What counts as a nihilistic action film? I suspect I love or hate them.

Skipped a bunch, so this may have been answered, but since I made up the term I guess I should 'splain myself. I like action films, so it's not the shoot-'em-up that gets to me. It's the shoot-'em-because-there's-a-hole-in-my-soul that I find dreary.

Bleak. That's it. Action + Bleak - any Happy at all = nihilistic action film. The Dark Knight. I know, I know, Heath Ledger's last film. But I hated it all the same.

(And now please forgive me for not defending my shallow, Pollyanna tastes. I'm not being avoidy, I just need to get some grading done.)

Bleak. That's it. Action + Bleak - any Happy at all = nihilistic action film. The Dark Knight. I know, I know, Heath Ledger's last film. But I hated it all the same.

Hey, I am All Batman, All The Time, and I loved Batman Begins and bought it on DVD the day it came out.

I have no desire to see The Dark Knight again, nor do I want the DVD. You're spot on -- it is bleak. Bleeeeeeeak. With a side of why god why.

Aha. I do love the nihilistic action film. I love the cheery action film also, but Batman needs a hole in his soul, and I adore him to bits.

eta:

With a side of why god why.

Because he can! The only reason I haven't bought it yet is because I don't have a Blu Ray player, and it deserves Blu Ray.

Batman needs a hole in his soul, and I adore him to bits.

Batman *does* need a hole in his soul, and yet, I can't quite get past the monolith of bleakness that The Dark Knight was. (For me, of course. I know other people didn't find it as unrelentingly bleak.)

The bleakness of Dark Knight is one of the reason I love it. Almost everything the "good guys" do doesn't work out.

I have no desire to see The Dark Knight again, nor do I want the DVD. You're spot on -- it is bleak. Bleeeeeeeak. With a side of why god why.

See, me? My only complaint is that James Gordon Had a Daughter. Damn it.

(Which, err. Apparently wound up leading me to write my most commented-on piece of fic outside of that Dean/Victor piece for SPN.)

But it was FABULOUSLY WONDERFULLY PERFECT IN ITS BLEAKNESS. And NOT ENTIRELY WITHOUT MOMENTS OF LIGHT.

I have no desire to see The Dark Knight again, nor do I want the DVD. You're spot on -- it is bleak. Bleeeeeeeak. With a side of why god why.

I'm glad to hear it's not just me. I think I'm too thin skinned.

I can't quite get past the monolith of bleakness that The Dark Knight was

Can you calibrate for me? What else is bleak like you found TDK?

I'm trying to think of bleak movies, and maybe I just like them. I found A Clockwork Orange very compelling, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a tragedy for me and one of my favourite movies.

Huh. I don't know who I am right now. I don't think I think of TDK as as bleak as either of those, but I kinda think Clockwork Orange has some real upbeat bits.

Oh, I thought The Dark Knight was perfect in its bleakness. That's what Batman is to me, and it was wonderful. Not *easy* to watch, but wonderful.

Children of God was bleak, as was V for Vendetta and I loved both.