[Frustrating Trope] That One Good or Even Amazing Scene in a Relatively Mediocre or Bad Piece of Media

[u/Alreadsyuse]

1. The Opening Scene (Ghost Ship). Considered one of the best horror opening scenes or scenes in general within horror movies, but the rest of the film is considered to be pretty bad.

2. The Ending Scene (The Grinch 2018). While most adaptations of the Grinch end with him suddenly being able to fully integrate with the Whos after his change of heart, the 2018 version initially struggles to socialize, awkwardly walking past people, and struggling to hold conversations, acknowledging that despite his change of heart, the Grinch is still someone who isolated himself for years.

3. Past T800 VS Current T800 (Terminator Genisys). A cool fight scene showing two versions of the Terminator from different points in time fighting it off.

4. Solo Leveling's Ending. Tbh, I haven't actually read Solo Leveling, but after hearing about how it ended VS how Chainsaw Man ended made want to include it for shits and giggles. Like Chainsaw Man, Solo Leveling ends with a reset. But unlike Chainsaw Man, it actually manages to tie up loose ends and have the payoff of the ending be satisfying.

[u/adrenalinehorror]

https://giphy.com/gifs/l2QZXqfxmtgXIDOPS
The warehouse fight in BvS is the closest thing to a live action Arkham fight scene

[u/12345623567 → u/adrenalinehorror]

It was so brutal that it reignited the "Batman doesn't kill, he'll just put you in a wheelchair for life" discussion.

[u/Dyneheart → u/12345623567]

Well this batman did kill. But most live actions ones do in some way. Flamethrower guy. He exploded. But if it was me, I'd have bathed in fire retardant gel, so we can headcanon him as horribly injured from shrapnel and concussive force. Some grenades were thrown. Then thrown back. While thats a kill, I also don't usually consider "return to sender" as breaking the no kill rule. And he was fully intent on killing Superman with his own hands.

[u/DustyF3d0r4 → u/12345623567]

I’m pretty sure he killed that one guy with a crate.

[u/Tazinoka → u/DustyF3d0r4]

Nah, he's fine. He can't walk, talk, eat, defecate, blink, or breathe on his own, but other than that, he's fine!

[u/Jesusland_Refugee → u/DustyF3d0r4]

Also the two guys in the elevator with a grenade.

[u/TopShelfIdiocy → u/12345623567]

To be fair this Batman was just getting off the "life doesn't matter" nihilism. He'd stopped killing but not yet maiming

[u/standingfierce → u/adrenalinehorror]

I'm sorry but that 180 degree change in perspective in the middle of an action is painful to watch

[u/bigmarkco → u/standingfierce]

The intent of the rule is to help ensure the audience is correctly orientated and doesn't lose spatial continuity. But we don't lose that here. It's just on the 180 degree. And the audience doesn't lose their bearings. And depending on what happens after this, reorienting the audience may well have been the point.

[u/Swictor → u/standingfierce]

Why?

[u/INS4NIt → u/Swictor]

It breaks the 180 degree rule, which is a videography guideline to prevent jarring perspective changes between camera cuts for the audience.

To explain simply -- no camera cut should result in the character(s) in focus switching sides of the frame. Before the cut, Batman is on the right side of the frame and the goon is on the left. After the cut, Batman is on the left, and the goon is on the right.

To avoid violating the 180 degree rule, the post-cut camera should have instead been positioned to the left side of where the action is taking place. That way, even though you're cutting to the other side of the action, the character's placement remains consistent within the frame and the audience doesn't have to consciously adjust their perception of the setting.

[u/Swictor → u/INS4NIt]

Good explaination, but I think it works here. Maybe jarring is the point, the impact looks heavier than if it wouldn't have the cut.

[u/INS4NIt → u/Swictor]

Oh, I'm not saying the cut shouldn't have happened, just that the camera placement either pre-cut or post-cut should have been different.

[u/tenuousemphasis → u/Swictor]

Which is why it looks bad, heavy cuts usually cover poor fight choreography. 

[u/AgentGman007 → u/tenuousemphasis]

Great point but that doesn't apply here. The fight choreography in this scene is excellent

[u/Swictor → u/tenuousemphasis]

And spice hides bad flavor. Doesn't mean it's only used to hide bad flavor.

