Actually that is what happens all the time. That’s the whole reason they invite documentary film crews on digs, otherwise they’d never find anything. (possibly incorrect)
Even worse is the sub-cliche wherein the Good Guy grabs the hand of the Bad Guy as Bad Guy goes over the edge, and attempts to save Bad Guy’s life, before finally losing his grip and watching him die. Good Guy is so good, he was trying to save Bad Guy up until the last! But Bad Guy still gets what’s coming to him. Everyone’s happy.
Then there’s the sub-sub-cliche where Bad Guy is dangling from a great height, held only by Good Guy, and then the Good Guy intentionally lets him fall. Sure, it adds a bit of otherwise lacking moral ambiguity, but why did he catch Bad Guy if he is only going to drop him a few seconds later? Sounds like a good way to get pulled off a building to me.
[spoiler]Wash was tied up with Mal - it was a catalyst for the two of them getting a chance to talk over Wash’s jealousy over Mal’s closeness to Zoe. It was Book who was in the rescue team.
Book also delivered by other favourite line in the episode, while preparing for the rescue mission.
Zoe: Preacher, don’t the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
Book: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.[/spoiler]
The Last Action Hero (which I enjoyed more than I expected to) handled this very well, as the Arnie character was shocked to find that injuries actually hurt in our world.
The opposite can be as bad though - one hit to the back of the head and a character is instantly rendered unconscious, to revive at a later moment when the demands of the plot so require.
This is one reason why Army Of Darkness is a great film. A monster is down and seemingly destroyed. Hastily, Ash informs everybody “It’s a trick. Get an axe!”
Buffy The Vampire Slayer riffed on this meme a few times as well.
Bob: Ever faced another good guy before?
Rex: Nope.
Bob: Me neither.
Rex: Kinda makes you wonder what’ll happen.
Bob: I figure the good guy’ll win, just like always.
Rex: Yeah, except we’re both good guys.
Bob: Then I figure the most good good guy will win.
Rex: That’s how I figure, too.
Bob: Yep.
and
Wait, he shot you in the hand?
Man I love that movie.
I want one movie, one big, splody, actiony movie to have magnetic glass that cuts.
I agree with you 100%, except enough of the audience watching it would freak out about the supposed unfeeling brutality of it that it’d cause problems.
In fact there’s a pit thread right now calling someone a cold-blooded murderer because he didn’t take any chances with a member of a group of armed robbers and finished him off. If they don’t excuse a real life individual in fear of his life such behavior, they’re unlikely to grant a fictional hero character such license either.
It’s actually something I have instructed the wife over.
If she ever finds herself in the ‘horror movie’ situation, where she has managed to turn the tables on the psycho killer, whatever she has to hand, she is to continue to bash said killer in the head until such times as there is copious amounts of actual brain matter splashed all over the ground/walls/furniture etc etc.
There isn’t going to be any of this getting up after malarky going on!
[That was one of the really disappointing things about Wolf Creek, which was hailed as a fresh new breakthrough horror movie, but still trotted out the same old tired cliches.]
This. Maybe it’s from all the FPS’s I’ve played but leaving a servicable weapon with ammo behind always makes me go “huh?”. Doubly so if the Good Guy ignores a dropped submachine gun and keeps using his handgun!
No, the worst variant is when the Good Guy is actively trying to save the Bad Guy right up to the end, but the Bad Guy is too proud to accept being saved by the Good Guy, and so he’s the one who lets go, or punches the Good Guy in the face to make him let go, or wriggles out of his dog collar, or whatever.
Zoe has amassed a large sum of money with which to ransom Wash and Mal. She goes alone into Torturer’s lair and they have a conversation something like this
Torturer: Unfortunately, this is not quite enough for me to let both of them g…
Zoe: [Immediately pointing at Wash] That one.
[pause]
Oh, I'm sorry. Were you about to ask me to choose?*
Then after Wash accompanies her back to the ship, they stock up on a shitload of weaponry and come back together to finally kick Torturer’s butt
1.) If you kill Jason or The Terminator or The Alien, cut off its head for good measure. And its arms and legs. And gouge out its eyes. Even if, against all odds, it comes back to life, it’s going to be blind and in pieces, and that’s sure to slow it down.
2.) If you can, drop it into a really deep well, or entomb it in concrete. If it comes back to life and starts crawling up or breaking out, at least you’ll have warning.
3.) If it has acid for blood, try shooting it full of extremely strong base. Eveb if it doesn’t kill it, it’ll keep it occupied for a while.
Other cliches:
Standing near a window, especially one that’s open, and/or one you can’t see out of, is just askin’ for trouble.
Vampires, zombies, werewolves, and the like might not be technically vulnerable to submachine gun fire, wood chippers, meat grinders, and a we;;-wielded ginsu knife, but it’ll probably still be effective.
