There are some consistently used tropes in moviemaking that just instantly ruin a film and break audience members’ suspension of disbelief. With shaky cameras, poor lighting, and incomprehensible dialogue, viewers shouldn’t be thinking about the poor creative decisions of directors while they are supposed to be immersed in a cinematic world and enthralled by a compelling narrative. Yet, time and again, these same issues crop up, and it is impossible not to groan with frustration at the continued use of annoying movie tropes.

While not every movie that uses these techniques is terrible, and some incredible films have subverted them in very clever ways, they often do the movie a disservice and hint at lazy filmmaking. Issues like an overuse of CGI have plagued modern blockbusters, and viewers have been left shaking their heads at characters’ actions that are so idiotic it’s clear they only did something to advance the plot. I understand that these tropes have their place, but I truly believe it’s time to retire these overused and often annoying clichés.

8

Shaky Cam In Action Movies

Example: The Bourne franchise (2002 – 2016)

While the Bourne franchise is one of the most successful action series of all time, it also popularized the frustrating trope of frantic and chaotic shaky camera sequences. Although The Bourne Idenтιтy and its sequels were responsible for establishing a more gritty, realistic tone for post-9/11 action movies, their overreliance on a shaky camera style sometimes feels overwhelming, and it’s hard not to think the films would be better if they used this technique more sparingly.

Jason Bourne

Created by

Robert Ludlum

First Film

The Bourne Idenтιтy

Cast

Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Brian Cox, Gabriel Mann, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz

TV Show(s)

Treadstone

With almost every action scene in a Bourne movie using a dizzying camera style, the biggest issue with this trope was how quickly it caught on and how many other films imitated its style. Later releases like Taken 2 and Quantum of Solace were heavily influenced by the shaky cams seen in the Bourne franchise, and it’s a cliché that has continued right through to this day. While director Paul Greengrᴀss deserves some credit for pairing his shaky style with carefully spliced scenes, not every filmmaker who uses this style does it effectively, and it can often disorient the audience.

7

Inaudible Dialogue To Create Mood

Example: Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers working today, whose movies walk the fine line between artistic integrity and box office gold. However, there’s one problem that has continued to pop up in his work, and that’s the fact that it can sometimes be difficult to understand what characters are saying without the subтιтles turned on. This was definitely the case for Tom Hardy’s Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, but the most egregious example came with Tenet in 2020. This complex sci-fi thriller was already confusing enough without struggling to make out the dialogue.

Tenet’s sound became a H๏τ topic when the movie was released, and it’s clear that Nolan prioritized a more visceral viewing experience over clearly spoken dialogue. While this worked well for the awe-inspiring power of its immersive action sequences, the truth is nobody is going to leave a theater happy if they struggled to make out what was being said. Nolan himself dismissed his critics as being too “conservative” (via Guardian) about the correct way to mix sound, but I don’t think it’s asking too much to know what a character in a movie is talking about.

6

Lighting So Dark It’s Hard To See What’s Happening

Example: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

I am so sick of not being able to see what’s happening on screen in a movie, and this is a problem that’s only gotten worse over the years. I’m especially struck by this issue when I go back and watch old black-and-white films from classic Hollywood because it’s so clear the filmmakers had a far better understanding of the importance of proper lighting back then. These days, I feel like I’m constantly squinting my eyes just to figure out what exactly I’m supposed to be looking at.

One major culprit of this is the horror movie genre, and a particularly frustrating example is Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. This sequel to a crossover spin-off already had a lot working against it, without the barely visible alien foes looking so dark that it resembled two shadow puppets fighting on the walls of a cave. Although movies like Jaws perfected the idea that less is more by keeping its monster out of sH๏τ and building suspense, the darkness of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem felt more like a way to keep the budget down and mask its low production quality.

5

Jump Scare Overload In Horror

Example: The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013)

A well-placed jump scare can be an effective way of spooking audience members in horror movies and has been a consistent trope in the genre ever since Cat People back in 1942. While most viewers have become accustomed to jump scares in horror movies, when used sparingly, they can still disarm the audience and add to the tension and suspense of a movie. However, lazy filmmakers have exploited the power of the jump scare, and if a film is overloaded with them, it just becomes tedious and tiring.