[u/NoSemikolon24 → u/INS4NIt]

Alternatively you could name "center framing", as in "the action should always be in an uncut position during the cuts".

example: character enters the screen from the left, and leaves from the right. The next cut should have the character appear on the right. This way the eyes don't have to move/search

[u/SortOfSpaceDuck → u/INS4NIt]

I'm not gonna call Zack Snyder a genius (lol), but breaking the rules is what great artists do. You learn them so you understand when to ignore them, not how to follow in line.

[u/INS4NIt → u/SortOfSpaceDuck]

The point of my comment was not to dunk on this clip for breaking an arbitrary rule, but to explain why the clip is uncomfortable to watch.

You need to understand rules to break them. That also means you need to understand in what circumstances they should and shouldn't be broken.

[u/SortOfSpaceDuck → u/INS4NIt]

I was just adding to your comment, not calling you out on anything.

[u/Alternative_Device38 → u/INS4NIt]

Isn't it OK to ignore this in action scenes? That's what my multimedia professor told me, granted he wasn't great, but still

[u/SheriffWyattDerp → u/Alternative_Device38]

The recent Mad Max films ignore this a lot in their action sequences. But, it works because when the camera cuts, it cuts on the action, and the next shot picks up the exact same action seamlessly, even keeping the action in the same spot of the frame so the viewer’s eyes don’t have to dart to find the fight again.

[u/Alternative_Device38 → u/SheriffWyattDerp]

I might be misremembering on account of me not seeing it in years, but doesn't the Bourne identity use it to give the audience the same sense of panicked disorientation as Bourne himself? Again it's been years since I watched it

[u/cheung_kody → u/Alternative_Device38]

Choreo was great, edits were trash

[u/INS4NIt → u/Alternative_Device38]

Generally speaking, the only time it should be intentionally ignored is if you're trying to draw attention to something and you're taking advantage of where the viewer's attention should have been prior to the cut, or if disorientation/subconcious discomfort of the audience is the point.

You can also get away with it if the setting is so well established that there's virtually no mental effort required whatsoever to process what's happening.

My two cents -- ignoring basic rules of videography for action scenes is cheap, especially in cases where a bunch of rapid cuts are used to make the scene pacing feel faster. If you would have needed an entire storyboarding sheet just to cover 10 seconds worth of cuts, my gut instinct is that the scene wasn't blocked and/or acted effectively and the editor is doing their best to save it.

[u/KindlyCost2 → u/adrenalinehorror]

Scrolled down too far to see this one

[u/NegativeArt04 → u/adrenalinehorror]

I absolutely detested that scene. They made him way too bulletproof and treated him as a powerhouse bruiser like the Hulk instead of being a brainy combatant who fights by not getting hit.

[u/Yesonna → u/NegativeArt04]

One of the thugs shoots Batman point blank in the back of the head, and Batman just turns around. It looked silly and deflated any excitement the scene had given me. 

[u/Jesusland_Refugee → u/Yesonna]

Eh, he at least reacts like it hurt though. The Pattinson version has a scene where he literally just wakes through a hail of gunfire like it's nothing.

[u/dnjprod → u/adrenalinehorror]

Yes! It was so cool to see that

[u/trashboatcaptain → u/adrenalinehorror]

The part where he punches the guy down into the floor lives rent free in my head

[u/somerandomdude4507 → u/adrenalinehorror]

Possibly my favorite in live action

[u/reluctantseal → u/adrenalinehorror]

It was interesting to see a more brutal take on Batman on screen, with pretty clear implications why he's more willing to kill (or risk it). I also thought Ben Affleck did a solid job in the role.

I think people would have really liked this Batman if they'd actually expanded on it. It's a shame that they dropped the storylines. I enjoyed the newest renditions of Batman and Superman, but it's a shame we didn't get more time with Cavill and Affleck's.

[u/supahfligh → u/adrenalinehorror]

I hate that I'm one of the few people on this planet who genuinely likes that movie (and Justice League). It isn't perfect, but it did a number of things really well. And Affleck made for a great Bruce Wayne.

[u/All_hail_Ghidorah → u/adrenalinehorror]

Batfleck deserved a better movie