Introduction

Abstract

The post-9/11 catch phrase - “It was just like in the movies!” – expressed our shock that we understood the language of 9/11 as our own. The terrorists had turned our technology back on us, and it seemed that the fiction had become real: “The harsh truth is that the style of al-Qaeda's attacks […] - and the whole theatre of modern terrorism - is familiar to us” (Burke). Accordingly, the movies came under attack, and in particular action movies and their tradition of spectacular destruction. This paper will look at three selected action-adventure movies and examine the way in which they respond to the narrative challenges of depicting terrorist violence after 9/11. Before explaining in greater detail the particular challenges that these films face, a short outline of the general set of problems appears appropriate.