# 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:** 2
**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, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/21 "2004-12-08T21:13:06Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Actually, I think “Monsters, Inc.” was making fun of the cliche. Yes, I didn’t mean that they weren’t. I just meant that it looks to me like the visual images in that scene in Monsters, Inc. are made to look–purposely and specifically–like the scene from The Right Stuff. They are certainly making fun of the cliche it has become in other movies. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/22 "2004-12-08T21:18:15Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Actually, I think “Monsters, Inc.” was making fun of the cliche. Put me down on the other side – I think they were imitating **The Right Stuff** , as the Scarers of Monsters Inc. are treated like astronauts for NASA. They’re highly-trained experts, there is a large support staff, they’re revered by coworkers and civilians alike… Of course, if Sulley were walking with a shotgun or a 2x4, with a huge gasoline explosion billowing behind him, I’d be in full agreement with you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/23 "2004-12-08T21:20:17Z")
Two people fighting over a gun right up on one another, the gun goes off and there’s a moment of suspense before the bad guy slides to the floor. Or in a new twist, the good guy slides to the floor. ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/24 "2004-12-08T21:31:08Z")
> [@glee](#): > > 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. This was similar to my example: All of a sudden, fifteen bad guys with machine guns are all shooting at James Bond (or similar hero). They all miss, but Bond stops, turns around, and kills a lot of them with his pistol. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/25 "2004-12-08T21:56:29Z")
There must be some rule in Hollywood that any rope used to climb a great height will fray at the point where it meets the edge of the roof or cliff. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/26 "2004-12-08T22:02:35Z")
How about cars that crash into water filled barrels at freeway intersections. Every car chase seems to end that way these days. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/27 "2004-12-08T22:23:05Z")
I can’t believe no-one has mentioned rope foghtong martial arts yet! There is also too much hero caught under vehicle sliding over road holding onto underside of vehicle stunts. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/28 "2004-12-08T22:37:30Z")
Well of course noone mentioned rope foghtong, maybe I should have said rope fighting. Anyone want to hazzard a guess as to what rope foghtong might be ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/29 "2004-12-09T00:01:42Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Well of course noone mentioned rope foghtong, maybe I should have said rope fighting. Anyone want to hazzard a guess as to what rope foghtong might be ? 🙂 Dear Mr. Beardless, I rise to your challenge! 🆒 My first google search produced the question “did you mean ‘fighting’?” Bl\*\*dy cheek! Some computer thinks it knows better than me, huh? :rolleyes: The search engine then grudgingly offered this: ELVIS R U STILL OUT THERE? No, I don’t understand it either. Next I thought I would break your word down. Clearly ‘rope foghtong’ is an alternative spelling of ‘rope fog htong’. Straight into the search mode…alas we have hit a snag. Firstly the d_mn_d computer asked smugly “did you mean thong?” Words fail me. Next up came a site which remarked “Are you searching the Internet for htong? Well, stop searching … I’ve found the best htong links just for you…” It then gave me some mild porn. As I respect the Chicago Reader, we stop right there. ---
**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 9, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/30 "2004-12-09T00:10:18Z")
The “Hey Cody” rule. The bad guy is lurking in ambush. The hero walks by. The bad guy points his gun and yells out, “Hey Cody!”. Cody whirls, and shoots the bad guy dead before he can get off a shot. ---
**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 9, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/31 "2004-12-09T00:44:37Z")
> [@Siddhartha Vicious](#): > > 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. Yeah, I hate when that happens. So much so, that I posted it earlier (see #3). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/32 "2004-12-09T00:58:07Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > > [@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. And totally appropriate if used in [a movie about truckers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077679/combined). Though in that case the cars were for a demolition derby so the guy ended up making giant Molotov cocktails out of them. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/33 "2004-12-09T01:02:26Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Yeah, I hate when that happens. So much so, that I posted it earlier (see #3). > > 😃 Quite an appropriate post for the thread! ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/34 "2004-12-09T01:41:03Z")
