3. The Dark, Cynical Summer Blockbuster
Weve already had the convoluted, pseudo-intellectual plot kind of film (and a wild ride it was too, guys), and joining it on the mantle of Light Escapist Films That Take Themselves Far Too Seriously is the Dark, Cynical Summer Blockbuster. Its another one championed by Christopher Nolan and his "dark" Batman reboot, which, while an interesting and mostly enjoyable series of films, is an extremely po-faced take on a man who runs around in a silly outfit beating up people born into less socially affluent circumstances than he was. The best interpretation of the franchise is indisputably Adam Wests incarnation, and I will fight anyone who disagrees. The tendency to make thin and slightly silly narratives seem heavy and dark has been quite infectious, leading to every superhero in the land having a gritty reboot. Superman is now the serious Man of Steel, Watchmen was made, and nobody who has seen it will ever forget the ludicrous attempts of Spider-Man 3 to show Peter Parkers dark side. And not an Adam West in sight.