Worn out scenes

[kirinke]

SCI FI/FANTASY RULE
In which the uber BBEG isn't dead unless he falls from something tall (mountain, volcano, platform etc) into something unpleasant. Usually hot, radioactive or acidic.

HORROR RULE
The BBEG never dies

 

[S'mon]

I second that. Although the exception that comes to my mind is James Cameron's Aliens. The Marines there were sent into a death trap. They were lead by a green officer into a situation where they couldn't use their most potent weapons, and had a traitor in their midst who's primary interest was to serve the needs of a mega-corporation. Can't blame them for getting their butts handed to them there.

ALIENS, being a good movie, maintained credibility. It used a Vietnam analogy - and the troops were competent 'bug hunters' but the Colonial Marines weren't really Special Forces; they behaved more like regular Marines soldiers, and they weren't expecting anything as smart as the Aliens. Their behaviour or defeat never seemed incredible or ruining of disbelief.

An example of a a bad movie that uses this cliche is Die Hard 2, where the airport SWAT team rides the elevator up to where they know the terrorists are, standing together in a nice tight group that promptly gets wiped out in 2 seconds, leaving Bruce to save the day.

 

[Tanager]

here's one that bugs me all the time:

Our heroes are precariously hidden, with scant cover, say in field of long grass. The agents of the goverment/evil organization/whathaveyou have fanned out and are "searching" the area. One of them is advancing on the position of our heroes, a few more steps and he is sure to find them/trip over them/kick them in the head etc... At the last posible moment he is interupted by one of his buddies askin if he's seen anything, he stops, gives the area a cursory glance and turns away saying "no, nothing here" or some equivalent.

 

[WayneLigon]

Oh, and why is that movies promise no animals were harmed in the making of this motion picture, when we all know that dozens of cows pigs and assorted marine life were KILLED so that people could EAT them?

So that when we see the villain run over a random dog, or see a horse run off a cliff in a western, we can know that it's just movie magic rather than the makers doing what they used to do and running a real horse off a cliff or running over a real dog because it's cheaper and, hey, it's just a %^^&ing animal anyway, right?

 

[Filby]

So that when we see the villain run over a random dog, or see a horse run off a cliff in a western, we can know that it's just movie magic rather than the makers doing what they used to do and running a real horse off a cliff or running over a real dog because it's cheaper and, hey, it's just a %^^&ing animal anyway, right?

Or seeing a herd of cattle get pumped full of lead by a bipolar bank robber and then run over by the pursuing police vehicles.

"COWS?! I hate cows worse than I hate coppers! TAKE THAT, BESSIE! Hahahahahahaha!"

 

[Felix]

Hero grabs hold of BIG HONKING PISTOL and proceeds to empty the 15-round clip in a space of 2 seconds... and there's no fraggin recoil! It's a damnable CONTAINED EXPLOSION! His hand WILL MOVE SLIGHTLY!

Montages. Except for Rocky IV and Team America.

The preponderance of Doctors of Nuclear Astro-rocket Physi-quantam-surgery, who are also 18-year-old supermodels. Not that I mind the 18 year old supermodel... it's not like a supermodel can't be written into any script.

The obnoxious hick caracature. Boy, that one slays me every time.

The Heavy-metal/Rap/Industrial music Preparation-for-the-big-fight scene. Nothing but hate for this one.

 

[Elemental]

The kickass female character, who suddenly suffers amnesia about her fighting skills at some point when the plot calls for her to be taken captive.


The police turning up after the hero has single-handedly wiped out the bad guys. You know the scene. He's walking off, bloodied but okay, leaving behind the burning shell of the base, and only then do you hear sirens in the distance.


The superintelligent and indestructible serial killer, with the stealth of a ninja and teleportation, regeneration, and precognitive powers. Or to put it another way, the serial killer slaying someone in a way that would never work without script fiat.


Heavily armoured opponents, who never actually stop or mitigate a blow with said armour. See just about any fight scene in the LotR trilogy for an example. It would probably be better to go into battle naked in Middle-Earth, at least then you might have a chance of dodging attacks....


