I like when a hero upgrades after being brought down, like Gandalf or when a seemingly minor skill makes a difference like Jack Burton's "it's all in the reflexes" moment.

@Nicholas_Chen_

6 күн бұрын

Yes. I like heroes who constantly improves themselves, like Iron Man, who always learns from his mistakes, literally keeps making those upgrade suits

@valentinegonsalves7322

6 күн бұрын

I like the literal upgrades in a fight scene. John Wick is the obvious example here. But I would rather go with Jackie Chan movies. There is so much character in those fight scenes, when he just picks up something from the background to combat what's coming at him. I also like the literal upgrades. Like the Transformers cartoons. Or hell, Greek Mythology. Cronus cannot be wounded. But the guy is eating his own children. Where is the justice? Wait, that is insanity and pure evil. Here's a diamond scythe. Make him pay.

@julietardos5044

6 күн бұрын

Hm. Upgrades.

I also like these tropes. That said, for every successful attempt there are 10 bad attempts at using these tropes. They are effective, but also surprisingly hard to get right. For example, the hero is down and getting destroyed. Then for no apparent reason the hero suddenly is back on top and wins the fight. This is such a typical mistake even otherwise good movies make. Another example is a weakness that is suddenly forgotten or not resolved in logical way.

@davidanderson9103

6 күн бұрын

Agreed. Another example of bad execution is the final battle scene of the 2005 Fantastic Four where the fight was intentionally set up to force the 4 to battle together to win. Too forced and contrived.

My favorite action trope is the simple "set-up and payoff," usually with an ironic twist. This involves a seemingly innocuous story element that the hero employs at the last moment to save the day. A perfect example is the Ft. Knox fight scene between James Bond and Oddjob from 1964's Goldfinger. During the fight, Oddjob hurls his lethal razor-rimmed bowler hat at Bond but misses, severing a power cable (set-up). Bond recovers the bowler and spins it at Oddjob...again, missing. But this time, the steel-lined hat gets wedged in the bars of the massive cage holding the gold. Seeing victory, Oddjob moves to recover the hat...and as soon as he touches it, Bond grabs the cut power cable and touches it to the cage door. The entire cage is immediately electrified and Oddjob, holding the steel-lined hat, is electrocuted in an explosion of sparks (pay-off). It's clever. It MAKES SENSE. And it's brilliantly ironic, as the weapon Oddjob used to kill others now becomes the instrument of his own demise.

Maybe kind of cheesy, but one of my favorite hero tropes is “the reminder”, which usually comes in the form of some kind of motivational flashback that reinvigorates the heroes desire to win at a dire moment, and they either scramble out and come up with a quick plan, or they power through the struggle and win on heart alone. In some parts of Japanese culture, it is believed that the reason our lives flash before our eyes as we’re about to die, is because our brain is trying to scour through our memories to find a reason to continue fighting to live, and I think that’s beautiful and satisfying to watch

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Ohhhh this is good. Though it can be cheesy sometimes, I do love when heroes think about someone/something important and get a second wind

@ticijevish

6 күн бұрын

Has anyone done a version of this where the protagonist realizes thia is it, this is where I die and lose everything and then THAT gives the protagonist the strength/seriousness to pull out all the stops and win, or is that just destined to be done poorly?

@Mykal06

2 күн бұрын

Yea that trope is quite common in Anime

@Mykal06

2 күн бұрын

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I always love the "hero thinks they're about to die in the final battle but fights anyway because they need to protect the other characters as long as possible/buy them time with their sacrifice" trope, whether the hero actually dies or not that one always gets me. My graphic novel has #4 at the end, the epilogue takes place in a hospital room where the hero wakes up after 2 days of unconsciousness following the final battle, having to have been healed with magic to keep her from dying, and after waking up she and the other main character have some character building moments like the second character opening up about being her friend now and asking her to travel with him. I had #5 as well, each of the 3 main characters were instrumental in defeating the big bad and none of them could have done it on their own.

@jesusromanpadro3853

6 күн бұрын

My first novel is divided into 3 "books", short novels. In the last book, my main character is hospitalized, with most of the story being inside the hospital.

