Dueling Movies: Difference between revisions

| ''[[Pitch Black]]'' || ''[[Supernova]]'' ||Space movies featuring a [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]] -type crew that must survive a hostile environment and an [[Ax Crazy]] serial killer. Most of the crew are killed. ||''PB'' was made in Australia and on a budget that the Aussies considered huge, but in America was only middlin'. It featured Vin Diesel and Claudia Black(who was shooting her first scenes in a [[Sarcasm Mode|little-known]] [[Farscape (TV)|space show with Muppets at the same time]]). ''Supernova'', meanwhile, had a HUGE budget and bigger stars like James Spader. ||''Pitch Black'' did more with it's little than ''Supernova'' did with its lot with a tight storyline and more interesting characters that did not lean on [[Eye Candy]]. It eventually spawned a pretty fat franchise with a sequel, an animated tie-in, a video game, etc. ''Supernova'' was usually graded as "it supersucks!"

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| ''[[One Hundred and Twenty Seven Hours]]'' || ''[[Soul Surfer]]'' || Dramatic films about [[Real Life]] athletes who lose a limb. || ''Hours,'' from [[Danny Boyle]], focuses on Aron Ralston, a hiker who is forced to cut off his own arm to save himself after five days of having his arm trapped by a boulder. ''Surfer'', from Sean McNamara (the director of ''[[Bratz (Film)|Bratz]]''), focuses on Bethany Hamilton, an evangelical Christian surfer who loses an arm from [[Everything's Even Worse With Sharks|a shark attack]]. The main difference between these two films is their intended audience: while ''Hours'' aims for a secular audience, ''Surfer'' is intended for the [http://www.soulsurferwave.com/ Christian market.] ||''127 Hours'' was nominated for six [[Academy Award|Oscars]] (including Best Picture and Best Actor for James Franco), and several other awards, but only obtained a modest profit [[Screwed By the Network|thanks to Fox's mismanagement of the movie.]] ''Soul Surfer'', on the other hand, received mixed reception from critics. Additionally, while ''Surfer'' earned much more than ''Hours'' in the United States, it was invisible outside the States, resulting in a lower international box office than ''[[One Hundred and Twenty Seven Hours|127 Hours]].'' ''Hours'' is the victor in this one.

| ''[[The Illusionist (Film)|The Illusionist]]'' || ''[[The Prestige]]'' ||Period movies where very handsome actors play magicians who seem to perform the impossible, both having their wide release in fall 2006. ||''The Prestige'' was an edgy thriller, ''The Illusionist'' a love story with a softer fairy-tale feel. ||Both. They were equally successful, but for different reasons. ''Prestige'' seems to have more fans currently.

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| ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'' || ''Fail-Safe'' ||Both films feature the President of the United States collaborating with the Soviet Union to avert [[A Nuclear Error|imminent nuclear]] Armageddon. Interestingly the books were at war too, with ''Red Alert'', the precursor to ''Strangelove'', winning out. When Kubrick heard that ''Fail Safe'' was being made into a movie, he tied the production up in legal issues to get ''Strangelove'' out first. ||[[Black Comedy]] versus [[Nightmare Fuel]]. Though both are generally received as classics, ''Fail-Safe'' didn't feature [[Riding the Bomb|Slim Pickens riding a nuclear bomb to annihilation]], and that crucial oversight cost it in the long run. ||''Dr. Strangelove'' wins due to several Academy Award nominations and being regarded as the best satire in cinema history. The two movies share so many plot points that ''Fail-Safe'' tends to be [[Hilarious in Hindsight]].

| ''[[Alien|Alien: Resurrection]]'' ||''[[Deep Rising]]'' ||A [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|rag-tag bunch]] of pirates/mercenaries, joined by the protagonist(s) and a number of original crew members (including the human villain, who decide later on that now would be the perfect time to [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|back-stab]] the survivors) try to escape from the bowels of [[Ghost Ship|a ship]] that’s hopelessly infested with a group of extremely lethal predators after the former crew [[Everybody's Dead, Dave|has departed/vanished]]. Both prominently feature an extended underwater action set-piece at some point. ||''[[Deep Rising]]'' came out in January 1998, ''[[Alien|Resurrection]]'' in November 1997. The latter had been in gestation far longer than that (pretty much since the release of the third film in 1992), but early script versions differ significantly from the movie that ultimately ended up in theatres. ''Alien: Resurrection'' was helmed by French director [[Jean Pierre Jeunet]], ''Deep Rising'' by [[Stephen Sommers]]. || ''[[Alien|Resurrection]]'' was the bigger film by far, with more big-name-stars, a larger budget, and an extensive marketing campaign. It failed to become the financial blockbuster-success that [[Twentieth Century Fox]] had hoped for however, and is considered [[Sequelitis|a major drop-down in quality]] from previous instalments of [[Alien|the series]]. ''[[Deep Rising]]'', while less successful financially by comparison, has gained a bit of a cult following primarily due to the [[Guilty Pleasure|sheer enjoyability of the movie]] and its habit of never taking itself seriously.

