List of film clichés
Film clichés are recurring ideas which have become overused in cinema. Clichés can be used to quickly establish themes or characterization.
Examples
- A chase scene, be it running on foot or a car chase.
- A computer used as a plot device to instantly solve a crime or otherwise defeat the enemy at the last moment.
- A cliffhanger. These are commonly found in serials to encourage audiences to return.
- A deathtrap and accompanying monologue.
- Deus ex machina. A fortunate happenstance which saves the day.
- Explosions. Spectacular explosions are common in action films. Following an explosion, characters walk away without looking at it, to demonstrate their sang froid and grit.
- Happy endings. These are especially common in romance films.
- Love interest. A person included for romance with the protagonist. Action films commonly include a token woman for this.
- Star-crossed lovers
- Love triangle
- [...] is used in many films to get audiences more interested.
- Telephone answering machines can replace actors' conversations to establish a plot point.
- Training montage, as seen in Rocky.
- Victory by the underdog, especially in sports films.
- An inspiring speech, which is also common in sports films.
- The depiction of a character's life from birth to death or otherwise showing different stages.
- Climactic showdowns between the protagonist and antagonist in Westerns.
- A hardboiled sleuth and a guilty rich person.
- Time paradoxes which are easily solved.
- Dumb blondes, a negative stereotype about the intelligence of blondes.
- Unrealistic vehicle explosions.
- Principle of Evil Marksmanship, where villains attack one at a time, can't shoot straight, or become incompetent in the face of opposition by the protagonists.
- Female nudity, especially during the aforementioned [...] scenes.
- The Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a free-spirited woman who teaches a repressed male protagonist to relax and have fun in his life.
- A Mexican standoff, wherein three characters engage in a free-for-all duel.
- Comic book death, the apparent death and subsequent return of a protagonist.
- The Magical Negro, a black character who selflessly uses magical powers exclusively to the benefit of white characters.
- A formerly supportive, shrewish wife who stands in the way of her husband's heroic quest.
- A dysfunctional family whose issues are quickly and easily resolved through token efforts.
- The wise fool, an apparently foolish character who possesses greater wisdom than his educated peers.
- Voice-over narration, a stylistic choice that can unintentionally over-explain plot elements.
- A protagonist who wants to commit one last job in a heist film before he retires from a life of crime.