@micropocari1604

6 күн бұрын

Reminds me of the ending to Halo Reach! Protect the Pillar of Autumn as it takes off. No plan afterwards. Once the hero is successful they're stranded on a planet full of aliens, destined to die. Final scene is him (you) fighting to the last breath.

HONEY WAKE UP! BRANDON MCNULTY JUST UPLOADED!!

@Gnostic_Plague

6 күн бұрын

Hahaha love this. Whenever the algorithm feeds up McNulty and it’s a new video, I know what I’m doing for the next 8 mins.

@jediavatar

6 күн бұрын

Same. Though I don’t tell my wife. 😉

I like the last stand trope, especially in combination with point 5, the team up scene. Cap in Endgame is a good example.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Oh man! I was aiming to include “last stand” as a trope, but it got pushed aside by the other five. Glad you brought it up

Excellent. I really like the example “he’s cut!” Another Rocky example I love is in the first movie, when Apollo knocks Rocky down then raises his arms in triumph, only to turn and see Rocky is back up and ready for more. Apollo just drops his head in frustration. It’s a great way to show Rocky’s unbeatable spirit and determination.

@holywarz

6 күн бұрын

Not only that, but Rocky waves him in, wanting more. Apollo misses, and Rocky slips under the punch to land two crushing body blows that break Apollo’s ribs.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Unbeatable moment. The entire 14th round is unreal

@johntabler349

6 күн бұрын

That's one of the all time great scenes across all genres

@thedungeon1578

6 күн бұрын

Great example. Also, it's not just frustration on Apollo's face, it's disbelief, and you can see the doubt starting to really creep in.

I like the recovery part best for my favourite characters and hate the fact it's so often cut short or non-existent. I like the drama - and here's never more drama than my fav getting hurt, needing time to recover and dealing with the trauma and then returning stronger than ever.

My "favourite" action trope will always be car chases down that hilly street in San Francisco and through a wall of empty cardboard cartons in late 60s land yachts. RIP Karl Malden. The best action sequence of recent years for me is everything after Sandra Bullock gets in the Soyuz in Gravity. She was only a mission specialist along for the ride but now she has to astronaut like a real one to get home. Meanwhile she is attached to a wildly spinning space station with chunks falling off all over the place. She has to undock, untangle the ship from the cables, jettison the ascent stage, trick the flight computer into firing the retros, program a re-entry, ride out re-entry, get out of a sinking capsule and her spacesuit, swim to the surface and walk after being in space for days. I hold my breath every time. I think it's what they call "competence p*rn" where you get off on the character just being competent under pressure

I love it when the combatants hold each other in high regard. Some that come to mind are Jet Li and Donnie Yen’s fight in Hero, John Wick vs the Indonesian Shinobi in John Wick 3, The Bride’s duel with O-Ren Ishii (after she cuts O-Ren of course), and everybody’s favorite: The Man in Black vs Inigo Montoya.

The "He's Cut" moment seems like a variation of the Heroic Second Wind. One of my favorite examples of the Heroic Second Wind comes during the duel between Inigo Montoya and Count Rugen. I especially like the fact that Inigo's Heroic Second Wind starts so small, with him barely being able to force himself back to his feet. From there, it takes about a minute of screen time (an eternity in an action sequence) before he's anywhere close to full strength.

@jennymunday7913

5 күн бұрын

But they both sell it so well.

It seems Die Hard could be the best action film ever made. Hero out of his depth, an officious bureaucrat, a likeable but purely evil villain, Al Leong's Uli and his snack foods, Karl the beast and Al Powell. And Bruce Willis' John McClane gets the tar beaten out of him but wins.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

It's a top-tier action movie, without question.

@hgman3920

6 күн бұрын

Die Hard has one of the tightest scripts of any movie ever made. There isn't a single scene or detail which doesn't set up a payoff later in the film

I like “mugging Spider-Man” trope, where a mugger follows a seemingly vulnerable and naive victim into a dark alley to do something nefarious, only to discover what a huge mistake he just made. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was built on this trope. Another favourite is the “Mook Horrorshow” where the story switches to the perspective of the enemy foot soldiers or goons or redshirts. Now it’s much more like a slasher movie than an action adventure. Batman is out there in the darkness, you can’t see him, your guns don’t hit, and one by one your mates are grabbed and eliminated…

My favorite action trope is in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones shoots the swordsman instead of fighting him! This scene shows how clever Indy is as well as how the movie thwarts audience's expectations. Scene never gets old!

