death tribble Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 I think we are forgetting something obvious. The worst cliches are all those that Cassandra doesn't like. Cassandra and Lawnmower Boy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDU Neil Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 20 minutes ago, Cassandra said: The Villain never shoots the Hero in the head no matter who close the range. My favorite scene in the classic "To Live and Die in L.A." where the main character gets totally blown away 3/4ths through the movie... and nope... nothing saving poor Richard Chance in that one... dead, dead, dead. That was so shocking to see that happen in a movie like that, where the expected cliché's didn't come into play. God I love that movie. Cassandra, Armory and slikmar 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 4 minutes ago, death tribble said: I think we are forgetting something obvious. The worst cliches are all those that Cassandra doesn't like. Don't get me started on White House Down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 Does the same hold true for Olympus Has Fallen ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDU Neil Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 1 hour ago, death tribble said: Does the same hold true for Olympus Has Fallen ? I half watched White House Down seemed to have its tongue firmly planted in cheek... as bad as it was, it didn't take itself seriously. Olympus Has Fallen was just plain dumb awful. Matt the Bruins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 Quote Another peeve... worthless body armor on faceless enemies or police/soldiers. This happens all the time... where the "faceless NPCs" on either side of a big fight... either the sinister badguys in their all black tactical gear... or a nameless SWAT or soldiers backing up the protagonist... their body armor does nothing. Single shots from pistols and such just drop them with ease, and the only purpose of the gear is to hide the faces of the stunt men playing the parts so they can be reused again and again. Yeah, armor or no armor, it's pretty common for un-named characters to just die instantly whenever they're shot with anything, regardless of weapon type or hit location . . . while the hero can take a shot and just slow down a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 Quote Yeah, armor or no armor, it's pretty common for un-named characters to just die instantly whenever they're shot with anything, regardless of weapon type or hit location . . . while the hero can take a shot and just slow down a little. Which is the origin of the "one hit and they stay down" agent rule. Armory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 21 hours ago, death tribble said: Does the same hold true for Olympus Has Fallen ? No. Olympus Has Fallen showed us the tactics of the attack on the White House. First there was the airstrike clearing away the snipers, then a breaching charge to knock down the gate, followed by an assault on the front with heavy machine gun support. The only thing I question is how they South Korean's got knifes in the bunker. The system for disarming the nuclear weapons was poorly thought out (what if the President is out of the country when they need to shut down the missiles?), and nuclear warheads on ICBMs won't go off until the missile is in flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoloOfEarth Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 23 hours ago, Cassandra said: The Villain shoots the Hero in the chest and the bullet is deflected by an item someone gave him at the start of the film. There was one time where James Bond (in the book) knew that the assassin who had him covered with a pistol was an incredible shot, so while the assassin was monologuing (of course) Bond shifted his suitcoat to put his cigarette case over his heart. Wouldn't have helped against a head shot, sure, but at least it was semi-plausible that the cigarette case was in the right spot at the right time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 In Rustler's Rhapsody that cliche is played for laughs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 "The hero saves the day" is so cliche. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 21 hours ago, RDU Neil said: I half watched White House Down seemed to have its tongue firmly planted in cheek... as bad as it was, it didn't take itself seriously. Olympus Has Fallen was just plain dumb awful. You'd think the Secret Service could tell the difference between microphones and silencers. RDU Neil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDU Neil Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 6 minutes ago, Cassandra said: You'd think the Secret Service could tell the difference between microphones and silencers. That was where it really fell down (pun intended) for me. It was another cliché, "bad guys tactics work only because initial good guy forces are dumb/incompetent..." Like running out on to the front porch of the White House, directly into a hail of automatic gun fire (and the fact that so many well equipped attackers could get so close to the White House front gate in the first place... seriously... c'mon.) Yes, the evil-bad Korean's had tactics, but they ultimately only succeeded due to asleep-at-the-wheel Secret Service, which is just bad writing and reduces any dramatic impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 2 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said: There was one time where James Bond (in the book) knew that the assassin who had him covered with a pistol was an incredible shot, so while the assassin was monologuing (of course) Bond shifted his suitcoat to put his cigarette case over his heart. Wouldn't have helped against a head shot, sure, but at least it was semi-plausible that the cigarette case was in the right spot at the right time. It helps that the bullet it had to stop was a .25 caliber dum-dum with absolutely miserable penetration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 21, 2018 Report Share Posted June 21, 2018 4 hours ago, RDU Neil said: That was where it really fell down (pun intended) for me. It was another cliché, "bad guys tactics work only because initial good guy forces are dumb/incompetent..." Like running out on to the front porch of the White House, directly into a hail of automatic gun fire (and the fact that so many well equipped attackers could get so close to the White House front gate in the first place... seriously... c'mon.) Yes, the evil-bad Korean's had tactics, but they ultimately only succeeded due to asleep-at-the-wheel Secret Service, which is just bad writing and reduces any dramatic impact. And they never really gave us a reason why Dylan McDermott was a traitor. At least James Woods had a brain tumor no doubt brought about from the 30 cups of coffee he starts the day with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt the Bruins Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 On 6/15/2018 at 3:27 PM, death tribble said: There have been several deaths in Seagal movies which seem to be there just for the sake of it rather than for defending people, saving lives etc. Oh, I thought you were calling it that because of how his character died in Executive Decision. Christougher, RDU Neil and Cassandra 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 That one was against the grain for a Seagal movie. There's a guy killed, in one of his early films, right in front of him and he just lets it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragitsu Posted June 22, 2018 Report Share Posted June 22, 2018 Yes and no. While there's none of this "bad guy chivalry" in real life when it comes right down to it, not every fight will involve every opposing combatant immediately ganging up on one guy that stands against them (some people are more cautious/scared than others and some people are wise enough to not move in close as their buddy is swinging a weapon that could hit THEM on the back swing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 And then there is the anime Durarara, when the first guy gets punched an goes airborne across the street. The rest of you and your buddies don't have fight left in you. But, then you were dumb to stand up to the guy who was throwing vending machines like it was a track&field sport, so you get what you deserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 Also, you don't want my dad to get started on the movie Broken Arrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 Don't get me started about people hunting Ewoks......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 2 hours ago, death tribble said: Don't get me started about people hunting Ewoks......... Speaking of action movie cliches and Star Wars: JJ Abrams. The man thinks the frenetic-kinetic breakneck pace of superhero films will translate to everything he touches. His technique is to hit the beats, tropes, and quips at 100+ mph without paying attention to anything else. Some stories need time for the story to breath, the characters to resonate, and the mythology to build. A movie can contain a lot of action and not be a cheeky formulaic action blockbuster. Abrams hand in Star Wars and Star Trek has been detrimental to both because there is something more to both of them. The worst action movie cliche I can think of these days is "Directed by JJ Abrams." Doc Shadow and Pariah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 12 hours ago, Badger said: Also, you don't want my dad to get started on the movie Broken Arrow. As Michael Nelson wrote about Broken Arrow Howie Long looked like like John Houseman compared to John Travolta. Matt the Bruins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 It says a lot that the Solo lost out to a movie based on the the game Tag. It's lucky there wasn't a Tic Tac Toe movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted June 23, 2018 Report Share Posted June 23, 2018 I still prefer JJ Abrams to Michael Bay. Grailknight 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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