“It’s the best movie since (fill in the blank).” We’re sure you’ve all heard that one before. Whether it’s DC, Marvel, or otherwise; plenty of established franchises like to compare their latest and greatest to whatever late-great movie currently exists as the gold standard. In DC’s case, it seems they’re still trying to escape the masterpiece that is The Dark Knight.
Every new superhero movie made is an opportunity for its marketing team to proudly declare it a cinematic breakthrough — and why wouldn’t they? That’s their job after after all. It’s also an even better opportunity for those of us inclined to write articles on the topic to compare said film to all those that came before it — and again, why wouldn’t we? It’s our job.
That’s why The Dark Knight is so hard to beat. It’s not just a great superhero film, it’s a great film in general. The jury is out, the results are in, Christopher Nolan’s 2008 film is piece of perfection. Period. That’s why whenever DC rolls out a new movie, even if it’s a great one, it continues to be compared to one of Batman’s greatest on-screen showings.
Enter one Reddit user who has torn back the curtain on this whole shadowy facade, and frankly, we’d like to thank them for it.
They can’t ALL be the best movie since The Dark Knight. Sure some of them might be pretty darn good, but most leave at least something to be desired. Plenty of cinephiles chimed in on the posting, and their responses have us cackling like the Joker.
It didn’t stop at just at the DCU. Fans started going after Marvel too, albeit in good fun, and we think folks like this should be in charge of our headlines from now on.
Comments like these speak to a larger issue ever present in action filmmaking — one-upmanship. Everyone is always trying to beat the other, to be better, to go bigger, to blow our moviegoing minds again and again. The problem is that eventually it all comes to a screaming halt. It has to.
We’ve reached a point where the villains won’t get any worse, the stakes can’t get higher, and our heroes will only have so many problems to solve. In a post Endgame world; it’s the deescalation of the superhero genre that is causing all the cynicism amongst fandom — and rightfully so.
Hopefully the creatives behind our favorite franchises can begin to reinvent their stories to please an their ever changing audience. Until then, all that’s left to say is; The Dark Knight kicks ass. Quit reading at some point and go watch it.