@holywarz

6 күн бұрын

It wasn’t written that way. A lot of the crew got really sick on that location-shoot, so they had to figure out a way to shorten the scene. The result? A happy accident if ever there was one.

@ticijevish

6 күн бұрын

It was Harrison Ford's diarrhoea that made that scene. The rest of the crew got sick and got replaced, but Ford was needed for the extended bullwhip vs sabre fight scene. On the day of the shoot, Ford came up to Kasdan and Spielberg and said they have him for an hour, then he has to back on the porcelain throne. Spielberg said "The only way we can shoot this scene in an hour is if Indy just takes out his gun and shoots the guy." Kasdan objected, but Ford just shrugged and the rest is cinema history. Of course, they could have just shot it after Ford recovered, but they were over budget, behind schedule, and everyone was having the squirts on and off, so they never did.

@intergalactic92

6 күн бұрын

@@ticijevishI swear this story changes every time I hear it. I’m sure when I was told it was Harrison who said "why don’t I just shoot the guy?" There was reluctance due to the fact that the swordsman was a stunt guy they had hired specifically for a sword fight, and this would have been seriously wasting his skills. Either way I am convinced that this is the real reason Indy loses his gun at the start of Temple of Doom, so that the fish with the swordsmen near the end definitely had to happen.

@erakfishfishfish

5 күн бұрын

I don’t think it shows Indy being clever. It shows him being pragmatic. It also sets up the David and Goliath scene by showing he’ll fight dirty if he has to.

@ticijevish

4 күн бұрын

@@intergalactic92 I got the version I recounted from interviews Kasdan, Spielberg and Ford did over the years. They all tell it the same, so I consider it to be the truth. All other versions are games of telephone, retellings where the details get increasingly muddled the farther you go from the original.

One of my favorite action tropes is "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". This is when a regular, mild-mannered character is pushed past their limit, and their hidden-to-most-eyes abilities come to the fore, particularly when you don't know what the character is capable of... such as the fight scene inside the bathroom at the prison with Jack Reacher, the first John Wick fight, the fight in Secondhand Lions, or even the "You wouldn't like me when I'm mad" transformation from Bruce Banner to the Hulk. Especially when the character gives the other side a choice to bow out before the action starts.

@erakfishfishfish

5 күн бұрын

One of the funniest instances of this is Neil Patrick Harris’s “stop calling me a SISSY!” scene towards the end of Undercover Brother.

Turning of the Tides is always my favorite.

I like when the hero gain access to the power so deadly that it can finish the bad guy easily, but then the hero aware how cruel that ability is and he refused to use it out of his moral code even if that mean risking himself to finish his quest. It show the border and the commitment.

I like all of these action tropes. Especially "He's Cut". Loved that you gave the Bane vs Batman example from Rises. I love that fight to death. Bane's defeat was so much satisfying !! Also the following tropes as well: - 1) When the henchmen fighting the main character or anti-hero or villain are strategic - I gave this example of the Venom movie in the the previous video too. When Venom gets swatted, the SWAT officers try different tactics like flash grenades and thermal imaging to fight Venom. Although they are defeated, these tactical movies make the fight scene engaging. 2) I also the love the trope where the hero turns his supposed weakness into a weapon. Like Po from Kung Fu Panda. Throughout the movie everyone mocks him for his size and fat. But then in the final fight the fat and fur are what protect him from Tai Lung's nerve strikes. 3) Then the recovery trope can also be equivalent to a not giving up trope. Like Captain America from Endgame. That scene is really great.

My favourite is one that is notoriously difficult to pull off well, but when it works, it WORKS - one liners! I just love me some corny one liners dropped by the hero during a big fight or after a triumphant victory. When done well, these can bring levity or a feeling of triumph. Not to mention they sound so badass and are often among the things viewers/readers remember most vividly.

Recovery time is a great strategy even if the action scene isn't a fight. One of my favorite scenes in Top Gun Maverick is the aftermath of the crash during the training session, and how that continues the deterioration of the relationship between Maverick and the navy, leading to the loss of his job. A lot of the tropes here are done well in that movie.

Gosh darn Brandon! I wish your videos were like 3 times as long!

