The Mel Gibson/broken man act. Works so that every woman in the theater goes "I would fix him" and every man goes "story of my life"

Grizzled, cynical old-timer is forced to work with young hotshot. Old-timer makes lots of jokes with his old-timer buddies about the new "rook". Hotshot is often from a privileged/wealthy otherwise "superior" background to grizzled vet. Hotshot makes a critical mistake at some point, caused by arrogance/inexperience. Grizzled vet saves his ass. They eventually work together as a team. Hotshot learns a valuable lesson about the value of experience.

Unstoppable, other Denzel movies, etc...

The time in a movie when a serious natural disaster is going to occur (usually capable of wiping out the human race) and the government and all the experts are trying to figure out where it will happen and when it will happen, there is usually a low ranking/young/junior character who will make a suggestion (and pretty much nail it) but the more senior characters will rubbish the noobs ideas and keep looking for more information to help predict it and save the day etc etc.. Listen to the new guy for once!

Also, everybody has to love the line in a cop film where the senior cop is yelling down the phone at the loose cannon main character cop, usually after a shoot out in a busy city street v's the bad guys "i want your gun and your badge on my desk 9am GODDAMMITT YOUR OFF THE CASE"

lol at the first one... definitely so true

All natural disasters seem to happen in slow motion

A couple who have never kissed will be walking in a field/park etc., and it suddenly starts pouring rain. They run laughing into an empty barn or other shelter, laugh at each other while catching their breath, the laughter trails off, then they look at each other silently for a moment, and then start making out.

^ you watch movies like that? lol.

The movie 2012 should be re-titled Cliche Movie. Car narrowly outruns earthquake fissure! Crazy wise man up in the mountains is crazy and yet wise! Russians and Americans co-existing without launching nuclear weapons at eachoter! "Magical negro" president being yelled at by angry white pessimistic Oliver Platt! And on and on. What a piece of **** that movie was.

But the little dog survives!

Haven't read whole thread but chicks fighting is the most tilting cliche ever. I can't stand it when a 110lb woman protagonist punches a 220lb bad dude in the face and knocks him out with her dainty little hands.

It amazed me that Ridley Scott went to such incredible lengths to make Robin Hood visually authentic, but saw no problem with a fragile Cate Blanchett wielding a broadsword with deadly effect against professional soldiers twice her size.

Also, as the hero stalks his enemy he will **** his shotgun 3 or 4 times before actually firing it. If he has a machine-pistol it will have approximately 500 rounds in a magazine.

Often in disaster movies there is a shot of the inbound and outbound lanes of the main highway. The outbound lane is inevitably completely packed with panicked drivers at a standstill angrily laying on their horns while the inbound lane is deserted except for the hero who is bravely heading into the city to take on whatever danger awaits. Pretty sure people would just start driving out on the inbound lanes once the outbound lanes came to a standstill

Not a specific cliche but a general one, every court room drama ever is complete legal fantasy. Almost every famous court room themes movie you see would have ended in an immediate mistrial, or lawyers and jurors being thrown in jail for violating the law, etc.

Surprise witnesses, lawyers giving sermons while examining witnesses, people breaking down and confessing and the judge immediately banging his gavel and freeing someone, jurors doing independent research outside the courtroom, etc.

All legal themed tv shows are the same way. How the justice system and lawyers work in tv and movies is so ridiculously divorced from reality.

aside from action movies anyone who ever punches anyone in the face hurts there hand to the point its either broken or they need to ice it down etc, and they do the stupid hand wiggle shake out thing like ooh that hurt me too...

Tossing rocks up to someone's window at night and wispering up at them "pssst, come outside, I need to tell you something. It's important."

This is more TV, but how about when the two old high school buddies meet up and do their old handshake football dance greeting thingy? I always found that really annoying.

Then they hug and say "how the hell you doin' you ol' sumbitch?"