1- Plate Glass:  

If there is a large, lovely glass window or door in an action movie, you can be sure someone or something will fly through it.  And of course the glass will shatter into a thousand bits.  This breakage also applies to car windows.

Just once I wish something would bounce off that glass.

Film Examples:

·        Lethal Weapon 2

·        The Rock

·        The Transporter

·        The Bourne Identity

·        Live Free or Die Hard

·        The Marine

2- Really Bad Aim: 

Isn’t odd, that despite numerous automatic weapons and vast numbers, the Bad Guys can never seem to hit anyone?  They can, however, inflict terrible damage to walls, furniture, and assorted knickknacks.

Film Examples:

·        This cliché is common to practically any action movie ever made.  Pick a movie; it is a near guarantee that there are Bad Guys who can’t hit a human target.

From the book The Incomplete List of Action Movie Clichés

Copyright 2007 by A. F. Stewart