Supposed soldiers or police who were apparently taught to shoot by Helen Keller. I mean yeah, we know the hero is going to beat them, but there's a point at which incompetence just becomes silly. I've never been in a firefight, but if I was, I'd know certain things such as using cover, firing short bursts from an automatic weapon rather than spraying bullets everywhere, and attacking from more than one direction at the same time. (I'd probably still die, of course.)

 

[Ferret]

I've got to agree with these, the Shouting-over-dead-loved-one and some others. How about these?

Someone gets shot and they fly back.

Someone dives through a window and is not painted red by their own blood.

The 'wow I know a martial art' scene where it looks choreographed and their is no action. Sure it's fine in movies where thats what it says on the tin, but in others ity get hackneyed.

Where we see the bad guy shoot, and don't see where the bullet goes then the good guy does the same and wee see 3 people drop dead.

Also the catchy last liner, that isn't catchy, and the evil monologue, whether or not plans are revealed. Some talking, ok. Anything more then 45 sec long is too much!

 

[VirgilCaine]

"Heroes" who aren't held accountable. Now, I'm not talking about vigillante movies like Deathwish and The Punisher here. I'm talking about the cop, soldier, or whatever who "doesn't play by the rules". Look at the remake of Planet Of The Apes. Marky Mark disobeys orders and pretty much gets everyone killed. Why is he the hero?

2) Explodium, the cheap substitute for metal used in most motor vehicles in movies. Gas tanks explode...we get it. But in many movies, it just seems ridiculous how many cars, trucks, helicopters, boats and what have you manage to turn into roaring fonts of explosive fire. I mean, I love a good explosion as much as the next guy, but if you overuse it, it loses the effect, guys.

Any movie where a group of highly trained special forces soilders get taken out by something, and that something is taken out by the untrianed, either over- or under- aged hero.
Are our armed forces really that incompotent?

Gratuitous slide/action racking on guns. It's not dramatic folks, it's just freaking silly.

Someone gets shot and they fly back.

A) Death Wish? No, there was accountability...he got caught by the cops. He was just let go by the cops to make their job easier. It's not even an "action" movie (more like a drama IMO)--action movies never have the hero collapse of blood loss.

But yeah, thats annoying.

B) Yeah. Hate that. Gasoline doesn't explode, except under specific conditions--temperature and such. Catch on fire, yes, explode, no.

C) No, it's because they have NPC classes.

D) Silly that they never have shells fly out also.

E) Someone is shot with a .45 ACP and they fly back--The Protectors. Jackie Chan's only movie where he has a gun.

Mine:
The preponderance of double barreled shotguns. MOST ARE EXPENSIVE. AT LEAST A THOUSAND DOLLARS. Backwoods hicks (Deliverance cover) don't carry them.

Amos and Andy--white criminal and black rich guy are "trapped" by the police in the black mans home. Nicholas Cage is the white criminal...carries a sawed-off over and under shotgun...probably at least two thousand dollars, with some nice carvings on the wood furniture. Cut up with a hacksaw...
Not that I like trap/skeet or anything, but still, thats like pimping out a Lamborghini with I don't know what. It's ugly.

There is a nice line in that movie..the black man wants to know if the criminal is an assassin sent to kill him.
*points shotgun at bound black mans head*
"I have a shotgun. You have a frying pan. If I were an assassin, you'd be dead right now."


Lets see...

The action hero caricature. Former detective, special forces, soldier, whatever. All the same. Stays perfectly fit, knows martial arts like a master, can still shoot like a citizen who practices every week at the range (I won't say cop, because thats a movie cliche).

Cops who can shoot. IRL most beat cops don't shoot that well.

Jeepers Creepers: No resources. No food, no water, no weapons...yeah, lets follow the freaky monster!

 

[S'mon]

Hero grabs hold of BIG HONKING PISTOL and proceeds to empty the 15-round clip in a space of 2 seconds... and there's no fraggin recoil! It's a damnable CONTAINED EXPLOSION! His hand WILL MOVE SLIGHTLY!

The zero recoil guns is a personal Hat of mine also. Especially in movies with non-superhero protagonists; mob movies where the mobster fires 15 rounds in 2 seconds without any recoil (Goodfellas); I think the worst I've seen was Full Metal Jacket where one of the marines fires an M60 7.62 MM belt-fed _machine gun_ **one-handed**. :\