Cliche action scenes from films--a list

[johnsemlak]

I had an idea a while back to try to list as many cliche action scenes, or scenes in general, that frequently appear in films (i.e. are frequently copied, or at last copied once or more).

Can we try to list as many as possible, mention what films the sequence appears in, and if possible where it originated?

A classic example would be a man swinging across a chasm on a rope, carrying a girl. Aside from loads of other movies (which I actually can't name, but I'll bet it happened in Tarzan movies), Luke does this twice carrying Leia in the SW films.

Another repeated scene in SW is Luke managing to climb and bring down the imperial walker in tESB, which is loosely copied in RotK when Legolos climbs the Oliphant. I've been told this scene originated earlier--is that true?

A older example is the famous scene in CASABLANCA in which opposing crowds attempt to drown each other out singing the anthems Les Marseilles and some German anthem. This was a copy of a similar scene in the Errol Flynn western Dodge City, which had former Confederate and Union soldeirs each singing Dixie and the Union song (forget the name). Both films had the same director--Michael Curtiz.

A simple scene is the car jumping scene, basically made the signature scene in all Dukes of Hazzard episodes, and appeared in loads of films (anyone know the first?).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Big bad guy dies by falling and/or being impaled on a random peice of set dressing. Die Hard, Patriot Games, The Crow.... I have a theory that it brings something of the "hand of god" into the big bad's death, having the universe itself help kill him off.

 

[Berandor]

Big bad guy dies by falling and/or being impaled on a random peice of set dressing. Die Hard, Patriot Games, The Crow.... I have a theory that it brings something of the "hand of god" into the big bad's death, having the universe itself help kill him off.

That's because the bad guy must die at the end, but the good guy can't kill him - he's the good guy, isn't he? So the bad guy dies by environmental dangers or grabs a gun and allows the good guy to shoot in self-defense (see: Die Hard as one example among many).

 

[Psychic Warrior]

The hero outrunning a massive explosion (most often nowadays on foot no less). Just because the Millenium Falcon can outrun an exploding Death Star doesn't me you can outrun a fusion explosion on a dirt bike.

 

[Klaus]

Heroes leap when the bomb goes off, 'cause Science says you're immune to the bomb damage if you're leaping. Preferably towards the camera.

Vehicle rolls several times before stopping upside down. The heroes have just enough time to leave vehicle/save some poor schmuck before the vehicle explodes. Works even with fruit carts, it seems.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Psychic warrior nailed it: The ultimate action movie cliche is the hero outrunning a big explosion (The Day After Tomorrow put it's own twist on this cliche and had the heros running from supercooled air).

Another action scene cliche is cars that explode when they crash. In real life, automobiles are specifically designed not to explode when they crash, but in movies, it seems like auto manufacturers put impact-sensitive detonators next to the gas tanks.

In action scenes, the hero can be running and leaping while holding a pistol in each hand, and he almost never misses. Meanwhile, the bad guys can be spraying the entire are with assault rifles and submachine guns, and they never manage to hit the hero.

If the villain manages to capture the hero, instead of executing him outright, the villain will insist on either torturing the hero or setting up a creative method of execution that will give the hero an opportunity to escape. This cliche is especially true in James Bond movies, but has also happened in Rambo II and Lethal Weapon.

Finally (I guess you could consider this "action" ) there's the stereotypical sex scene: The man and the woman begin kissing and undressing, then there's a few shots of them rolling around on the bed, then fade to black, then the next scene show them after the act covering themselves with an L-shaped bed sheet that covers the woman's breasts, but only goes up to the man's waist.

 

[Klaus]

Just thought of another:

When you suddenly come up with a plan to solve a desperate situation, never tell anyone, specially your allies. Instead, make your plan come together and see the look of amazement in your friends' faces.

 

[DragonMan Ren]

Just one thought: Cars are the second most explosive substance in Hollywood, next to Tokyo.

 

[Fast Learner]

You'd probably enjoy Ebert's Little Movie Glossary, with entries such as:

Auto Death Knell
If a character dies in a car crash, he will do so in a way that causes the horn to blare continuously.

Automatic Miss Syndrome
In every movie in which the hero or heroine is fleeing from automatic weapons fire, the bullets will strike either in front or behind or, in a more aesthetically pleasing pattern, in parallel rows on either side.

Bad Guy Credentials Demo
In any movie where the villain is a really, really bad guy, whose dysfunction and malice transcend that of the ordinary evildoer, he establishes that fact early in the film by coldly killing one of his own men. (See Darth Vader, many Bond villains, Russian Mafia leader in "The Jackal," etc.)

 

[WayneLigon]

If you are dependent on a device and said device only has n charges or uses per day, only the last charge will work. [Twister]

If the bad guy as the drop on you and you hear a shot, you have not been shot. Your buddy or love interest has just shot the bad guy.

Cars can work after dropping forty feet onto a roadway.