Action movies are almost entirely one big cliche, but that’s okay, that’s why audiences love them so much. Every explosion is like a warm blanket and every gunfight is a hot cup of coco. Sometimes, the cheesier is better. Other times, seriously introspective action is needed to qualm the soul.
Whatever actions fans want in their movie, there will almost always be at least a few cornball cliches worth their weight in gold. There is a reason these cliches are so often used - because they are fun and audiences have learned to expect them in their action flicks. Not all cliches are boring, sometimes they are just too fun to ditch.
8 Three Days Before Retirement
Nothing is worse than getting stuck with something at work right before you are about to head out for the day. This cliche is in the same vein, albeit much, much worse.
The veteran of the police force, or swat team, or whatever, mutters some corny piece of dialogue about being a family man and spending more time with their kids after they wrap up another week on the job. Guess who gets killed first?
7 Tough Commissioner
This is a fun cliche that’s all too common, especially in police action movies. The commissioner or head chief of the investigation has their hands tied with powerful individuals beyond even them.
The results are almost always the same: the protagonists are either in too hot or too close to the case. Even better if the commissioner gets the last laugh on whoever is really pulling the strings.
6 Gunfire Blowing Things Up
This cliche is just a physics defying feat, but it seems to be in every action movie. Someone shoots at a car, and it just blows up. Someone shoots at a barrel and that blows up.
Someone does anything really and something else blows up. Explosions and editing make action movies what they are, physics have no place in the land of movie cliches. Without explosions, action movies would just be really long buddy comedies that weren't actually very funny. This cliche is somewhat necessary.
5 Obvious Villain
You mean the rich guy with a cat and an eye patch was the villain the whole time? Who knew? Audiences can smell foreshadowing a mile away, but the obvious bad guy is still a common cliche in action movies.
Whether it's an old partner, a blatant warlord, or just some crazy looking dude with a vendetta - action movies aren’t very subtle in their antagonists. You can always spot the antagonist before the protagonist even knows it.
4 Bad Guy Who turns Into A Good Guy
Another classic antagonist switch cliche - the jerk team member or baddie henchman flips in the third act to save the protagonist when things seem at their worst. Or the cop that's been following the protagonists the whole movie joins forces to defeat a common threat.
Sometimes good does triumph over evil, but audiences weren’t born yesterday. Still, there is something immensely satisfying about someone making a game time decision to switch teams and save the day.
3 Third Act Betrayal
But what about the opposite? The lopsided partner who can’t resist the money over doing what’s right? The third act of action flicks is also home to many traitors who turn their back and point a gun at the back of the valiant protagonist. Spoiler: it never works out for them.
These money-grabbing cowards always get one of the worst deaths in the film. Things don't typically work out for characters in any form of media who back stab.
2 Quiet Henchman
The quietest guy is almost always the one not to mess with. Going back to the days of old in action movies, the silent henchman was a staple, and it has continued as a cliche to be relevant.
They often have some special gear or physical feature that allows them to be so imposing, but they can just be really accurate with a gun or skilled in kung-fu too. They rarely say a word, yet pack the hardest punch.
1 The Hacker/Expert Character
“We’re in.” The most cliche words in the history of action movies. The typing is never realistic either, just random fast typing. The nerdy hacker is an essential part of the team, whether good or bad.
This cliche seems like it could have died in the 80s, but this fun cliche continues to be in movies to this day. Maybe one day it will die hard, but no time in the near future. These cliches are here to stay.