Movies are a fun way to get away from the cold and harsh reality, but sometimes they just take the exaggerations way too far, especially action movies. Some tropes are nearly impossible in real life, or just plain ridiculous. Cool guys don’t look at explosions, bad guys never jump in all at once, the protagonist can just brush off serious injuries like it’s no big deal, and many more. Sounds familiar?
So let’s gather around and laugh at these unrealistic clichés together. Which tropes piss you off the most?
1. Villains Patiently Waiting For Their Turns
Source: Warner Bros.
This must be one of the most common tropes in action movies, and it makes absolutely no sense in real life. There is no way in hell a gang of villains will come at you one guy at a time like on the screen. Watching your opponent taking down your partner while patiently waiting for your turn is just plain stupid. If the villains in the movies act like how criminal gangs would in real life, they would probably win easily.
2. The Henchmen Can’t Shoot
Source: 20th Century Fox
Doesn’t matter if you’re a bounty hunter, or a trained agent of an assassin organization, if you’re a henchman, then you can’t shoot. You will miss the protagonist even if they are right in front of you. Your bullets are bound to go everywhere else but the target.
3. Once Kick Or One Punch And The Henchman Is Out
Source: Marvel
Another unfair cliché is how the side characters just go down after one hit from the main character. In reality, you need to get your opponent’s head to rotate so fast that their brain slops against their skull in order to knock them out. And even if you manage to do that, the chance of getting your enemy out cold can only sometimes happen. So a metal fist to your guts might suck, but you will probably be awake and aware of how painful the sensation is.
4. Invincible Main Characters
Source: 20th Century Fox
On the other hand, if the side characters can be easily taken down, then the main characters are invincible. Bullet wounds that would make you bleed out and dead in under 5 minutes? This is nothing but a scratch. Knife wounds that seem fatal? Pull it out and walk it off. The main character was only allowed to fall down when they took down every single bad guy. Plus, while a trillion bullets were flying toward them, they only need one bullet to take down their target. This might be badass on screen, but wildly unrealistic in real life.
5. Monologuing
Source: Disney
All villains seem to have the bad habit of monologuing. They surely like to explain to the hero their evil plans. If you plan to kill the guy anyway, why waste your time? This will, of course, always lead to the hero having the chance to escape and ruining the villain’s plan.
6. Aim For The Chest Instead Of The Head
Source: Marvel
Why is it that when somebody is attacked in a movie, we rarely see the attacker aiming for the head? It’s the most fatal spot. Everybody just aimed for the chest instead, which solved nothing as the hero (or villain in some cases) was wearing a bulletproof vest the whole time.
7. Unlimited Ammo
Source: Sony Pictures
Real firearms can only hold a finite amount of bullets. Movie firearms have infinite ammo. The hero only needs to reload once his enemies are all taken down, or when they need to look cool.
8. You Can Hotwire It Then You Can Drive It
Source: Reddit
Thank god that cars in real life don’t get easily stolen like in the movies. Seriously, all the main protagonist has to do is reach in with his fingers, poke around, and connect some wires. It’s impossible to do this with a car that is newer than 25 years old. Even if you manage to “hack” an old car, you'll only be able to drive in a very straight line with that steering wheel lock engaged.
9. Running In Heels
Source: 20th Century Fox
And last but not least, if the female characters in horror movies always trip even when they are wearing sneakers, then it’s the opposite with female characters in action movies. The heroine can run around and spin-kick her enemies with her 6-inch stilettos on just fine.