The most notorious example of this was The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, a disappointing sequel that contained the most jump scares of any horror movie ever (via Game Rant.) With 32 jump scares over just 100 minutes of runtime, audiences barely had a chance to get over their shock when any other sudden change, loud bang, or surprise appearance of a ghost was supposed to frighten them all over again. But the fact is that jump scares provide diminishing returns, as the more you use them, the less frightening they become.

4

Dumb Character Decisions Just To Advance The Plot

Example: The Grey (2011)

Within movie criticism, there’s a term called “idiot plot,” which was popularized by the famed film critic Roger Ebert and relates to a story that’s “kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot” (via Far Out.) This includes every horror movie that has viewers screaming at the screen at the stupid decision to split up, sci-fi films that see scientists poking and prodding alien beings without making sure they are not ᴅᴇᴀᴅly, or comedies in which everyone seems to be purposefully misinterpreting one another.

While there are some examples of this trope being used well, like the idiotic antics of Harold and Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber, mostly it’s a result of lazy writing trying to establish certain plot points without first making them believable. Take Liam Neeson’s character in the wolf-fighting action movie The Grey and his incomprehensible decision to intentionally ignore all survival guides and abandon his crash site that was complete with shelter, fuel, and plenty of materials that could be used as weapons.

3

Fake-Out Deaths

Example: F9 (2021)

Characters’ deaths are supposed to have meaning, and it detracts from the movie’s impact when they are inexplicably brought back from the grave against all odds. While there are some examples of this trope being done well, such as Gandalf’s return as Gandalf the White in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, it has also become a cliché that modern Hollywood has come to rely on far too much. These days, when watching a major franchise and an important character dies, most audience members will just roll their eyes and wait to see how they are haphazardly brought back in the very next movie.

One shocking example of this was the case of Han Lue in the Fast & Furious franchise, a character who first appeared in Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow before being incorporated into the series in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Han was a popular character, although the trouble was that he died in his very first Fast movie, an issue that was surpᴀssed by making Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and Furious 7 all prequels, before at last revealing he had faked his death in F9. By this point, the plot gymnastics were hard to take seriously.

2

Voiceover Doing All The Heavy Lifting

Example: Blade Runner (1982)

Few movies have more versions than Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Blade Runner, a great film whose theatrical version was bogged down by the overuse of excessive, unnecessary voiceover dialogue from Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard. With test screenings indicating audience members were confused about the plot, several long-winding voiceover sequences from a disinterested Ford were added to streamline the narrative and take away much of the movie’s impact in the process.

This was the perfect example of a voiceover doing all the heavy lifting and taking away the enjoyment of viewers immersing themselves in the movie’s world. While there’s an argument that Ford’s voiceover did add to the film noir, futuristic hard-boiled detective style of this film, Scott immediately removed the voiceover when he put together his own director’s cut, and his Final Cut edition also excluded it. Although voiceover can sometimes be an effective storytelling device, when it’s used unnecessarily, it makes movies boring and fails to realize that it’s better to show than tell.

1

Overuse Of CGI And Green Screens

Example: Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002)

The use of computer-generated imagery has been transformative for the film industry and has led to some of the greatest science fiction depictions ever seen on screen. With movies like Jurᴀssic Park being prime examples of everything great about cinema, the awe-inspiring impact of CGI is knowing how and when to use it, and an overreliance on digital technology can actually hinder a movie’s impact. The perfect example of this was Star Wars, whose original trilogy remains timeless due to its incredible practical effects and whose prequel movies look woefully dated today.

The Star Wars prequels had a lot of issues relating to overly complex storytelling and poor characterization, although it was Attack of the Clones that took CGI overload to a whole new level. Instead of hiring extras as clones like in the previous movies, it was painfully obvious that it was just animated sequences that looked more like a PS2 video game cutscene than the outstanding visuals that Star Wars was known for. While many may defend the prequel trilogy today, nobody would deny that it would have been better if it had focused more on practical effects.

Source: Guardian, Game Rant, Far Out