History DarkerAndEdgier / Film

* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica''. Compared to the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'' and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'', this film is much more bleak and somber. May seem hard to do, but this film was a definite shift away from the previous films, starting with the very fact that Noodles (the main character) is a straight up VillainProtagonist who commits rather reprehensible acts. [[EvilVersusEvil He's not better than his enemies whatsoever]].
* The Hellboy reboot will be a darker, more gruesome movie. The movie will be targeting an R rating unlike the previous two Hellboy movies. The movie will also have some horror elements.
* In TheSeventies, there was a quite radical change in horror movies. Films became incredibly DarkerAndEdgier, at least in comparison with the TheSixties. ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''[[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]]'', and ''Film/DontTortureADuckling'' are examples.
** ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' was this compared to prior horror films with it's bleak tone, graphic violence (for its time) and its ''KillEmAll'' ending. Compared to the scary but harmless funhouse-like horror films at the time, it terrified many children.
* The original ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990'' film is rife with drama, AdultFear, FamilyUnfriendlyViolence and street gangs. And it doesn't let you forget that the majority of the Mooks and the eponymous characters are just teenage kids dealing with ''quite'' adult issues for their age.
* ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' was particularly dark, even after the previous film's destruction of Vulcan, with a villain whose attacks on Starfleet [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything recalled]] al-Qaeda terrorism and [[spoiler:the revelation of a semi-fascist xenophobic warmongering faction within Starfleet]].
* ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' secretly started all those dark and edgy superhero films because Creator/AngLee was able to depict repressed emotions, an abusive father and a semi-corrupt military.
* As with their book counterparts, the ''Film/HarryPotter'' films became increasingly dark and serious starting with ''Prisoner of Azkaban'', but this is evidenced most in the last three sequels, both in terms of cinematography and subject matter. The first two films were full of warm golds and reds, while the later films favour cold blues and Deathly Hallows is almost black and white. To further hammer this fact in, "Hedwig's Theme", which introduces each film, sounds slightly shriller and more discordant in each consecutive film. But after Voldemort was defeated in the last film, the vivid colours of the first movies return.
** At some points in the final three films the action, which is easy to see when watching in a dark cinema or room, is hard to see in a bright room with sunlight shining in.
** [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/original/000/156/899/OaA6X.jpg?1318992465 The Warner Bros. production logos evolve to reflect how the films progressively get darker with each installment.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' is darker than ''Film/ANewHope'', especially the [[DownerEnding Cliffhanger ending]] and the big revelation.
** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' has a much darker and more mature tone than the more light-hearted and kid-friendly ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' with assassination attempts on Padmé's life, the growing tensions in the Republic, Anakin's StartOfDarkness when he slaughters the Tusken Raiders after they kidnapped, tortured and killed his mother, Jango Fett getting beheaded on-screen in front of his son, Anakin's arm getting cut off, and the start of the Clone Wars after major deaths in the Battle of Geonosis.
** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. This sequel manages to be the darkest of all prequels, and probably the darkest of the entire saga so far. (Notably, it is the first ''Star Wars'' film to garner a PG-13 rating). This is where you know the plot of the FallenHero, TheBadGuyWins this time and this is the first in the series that has blood shown graphically (note when Anakin is almost killed). The movie contains an infamous scene of [[spoiler:Vader murdering children]].
** ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' could give ''[=ROTS=]'' a run for its money. It has a decidedly more "adult" tone than most of the other movies, and is the second ''Star Wars'' movie to be rated PG-13. The movie opens with a village on Jakku being invaded and destroyed by the First Order as its inhabitants are slaughtered, and keeps up the darker tone from there with more realistic violence (with some blood) and a minimal amount of kid-oriented "whimsical" humor compared to the previous movies.
** ''Film/RogueOne'' manages to be even darker still, to the point that the already dark ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' has been called "family-friendly" in comparison. It has an aesthetic and tone closer to a war movie than a space opera. The film is bleak throughout, introduces BlackAndGreyMorality into the franchise, and contains much more realistic violence than the previous entries, with a very brutal scene in particular of [[spoiler:Vader wordlessly hacking through a group of Rebel soldiers like [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]].]]
** ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is ''even darker'' than ''The Force Awakens'', with the teaser poster giving the ''Star Wars'' logo red colouring instead of the traditional yellow to emphasise that. The teaser trailer also showcased a darker tone, even hinting at [[spoiler:Luke Skywalker]] having crossed the DespairEventHorizon following the events between ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and ''The Force Awakens''. It's certainly the most morally ambiguous installment in the entire series, making ''Film/RogueOne'' look almost straightforward in comparison. A good chunk of the film is members of the Resistance taking on each other for various reasons.
* An in-universe example in the obscure flick ''Adventures In Dinosaur City,'' where a trio of kids find themselves zapped into the world of their favorite cartoon. Where things aren't just good guys and bad guys like they are on the show, and the story's about as gritty as they could get away with in a kid's film while not losing the aesop about there being no such thing as BlackAndWhiteMorality.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** Christopher Nolan's ''Film/BatmanBegins'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' compared to the Joel Schumacher movies (''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' especially) and (to a far lesser extent) the Tim Burton ones.
** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' is the darkest movie in the ''Dark Knight'' trilogy. In the movie, the Joker represents anarchy and tries to prove that anyone can become like him, and Harvey Dent becomes the villain known as Two Face and goes on a killing spree. Two Face murders any cop who helped the Joker or the Mob. He then tries to kill Jim Gordon's family as revenge for not saving his wife in time. The Movie is the most violent of the Dark Knight trilogy (in fact, so violent that viewers in the UK start questioning the BBFC's decision to classify it as a 12/12A), as the movie ends with Batman becoming a criminal and on the run. Bruce then reflects on how he failed and is broken and doesn't know what he stands for.
** Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/BatmanReturns'' compared to [[Film/Batman1989 the 1989 film]] which [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny started the curve]] away from the campy 1960's TV Series.
** ''Batman Returns'' becomes so dark it becomes a StealthParody since Burton couldn't really replicate the feel of the original Batman books and his characterization of Batman almost completely removes his most notable trait: ThouShallNotKill.
** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' is darker than ''Film/ManOfSteel''; the movie got an R rated directors cut due to scenes of violence. Batman kills in the movie, and doesn't show mercy to criminals. [[spoiler:The movie also ends with Superman dying.]]
* ''Film/BabePigInTheCity'' is very much this trope compared to the original. The original was about a little pig on a farm who was taken in by the female sheepdog and was mostly lighthearted. TearJerker here and there, but the darkest element was when Babe's parents are herded to the slaughterhouse. In ''Babe 2'', there's a hotel with illegal pets, animal control, a vicious bulldog that nearly hangs him trying to kill Babe, and one of those little wheelchair dogs who [[spoiler:almost dies]]. Terrifying for some kids. On the other hand, in the first part a duck is killed for the Christmas dinner and a sheep is killed by feral dogs and in the second part no animal is KilledOffForReal.
* While many versions of ''Franchise/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' go in [[LighterAndSofter the opposite direction]], [[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1989 the 1989 film]] turned the story into a bloody slasher flick, with [[Creator/RobertEnglund Robert]] "[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]" [[Creator/RobertEnglund Englund]] in the title role. This movie is much more in keeping with [[Literature/THePhantomOfTheOpera the original novel]]'s tone as far as the titular character's obsession with Christine goes, to the point of his being quite willing to kill for her, but even ''then'' it's still a [[LighterAndSofter gentler version of the story]] compared to the original novelization.
* Richard Kelly wrote a [[http://richard-kelly.net/multimedia/scripts/Holes-Script72.pdf screenplay]] for Louis Sachar's lighthearted BlackComedy, ''Literature/{{Holes}}'', that went in this direction. Instead of searching for buried treasure at a juvenile delinquent summer camp, the movie would have had the boys searching for nuclear weapons in a post-apocalyptic Texas. One scene has [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior Stanley visiting a prostitute.]] The studio instead used the screenplay written by Sachar himself.
* A common trend in films about Myth/KingArthur, which is a pretty downbeat legend to begin with.
** ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' combines MagicalRealism with [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank gritty, bloody]] violence, reaching a peak of dark edginess in an early scene in which a knight in blood-stained armour tricks the wife of his nemesis into having sex with him. There are plenty of impalings and crow-pecked corpses to go around as well.
** Robert Bresson's ''Film/LancelotDuLac''. What it lacks in gore and DungAges ambiance, it makes up for by being extremely dour, mechanical and joyless, Bresson films are wont to be.
** The [[{{Demythtification}} "historical"]] film ''Film/KingArthur'' from 2004 has the Knights of the Round Table turn out to be just a pack of Roman mercenaries fighting evil Saxons in a cold, windswept wasteland of an England.
* ''Film/JamesBond'' films:
** ''Film/LicenceToKill'' is by far the darkest of the series to that point. It starts with Colombian drug lord Franz Sanchez feeding Bond's longtime friend and ally to a shark (after raping and killing his new bride), followed by Bond resigning from MI6, going rogue, and killing every member of Sanchez's organization in increasingly graphic ways.
** The Creator/DanielCraig Bond films, starting with ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' are darker and more realistic than previous Bond films, going deeper into Bond's pathos and doing away with most of the wisecracks, gadgets and slapstick. ''Skyfall'' also goes in for DeconstructorFleet, DentedIron, ''serious'' questions about everyone's sanity, and [[spoiler: TheBadGuyWins by killing M although his victory is indirect as he is killed by Bond before M kicks the bucket]].
*** The theme song gets in on this too, with the lyrics and the melody probably being the most somber in the franchise's history. And even if not, the credits sequence certainly is--instead of the usual silhouettes of gyrating nubile women, we get numerous scenes of death and destruction.
*** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': The sequel to ''Skyfall'' is quite dark, and the BigBad, Franz Oberhauser is the [[spoiler:darkest version of 007's ArchEnemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He relishes in sadistic glee than most of his predecessors, and has developed an [[IrrationalHatred irrational]] [[ItsPersonal grudge]] against an orphaned 007 for being favored more by his father when the two were in their teens. He later commits {{Patricide}} to spite 007, fakes his own death and stays low for a brief time before reemerging as the leader of the titular criminal organization and [[GreaterScopeVillain orchestrating numerous tragedies in 007's personal life in later years]]. Add to the fact that instead of just focusing on manipulating events to his organization's favor via proxies as his past incarnations did, Blofeld also dabbles in chillingly realistic crimes such as sexual slavery, narcotics and actively overthrowing governments to put in SPECTRE-aligned henchmen. Thus, SPECTRE is now more a subversive organization than its previous incarnations, combined with the fact that Blofeld runs it like a tyrannical dictator with an iron fist, [[BadBoss killing any underling who double-crosses him or gets out of line]] as a warning to others.]]
** There is often a tendency for the franchise to follow-up a particularly {{Camp}} film with a DarkerAndEdgier entry, such as ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' after ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' after ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', and ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' after ''Film/DieAnotherDay''.
* The second ''Film/HomeAlone'' film is much less lighthearted than the first, taking place in New York rather than a Chicago suburb, and with Kevin using much more dangerous traps against the Bandits. Also, when they catch him, Harry [[MoralEventHorizon fully intends to murder Kevin.]] Ultimately, it ends up arguably being an EvenBetterSequel.
