In honor of the movie "Into the Storm" that comes out next week, I have made a list of things we see in every disaster movie. Use this list as you go see the movie, and see how many are actually in it!
#1 The crazy guy who correctly predicted it. In most disaster movies, there is a crazy person who either doesn't care that the world is about to be destroyed, or they randomly, correctly predicted that the end of the world was coming when it did. They usually have some type of algorithm or explanation that is really scattered and uses a lot of big words the protagonist doesn't understand.
#2 The incompetent government. In almost all disaster movies, there are many government scenes taking place in a situation room where they are trying to come up with a solution, but the higher ups are all extremely incompetent and unresponsive to informed data and statistics.
#3 The scientist no one trusts. There is usually a person who predicted that this storm/destruction/astroid/alien invasion was coming, and presented their data to the previously mentioned government who mocked him and told him he was crazy. Different from the crazy guy who predicted it, this scientist usually lives, and is redeemed and promoted by the end of the movie when everyone realizes he was right all along.
#4 The jerk government employee. Usually the main voice of mocking towards that scientist is one of the government officials, and is a skeptic towards all logic throughout the entire film. They are usually a direct advisor to the president, and hey are then fired in the end as the movie is resolved.
#5 The annoying kid. There is always a kid or kids in the movie that bug me that are tagging along, screaming, and crying throughout. They usually run away or are in danger at some point to the main character's chagrin, and a portion of the movie is spent saving the kid. The kid is usually fine in the end, despite life altering traumatic experiences.
#6 The dog who lives. That kid usually has a dog who, despite all odds, lives while most humans perish. This dog is able to jump straight through fire to avoid dying. The dog always has a scene where we think they are dead, but they surprise us by rejoining their loved ones a few minutes after the scare.
#7 The marriage on the rocks or divorced main character. The main character is always in a perilous marital situation when the movie begins. They are either a dead beat with custody, a single parent trying to make it work, and widowed spouse, or somehow otherwise separated from their significant other. This is the case in almost every disaster movie ever made.
#8 The semi truck. Try to watch a disaster movie without seeing a semi truck blown up, flipped, or blown away with wind or something at some point.
#9 The famous monuments. If something is headed towards China, where is it going to hit? You got it! The Great Wall of China! France? Umm....let me think...the Eiffel Tower! It doesn't matter where the disaster is happening, it is happening at a national landmark.
#10 The giant wave. Even if it is aliens attacking and not a storm, there is still almost always a giant wave at some point.
#11 There is always an airplane/space shuttle scene. You can't have a decent disaster movie without some type of escape or fight scene in an airplane. Sometimes the astronauts are just chilling in space looking down at the world. However it happens, the place/shuttle will be in the movie, and it will most likely blow up at some point, so don't get attached.
#12 The kind-of-a-main-character dies as a hero. There is always a character you kind of care about that sacrifices themselves at some point for the others. Most of the time they die as a plot convenience so we don't have to worry or care about them anymore. Like the new husband in 2012 who dies. "Thanks for dying man, now we don't have to worry about this love triangle anymore!"
#13 This came much sooner than we ever could have predicted. The scientists almost always know something is taking place in these movies. However, if they ever have any knowledge whatsoever, their predictions were miscalculated, and the destruction will be happening much sooner than anticipated. Of course, when we tell the government this, they won't believe us.
#14 The scene where the main character narrowly escapes death. There is always a scene where the main character is in terrible danger, and it looks as though they are about to die. Then, a sudden change of events saves them at the last minute. In the film world, they call this "deus ex machina." The plot requires fate to intervene on behalf of the protagonist.
#15 It was all the human's fault. At some point in the movie, we learn that the destruction, storm, aliens, earthquake, dinosaurs, monsters, asteroids, volcanos, or twisters are here because of something we did. Humans are so wasteful with earth's resources and care nothing for the environment or other planets, and for that reason, they must be destroyed.
What else is in almost every disaster movie? Let us know and don't forget to like us at
www.facebook.com/simplefilmcritics! Also, check out our other cliche lists below:
9 Unrealistic Things We See In Almost Every Movie -
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9 MORE Unrealistic Things We See In Almost Every Movie -
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9 Things We See In Almost Every Romance Movie -
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15 Things We See In Almost Every Disaster Movie -
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9 Sports Movie Cliches -
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