collective praise to the movie it self. Last post in this piece of news since I feel like I am just repeating every single word I am writing.
Omega728

#43 Hey Guy, you're hopeless to talk to. You say one thing in one comment and then come back and add other things to it and said that you said it before like that. When you said The Ring is a comic in Japan, did you make your whole point clear on your #37 comment? No you didn't, you type half of what you're thinking and you expect us to just know what you're trying to say. All I'm doing is interpreting what you wrote, and the last time I check... I can read english decently. If you don't categorize then what would you say Dumb and Dumber is? If you say comedy, then you're categorizing!!!! So don't stand there and tell me that you never categorize a movie... what a load of B.S. I never said that your wife went and saw it because it was more than just a superhero movie. I said that even your wife, after seeing it recognized that it's more than just a superhero movie!!!!! That's why it's revolutionary, because it's not as simple minded like a lot of other superhero movies. Cripes, it's like trying to talk to someone who doesn't speak english!!!!! I'm done.....
Reza

@ 36, THANKS JEREMY!! lol, It's nice to know someone agrees that Watchmen will be the final blow to break apart the condescension that plagues superhero movies.
Shige

Omega728 there may have been missunderstandings between us but if you want to discuss this in private you are welcome to mail me at sergejpopov@gmail.com I am done with the discussions here.
http://www.myspace.com/apocalypze DJ SID

To comment on the original questions.... I think there will be a steady diet of super hero / comic book films. As long as they maintain an authentic tone and deliver a good story they can be successful. The only change I could hope for is better quality control so there are no disappointments such as Blade III. Anyhow, I did enjoy Dark Knight. A few things I would have done different but overall it was very good. Look forward to the next installment.
ImaginaryVisionray

#33, I wasn't saying comic films should follow the dark themeing of the Dark Knight. I was saying that the flashy special effect laden comic book movies that are heavy on action, but low on plot are going to have to try harder to make their mark. They need to continue to take on more layers instead of staying with the cool factor formula they've been working with. You could say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" but the Dark Knight just broke through it whether they know it or not. Otherwise they're just going to fall into the category of average action film with super hero's instead of being seen as films that pushed the genre further from the pages of the comic book. There's something to be said for sticking to the source, material, but there's something more when they take that source material and make it stand out on film like the Dark Knight did. Ironman was a great movie, but it feels cheaper to me after seeing the Dark Knight simply because now I know there's room for more in the comic book storyline.
Daas

#48. Well you're entitled to your opinion and that's perfectly fine. If you think Iron Man is "cheapened" when put next to The Dark Knight then that's your opinion, all I can do is disagree with it. To me, Iron Man is still a stellar movie and basically on par with Dark Knight in terms of quality. Obviously, the two films are vastly different in tone, theme, and what they are trying to accomplish but that doesn't mean one is vastly greater than the other either. They are two very different films that did an amazing job at accomplishing what they set out to do. Yes, both films would fall under the greater "comic book movie" genre but in reality they actually fall into two very different "sub-genres" if you will. Dark Knight is more of a crime-noir comic book movie while Iron Man is more a traditional superhero comic book movie, and both were great films for their respective sub-genres in my opinion.
DdoubleRS

Heath Ledger made the movie. Batman's voice was kind of annoying and my wife almost fell asleep near the end. I think that the only reason it broke the records was because of the wonderful advertising and the fact that it was Ledger's last film. I did think that the movie was awesome though and I think that it has set a new standard for comic book movies but I certainly think we're going to see a lot of kick ass comic movies coming out that will be better than The Dark Knight.
RStewie

I enjoyed the movie a lot. Batman is also my favorite comic-book character, so I am biased. My SO didn't like it as much. He liked it, but was not "blown away". He wanted a regular comic book sequel. New villian, new equipment, same story, same hero. He liked Iron Man better. I understand his point of view. But I liked TDK better based on the gritty drama, the great acting, and the fact that it WASN'T your standard comic-book sequal. Also, FTR, I HATED the Spiderman sequels. Both of them. I'm hoping there will be a Batman 3, with Nolan at the helm. I loved where he went with the franchise, and I'm interested in seeing more of it. I'm also interested in seeing Iron Man 2, and I'm of the same mind as those before me, in hoping that the gritty, dark realism of TDK doesn't infect the entire genre...I don't need ALL my comic book heros angst-ridden and vengeful. I DO hope that subsequent comic book movies will follow Nolan's path and be both thoughtful and intelligent. New toys are cool, but it's the STORY that has to develop for me, not the hero's collection of vehicles and equipment.