** The third film takes it even further...but is generally considered a flop.
* Even the classic ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' was not immune to this trope. When E.T. first became a hit in theaters, Creator/StevenSpielberg and E.T. screenwriter Melissa Mathison came up with a treatment for a sequel: ''[[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo E.T. II:]] Nocturnal Fears'', in which Elliot and his friends are kidnapped by [[TheGreys evil albino offshoots]] of E.T.'s species. Fortunately, E.T. returns to Earth and rescues them, but not until after the kids have all been [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]]. They thought better of it.
* ''Film/NewJackCity'' is a good example of this. Scotty is not always noble himself and actually threatens to kill Pookie if he says another word, in anger.
* ''Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife'' is still a comedy, but the humor is much edgier than the troupe's [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail other]] [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian two]] films.
* The ''Film/SpiderMan'' trilogy got darker with each progressing film. With Peter actually embracing the evil black suit in the final movie.
* ''Film/TronLegacy'' is much more grim than the [[Film/{{Tron}} 1982 original.]] When you got programs violently shattering into data, genocide, a brutal dictator, and brainwashing programs to invade the real world, you got more than just the suits and the environment that's darker than the first Tron.
** Even the 1982 Original was a D&E risk on Disney's part, their second attempt after ''Film/TheBlackHole''. Recall that 5 years earlier, they released ''Film/PetesDragon1977'', which was one of their most saccharine entries. The classic had a few nasty deaths (including an InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath), ColdBloodedTorture, and some heavy-duty religious themes. Then, there's the infamous DeletedScene that's just shy of a full-blown sexual encounter.
** The ''animated series'' entry, ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' manages to get even more Grimdark. There are scenes of mass murder witch hunts the Renegade. The Renegade is painted as a terrorist by the villans. And Tron himself tries to ''kill his apprentice'' in cold blood for intervening in a rampage of revenge against the man who tortured him.
* ''Film/TheBlackHole'' itself qualifies on its own. Released in 1979 it was controversial for being Creator/{{Disney}}'s first PG-rated film, and featured numerous violent and disturbing sequences the likes of which no Disney film had ever shown before. Even the resident "funny robots" were not actually that funny and were played straight. Although it took a few years, the move towards more adult fare exhibited by Black Hole, Tron, a rather adult comedy called Trenchcoat and others eventually led Disney to establish the [[Creator/TouchstonePictures Touchstone brand]] for releasing films in the PG, PG-13 and R-rated realm, while reserving the main Disney brand for (mostly) G or the occasional PG film. This later went by the wayside however, as the Disney brand came to be used for dark, PG-13 rated films like ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean''.
* The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' sequels fall into this. ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' pits Jack against a threat he can't talk his way out of and, in the process, puts more emphasis on his morally ambiguous side, with him resorting to genuinely shady stuff to escape his DealWithTheDevil. ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' opens with Cutler Beckett presiding over a mass execution - and becoming the first Disney villain to kill a child on-screen. Elizabeth and Will both have to join in the speed chess game just to keep up, with Elizabeth getting the big ShootTheDog moment of [[spoiler:leaving Jack to face the Kraken so the others can escape.]] And ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides'' with no Will or Elizabeth, has no characters involved in the main plot who aren't utterly self-serving, and falls into AffablyEvil [[EvilVersusEvil Versus Not-So-Affably Evil]].
* The Franchise/{{Godzilla}} franchise jumps between this and LighterAndSofter. No film has ever topped [[Film/{{Gojira}} the original]] but some try pretty hard. ''Film/MothraVsGodzilla'' was bleaker than the goofy ''Film/KingKongVsGodzilla'', ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'' had people melting and one of the biggest body counts of all the franchise after the kid-centered ''Godzilla's Revenge''. ''Film/TerrorOfMechagodzilla'' was DarkerAndEdgier than ''Film/GodzillaVsMechaGodzilla'' which featured violence but had a very pulpy story; ''Terror'' [[spoiler: even deals with the issue of suicide.]] ''Godzilla 1985'' dealt with a possible World War III and was politically heavy, ''[[Film/GodzillaVsBiollante Biollante]]'' was just a tad bit lighter but very dark still. ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'' dealt with [[spoiler: Godzilla dying, Jr. dying, and Godzilla possibly undergoing a nuclear meltdown that would destroy the Earth]]. ''[[Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack GMK]]'' was even bleaker than ''[[Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus Megaguirus]]'' thanks to an even more vicious Godzilla terrorizing Japan. And then there is ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'', which while perhaps not as dark as the trailers for the film suggested, the film lacks any cheesiness or family-friendliness of the series post-''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'', hearkening back to the dead-serious [[Film/{{Gojira}} 1954 original]], though Godzilla himself is still portrayed in a somewhat positive light. Then after the 2014 film came ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', which like ''GMK'', was an attempt to return to the darker roots of the 1954 original, taking its cue from 9-11 and that 2011 Tsunami and Earthquake that struck Japan (along with the subsequent Fukushima nuclear plant disaster).
* ''Film/KingKong2005'' in comparison to the 1993 ''Film/KingKong'', with more graphic violence, nighttime scenes, darker behaviour from the heroes, and more horrifying monsters.
* ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' had EVERYONE wearing black and a knives and bullets always finding their way into enemy eye sockets. Then we have the Baroness display her [[MostCommonSuperPower cleavage]] and the buxom Scarlett wearing a sports bra while on a treadmill. Not to mention a guy's face is literally DISSOLVED by his own nanites!
** The sequel, ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'', was darker and less cartoonish than the original, even featuring the [[DecoyProtagonist death of]] [[spoiler: Duke, the hero of the first movie]].
** The original animated TV series, despite being about a paramilitary group assigned to combat a terrorist organization, was nonetheless intended to be child-friendly, i.e. ATeamFiring galore, and despite the fact Scarlett was armed with a crossbow, she'd never consider using it to actually, you know, kill anyone. Perhaps reflecting the post-9/11 attitudes that A Team Firing is unrealistic and cheesy, the GI Joes of the live action film (and recent-vintage animated reprises and the comic books) are depicted as you'd expect a paramilitary force fighting terrorists would be - ruthless killers each with double- and triple-digit body counts. Even Scarlett.