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Hahaha I'd be dead if that were the case. Thanks though--I'm glad you're enjoying them!

Althought it was way over the top, the final battle in the first Fantastic 4 movie where the 4 heroes finally figure out how to all use their powers together and beat Dr. Doom.

@roguebantha7324

6 күн бұрын

Big Hero 6 is one of my favorite examples of this, when they finally learn to use their powers to fight as a team at the end to overcome the microbots

Amazing list! Fight scenes really show the true nature of the hero, it’s a place to display fighting styles to the characters (if the hero is powerful, they'd have blunt and hard-hitting moves, if they are agile they'd be more quick and sharp, if they are magical they'd be flashy), show personality (if the hero/villain is willing to fight dirty or noble), progress the story and provide character development (shows the hero is getting better and more resourceful at fighting, learning a new skill) etc. Actually nice to see that my writing already aligns with the things listed here. That means I’m on track!

I love where the hero has to overcome a series of enemies, each more powerful than the last before facing the final boss. This is almost mandatory in action video games, but we also see it in movies like Aliens and Die Hard. The other trope I like is the comic interruption in the action. Indiana Jones shooting the sword master is the poster child for this one. It gives the audience a chance to breathe without pulling us out of the moment and action.

One action trope I like is one that I call “knight in shining armor” and it’s when the hero team suffers a casualty of sorts which causes a decrease in morale. Then one person does does something amazing that inspires the team to keep going. An example I have of this comes from “Remember The Titans”. At the start of the 3rd football game one of the opposing team’s linebackers manages to tackle the titan’s quarterback, Jerry “The Rev” Harris and injures him in the process. This causes some distress in the team. Then their backup quarterback, Ronnie “Sunshine” Bass, having been given an inspirational speech himself from Coach Boone, takes charge and tells the team it’s gonna be alright. He then tells them their assignments and one of them is for one of the linemen to “let him through”. Sunshine initiates the play and lastik (guy he told to let ‘em through) does as he was instructed and lets the linebacker through without stopping him. He’s approaching Sunshine fast and Sunshine throws the ball. Then he flips the charging linebacker over him and onto the ground and seemingly injuring him. This is great because it shows what a good leader Sunshine is and even showcases his quick thinking ability. One of my favorite scenes in cinema.

I like how in The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, when (Toon) Link defeats Ganondorf, he collapses in an exhausted- and injured-like state at the end of the battle. That really added the impact that the win wasn't easy and was really tough (for Link). It is realistic and also shows that the character is human. It really took a toll on him, as one such battle would.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Never noticed that--I was too distracted by Ganondorf turning to stone haha

Even though it's not in the video, one of my favorite (probably underrated) action tropes is the "Protect/Save the VIP", which can correlate with no. 5. Basically, the heroes must protect an important character who is crucial to reach their end goal. Especially in a dire situation, where it encourages the characters to give it their all just to protect one person, even if it means being injured or killed. This can also be paired with the VIP, mainly if they are the selfless and courageous type, refusing to leave their friends by putting themselves in the line of fire. One of my favorite examples is Vision in Infinity War. The Avengers must prevent Thanos and his minions from getting the mind stone by any means necessary. There are 2 scenes I like to point out: 1st is where Vision suggests to destroy the stone, killing himself in the process. And 2nd is in Wakanda, where Cap orders an injured Vision to escape. As Cap is getting pummeled by the minion, Vision saves him in the nick of time.

@Nicholas_Chen_

6 күн бұрын

Or Ripley to save Newt in Aliens. Her getting ready in the elevator is one of my all time favourite scenes of the hero getting ready. Her facial transitions are amazing, by the end of the ride she has finally let go of all her fears and ready to face them. This completes her character arc and also shows her selflessness and courage.

I really like the beginning of Rocky II as an example of the hero recovering, because he does it with (still at that time) the antagonist in the same hospital. Rocky, in a wheelchair, rolls to Apollo’s room, and asks him if he gave it all he had in their fight. Apollo, in bed, tired and battered, responds with, “Yeah, kid.” That one interaction tells you so much about both characters; letting us know Apollo is an honest man who, deep down, respects Rocky and sets up their eventual friendship - not to happen until the next movie!

