This is the '90s. You don't just go around punching people. You have to say something cool first. - Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) in The Last Boy Scout - written by Shane Black


Note when a hero tosses out a one-liner like when Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando:

Matrix: Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last?
Sully: That's right, Matrix. You did.
Matrix: I lied.

These lines aren't funny, they're not even clever - why are they there? They're there to soften the impact of the hero committing a horrible act. In shoot-em ups the hero will spend a great deal of their time casually killing countless foes. In many cases he dispatches his enemies with less than humane tactics. To keep us on his side the writer will employ a one-liner as a way to wink to the audience to let them know its cool. If you pay attention to when a one-liner is dropped it is very likely your hero just did something that probably was pretty evil.

Labels: movie watching tip