*** The original ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeTheMovie'' is way darker than the animated show. Its revealed Cobra are led by an ancient race of reptilian beings, most of the familiar cast are held prisoner by giant alien plants for the entire film, we follow a new team of rookies as they struggle to replace the Joes, Cobra Commander devolves into a giant snake with 100 eyes, Roadblock goes blind, Duke DIES (and is revived thanks to ExecutiveMeddling adding unconvincing ADR).
* The ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'' in general. Robots are getting ripped apart, blown up, or their faces bifurcated. The added sex appeal (and not much else) is supplied by Megan Fox. Although amputation, decapitation and on at least one occasion, crucifixion, were all features of the 80s transformers comics. And ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' cranks it UpToEleven, with [[spoiler: humans being assassinated]], as well as having [[spoiler: Sentinel Prime launch a full scale Decepticon assault on Earth, complete with scenes of carnage.]]
* ''Film/RedRidingHood'', as seen in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NfwUkXQrHE&feature=player_embedded trailer]]. [[OlderThanTheyThink The original]] wasn't exactly what modern readers would call kid friendly either though.
* ''Film/GhostbustersII'' might not be as good as the first movie, but it sure is darker than the first, involving an ancient god in a painting looking to be reborn in a baby, people's emotions manipulating and being manipulated by pink slime under the city, and [[spoiler:our heroes (temporarily) being put in an insane asylum at the beginning of the DarkestHour]].
* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'' compared to the first movie. Why? 3 reasons. 1, the alternate 1985. 2, in the alternate timeline, [[spoiler:[[JerkJock Biff]] marries Lorraine after killing George]]. And 3, [[spoiler:[[AbsentMindedProfessor Doc Brown]] is institutionalized in the alternate timeline]].
* Creator/RussellCrowe's 2010 ''Film/{{Robin Hood|2010}}'' film.
** This version and ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' when compared to [[Film/TheAdventuresOfRobinHood the Errol Flynn version]] or the [[Disney/RobinHood Disney one]].
* Rob Zombie's remake of ''Film/{{Halloween 2007}}'' and [[Film/HalloweenII2009 its sequel]] fits this trope. While the originals were fairly dark in their own right, Zombie amps it UpToEleven by creating a darker, gritter world filled with {{rap|eIsASpecialKindOfEvil}}ist {{orderlies|AreCreeps}}, [[ILoveTheDead necrophiliacs]], AbusiveParents (namely Michael Myers'), and a barrage of characters who [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking swear like sailors]]. Even Michael himself kills in a more violent, brutal manner. Not everybody was fond of these changes.
* ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'' compared to almost any other adaptation without a doubt. From the trailers alone, we can already see that this movie is way more violent, with epic-scale battles and soldiers smashing each other to pieces left, right and center, has very scary-looking creatures, and throws in a few nasty twists such as the Queen really being a much older woman that sucks the life out of much younger women to preserve her youth. Oh, and if that weren't enough, almost the entire film and its settings are very dull and colourless, whereas in most other versions, the kingdom and most parts of the forest are much more colourful and presented as nice places to live. Here? Not so much.
* ''Film/SnowWhiteATaleOfTerror''. Even more so than the original fairytale.
* ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' was a relatively tame (by today's standards, at least) family-friendly comedy involving two {{Idiot Hero}}es being granted a TimeTravel device to research historical figures (including {{Bowdlerise}}d versions of UsefulNotes/{{Napoleon|Bonaparte}} and UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid) in a RaceAgainstTheClock to pass a history test. Contrast this with ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'', which would quite likely [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids scare the original film's target audience shitless]]. Unlike in the previous film where their biggest threat was Ted's dad sending him to military school, ''Bogus Journey'' has a legitimate, politically-driven BigBad who builds [[RobotMe robot versions]] of the protagonists who hunt down and '''actually kill them'''. This leads the film into a BackFromTheDead storyline where the two meet [[TheGrimReaper Death himself]], wander around Sand Dimas as ghosts, get sucked into Hell via occult magic where they encounter a rather convincing {{Satan}} and crawl through a fire-and-brimstone lit [[AirVentPassageway air duct maze]] where they encounter [[UpToEleven exaggerated]] versions of their childhood traumas. There's also numerous homages to R-rated sci-fi and horror films amongst other added horrors, a subplot involving plenty of {{Squick}}y incest jokes, drastically harsher and more frequent profanity (including a PrecisionFStrike at one point), and some HoYay dialogue. All this in a film that came out a mere 2 years after the original; hardly the most ample time for its audience to prepare for it.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** At the time it was released, ''Film/IronMan1'' was this in comparison to the hammier, {{Narm}}ier Marvel films like ''Film/GhostRider'' and ''Film/FantasticFour2005''. In fact, director Creator/JonFavreau has stated that the success of ''Film/BatmanBegins'' was what motivated the studio to take the movie more seriously than its competitors' past comic book outings.
** In [[http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2012/07/25/captain-america-sequel-will-be-darker-edgier-co-director-says this article]] about ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the co-director uses this exact pair of comparative adjectives. The movie also has a much more serious tone than ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. MovieSuperheroesWearBlack seems to be in effect, with Cap wearing a darker, more practical outfit rather than his colorful costume from ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', and ComicBook/TheFalcon wearing dark military gear rather than his red costume from the comics. Creator/ScarlettJohansson specifically said large portions of the film invoke the NotWearingTights trope to give the movie a more "grounded", realistic feel.
** More in the line of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' than ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' is darker, deeper, and more emotional than the first installment.
