Since Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, many other action movies have attempted to recreate the magic that made the series a success; unfortunately, most have also failed. Christopher Nolan has been praised for his visionary and innovative direction which has been responsible for films like Memento, The Prestige, Inception, and Oppenheimer, but one of the early and great successes was The Dark Knight trilogy that set the standard for what a Batman movie could actually be. The gritty reality of Gotham and the sensational characters who were grounded enough to feel realistic and as a result even more terrifying was groundbreaking for action films in general, and resulted in a wave of other projects trying to replicate the results.
While The Dark Knight trilogy laid the foundations for more films of its kind to be made, many of these projects struggled to replicate their results coming off as overly ridiculous, outrageous, or just outright flops. From remakes of popular action franchises to new superhero movies that were grittier than the ones that came before, the Nolan effect was missing. Balancing the absurdity with high stakes and tension, creating a realistic world that can slightly veer away from reality and still captivate an audience, all of these are evidenced in every project Nolan has ever been responsible for, and it is no wonder other creatives want to emulate it, but getting it right is easier said than done.
9 RoboCop (2014)
2014’s RoboCop was an attempt to reboot the popular earlier film and franchise from 1987. It achieved moderate success with mixed reviews but a decent return at the box office, however, the project may have had a more accessible age rating than the 1987 version, but it clearly drew inspiration from The Dark Knight trilogy which was at the height of its success around the period when this project was being developed. The project went through various delays and changes between 2010 when it was first slated to be released, to 2014 when it was eventually completed. RoboCop chose to remove the comedy element that made the earlier films a hit in exchange for a serious and sullen hero which is a significant part of Batman’s character. But even Nolan knew to balance out the seriousness of Bale’s Batman with his Bruce Wayne and the interactions he has with Alfred and Lucius Fox.
8 The Amazing Spider-Man
Spidey is classically a character full of life, hope, and joy in spite of being unpopular or unlucky in love at times. Garfield’s take on the character took a slightly different approach and in typical Nolan fashion, it attempted to realize more fully a character-focused story by stripping away some of the quirks that make Peter Parker who he is. The darker approach on a Spidey story just didn’t land the way it may have been intended, which isn’t to say Spider-Man stories never go dark, but the approach with The Amazing Spider-Man just didn’t deliver enough impact and connection to make that darker story feel earned.
7 Skyfall
When Daniel Craig took over as James Bond in the legendary 007 franchise, it was an exciting moment for the films to adapt to a more modern audience. In the past, Bond tended to be a more romantic and eccentric figure, but Craig’s version of the character was much more grounded, less focused on unusual drink orders and wooing women, and more engaged with his assigned missions. This version went on to revitalize the franchise, and it did make Bond a much more modern action hero, but it was a clear departure from previous versions and one that clearly had inspirations from this sort of grounding and focuses on the darker side that Nolan had pioneered with The Dark Knight trilogy.
6 Star Trek Into Darkness
Similarly, Star Trek had always focused on colorful stories of exploration and human curiosity, occasionally straying into darker territory with villains like the Borg, but largely staying upbeat and hopeful. The second entry in the modern Star Trek film saga focused on the famous villain Khan, but his characteristics appear to have drawn clear inspiration from The Dark Knight’s antagonist, the Joker. Into Darkness portrayed Khan as a mad terrorist, not unlike the Joker and the film appeared to have a much darker tone than the 2009 reboot, Star Trek.
5 Suicide Squad
Suicide Squad resides in the DC universe and was released four years after The Dark Knight Returns, so it makes sense for it to have drawn inspiration from the earlier success. Suicide Squad leaned heavily into darker themes, violence, and an exploration of characters, but it struggled to create a coherent story while trying to engage with its larger cast. The film delivered some great action, but due to an overreliance on special effects, it didn’t deliver in the same way that Nolan did with his tendency to use practical effects as often as possible.
4 Kick-Ass
Inspired by the success of grittier hero films in general such as The Dark Knight trilogy and Watchmen, studios look to other grounded hero stories with darker themes to adapt into film. Kick-Ass was adapted from a comic series by comic legends Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Kick-Ass delivered a solid film overall which launched several other careers such as Chloë Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but ultimately, it wasn’t able to garner the same attention and praise as Nolan’s trilogy because it leaned too far into the comical aspect and felt ridiculous at times. The story is about many individuals without powers who choose to become vigilantes, essentially an army of Batman, but the villains and motives for some characters come off as ridiculous rather than deeply rooted in reason.
3 Punisher: War Zone
Punisher: War Zone was released in 2008, the same year as The Dark Knight, but it was three years after Batman Begins. The reboot of a popular comic book vigilante, who delivers justice through extreme violence and delivering justice to a world full of rampant chaos could be a descriptor for both projects, so it makes sense that War Zone hoped to ride the wave of success that Nolan’s films were stirring up. However, the characters are drastically different, and the Punisher relies on an ability to dish out punishment in the most extreme form with brutal results. Batman may lose his temper and let loose on some crooks, but he draws a clear line before murder. Therefore, War Zone was unable to replicate the success of the trilogy, or even come close to an abysmal box office performance for a superhero movie.
2 Man of Steel (And The DCEU)
Man of Steel was written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer who also wrote The Dark Knight trilogy. However, the film that launched the DCEU may have possessed similar tones and themes to Nolan’s earlier work, but placing these on the hope-filled character of Superman was too much of a departure. Zack Snyder did a great job delivering a darker Superman story, but setting up the DCEU as a one-note, gritty universe when the comics were filled with so much more color was a major problem. The Nolan effect which worked perfectly in the case of Batman was not the correct treatment for the entire DCEU and its most powerful hero.
1 Hitman: Agent 47
Based on the popular game series, Hitman: Agent 47 was released in 2015 and heavily drew inspiration from the story in The Dark Knight Returns. With genetically enhanced soldiers reminiscent of Bane, a prison theme similar to Batman being trapped in a prison and the sentiment of, “I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me,” the film has obvious links. Despite the commonalities, Agent 47 was late to the game on these elements and without offering anything fresh, it failed to deliver something anywhere near the same scale and success as The Dark Knight trilogy from Christopher Nolan.
