# Movie/TV stunts we've seen enough of **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675 "2004-12-08T02:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/1 "2004-12-08T02:58:42Z")
Ok, lets have 'em. The stunts that have been done so many times that you almost believe you could do them in real life: Jumping between subway platforms in front of the train - (Blade, Money Train, etc, etc) - yeah…I do that every time I get on the Uptown 4,5,6 platform by mistake. Stradling two cars while playing chicken - (Footloose, every angry teenager Lifetime movie) - Yeah…I always wanted a pair of BMWs as rollerskates. Tossing cars off the back of a car carrier (Matrix Reloaded, Bad Boys II) - If you stole a faster vehicle you wouldn’t need to toss cars out the back Hanging from a ledge by your fingertips - and finally THERE’S TOO MUCH WEIGHT!!! CUT THE ROPE! (Vertical Limit, Day After Tomorrow) - More like THERE’s TOO MUCH WEIGHT!! SOO LONG BITCHES!! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/2 "2004-12-08T03:05:52Z")
I’m not sure if it would qualify as a “stunt”, but the “arrowhead perspective” used by the flying arrow in _Robin Hood: Prince of Hoosiers_, bullets in some movies, the bomb in _Pearl Harbor_, and the eagle in _Alexander_. It’s more annoying than artsy. Anything in which a character is shot in a limb but still manages to chase the bad guy. (“I’m a real man… I don’t believe in arterial spray or going into shock!”) Any movie in which a character jumps from a cliff into a river. While there’s a one in a million chance you could survive a straightforward plunge like this, the more likely scenario is you’ll hit the surface like it’s made of concrete followed by a 54,000 gallon enema that will pretty much mess up your day and bodily functions forever. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/3 "2004-12-08T03:18:47Z")
You’re zipping along down a narrow street lined on either side with cars. You hit the last car in the line and instead of destroying your car and being thrown through the windshield, you flip over. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/4 "2004-12-08T03:24:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Tossing cars off the back of a car carrier (Matrix Reloaded, Bad Boys II) - If you stole a faster vehicle you wouldn’t need to toss cars out the back Nope, that’s still cool. That was the best part of both of those movies. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/5 "2004-12-08T03:33:11Z")
Obviously, outrunning a giant explosion. I suppose the only reason this hasn’t been mentioned yet is that it’s so obvious that it is just assumed. The other one is the sidekick using his x-ray vision to drive a car/motorcycle/tank/fighter jet/whatever through the opaque wall just in time to crush the bad guy as he’s about to kill the hero. And just once I’d like to see a fruit cart survive being pushed across the street. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/6 "2004-12-08T12:10:01Z")
I remember in the late 70’s early 80’s, stunt men learned to drive cars balanced on two wheels. I saw it on “That’s Incredible”, and in a few months I think the stunt was on every action/cop show on TV. Another non-stunt but hideous cliché is the “group of characters walking side by side in slow-mo towards the camera, with or without fire behind them” ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/7 "2004-12-08T12:19:28Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Obviously, outrunning a giant explosion. I suppose the only reason this hasn’t been mentioned yet is that it’s so obvious that it is just assumed. Not sure if it’s a stunt, but a codicil to this – you can escape any explosion no matter how close by, no matter if it’s a firework or a nuclear detonation, by throwing yourself down behind the nearest car. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/8 "2004-12-08T13:40:24Z")
Jumping off a roof (to avoid an explosion or evade capture) while holding on to a rope so that you get jerked to a stop about 30 feet down, sometimes crashing through a window in the side of the building. Used in **Die Hard Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Under Siege (from the deck of the ship) Crocodile Dundee 2** countless others (I do think **The Matrix** used a variation on this in an original way and to good effect in the scene where Trinity jumps out of the doomed helicopter while holding the rope that Neo (on the roof) has the other end of.) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/9 "2004-12-08T14:22:17Z")
Showing an average non-pilot jump into a plane or helicopter just far enough ahead of their pursuer and flying away. Like everybody knows instinctively how to control a helicopter. Disarming a bomb by opening it up, and cutting just the right color-coded wire just as the helpful LED display gets to 00:01. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/10 "2004-12-08T14:33:46Z")