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Yep, awesome opening for a sequel. Reacting to the previous movie while fleshing out the characters and setting up the inevitable rematch

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

And nice profile pic btw. I’m a big Megadeth fan. Seen them 3 times

I like one that scales up the power of a villain/hero, by introducing a very strong character, who then gets destroyed by Another character, who then gets destroyed by the lead.

Batman Begins also has a good example of recovery time after he gets sprayed with de fear toxin for the first time and has to be rescued by Alfred, then later Lucious tells him he’d been out for days.

My favourite action trope not mentioned here is the "call back". Something is mentioned in two lines of dialogue. But it turns out it will even the fight. There's a South Indian movie called Kaithi. At the beginning of the movie, the police have arrested a gang of drug dealers. There's four lines of dialogues mentioning the surprise of the arms these thugs were bearing, German-made pistols, Military grade bulletproof vests. "Sir, they even had a Gatling gun." At the end of the movie, the big bad guy gathers an army to break these thugs out of the police station lock-up before they are moved to a proper prison. The cops realise they are outgunned and outnumbered. They simply barricade the police station and decide they're gonna fight till their last bullet is spent. They decide to empty the armoury. Until one guy remarks, "How many guys are out there?" and then, "How many bullets fit in this piece?" And its the Gatling gun.😂😂

@ianbergerurra8021

6 күн бұрын

Now that's a Chekov's Gun!

One of my favorite action tropes is where the heroes have powers or weapons that usually let them easily win or avoid a fight, then unexpectedly discover the next opponent isn't vulnerable to it. Examples include Frodo putting on the Ring at Weathertop, the US Army in the Battle of Yonkers from World War Z, and Loki trying to use his staff to mind-control Tony Stark. I find this very effective since it can show us a lot about the heroes. How long do they stubbornly cling to a useless tactic? How do they react emotionally to the realization? Do they freeze up, run away, or find a new tactic?

I love the David versus Goliath trope. Nobody wants an invincible hero. The odds have to be against him. Some of my favourite David versus Goliath action scenes come from Bond movies. I also love the team action sequence. Done perfectly in the tv series Fauda.

@galfisk

6 күн бұрын

Discworld played with this, with the heroes arguing about how to make the odds of a thing happening a million to one, because everyone knows that when the odds are a million to one, exactly, it always works.

There's another good example of the "He's cut" moment's trope that you could have also added in this video, the final fight between Daredevil and Kingpin in Season 1, here there was a moment in which Daredevil was going to be manhandled by Fisk but then he managed to counter attack and defeat him.

I'm about to start writing the climax in my book. I'll be sure to keep these tropes in mind when I get there.

I've never flown anywhere to get jet lag, so I've wondered for years if that trick with the taking off your socks and shoes and rubbing your feet on the carpet really does help. It's the one question I've never had answered about Die Hard.

Well now I feel pretty good about a story I wrote. Dude has to meet the big bad on a roof, their partner is a hostage, extreme time pressure, and on the way up he gets intercepted by a policeman who he has to fight first. Reference made to Captain Kirk's double fist attack which just adds class to any action scene, I think we can all agree. After the fight he stops at a water fountain to rehydrate and rally his will. I can't remember how he beat the big bad but that was good too lol. Nice to see videos liek this and realise you're doing alright :D

In Greek mythology, Zeus fights Typhon, and loses the first battle, becoming crippled from the beating. He has to heal his wound before he can get back to win the second battle. It's a classic(al) example of trope #4 here.

Sometimes the hero loses or at least has to flee. It's refreshing to see in stories where the hero is a person and not a superhero.

What's your favorite action trope? Let us know!

David and Goliath is my personal favorite because of the realism and how the David have to use tactics to outwit the Goliath. IDK if it counts but I like rage action scenes because it makes you root for the character

I like the "courage despite fear" action trope. IMO too often a character will either run away scared, or be brave and fight. Fighting while scared brings realism, depth, and relatability. Like when Eowyn says to Merry "courage Merry, courage for our friends" in LOTR, not only is Merry terrified, but she is as well, making their charge all the more meaningful.

