If Hollywood is any indicator, one of the nationâ??s great romantic fantasies is to fall in love in the presence of death, a desire that animates two high-grossing genres. Letâ??s call the first kill-and-banter flicks. Specimens include the latest Avengers movie, and anything from the Bond franchise. In kill-and-banter films, the main characters team up to take out some bad guys. While killing, they flirt. Sometimes, when the combat quiets down, things will get hot and heavy, but often itâ??s just a lot of talkâ??Scarlett Johansson shooting an intergalactic invader while she chats about weekend plans with Chris Evansâ?? Captain America.
In cadaver-and-crush films, the protagonists are detectives whose hunt for a killer becomes entangled with their quest for love. â??Bones,â? the long-running Fox hit, is a textbook case. â??Traces of her blood will still be in that cement,â? says Dr. Temperance Brennan in the pilot, her face inches from that of Seeley Booth, her crime-fighting partner. Forensics as foreplay. Here, the banter takes place in coronersâ?? offices and stakeouts, with that same enticing juxtaposition of seriousness and seduction.
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