** Although there's still some humorous banter to be had, the overall tone of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' is considerably darker and more intense than any of the previous movies in the series. Many have compared it to ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' in this regard ([[http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/05/02/how-empire-strikes-back-helped-keep-captain-america-civil-wars-dark-ending including the directors]]). It's noted that ''Age of Ultron'' was supposed to be the really dark entry in the series, had been advertised as having almost no humor, yet still had more than its fair share. This movie has even ''less''.
** Following the R-Rated ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' and WB's announcement of an R-Rated Director's Cut of ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' director Peyton Reed jokingly tweeted that the film would be NC-17. In response, Creator/JamesGunn tweeted that ''Inhumans'' would be a snuff film.
** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' is this to the original ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. While the film still retains its humor, there are much darker and risqué jokes (including a scene set on a planet of sexual escorts) and many scenes containing bigger doses of violence and AdultFear [[spoiler: as well as a villain who wants to eliminate all life in the universe by replacing it with extensions of himself, and is the biological father of Peter Quill. He even is responsible for Meredith Quill's death and killed many of his previous offspring after determining they weren't useful to his plans]]. The film also has a much more character-driven story and a more BittersweetEnding than the first.
** Downplayed with ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}''. While there are plenty of funny moments, the film is more of a LowFantasy drama especially compared to the previous MCU movie ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', which was more of a wacky HighFantasy comedy. It is also one of the few MCU films to discuss real-world racism and colonialism.
** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' is by far the darkest and most cynical of all the MCU films. [[spoiler:The heroes ultimately fail, Thanos succeeds in wiping out half of all life in the galaxy, and many beloved characters including Loki, Heimdell, Gamora, and Vision are brutally KilledOffForReal. Even Thanos himself realizes that he lost too much and took too much to accomplish his well-intentioned goal.]] This is all best demonstrated by the somber rendition of the otherwise upbeat Avengers theme being played in the end credits.
* Josh Trank's ''[[Film/FantasticFour2015 Fantastic Four]]'' is said to be this, with the director claiming the tone is partially influenced by ''Film/{{Alien}}'' and the works of Creator/DavidCronenberg in places.
* ''[[Film/FreeWilly2TheAdventureHome Free Willy 2]]'' & ''3''. Compared to [[Film/FreeWilly the first movie]], in which the only tearjerker was Willy almost dying. The second had Jessie nearly drowning and getting incinerated by an oil tanker fire. While the dangers there were unintentional, the third amps it up by having human villains not capture the whales, but try to kill them and sell their meat to underground markets. Willy's not exempt from this either since in the climax of the film, he actually almost kills the captain of the whaling ship for attacking him, [[PapaWolf his mate and their unborn child.]]
* If ''Film/DirtyHarry'' was a dark enough already, the fourth installment ''Film/SuddenImpact'' made the series much darker. For one thing the movie has Harry Callahan going after [[RapeAsDrama a gang of rapists who brutalized and raped a female artist and her sister, leaving the latter all but catatonic]]. It's also considered by many to be the darkest, dirtiest, and most violent of the series as well.
* ''Film/RamboIV''. Even for the GrandFinale, certainly manages to be the sequel darker than all his predecessors. There [[{{Gorn}} is much more blood]] [[BloodierAndGorier and graphic violence,]] and the BigBad is an absolute ''monster,'' even by this film series' standards.
* ''Film/DeathWishVTheFaceOfDeath''. Every single murder is gorn.
%%* The new ''Film/MortalKombat'' movie is so DarkerAndEdgier, it ''actually seems like a parody'' of how to take an existing goofy franchise and turn it Darker And Edgier.
* ''Film/{{Casino}}''. It is far more violent, darker, edgier and downbeat than ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}''. And its killings are far more stomach churning. So yea, this is UpToEleven compared with the earlier sequel.
* ''Film/MenaceIISociety''. It's much more violent, sad, downbeat, darker and edgier than ''Film/BoyzNTheHood''. This film has almost no lighter moments.
* ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' is a much darker film compared to the one that preceded it. In fact is like riding a train to downer land. ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' was a fairly standard action film with an overall happy ending ([[TropesAreNotBad and that isn't a bad thing]]). Its sequel however has an air of hopelessness that just pervades the entire thing. Two major characters [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome are killed right at the start]] and another one is damaged beyond repair, the film is set on a grimy prison planet populated by murderers and scum, there is almost nothing to fight the alien off with so more characters, [[AnyoneCanDie even likeable ones]], die left and right ([[SurprisinglySuddenDeath often with no build-up]]), and [[spoiler:even Ripley is killed off at the end because it's the only way she could stop The Company from bringing the Alien gestating inside her back with them.]] Sure things get better with "Resurrection", but that doesn't exactly raise spirits either (due to quality rather than tone)
* The events and the characterisation of the family members in the ''Film/TheAddamsFamily'' films are '''significantly''' darker than they were in the [[Series/TheAddamsFamily TV series]], although still not as dark as some of the original Creator/CharlesAddams single-panel cartoons.
* Creator/ChristopherNolan has said while ''Film/ManOfSteel'' isn't a "dark movie", as Superman isn't a dark character, it is "more serious and realistic." Still, it is by far the most violent Superman movie to date. It is, however, somewhat LighterAndSofter than Nolan's ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''.
* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', with its [[HijackedByJesus Satanic?]] ReligionOfEvil, HumanSacrifice by BeatStillMyHeart, child slavery, a villain that actually says that he is trying to commit global genocide (unlike the first film, where the Nazis are just said to be trying to TakeOverTheWorld) and generally dark and oppressive tone is this to the preceding ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' and largely responsible for the creation of both the USA PG-13 rating and the British 12 (yep, ''Doom'' was released as ''PG'', and that's after they were forced to change the original title, ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of '''Death'''''). Making it worse, the movie is the only one in the franchise where Indy has a KidSidekick and there are other child characters, which probably led parents to think that it was actually [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids more child-friendly]] back when it was released.