I love the FIGHT WITH HONOR tropes when 2 adversaries respect the capacities of the other and play fair. Especially martial arts scènes. Everybody have the same ground and the best survive

Another great video Brandon. I love watching groups come together and figure out how to solve the problem or team ups when done correctly which is why I love watching the Avengers movies or Zack Snyder’s Justice League but that’s just me. I think when done properly you appreciate each character’s skills and why the team needs them

My favorite action trope is injury, weather minor or large I think that the amount of impact an injury has to a character and its story is ballsy to go all out on, like Rick from the walking dead when he lost his arm in the comics even the death of characters or amputations of an infected arm, raises the tension because we know they are not going to be the same after that, unlike a lot of anime where characters take major deadly blows but walk it off in a couple days, also blue eyes samurai is a perfect example, she was getting torn apart but her injuries look nonexistent

I like the trope where the hero thinks he's fighting the bad guy and his legions alone, but then there, when all is lost, the sun rises on the third day and you look to the east ...

Brandon casually using John Wick for both thumbnails for this and the previous video

I like the “you don’t know who you are messing with” trope for a character introduction. Good examples are Wyatt Earp vs the loud mouth card dealer in Tombstone. Batman train station fight in The Batman. Obi Wan Kenobi when the guy harasses Luke in the Cantina. Harley Davidson vs gas station robbers in Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Man with no name in Fistful of Dollars, and the entire premise of First Blood (Rambo 1). It’s affective for villains too. See The Terminator franchise, Avengers Infinity War, and Rocky 4.

I'm surprised you didn't mention that the two Indiana Jones 'David and Goliath' fights are linked, with the way one is won leading directly to how the other is one. That's far more interesting, and better written, than having the two as completely separate fights.

do you think you could create more videos on character arcs & of course, cliches? thanks by the way

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Yep! Planning to do a video on character flaws soon (flaws are what make most arcs possible)

One of my favorite parts of the scene with Indiana Jones is how annoyed he looks that he has to fight another goon!

Provided it has been plausibly set up in advance, I like the "cavalry to the rescue" trope, in which the Good Guy is getting owned until help belatedly arrives. I also enjoy the "simple things you can find around the house" maneuver, e.g., like when Jackie Chan takes out a hit man with nothing but a jar of chopsticks. BTW, in movies and TV shows, I DO NOT like the literal "countdown clock" where we repeatedly see an actual timer heading for 00:00. I've seen (and read) smarter ways of deadline-setting.

Buckle up, new Brandon video dropped! Yay!

I really like "variance" in action. Rocky IV might not be the best, but you can see it in the Indiana Jones and SW clips. The intro to Saving Private Ryan does masterfully. Machine gun fire on the drop, drowning as they jump over the sides, explosions on the beach, bangalor torpedoes, flame throwers, sniper fire, etc.

I think my favorite David and Goliath trope is in the Punisher (2004) when Frank fights the Russian. It's such a dynamic fight sequence, underscored with humor as the neighbors are unaware, and parts of it are pretty brutal.

In season 3 of Attack on Titan you can see #2, #3 and #5 over multiple episodes when the Scouts are fighting against 3 titans at Shinganshina. Those episodes still give me goosebumps.

"My brainstem does a little dance" I'm gonna have to use that line at some point. lol Awesome video and great advice as always!

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Thank you!

A training "mawntage" accompanied by a rousing power rock anthem!

One of the ones I like best are the noble sacrifice trope. Where the hero or protagonist knows the chance of survival is very low or guaranteed death but they do it anyways to protect what values most for them. Such fights include Hector vs Achilles, Armageddon with Bruce W sabotaging Bens' characters space suit. Final book of wheel of time in final fights. Start of Star Trek from 2009, where USS Kelvin has to fend off the Romulans.

Brandon the GOAT

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

I don't know about being the writing advice GOAT, but thank you for the kind words

You could do an entire video on the flying wing scene from Raiders it's near perfect

Favourite action trope, like you said, when a hero is outmatched and finds a strategy or sudden boost of power. I will say though I’m not a big fan of this if it’s a Deus Ex Machina situation. I love the teamwork trope especially when it’s two people that are at odds with each other who have to fight against a greater evil.

Can you do a video about the technical aspects of designing a book? Title pages, when to use a quote before the start of the book, how to add symbols or icons between sections of a chapter (In Bad Parts, you used dashes to separate scenes), chapters with names vs. numbers, when to use italics or all caps, is it ok to switch fonts for any reason, how long should a novel be, how many words per page, etc.

