The term"tropes"generally refers to specific events, orcommon shared factors that can be found across a wide variety of media and genres, all of which are very similar in execution. They’re usually implemented for two main reasons– one, because it’s more entertaining to include them, and two, because deviating from the norm might actually have disastrous consequences, and would tamper with what people come to expect from films, and not in a good way.
These tropes happen in pretty much every singlemovie, but that doesn’t stop them from being used. Very few filmmakers step back for a moment and decide to scrap some of the most classic conventions of cinema. That’s becausethese tropes work, andthough audiences might acknowledge them asclichés, that doesn’t stop them from appreciating them a little bit on the inside.
1No One Goes to Therapy
Therapy would help solve so many conflicts.
Therapy or counseling can be a lifeline for many, and can work wonders on the human psyche, allowing people to open up about their personal problems to someone who will listen and give them strategies on how to work through it. So it’s honestly kind of a shocker that people in movies don’t make more use of it. Sure, if the movie isdirectly related to depressionor other mental health conditions, or in certain drama films likeNon Negotiable, it’s to be expected that there will be some counseling, but there are other movies where therapy would absolutely be warranted, yet is nowhere to be found.
Takeactionorhorrormovies, for example. The surviving characters have just witnessed some truly horrific events, ones that, in the real world, would often scar a person in unimaginable ways. Yet, somehow, these characters always come out with their psyches completely intact and seem to be able to quickly forget about the whole thing. Or how about inromantic comedies? Couples' therapy would probably fix the entire plot of the movie, if it’s about a turbulent relationship.There’s honestly nothing wrong with seeking help, but it would make the movie a bit less interesting, wouldn’t it?No one really wants to watch an action movie where the tough guy at his heart has to spend 30 minutes on the couch at the end talking about all the people he’s killed.
Non Negotiable
2Unlimited Ammo
Guns never need to be reloaded unless it’s dramatically necessary.
Gunplay is often a huge part of any action movie. Generally, the protagonist has a gun, but so do the people he’s shooting at, resulting in thrilling shootout sequences that keep the stakes high and the blood pumping. However, many firearm enthusiasts are often critical of Hollywood, becausereal guns have a limited amount of ammunition, and need to be reloaded once this ammunition is expended. Not in movies, though, as guns never seem to need a reload. Take any action movie, likeSpectre, for example. Bond (Daniel Craig) rarely seems to need to reload his weapon, like many other action heroes.
Unless, of course, the sequence demands it. Maybe a baddie is sneaking up on the protagonist. They’ve got a clear line of sight to the back of the hero’s head, which is completely undefended, the villain pulls the trigger, and…click. No ammo. How convenient! Of course, theclickthen alerts the hero to the henchman, and they are swiftly defeated. But if we’re being honest here,having characters reload their weapons at set intervals might grow to be pretty annoying, and would certainly jar people out of the heat of the fight, resulting in a brief moment of relief that just wouldn’t keep things exciting, so maybe it’s okay that this happens.
Characters make illogical decisions for the sake of the plot.
One of the main reasons the entire plot of the movie even happens is because someone made a really stupid decision. TakeJurassic Park, for example. The plot hinges ona scientific breakthroughallowing researchers to extract dinosaur DNA from amber and clone it, effectively bringing dinosaurs back to life, corralling them all into a sort of zoo where tourists can view them. Now, that might have been fine for a few herbivores like Stegosaurus or Triceratops, but bringing meat-eating predators like the Tyrannosaurus rex back? That’s just asking for trouble.
Granted, it would be a pretty short movie if that didn’t happen, wouldn’t it? This is also a common trope in horror movies, especiallykitschy ’80s slasher flicks. For some reason, when faced with a crazed killer, the characters often decide not to call the police and take matters into their own hands instead of, you know, running for their lives, as most of us would be wont to do in that situation. This inevitably leads to somebody getting horrifically murdered, but this has to happen, otherwise it’s not much of a slasher flick.As dumb as these nonsensical decisions are, they have formed the plots for some of the most iconic movies of all time, so there’s really no choice but to let them slide.
Jurassic Park
In Steven Spielberg’s massive blockbuster, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park’s mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt.
4What Explosion?
Cool guys don’t look at explosions.
This is an action movie trope so widespread thatThe Lonely Island even made a songabout itfeaturingWill Ferrell. It’s a common sight: the hero of the action movie blows something up, but casually walks away as people die, and an entire city block is flattened just a few feet behind them, andthey don’t even flinch or take a second to observe the destruction they’ve caused. Obviously, were it a real situation, the shock of the explosion would not only send the person flying, but it would also be insanely loud, and would definitely cause them to be at least a little bit startled.
Some people flinch at the sound of the toaster popping, for crying out loud! How are we supposed to believe that action heroes can just casually walk away while there’s a huge explosion behind them? Even so,it’s such an amazing trope and radiates so much cool guy energy that it’s one we can’t get enough of, which is why it keeps getting used in every action movie, again and again and again, from superhero films likeIron Manto Westerns likeDesperado. Bonus points if it happens in slow motion.
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
5Characters With Perfect Hair and Makeup
They literally woke up like this.
Ever notice how characters always look impeccable, no matter the situation. Even after they’ve just woken up,their hair and makeup is on point… probably because they often go straight to bed without removing any of the product. Even then, bedheads are rarely a concern. In fact, it doesn’t really matter what’s happening, hair and makeup is obviously a priority. Whether it’s in the heat of battle or a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the cosmetics department never fails. Take Padmé (Natalie Portman) inThe Phantom Menace, for example. Even when shooting up battle droids, her hair and makeup is perfect, if not necessarily as elaborate as her body double.