> [@vertizontal](#): > > This was similar to my example: > > All of a sudden, fifteen bad guys with machine guns are all shooting at James Bond (or similar hero). They all miss, but Bond stops, turns around, and kills a lot of them with his pistol. Well, from my valuable Counterstrike experience, machine guns on full auto can’t hit the broad side of a SUV, so I’m not too roll-eyesy at this one. If Bond’s pistol was a Desert Eagle, then my experience tells me he will always win against anyone not shooting in bursts with a high-powered assault rifle. The only thing I don’t understand is why Bond doesn’t jump-crouch circles around the villains and their henchmen… ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/35 "2004-12-09T03:11:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > 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. Or, if you’re James Bond, it reads: 0:07. The landmine flip is one I hate. Usually WWII television movies. Soldier running across field, steps on mine. Does the poor soldier get literally ripped to shreds as the mine explodes, sending off a million bits of hot jagged shrapnel? No, the soldier is lifted into the air by the blast does three back flips and a half gainer before crashing to the ground, dead, but bodily intact. Extra points if he does his Louganis maneuvers in slow motion. I also hate the stunt/quip. Bomb goes off at the victim’s feet, but he has enough time to turn to the camera and mutter “Oh, fuck” before being incinerated. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/36 "2004-12-09T04:19:00Z")
> [@lno](#): > > Of course, if Sulley were walking with a shotgun or a 2x4, with a huge gasoline explosion billowing behind him, I’d be in full agreement with you. 🙂 Well, if the hero in an _animated Disney movie_ did this, just once, I think I could let it slide. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/37 "2004-12-09T04:53:50Z")
I’m sick of seeing characters dangling at the edge of a precipice, only to have another character haul them up to safety usually using only one arm, and with no leverage or support. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see Character B try to pull up Character A, only to have both tumble to their deaths? _Sigh_ … ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/38 "2004-12-09T05:54:45Z")
The special **human-sized ventilation ducts** found only in Hollywood sets. There are just _ **so many** _ problems with these: Problem 1: I’ve never seen ducts in any building large enough to crawl through. Have you? Okay, let’s just say there are some ducts that big, somewhere. :rolleyes: Good Guy opens the vent to make his escape. This raises… Problem 2: The vents are always conveniently hinged and require no tools to open. Why hinges? So that repairmen can crawl in to make repairs? No, the only reason that movieland vents are hinged is because if they weren’t, Mr. Good Guy would have to fumble around trying to get the vent closed behind him (probably a little tricky to do _with your feet!_), or he’d give away his hiding place. Oh, and the vent is usually conveniently placed at floor level, so he doesn’t have to do any gymnastics to get in. So Mr. Good Guy crawls in, trying to get to some other part of the (usually very large) building, where he can spy on the bad guys, get into the high-security vault, or escape from the bad guys. In quick succession, we run into… Problem 3: The ducts are very well lit… Problem 4: …spotlessly clean (have you ever seen the hideous dust and other crap that builds up inside your home ducts over the years? Uggghh!)… Problem 5: …have no sharp edges to cut him or snag his clothes… Problem 6: …and are marked with convenient directional signs (“This way to the bad guys–\>”). We never see them, but how else do you explain the fact that he goes straight to where he needs to be, without getting lost or even making a wrong turn? Problem 7: Mr. GG is able to crawl around _completely silently_, without banging his elbows, knees, or feet, and with no flexing or creaking of the sheet metalwork that would attract the attention of office henchmen in Bad Guy HQ. Problem 8: There’s never any sign of a significant volume of air flowing through the ducts at temperatures 20 degrees above or below room temperature. Problem 9: His destination is always on the same floor as his starting point, and never requires a vertical transition (or if it does, he has thoughtfully brought exactly the right gear to make the climb). Problem 10: He gets to his goal in almost no time at all (how fast can \*you \*crawl a hundred yards on your stomach?), and just in time to overhear the bad guys’ evil plot. If he has to get out, naturally the other vent is also conveniently hinged. And finally… Problem 11: If he is discovered by the bad guys, they inevitably shoot into the ducts, but he is somehow able to outrun (outcrawl, actually) the bullets! I’m sure I’m leaving out some other implausibilities. So let’s just drop the jumbo-sized ducts, shall we, Hollywood? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/39 "2004-12-09T08:50:44Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > No, the soldier is lifted into the air by the blast does three back flips and a half gainer before crashing to the ground, dead, but bodily intact. Extra points if he does his Louganis maneuvers in slow motion. This also applies to anonymous swarthy henchmen shot off rooftops or parapets by automatic weapons - they can’t just fall with a sickening thud, no, they have to show off their aerobatic prowess: "And it’s a perfect double half-pike, followed by a clean off-camera landing. Let’s wait for the judges’s scores…9.9…9.7…9.8…9.6…and what’s this? A shock 4.2 from the Colombian judge! This has to be a big disappointment for the plucky little extra from Bogota, Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675/40 "2004-12-09T08:59:42Z")
And then there’s the action movie staple “extra villain gets shot and tumbles over a railing.” The MST3K movie _Space Mutiny_ overused this stunt beautifully. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-tv-stunts-weve-seen-enough-of/278675.md?page=3)