Great stuff as always Brandon!

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

I liked the final fight with Han in Enter the Dragon It lets Bruce Lee demonstrate his mastery and appears that Han is totally outmatched, but then introduces the mirror maze to bring back tension and force Lee to use ingenuity to end the fight Cinematically it’s a nice change up as well

My favorite action trope is so cheesy, but it's the hero getting hurt while rescuing the love interest. For that, I love romance in action movies way more than in romantic movies.

Thanks for this info. Keep up the inspiring work

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Glad it helped!

I love the Indiana Jones example.

Just found your channel a couple of days ago Brandon and and have really enjoyed watching tons of your videos and listening to your insight. I would love to hear your thoughts on Knives Out, which I honestly think is one of the best written films I've ever seen.

I very much adore your videos, they are very helpful! I am curious though, would you be able to give advice on how to write a proper western, or even one on how to write an episodic story? What I mean by that is, each chapter is like an episode of a show

I like the tropes where the heroe finally evolve into stronger hero. For example, after Agent Smith kills Neo, Neo comes back as a superhuman.

The suit up scene

Love your writing advice and your book ideas are tight lol

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Thank you!

Maybe a twist on the team one, but I love tactical victories. Good example is in Gladiator with the gladiator fight where the spearmen fight the chariots and Maximus takes a sure defeat and turns it into a victory with effective tactics. Another example is Braveheart where Wallace gets the Scottish nobles to pretend like they are abandoning the Scots on their horses, and then pop up behind the English to overrun their archers with a cavalry charge. It's annoying when the good guys get outclassed and out-generaled and just win because they are lucky and plucky (example: Battle of the Bastards).

One of my favorite tropes is the “what’s usually a disadvantage becomes key for the hero to succeed.” For example (SPOILERS) in the Firefly movie, the antagonist performs a special paralyzing move on Mal, but due to Mal’s nerve damage from the war he was able to pretend to be paralyzed to get the element of surprise back. This also was in a key moment of Lost where Locke is shot and left for dead, but the bullet went to where Locke’s kidney would have been (had his scheming biological father not taken it from him). The Serenity example also leads to another trope I love, where the hero has mercy on the villain, leaving the villain a chance at redemption (letting the hero complete something that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible).

Brandon! another excellent video! Thanks a lot! I have something I have been struggling with when trying to write. Maybe you could add this to your list of ideas, might be more examples from a book though compared to all these more fun examples from movies and TV. I am not sure the best way to phrase it because it more involves reading and is unseen. Such as when you read a book you imagine the world as it happens and your mind fills in a certain amount of data that is not written. Example of characters go into a high rise city, or castle, or medieval town, or a shanty town, or hamlet. Your mind usually fills in a lot of what goes on when reading as you would have a different image for each urban area. And when people are reading they interpret things completely differently compared to the visualisation of a movie. How do you know that you have enough details written to match what you are trying to get others to visualise vs dropping too much info that the story bogs down and loses tension? Or you didn't write down enough of what you visualised and everyone is lost when something changes. Or another way to interpret it would be the balance of how much info should be on screen vs how much happens off screen. If you did read this, I would say I am more the too much info type, so maybe easy ways to limit too much information while still getting the important stuff across.

I had to pause the video to watch Duke hype up Rocky in the corner.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

6 күн бұрын

Hahaha Duke is the man in Rocky 4. Totally elevates that movie. His speech at the cabin is brutally underrated

@slack37

6 күн бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty he always cared about Apollo. In the first movie, he’s the only one that took Rocky seriously.

Have you done a video about best/worst montages? The Montages at the end of the season in The Wire were always good, but there's countless bad montages, to the point where parody montages are probably more common than series ones.

I call it the Retribution Scene The heroes are broken and beaten, it's their lowest and most desperate hour Everything they've done thus far was all for nothing, the Badguys had won Except for the fact the word quit doesn't exist in heroes' vocabulary, and they bounce back and hard

STEP 1: "Attack me...with all your strength" STEP 2: Throw a random butter knife at a seemingly invincible opponent who's not supposed to die instant deaths to laser blasts or something STEP 3: *W I N - L I K E - A - G I R L B O S S - B Y - D E F A U L T* Best action trope ever!!