* Not only is ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' the darkest in the series, but like ''Film/LicenceToKill'', it came close to getting an R rating. It has a higher rating in most countries for this reason.
** The series was never "kids' movies" to begin with, but ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'' takes this to levels not seen since ''Film/MissionImpossibleII''. The color palette is overall much more muted and gritty than that of ''Rogue Nation''. Solomon Lane has completely abandoned any sympathetic traits he may have initially had, becoming a borderline DeathSeeker entirely fixated on ruining Ethan's life. The action is much less flashy and stylized than that of ''Rogue Nation'' or ''Ghost Protocol'', instead opting for [[BloodierAndGorier the most brutal combat in the series thus far, and some of the most graphic kills in the series thus far]].
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** In ''[[Film/XMen1 X-Men]]'', you can pinpoint the exact moment the world started taking comic book films seriously. Here's a hint: it takes place inside a [[{{Tearjerker}} concentration camp...]]
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' beats ''Film/X2XMenUnited'' to the title of the most dramatic, heart-wrenching, and pessimistic in the series.
** ''Film/TheWolverine'' is more serious than the previous X-Men movies, presenting the story as a noir crime drama.
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' adapts one of the darkest X-Men storylines ever, and, while it has many humorous moments, the overall tone (especially that of the BadFuture scenes) is pretty bleak.
*** The Future Sentinels, more than their typical adaptational portrayals, especially the in-story 1970's versions.
** ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'' earned its R rating, being much darker and far more profane than the main X-Men movies.
** ''Film/{{Logan}}'' similarly makes great use of its R rating; featuring much more brutal violence than previous Wolverine films and a story that deals with many themes of mortality and TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior from X-23 [[spoiler: and a finale that results in many characters from the previous films being KilledOffForReal, including Logan himself]].
* ''[[Film/LookWhosTalking Look Who's Talking, Too!]]'' focuses on James and Mollie's marriage possibly faltering and Mikey & Julie's SiblingRivalry. It climaxes with James fighting an armed robber and their apartment almost burning down.
* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' compared to a lot of other earlier war movies. Established very quickly with the opening Omaha Beach battle - you're introduced to TheSquad [[SubvertedTrope only for nearly all of them to be slaughtered extremely quickly]], and a lot of the poor sods who bite the dust do so in [[CruelAndUnusualDeath extremely graphic ways]] (the flamethrower guy who goes up and takes out a few surrounding soldiers, the man who's in a state of shock and walking around looking for his severed arm, the young soldier lying on the ground trying to hold his intestines in, the radio guy who winds up with no face, etc). Not to mention it's one of the few American war films you'll ever see that depicts American soldiers committing war crimes.
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'':
** ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart1'', so much so compared to [[Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire the previous film]]. With [[spoiler:the bombing of District 12, people being gunned downed onscreen rather than using cutaway shots, a hospital being destroyed, and torture and MindRape in the case of the rescued victors]].
** ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart2'' is the darkest of the franchise, with the sewer scenes in particular playing out almost like a horror movie.
* ''Film/TheEqualizer'' is so very much this when compared to the original series that this was based on. A typical plot in the CBS series has [=McCall=] pulling an elaborate mindgame with his associates helping him, one that usually forces the guilty party to incriminate themselves and sometimes leaves them at the mercy of those they've wronged. In the movie, [=McCall=] simply takes out everyone in his path personally, using such delightful tactics as [[spoiler:a shotglass to the eye socket, corkscrew to the jaw, a barb wire noose, a tree trimmer through the neck, and gunning someone down with a high-powered nailgun.]]
* ''Film/TheGreyZone'' is Darker and Edgier... ''[[ExaggeratedTrope for a Holocaust film]]''. While films about the topic all depict the unimaginable human suffering of that period, most (such as ''Film/SchindlersList'', ''Film/ThePianist'', or ''Film/EscapeFromSobibor'') also try to portray a narrative of courage and hope amidst all that horror, with at least some characters managing to survive against all odds. This film takes place entirely in Auschwitz, focusing on the prisoners who were forced to assist the Nazis by disposing of the bodies, making the protagonists much more morally ambiguous than is typical. It ends with [[KillEmAll almost every character of note dying]], and most of their efforts throughout the film either resulting in a rather minor victory (half the crematoria remain after the uprising, and the death industry continues) or simply [[ShootTheShaggyDog rendered pointless]] (the little girl they tried to save, who's killed by the Nazi captain after a HopeSpot).
* ''Film/UniversalSoldierDayOfReckoning'' is much darker than any of the previous installments and the culmination of a major tone shift for the series. The original ''Film/UniversalSoldier'' is your typical cheesy 1990s ActionHero flick where Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme and Creator/DolphLundgren [[DuelingStarsMovie duke it out]]. ''Film/UniversalSoldierRegeneration'' is already darker, as an older Luc Deveraux is still struggling with re-integrating into the world after his unexpected resurrection. ''Day of Reckoning'' takes it to the point where there's not an ounce of comedy or camp. The film opens with the murder of the protagonist's family by a [[FallenHero now-evil Deveraux]] who has taken after [[Film/ApocalypseNow Colonel Kurtz]], the fight scenes are incredibly brutal and gory (try to count the sheer number of headshots, for one), and the concept of Unisols as cloned, brainwashed sleeper agents with fake memories makes for some nice ParanoiaFuel. It's really more of a CyberPunk noir flick.
* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
** ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' is remembered as the most violent of the franchise, notably for being the film with the highest body count and the most violent death scenes (at least until ''Film/JurassicWorld'' came along, anyway). Oddly enough, at the same time it attempts at humor far more frequently than either of the other installments, mostly due to the fact that Malcolm takes the reins as the main protagonist, making for some weird MoodWhiplash.
