The most hackneyed clichés that were constantly used in the movies of the 80s, 90s and 00s (7 photos)

Each film is unique in its own way, but often they contain such clichéd and hackneyed moments that you want to cover your face with your palm. There were especially many such moments in the films of the 90s.





True, today such moments are remembered with a certain sense of nostalgia. Let's remember what these clichés were.

One cartridge left



In films of that time, they liked to build up the atmosphere by having the character have one cartridge or other important item left (like a match in The Fifth Element). And most importantly, this last cartridge will be the key.

One defeats several





In the old action films of the 90s, they simply loved to make one real protagonist who, alone, is capable of fighting with five or six fighters, and at the same time defeating them. Meanwhile, the fighters attack strictly one by one and one at a time. In real life, this will not work, no matter how professional the person is.

At the end there remains a guy and a girl (or one main character)

Well, this cliché is generally a classic. It is mainly relevant for action films, war films and horror films. There is a company of six or seven people, but in the end everyone will die in turn, and in the end only a guy and a girl or one main character ("Predator") will remain alive. Although there are exceptions that some third character remains, for example an African-American, as was the case in the films “Deep Blue Sea” and “Leprechaun 4”.

"Let's split up"

But I just love this. Imagine you are in some creepy place with your friends, and you are all scared. What's the best thing to do? According to filmmakers from the 90s, it is best to split up in this situation.

In reality, I can’t even imagine this. There’s no way my friends and I would move away from each other of our own free will in such a situation. It’s better to be together in large numbers.

Loser is a hero



Often the main characters of the film are losers, wimps or nerds, who eventually prove themselves in such a way that they become real alpha males. Well, or it turns out that he is simply the chosen one. By the way, this cliché still works.

And of course, we shouldn’t forget that before this he falls in love with the most beautiful and popular girl in school, who is dating the not-so-intelligent jock and the most popular guy in school, who is the captain of the school football team.

At the last second



Most often, this cliche works in sports films and action films. In sports films, a goal is scored at the last second, and as a rule in the decisive match the difference in the score is only one point.

In action films, you can recall, for example, defusing a bomb. As a rule, the bomb can only be defused at the last second. But what tension.

Old teens



In the 90s, schoolchildren were always played by “healthy foreheads”, who were 25-30 years old. And they didn’t look like schoolchildren in any way, especially since we could clearly see that compared to them we were just 14-year-old babies.

The situation is better now. And even though 17-year-old teenagers are not played by 17-year-olds, they are at least 20-22 year-olds, and they can easily be mistaken for schoolchildren. You will compare Peter Parker played by Tobey McGuire and played by Tom Holland. The difference is obvious, but they play the same age. But McGuire was 27 years old at the time of filming, and Holland was 20 years old during his first appearance in the Marvel Universe.

Endless ammo

And this is just a classic. There were a lot of shootouts in films of the late 20th century, and we could very well watch 12-13 rounds being fired from some 7-round Desert Eagle. And machine guns, designed for 30 shots, fired 50-60 bullets at a time.

Perfect teeth

No, of course, I understand that actors constantly spend time at the dentist, which is why they have such a beautiful Hollywood smile, but in films this can be somehow arranged, especially when you play poor people or medieval inhabitants.

Car theft

Being a car thief in the USA is a piece of cake, because to quickly steal a car and start it without keys, you just need to pull out the wires and close their ends. It always works.

Enemy Accuracy

Only the main character has perfect accuracy, but for some reason the enemies cannot hit the main character or a character who should not die. People first noticed this in the Star Wars film series, where a bunch of Imperial stormtroopers couldn't hit the main characters. That is why excessive clubhandedness received the term “Stormtrooper Syndrome”.

Touch in the wing

Well, if the main character is destined to be hit, then only in the arm, shoulder or leg, and most often the bullets also pass right through. Did no one think of hitting the hero in the head? Why is everyone aiming for the hand?

Talkative Villain

Also, I would call one of the most absurd clichés the conversation between the villain and the main character when he is in a hopeless situation. For some reason, the villain tells the main character all his plans, after which the hero manages to free himself. And he uses the information received from the villain for his own important purposes.



This moment was played out great in the film “Dogma”, when Israel did not talk about his villainous plans, because he had watched the films and knows that even in the most hopeless situation for the hero he should not do this.

Checking out the ominous noise

An ominous noise, a strange laughter of a baby, a mysterious whisper, or something similar was heard from the dark basement of the house? What to do? Of course, go down alone to check.

Technology fails

For some reason the technology fails at the most inopportune moment. Either the chainsaw won’t start, or the car will stall. But in any case, there will always be problems with this.

What movie clichés from films of the end of the last century do you remember?