The phrase that made me roll my eyes hardest at the first episode of Iron Fist was when Iron Fist Dude intimidates the bad guy and then gets ready to hop out of the car, and the bad guy says, “This isn’t over!” Now that’s some cliched writing.
My favorite iteration of “Let’s get out of here” is in one of e.e. cummings’s misanthropic sonnets. It begins:
and ends
It’s supposedly the most common cliche phrase in films. I find myself ticking it off when I hear it and it’s a rare movie or TV ep that doesn’t get the tick.
Movies are a narrative art form. You have a plot and events happen in sequential order. You need to move from one event to the next. A character saying “Let’s get out of here” is the equivalent of “Exit; stage left”. Cut to the next scene.
Some might argue that the line is unneeded exposition. Obviously, if the characters were at one location and you cut to a scene showing them in a different location, you can assume somebody suggested they leave the first location. You don’t need to show somebody saying it.
But the same nitpickers who argue about the presence of the line would then argue about its absence. Look at the people who smugly point out how people in movies and TV shows never say good bye at the end of a phone conversation.
Movies and TV shows are supposed to be entertainment not a depiction of the real world.
When I’m someplace and want to leave I usually say “C’mon” or “Let’s go”. I don’t think I’ve ever said “Let’s get out of here” unless I was being facetious. Or perhaps frightened.
Some other clichés:
“Oh, just one more thing” (= the question the detective really wanted to ask all along, but is now pretending to have just thought of at the last minute)
“There’s one thing I don’t understand” (=in the final dénouement, to account for the weird distractor detail that actually had nothing to do with the crime).
To be fair, it’s usually said in the context of urgency or immediate discovery, not as a synonym for a casual, “Let’s go.”
“Let’s get out of here” … before something bad happens.
Hey! I love Columbo. The best part is when the murderer sees right through Columbo’s schtick, but is so arrogant that he doesn’t believe Columbo can prove he did it.
I think that’s more of a ploy than a cliche. You’re questioning somebody and they’re on their guard because they want to reveal as little information to you as possible while also trying not to make it too obvious they’re concealing information.
So you make it appear they’re convincing you and they begin to relax. Then at the last second, when they think the questioning is over and their guard is at its lowest, you throw in an unexpected question.