Jumping off the bridge/overpass and landing on the moving bus. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/11 "2004-12-08T15:12:41Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > Another non-stunt but hideous cliché is the “group of characters walking side by side in slow-mo towards the camera, with or without fire behind them” The movie “Monsters, Inc.” did a nice takeoff on this type of scene … not once, but twice. For those who haven’t seen it, the movie tells the story of two monsters who work at Monsters, Inc. Their job is to scare little kids in the human world; the screams from the kids provide energy for the monster world. Anyway, at one point, the “factory supervisor” announces “Scarers are comin’ out!” And a group of monsters walk in slow-motion onto the “Scare Floor” to begin that day’s work. Cut into this “dramatic” scene is a real-time shot of two nerdy monsters working on a machine, watching the procession, and one of them says, “Man, that is SOO cool!” In the “out-takes” from the movie, shown as the credits roll, there’s another version of this shot – the Scarers are walking onto the Scare Floor in slow-mo, and the one in front trips and falls, setting off a slo-mo chain-reaction of monsters tripping and falling over him. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/12 "2004-12-08T15:16:46Z")
I’ve seen enough stunt men get set on fire then wander about waving their arms before falling face down to the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/13 "2004-12-08T15:16:56Z")
Hey, my favorite movie of all time (_The Right Stuff_) uses the heroes-walking-toward-the-camera-in-slow-motion thing. It may even have invented it. (And if it wasn’t the first, what was?) And doing it in _Monsters, Inc._ was absolutely brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/14 "2004-12-08T16:38:02Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > And just once I’d like to see a fruit cart survive being pushed across the street. Dear Sir, I represent the Union of Giant Glass Pane Operative Movers (UGG-POW). Our members are fed up with careless car drivers ruining our day’s work. Will you join our campaign to stop this menace? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/15 "2004-12-08T16:54:26Z")
When the “A-Team” was on, it seemed as if every episode involved a car hitting a parked car and flipping over during the inevitable gun fight at the end. It wasn’t always a parked car (sometimes it was a hill), but it always involved the car flipping over. Over and over again. Every damned episode. I think it was even in the opening credits of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/16 "2004-12-08T17:10:44Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Hey, my favorite movie of all time (_The Right Stuff_) uses the heroes-walking-toward-the-camera-in-slow-motion thing. It may even have invented it. (And if it wasn’t the first, what was?) > > And doing it in _Monsters, Inc._ was absolutely brilliant. \*\*The Right Stuff \*\* is my favorite movie, too! And I do think **Monsters, Inc.** was specifically copying **The Right Stuff** , not just using the cliche in general fashion as a lot of other movies do. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/17 "2004-12-08T17:21:38Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > And I do think **Monsters, Inc.** was specifically copying **The Right Stuff** , not just using the cliche in general fashion as a lot of other movies do. Actually, I think “Monsters, Inc.” was making fun of the cliche. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/18 "2004-12-08T18:26:04Z")
As long as we’re pointing out the A-team, let’s not forget the “Thug blown off the roof/tower/assorted high spot by a firey explosion to land in a pool of water” stunt. Or the “Thug/hero runs for cover while bullets hit the ground next to him at the same pace” stunt. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/19 "2004-12-08T20:51:43Z")
A sniper is cleverly placed on a rooftop and his rifle even has sights on it. Noticing this, our cop hero pulls out his trusty handgun, runs towards the assassin and shoots him. Dead. With one shot. While the assassin misses repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/20 "2004-12-08T21:05:54Z")
I myself feel that if I was ever in the vicinity of an explosion (assuming I didn’t decide to run at the speed of sound to stay just ahead of the shockwave/visible cloud of flames), I would, a good half-second after the explosion, jump into the air, flailing all my limbs (the effect would be particularly pronounced if I was in a machine-gun nest or other space shooting at the good guys). The same reaction (pause, jump straight up in air flailing limbs, with no visible blood or wounds) would happen of course after being shot by the good guys. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675.md?page=2)