Batman vs the Dark Knight

Its been a while since I've done a comparison blog and also a while since I've seen the original Batman, so I decided that since I just saw Dark Knight again for the second time, it'd be a good time to do both.

The Dark Knight vs. Batman

Gotham City: This point has to go to the '89 Batman. Anton Furst did the production design for the first Batman film which was directed by Tim Burton (whom I absolutely love). Furst's set designs for the Batman movie were a take on New York City had there been no planning and had it been run by pure extortion and crime. Hence, there were no height restrictions, the skyscrapers hung over the streets, and there were lots of bridges over streets. This creates an extremely dark and claustrophobic look to the city. Burton is quoted as saying his take on Gotham is "as if Hell came sprouting out of the concrete and kept right on growing."

The Dark Knight Gotham is more modern and based mostly on the city of Chicago, which is where much of the movie was shot (you can even catch shots of the Sears tower in Batman Begins). The Gotham of Dark Knight may look more realisitic, but the reason I like the original creation better is because of its the symbolic portrayal of Gotham as a dark and foreboding metropolis rife with crime, grime, and corruption. The way nature intended.

Batmobile:
The '89 Batmobile is simply iconic to me and truer to the orginial comic. I'm not quite old enough to picture the '60s Adam West-mobile so when you say "Batmobile" this is and always will be the one that comes to mind. That being said, the Tumbler from the Dark Knight is simply this: badass. Its basically a tank on speed. It absorbs bazooka fire, overturns dump trucks and has two modes; loiter and intimidate. And if you do manage to incapacitate it, it splits off the Batpod which is like a hybrid between a motorcycle and a waverunner.
So points for this round have to go to the Dark Knight.

Joker: No contest. Heath Ledger gave the greatest performance of his life. Jack Nicholson was great as the Joker. Heath Ledger was legen... wait for it ...dary. Jack played the Joker as a mastermind villian while Ledger played him to the full psychopath that he was intended to be. I've even already heard about Oscar consideration. I-I... I don't even know what else to say about it. It was unforgettable. One point the Dark Knight.

The Batman: Christian Bale is a more believable Bruce Wayne. He kinda embodies the playboy, billionaire, adventure-seeking type. I liked him in Batman Begins which is more of the story of Bruce Wayne becoming the Batman. As Batman, however, I'm going to go with Michael Keaton. I'm sure I'll get some disagreements, but I'm sticking to my guns. I think they tried to make too much of a superhero out of Bale's Batman, but Batman is, in fact, not a superhero. He's just a hero. Sure, Bale has the better suit, but to me, Keaton is that Hero.

Overall: The only thing I think I missed that the 1989 Batman beats out the Dark Knight in is this: Lando Calrisian. Yes, Aaron Eckart did amazing as Harvey Dent/Two Face. I got really into that part of the story line and liked their spin on the "Harvey Dent/Two Face creation story, but it all boils down to this. Billy Dee Williams could beat Aaron Eckart in a light sabre fight any day. However, the action, story line, toys, explosions, *cough*Maggie Gyllenhaal*cough*, from Dark Knight are all superb. One point. And one more bonus point for Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Final Score: The Dark Knight-4, Batman-2