Round 1: The Dark Knight vs. Saving Private Ryan

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Round 1: The Dark Knight vs. Saving Private Ryan

Polls will close on Saturday, October 20 at 12:00am(ish) ET.​

 

[IHW]

Personally, I liked Saving Private Ryan. The Dark Night will probably get the win here for the recent impact it had. And, its a great movie if you are into action and superheros, and even if you aren't. But, Saving Private Ryan has always been a movie to watch when bored. Its on TV practically all the time. It gets my vote.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Some consider Saving Private Ryan to be the greatest war film ever made. I wouldn't really know, because I'm not a fan of the genre overall. Most of them end up boiling down to the underdogs having to overcome, mean drill sergeant who ends up dying and inevitably leaving command in the hands of said underdog, and the important best friend and soldier that must die to spark the now twice aforementioned underdog's rise to action. That being said, I do love Tom Hanks, and even as somebody who doesn't invest much in the genre, I could tell it had something special. I will say however, that I was quite turned off by all the sappy military and media coverage it was getting; heralded as a true depiction of horrific times, with all these old veterans blubbering on about how realistic it was. It was like Christians and Passion of the Christ for me: people who identify with it are going to love it - maybe even flip their shit over it - and people who don't just won't understand.

I can tell you, however, that the Dark Knight is a gorgeous piece of film with one of the greatest depictions, of one of the greatest villains of all time. Heath Ledger's performance by itself wins this for me, no question about it. I don't really care for Christian Bale, but he did a functional job as Bruce Wayne; although his ridiculous voice for the Batman turned into a joke. Michael Caine is also one of my favorite actors.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Dark Knight was not just a blockbuster, but a dark masterpiece. It had the ultimate protagonist fighting a truly evil genius. We could 'feel' Heath Ledger being evil. Plus the fact that he was dead by the time people saw the film added to the eerie aura of the film.

Saving Private Ryan deserves credit for the story of heroism that it spins, but it just can't compete against Dark Knight.