** ''Film/JurassicWorld'' is this to the older ''Jurassic Park'' movies. The creation of the ''[[FrankensteinsMonster Indominus Rex]]'' is easily the most ethically questionable of all compared to the other, more "natural" dinosaurs, and she's the only dinosaur antagonist in all the films to be [[AxCrazy unquestionably and actively malicious]] rather than merely a very dangerous animal. For the first time ever in a ''Jurassic Park'' film, her creators have ulterior and devious motives for doing so. The film also has the highest body count of the series if you include dinosaur and human victims (though even with human victims alone, it still ranks as the highest even over its own sequel), and it's the first film to feature the on-screen death of a woman (which has also gained a lot of attention in internet circles for being [[CruelAndUnusualDeath particularly graphic and disturbing]]).
** ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' is even darker, particularly given director J.A. Bayona's horror credentials. The opening scene takes place on the dinosaur-infested Isla Nublar in a rainy night, and features both the ''T. rex'' and the ''Mosasaurus'' stalking their human quarries. The ''Indoraptor'' is possibly one of the most disturbing dinosaurs in the franchise, doling out several vicious deaths, demonstrating sadism and ''a sense of psychopathic humor'', and being a FlawedPrototype. [[spoiler:Eli]] also has the most violent death in the series, slowly being brutally devoured by several predators - and he himself dished out a shocking end to [[spoiler:Benjamin Lockwood]], making him the first character in the films to explicitly try - and the first in the franchise to succeed in killing another human. The death of [[spoiler:Ken Wheatley]] comes quite close to the top of brutal deaths as well, courtesy of the above-mentioned ''Indoraptor''.
* 1928 film ''Film/WestOfZanzibar'' was already a pretty dark and edgy tale, about a bitter, rage-filled EvilCripple who takes custody of a little girl and turns her into an alcoholic whore as part of a revenge plot against her father, the man who crippled him. The 1932 remake, ''Film/{{Kongo}}'', amazingly, manages to make this even darker. The first version includes an opening act that shows the protagonist (named Phroso in that film) as a decent and honorable man, who is then dumped by his wife and crippled in a fight with his wife's lover. ''Kongo'' omits that whole opening act, which served to humanize the protagonist, and instead opens with protagonist Flint already in Africa, an evil cripple scheming to destroy an innocent woman as part of a revenge plot. The addition of Tula, Flint's slutty companion, and Dr. Kingsland with his crippling drug addiction also serve to make this film even nastier than the already nasty 1928 version.
* After an increasingly comedic trilogy, ''Film/EvilDead2013'' is fairly jarring in tone. It edges pretty close to TorturePorn as the main characters mutilate themselves and each other, the teenagers aren't at the cabin for a party, it's nearly devoid of jokes or one-liners, and it's entirely lacking the original trilogy's [[{{Camp}} camp]] value.
* ''Film/PatriotGames'' is probably the darkest of the ''Literature/JackRyan'' films. It's also the only movie in the ''Jack Ryan'' series to be rated R.
* ''Film/TheRaid2Berandal'' is much darker than ''Film/TheRaid'' as it delves into the underworld of sleaze, corruption, and bloodshed.
* ''Film/MenInBlack3''. [[spoiler: It includes a much darker villain than any from the first two, and partly as a result of this the heroes face tougher moral dilemmas and more emotionally overwhelming circumstances than before.]]
* ''Film/TheBourneSeries'':
** ''Film/TheBourneLegacy'' is darker than the [[Film/TheBourneIdentity first]] [[Film/TheBourneSupremacy three]] [[Film/TheBourneUltimatum films]]. Unlike Jason Bourne, Cross and Shearing are complete innocents who never intend to get out, let alone expose the project, and yet they are marked for death anyway. The film also has more nightmarish moments, with the vicious wolves, the laboratory massacre, and Shearing nearly being executed in her own home by [[BitchInSheepsClothing agents who'd seemingly come to help her]].
** ''Film/JasonBourne'' surpasses the events of ''Legacy''. Even by the standards of the series, this film is the darkest of them all. Robert Dewey and the Asset are easily the most villainous characters of the series. Between the way they casually murder their own people, [[spoiler:the death of Bourne's most trusted ally,]] and the portrayal of institutionalized corruption in the American government and society, there are virtually no bright sides to the story. Of course, the kicker of it all is the last two scenes of the movie, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:Heather Lee is much less benevolent than Pamela Landy before her and is not an ally at all, just another power-hungry bureaucrat intending to use Bourne as her pawn and willing to kill him if he refuses, and that Bourne rightly distrusts her.]]
* ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'': Both Solo and Kuryakin, as well as the film itself, compared to [[Series/TheManFromUncle the series]] and its versions of the characters.
* ''Film/TheJungleBook2016'': While the plot mostly follows the 1967 Disney adaptation, the overall tone seems much more faithful to Kipling's original text, with far less goofy comedy and more epic dialogue and gritty action scenes.
* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Film/PrinceCaspian''. One of the characters even tells the returning heroes that Narnia is no longer the welcoming place they remember.
* ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'' is this to its [[Film/IndependenceDay predecessor]]. While there are still corny jokes and one-liners here and there, the overall tone of the movie is more serious.
* ''Film/DieHard2'' is easily the darkest of the ''Franchise/DieHard'' series. [[BigBad Colonel Stuart]] ends up having the highest body count of any villain in the films and while the movie itself is much more [[BloodierAndGorier graphic]] than the other films, with highlights including Baker and [[spoiler: Grant's]] deaths.