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| ''[[Sky High]]'' ||''Zoom's Academy for Superheroes''||Kid superheroes learn to use their powers||''Very'' different, if you give ''Zoom'' a chance. There's very little substance hung on ''Zoom'''s plot scaffold. Notably, ''Zoom'' is one former superhero employed by the military training youngsters, instead of the full-fledged institution implied by the title.||''[[Sky High]]'' made back over double its budget and earned favorable reviews, while ''Zoom'' flopped and earned Tim Allen a Razzie nom.

| ''[[Machete]]'' || ''[[The Expendables]]'' ||Both films feature [[Rule of Cool|outrageous special effects and stunts]] to tell a barely-there story and feature numerous oldschool actors returning to type of roles that made them famous, gleefully employing the [[Nostalgia Filter]] all the while. || ''Machete'' is a loving [[Homage]] to over-the-top 70's [[Exploitation Film|exploitation films]] directed by [[Robert Rodriguez]] and featuring a star-studded cast; ''Expendables'' has the participation of 80's action stars [[Sylvester Stallone]] (who directed, wrote and plays the lead) [[Die Hard (Film)|Bruce Willis]] and [[Terminator|Arnold Schwarzenegger]], who has a cameo. || Possible tie: ''[[Machete (Film)|Machete]]'' enjoyed a slight critical edge, while ''[[The Expendables]]'' had a significantly higher box office gross (and a sequel).

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| ''[[Alpha and Omega]]'' || ''[[Rio]]'', and ''Newt'' || All three films involve two animals of the same species, opposite genders, and (at least confirmed in the cases of ''Newt'' and ''Alpha'') [[Slap Slap Kiss|opposite personalities]] being put together for the purposes of repopulating their species. ''Alpha and Omega'' came out in Fall 2010 (and was the final film for its late star, Dennis Hopper), ''Rio'' in 2011, and ''Newt'' would have come out in 2012. Pixar canceled ''Newt'' so that they could avoid the [[Dueling Movies]] problem. || ''Alpha and Omega'' (from Crest Animation) is about two wolves (Kate and Humphrey) who are captured and released far from home to increase the wolf population in the area. They work together to get home. ''Rio'' (from Blue Sky Studios) is about two birds (Blu and Jewel). Blu thinks he is the [[Last of His Kind]] and travels to find Jewel. ''Newt'' was about two newts (Newt and Brooke) - he's extremely sheltered, she's tough and street, er, wilderness-smart and they don't like each other - and their need to save their species. ||Unfortunately, [[Pixar]] decided to drop out. [[Rio]] is definitely the winner it brought in five times as much as [[Alpha and Omega]] and had much better reviews.

| ''[[Iron Man (Film)|Iron Man]]'' || ''[[The Dark Knight]]'',<br /><br />(*''[[The Green Hornet (Film)|The Green Hornet]]'') ||Two movies that came out the same summer (and one that [[Development Hell|would have]]) in which, after traumatic events, wealthy sons become masked super heroes with pimped-out mechanical aids; they also have butlers and/or a leggy [[Sassy Secretary]] (well, two out of three) and a really [[Cool Car|Cool]]/[[Weaponized Car]]. The heroes pose as apathetic playboys who own their own corporations and have a close friend/business partner who is also a minority. || Not only were Iron Man and The Dark Knight dueling movies, but they were also dueling between rival Super Hero Comic Companies during their release in 2008. ''Green Hornet'', on the other hand, was pushed back to Januray 2011 due to the studio converting to 3-D. ||Both ''Iron Man'' and ''Dark Knight'' received huge critical acclaim and did great at the box office, but ''The Dark Knight'' wins on a slight edge. Iron Man got a sequel sooner, but The Dark Knight did better critically and financially. And that's not to mention [[The Dark Knight]] winning the first ever acting Oscar for a Comic Book movie with [[Heath Ledger]] winning posthumously for his portrayal of [[The Joker]]. Green Hornet, when it [[Saved From Development Hell|finally was released]], it received mixed reviews and modest box office, which, in all fairness, is probably better than it would have done if it was released on time to compete with the other two.

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| ''[[Defendor]]'' || ''[[Kick Ass (Film)|Kick Ass]]'' ''[[Super (Film)|Super]]'' || Three movies about average people trying to become gadget based low budget vigilantes and end up having brushes with local organized crime. ||The major difference definitely falls in the personalities of the superheroes. Kick-Ass is an average nerdy teen while Defendor is a mentally disturbed homeless man that has delusions of certain supervillians. ''Super'''s Crimson Bolt suffers similar deranged illusions, but is slightly more stable. ''Kick Ass'' becomes more stylized as it goes along while the other two have a more realistic look to them. This could be chalked up to budget differences, as Kick Ass (while low budget by Hollywood standards) cost over ten times as much as either of the other two. ||''Super'' was released only on select arthouse theater screens, limiting its mainstream marketability and received mixed reviews but was a success on VOD. ''Defendor'' had a limited release and will likely have a cult status. ''Kick Ass'' was a commercial success and received mostly positive reviews ([[Roger Ebert]] ''hated'' it, some others were kinder).

[[Category:Film Tropes]]

[[Category:Dueling Movies]]