There are movie clichés that refuse to go away, even when they need to.
Action is one of the genres that offers the greatest creative freedom to filmmakers. However, despite its versatility, clichés raise alarm bells regarding the future of the genre. This is because, gradually, They have taken over modern action cinemaWhile fans of adrenaline-fueled movies are amazingly loyal, it is a mistake to continue filling productions with overused resources that only detract from the originality and excitement of the plot. As is the case with the following films that fell into the mistake of using the worst clichés:
The bad guy turns good
Sometimes this resource doesn't make the slightest sense.
The change of sides is an overused resource in action movies. Recently, we could see it in Fast & Furious 9 (2021). The installment directed by Justin Lin fell into the cliché of Sacrifice a compelling villain to ease tension between antagonist charactersespecially when there is no logical reason to do so.
Regardless of the genre, villains serve the purpose of holding the plot together; after all, a hero figure is impossible without a threat. In this sense, it is more convenient, and correct, to give depth to secondary characters, and not to bet on giving the bad guys redemption when they were capable of committing atrocious acts throughout the development of the plot.
The villain murders his subordinates
This cliché is widely used in the best gangster movies, which makes sense considering it is standard practice in the world of organized crime and the mafia. However, in action productions, having the antagonist kill his men is a bit of a no-brainer. It takes away realism and meaning from the plot
Basically, it's about a desperate way to include violencewithout having to eliminate an important character. For example, in American Assassin (2017)the Ghost's decision to kill the criminals under his command eliminated any possibility of the production being perceived as a political action thriller, and turned it into just another Hollywood-style spectacle.
Mistaken identity
It may be a good idea, or it may be just another cliché.
The idea of confusing the hero with someone else is no stranger to the action genre. However, for this basic cliché to work, it is essential that the story has a very well-constructed narrative, which allows the viewer to understand what is happening, just as he did. The Bourne Identity (2002)when the protagonist has to unravel his own identity.
Quite the opposite of what we could see in Total Recall (2012)where the hero simply ended up in the middle of a sci-fi spy adventure. In this way, the remake which could have become a smash hit, did not even pose a substantial relationship to the narrative of Paul Verhoeven's 1990 story.
PG-13 rating, blood suppression
Although most productions in the genre are R-rated, there are times when, taking into account the graphic content and the level of violence, it is necessary to resort to the PG-13 rating, as we saw with Die Hard (1988)one of the best action movies of all time, and more recently, in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
The problem with the change of classification is that requires a good dose of suspense which justifies the absence of sequences of implicit violence, the mistake made by Alan Taylor with Terminator Genisys (2015)just to make the production accessible to younger viewers. This decision was described by some critics as disrespectful to the franchise's legacy.
Using digital detonators and CGI bullets
CGI abuse is one of the worst mistakes in horror movies
Sylvester Stallone's career as a director was not one of the best, in fact, The Expendables 4 It was one of the biggest box office failures in 2023, although this was related to the famous Hollywood strike, the saga has been dragging something much worse, the excessive use of CGI to cover up the deficiencies present in the work of specialists.
Technological advances represent a key tool for making quality films, however, the abuse of computer-generated images, decreases the chances of providing an immersive experiencethis happened to The Expendables (2010)where CGI bullets and digital blood abound, giving the sensation of being in a video game and not in a movie theater.
Introducing the hero's son
Although many legacy sequels have worked well, in most cases, It is wrong to pass the torch to the next generation with something as basic as the protagonist's son.. Besides being a cheesy device, using a family drama to give continuity to the story is a classic way of incurring a loss of coherence in the plot line, especially from an emotional point of view.
This is the case of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)available on HBO Max's premiere schedule. The production directed by Edward Zwick, which moves away from the aspect that made the saga famous, to focus the story on the relationship between Reacher and his estranged daughter, causing disappointment among fans who expected to see overflowing action, not a very unjustified dramatic conflict.
Ultimately, while the genre has shown significant evolution since the 1990s, there is no doubt about the negative impact that continuing to see the same clichés has on the audience. As much as I am a self-confessed action fan, discovering that the film we have been waiting for turns out to be more of the same, not only It takes away the excitement from the experiencebut rather promotes the gradual loss of interest in this type of production.
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