* ''Film/PowerRangers2017'' is unsurprisingly darker than the original ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', as the team takes after the [[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder]] team ins being a cast of misfits and outcasts rather than the popular goody-goods of the original ''MMPR'', as Jason is a failing student who was once in an accident and wearing an ankle monitor, Zack is an outsider, Billy and Trini are being bullied for being a geek and her looks respectively, and Kimberly is a former cheerleader shunned by her former teammates. The dark approach also extends to Rita, as she boasts to Trini about [[HeroKiller killing past Rangers]].
* The 2002 ''Hound of the Baskervilles'' TV movie starring Richard Roxburgh transforms Conan Doyle's [[Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles classic detective novel]] into something much more like an "edgy" modern crime drama, featuring more blood; more violence (Holmes has to beat the information out of the cab driver instead of bribing him); more death (Beryl Stapleton is killed in this version); Holmes gratuitously shooting up coke in the middle of the case; and an ending suggesting that Watson has genuinely resented Holmes's manipulation of him and others during the investigation and that their friendship may have been permanently damaged.
* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'' is quite a bit darker than [[Film/JohnWick the first movie]] in tone and theme. While the first movie was a more straight-forward revenge plot, this one deals with themes like honor, duty, destiny and death. Markedly, while the first was a lot more humorous in showing Iosef and Viggo panicking over Wick's wrath, this time Wick's foes are deadly serious. [[spoiler: It's even noticeable every single victory Wick achieves over the movie are [[PyrrhicVictory Pyrrhic]] at best, unlike the first.]]
%%* ''Film/LethalWeapon 2'' is the darkest and [[BloodierAndGorier the most violent]] of the series.
* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' isn't too much darker than its [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast animated counterpart]], but still includes some distinctly darker elements. Instead of just trying to commit Maurice to an insane asylum to manipulate Belle into marrying him, Gaston [[spoiler: knocks out Maurice, ties him up and leaves him in the woods to be eaten by wolves after he refuses to give Gaston Belle's hand in marriage. Only when Maurice survives and reveals to the village that Gaston tried to kill him does Gaston resort to framing him as insane to save his own skin.]] We also learn the dark fate of Belle's mother [[spoiler: (she died of the bubonic plague – and Maurice was forced to abandon her while she was still alive to protect the infant Belle from the disease)]], the Beast is given a tragic FreudianExcuse for his initial cruelty [[spoiler: (his mother died young and his father is implied to have abused him)]], and near the end [[spoiler: all the Enchanted Objects turn inanimate after the last petal falls from the rose, bidding each other farewell as they slowly die... though of course they all come back to life as humans when the spell is broken.]]
* In ''Film/AnAmericanChristmasCarol'', not only does Scrooge analogue Slade fire Thatcher and send him to the soup line, he rips up books, steals his clients' goods, and it's shown how his business practices drove the Fezziwig analogue, Mr. Brewster, to an early death.
* ''Film/TheColorOfFriendship'' is this to most other Disney Channel Original Movies. While still a lighthearted kid's film, it deals with the difficult issue of race and racism in a frank manner.
* "Leapin’ Leprechauns!" is a family film where the villain is a man who wants to turn his father's land into an amusement park. In the sequel, "Spellbreaker: Secret of the Leprechauns", the queen of the dead kidnaps the heroes and takes them to the underworld.
* ''Film/Ebenezer1998'' has an extremely villainous takes on Scrooge, set in the Canadian frontier. In the past, young Scrooge married Bess only to cheat her father-in-law out of his land, and in the present he cheats Sam Benson out of his land and abuses and threatens his former partner's daughter. In the future sequence, Scrooge fatally shoots Sam and dies trying to get Erica not to reveal how he cheated in the poker game.
* ''Film/TheForeigner2017'' may just be one of the grimmest pictures of Creator/JackieChan's career. Bleak colors, brutal violence, and not a single joke or silly facial expression to be seen.
* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' stands out from other ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''-related media by how dark in tone it is. Besides the Noir-style backdrop, you have a raunchy title character that can [[PrecisionFStrike unexpectedly swear at some points]] (which may not be that surprising as Creator/RyanReynolds voices him), Pokémon that outright attempt to ''kill'' the protagonists, underground fighting that is much more violent than is the norm in ''Pokémon'', Pokémon designs that border on UncannyValley at times, and VisualPun[=s=] that can be interpreted in a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar family-unfriendly way]], among other things. It's rated [[AvoidTheDreadedGRating PG]] for a reason.
----

* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' stands out from other ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''-related media by how dark in tone it is. Besides the Noir-style backdrop, you have a raunchy title character that can [[PrecisionFStrike unexpectedly swear at some points]] (which may not be that surprising as Creator/RyanReynolds voices him), Pokémon that outright attempt to ''kill'' the protagonists, underground fighting that is much more violent than is the norm in ''Pokémon'', Pokémon designs that border on UncannyValley at times, and VisualPun[=s=] that can be interpreted in a [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar family-unfriendly way]], among other things.

* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' may look to be this if an official tweet about [[spoiler:Detective Pikachu killing a human being]] is anything to go by. Based on that tweet, the distributor may be gunning for a PG-13 rating or even an R rating, which they infamously consider [[Film/SpeedRacer a better omen for]] [[Film/{{Pan}} box office performance than]] [[AvoidTheDreadedGRating the obvious PG rating]].

* ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu'' may look to be this if a seemingly official tweet about Detective Pikachu killing a human being is anything to go by.

** At the time it was released, ''Film/IronMan1'' was this in comparison to the hammier, {{Narm}}ier Marvel films like ''Film/GhostRider'' and ''Film/FantasticFour''. In fact, director Creator/JonFavreau has stated that the success of ''Film/BatmanBegins'' was what motivated the studio to take the movie more seriously than its competitors' past comic book outings.

** Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/BatmanReturns'' compared to [[Film/{{Batman}} the 1989 film]] which [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny started the curve]] away from the campy 1960's TV Series.