This is even the case when perfect hair wouldn’t even be practical, or in rain, snow, or wind. No matter what’s going on,one can always count on the makeup techs to keep an actor looking coordinated and perfect, sometimes when they’re not supposed to look that way. But truth be told, those makeup techs have got to be used somehow, and having an actor with no makeup when ordinary circumstances would call for it is going to be a bit jarring, and would make the cosmetics department seem a lot less talented than they typically are. So, it’s a fairly minor qualm that most are willing to allow.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Two Jedi escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory.
Workouts and falling in love are shortened by a montage.
Who doesn’t lovea good training montage? It’s a really common thing to see in movies. A character, usually the protagonist, has just discovered their potential or talents, but has to spend some time honing their craft or learning how to control it. So,brief clips are shown of the necessary steps they take in order to achieve their goals, often set to"Eye of the Tiger"bySurvivora laRocky III. These types of montages are the best, because they are a testament to working hard at something until it is within reach.
But that’s not the only kind of montage. Sometimes, it’s about falling in love, diving into all the adventures and dates a couple experiences together,summing up their love story in a few brief snippets. While these are obviously unrealistic, the idea is that they are meant to take place over an extended period of time, and watching this happen without a montage would be a much longer and more drawn out process that, quite frankly, would be pretty dull.
7Rags to Riches
The underdog always wins.
It’s been said that the classicCinderellastory is themost adapted fairy tale of all time. That may not literally be true, but one of the main reasons it is believed to be is because countless movies follow the same broad strokes: the protagonist, usuallysomeone unfortunate or downtrodden, will always rise up to be better than they were, will become famous or rich, and will prove all the haters wrong. This isn’t limited to any particular genre of movie, either.
It’s visible in teen comedies likeSuperbadto action flicks likeCaptain America: The First Avenger. Even the originalStar Warsmovie plays into this trope. So why exactly do screenwriters keep using this same story, over and over again? Well, the main reason is that the story is pretty inspiring. Everyone wants to believe that anybody can be somebody, and that the potential to do wonderful things is inside all of us, even the most unassuming of people.It’s one of the oldest tropes in cinema, and is one that audiences can’t get enough of.
Cinderella
When Cinderella’s cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq and from her Fairy Godmother.
8Incompetent Henchmen
The henchmen always turn into amateurs while facing the hero.
When it comes to one-versus-everyone fights in action movies,viewers can always expect the villainous henchmen to be some of the dumbest individuals ever collected. Either they attack the hero one by one instead of all at once, or are such poor shots with their weapons that they can’t hit the broadside of a barn. The bad guys' training headquarters seriously needs some new trainers, because it seems that the cronies in every movie are so incompetent that it’s a real miracle they were ever hired in the first place.
But let’s face it,if the bad guys were competent, the movie would definitely be a lot shorter, or at the very least, it would make the hero look much less cool than they normally would. How bland wouldKill Billbe if the baddies just swarmed the Bride (Uma Thurman) and overwhelmed her instead of coming at her one at a time? It would also be a lot to take in at once for the audience,so maybe the one by one approach is okay, as it’s much more coherent, even if the bad guys are anything but.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
9Plot Armor
The protagonists survive everything.
The term “plot armor” is used to describecharacters who are kept alive by the filmmakers solely because the plot demands it, throwing them into all kinds of deadly situations, yet keeping them inexplicably alive, suspending disbelief and sometimes, even the laws of physics. It’s a source of annoyance for some, but for others, it actually makes perfect sense from an entertainment standpoint. How dull wouldMission: Impossiblebe if Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) flubbedone of his stuntsand kicked the bucket halfway through?
Even though this might be the more realistic outcome, it’s not the outcome that sells movie tickets, so for that reason, it’s important that the heroes emerge from any and every situation relatively unscathed. It also explains why movie villains often don’t kill their prey right away when presented with the perfect opportunity to. To be frank,who wants to watch a movie where the hero fails spectacularly, and the villain succeeds with their world domination?It might work in some cases, but most people don’t go into action movies expecting that to be the ending, and might leave the theater bitterly disappointed if it was.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Ethan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.
10Love at First Sight
The two main characters always end up in a relationship at the end.
When watching aromantic movie, such asSerendipity, it’s sort of par for the course that the primary characters end up in a relationship with each other. But in action or horror movies? Sometimes, there’s no reason whatsoever to include a romantic plotline, but filmmakers do it anyway. Why? Probably because love is something that many can relate to, or because it keeps the plot a little less one-dimensional. But it’s generally guaranteed thatthe main characters who meet up during the events of the film will end up together, often in an unconventional way, without the formal dating process.
A lot of audiences might roll their eyes at there being romance that nobody asked for, but for the most part, it does allow for some comic relief or for some brief heartwarming moments amidst all the death and tragedy that some of these films have to offer. It alsohelps ground the film and allows it to be more relatable to audiences, because not many are going to be able to resonate with being an international superspy.
Serendipity
Serendipity follows the story of Sara and Jonathan, who share an immediate connection during a chance encounter despite existing commitments. Years later, they long to reunite, driven by the belief in destiny. They face various obstacles as they pursue each other, exploring themes of fate and true love.
