I just watched an action movie, name withheld. It was OK but I realised I could anticipate the entire plot as it rolled out. So let’s plot an action movie – no cliché to be left unturned. The setup:

Hero – American, he (and it is a he) is wronged due to his inability to accept corrupt authority or do the wrong thing

Baddie – foreign, maybe non specific “Asian”, almost certainly with a duplicitous Frenchman

Hero’s girlfriend – lovely, but homely, probably professional e.g. doctor, teacher

Setting – contained space e.g building, office block, shopping mall, café, factory, plus freeways where you can drive really fast at any time of the day (especially rush hour)

Baddie’s objective – downfall of America and / or baddie world domination (let’s face it the two are hardly mutually exclusive)

At the end the lead baddie fights the hero who takes a terrible beating but……

You fill in the gaps. (…through gritted teeth..) no cliché gets left behind…

Over to you.