Hey Brandon. I’m an aspiring writer and I have a question to ask you. How do you write a character revelation? When I say revelation is when a character realises when they’ve made a mistake and start at that moment to develop and do the right thing. If you don’t understand, watch Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World season 1 and you’ll understand what I mean. For example, Pussin Boots: The Last Wish. the theme of the story was for Puss to “value his life”. how do you write the first scene where Puss realises that he needs to do what the theme is saying. Cos it’s pretty easy to write something cheesy like, “I’ve treated my life like a tool, I should try valuing it more.” That’s the line I want to give. Watch Re:ZERO and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

5 күн бұрын

What you’re asking about would be more of a reaction than a revelation. With the reaction, have the character react emotionally to the situation. Have them face the reality then weigh their options going forward. Then have them decide their new life path and have them struggle with their new path ( because it’s never easy to change )

Hey Brandon I was wondering if you can do a video of how to write a hero being trained to use his new abilities and powers. Also how can you write about the powers without making them feel like an info dump?

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

4 күн бұрын

I’ll add this to my list. Thanks!

I love your videos and examples in what to do/not to do. Can you do one on British gangland suspense or british gangland romance (not to be confused with mafia or gangster romance). The only UK gangland I can refer to are Guy Ritchie films which are unique in both characterisation & action/violence. Eg, Lock, Stock + 2 smoking barrels, obviously no romance in that lol I'm so lost

Hello :) I am writing a book series and have always wondered how I can bridge the gap between the unwritten and written. For example lets say a main character with powers faced another character with immense brute strength, and the first time the main character had to get super clever and find a unique way they could win against such strenght. But then later in the series they have a rematch, and the main character has grown to the point where they can now straight up overpower that same character and not have to do anything clever. When do I know I can explain something in the reading and when do I just leave the actions up for interpretation? In that^ situation, should I explain that the character simply wanted to prove he can overpower that brute strength now, or is it obvious enough in the actions that thats what the character wanted to do? Love your videos and I will be sure to pick up your books soon :)

I'm a little confused, is this a chancel for authors writing novels? Because you never refer to novels/books and show writing examples.

@kathyl6677

6 күн бұрын

Agreed, sort of. while I always need a visual example, I'd also like to know how a scene "should" be written, as in an example read from a novel

For the team action sequence trope I can’t exactly pinpoint one singular moment but I think the TV show the boys has a lot of those types of moments where every single character plays a uniquely significant role in an action sequence (y’all gotta watch it if you haven’t)

Doing a video on the best not just the worst is based

Great list! however, how come that 90s action movies using many of these tropes, and I would say successfully, still were considered B-tier? was it because they didn't measure them properly, or poor acting, or something else?

5. Greatest team action scene to me is in guardians of the galaxy 3 hallway scene

I’ve been considering scripting/rough drafts for future projects like I’ve seen others do. Should I? Cause I’ve mostly winged it/improvised till a plot happened.

can u make a vid on how to build for an event.

David and Goliath.

It bothers me so much that in the glass shooting scene the German guy doesn't understand the German command but does understand the English version. Tiny detail that bothers the heck out of me.

shoot. the glass!

Team action sequences: --Every Avengers movie has one. That said, nothing beats the "On your left..." line. //// The "He's cut!" Trope... Thanos beats Thor and Cap into a pulp. Then Cap lifts Mjolnir.

No "Training Montage"? Hero fights and loses. Goes and finds a mentor so he "get gud". Then hero fights and wins.

"I'm not really left handed either."

6:52 Am I the only one that notices we can see Perkin's butt crack?

I love your channel and have watched hours and hours of your content thank you! As feedback this video is unwatchable to me because the audio quality is so poor, there's an echo that's beyond distracting and I can't make it past 30 secs it's painful to listen to. I hope this helps as constructive feedback! i just checked another of your videos and it's fine, there's something broken with this one. It's *literally* painful to hear (keep in mind everyone can hear different ranges of frequencies and can filter out different ones, so you may not be able to hear the problem but 100% there's a problem with audio on this vid). Bummer b/c I'm writing an action book! :(

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

5 күн бұрын

Huh. I'm not sure what happened. I don't hear anything abnormal. Have you tried listening with/without headphones or on different devices?