Does Cinematic timing (in movies or otherwise) bother you sometimes?

[Naruzeldamaster]

I know it's commonly used to up the stakes (and it works) and keep the tension of a moment rolling. Plus it gives the protagonists in question time to actually do the thing in question.

But when a time bomb says 1 minute and it's been 30, and there's 45 seconds left, something feels a little off to me lol

Can't list some examples of it being overplayed off the top of my head, but there have been a few times where it annoyed me.

 

[pmmg]

Sure... Sometimes it glares, other times not.

I get this when heroes have to show up at just the right instant to save someone from harm. Like Capt America leaping in at the last instance with his shield to block an incoming bullet... But, just a short while ago, he was over on the other street... there just isnt time for him to make up the distance.

Another that gets me to is the catching of falling people. Its just not enough to keep them from hitting the ground, you have to slow their decent first. I was watching Devil May Cry this weekend, and it is full of this kind of stuff. I'm gonna say, it did pull me back from believing it a bit. Everyone is so superfast, and impervious to everything, why even bother to fight?

Swords may block bullets but enough bullets breaks a sword.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Sure... Sometimes it glares, other times not.

I think MOST of the time it doesn't glare, but when it does glare, it glares so intently it burns a hole in the wall. I think that's my issue with it.

I get this when heroes have to show up at just the right instant to save someone from harm. Like Capt America leaping in at the last instance with his shield to block an incoming bullet... But, just a short while ago, he was over on the other street... there just isnt time for him to make up the distance.

Another that gets me to is the catching of falling people. Its just not enough to keep them from hitting the ground, you have to slow their decent first. I was watching Devil May Cry this weekend, and it is full of this kind of stuff. I'm gonna say, it did pull me back from believing it a bit. Everyone is so superfast, and impervious to everything, why even bother to fight?

[coughs in Spider Man failing to save Gwyn] But yes, people catching/being caught is way too overplayed lol

They do it in Tears of The Kingdom (They set the moment up very early in the game though) and it's quite comical when it happens, but the mood is there, by the time you get to that point. Link has earned his second chance to catch her.

That is one of the ones where it CAN be done right, but so many times they overexaggerate it. Same thing with a Bomb timer ticking down. Mister Director the Timer says 4:30 seconds. It has been exactly 10 minutes lol

Swords may block bullets but enough bullets breaks a sword.

To be fair the bullets one makes sense. You hit any metal object with enough bullets and it's going to crack. Especially something not (intended) meant to block them.

Superhero fights are the WORST with Cinematic timing. 'oh the world is ending in 2 hours, we got time to spout all our cheeky one liners before the fight' lol

 

[casval]

Movie timing is a bit like TTRPG timing, in that talking is a free action.

I'm probably not watching a movie where deactivating a bomb is a plot point that also hinges on 'realism' of any sort, so it doesn't usually bother me.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Movie timing is a bit like TTRPG timing, in that talking is a free action.

I'm probably not watching a movie where deactivating a bomb is a plot point that also hinges on 'realism' of any sort, so it doesn't usually bother me.

I don't mind it but when they stretch that time too much, it's like PMMing said 'get to the good part already'
I know for a fact a lot of escape sequences in video games wouldn't be possible if it was real time.
Notably the infamous escape sequences of Metroid.
It's hard to tell if they're in real time or not (Most of the time I think it's much faster) but it really doesn't help with the stress lol

The only time the time bomb thing makes me roll my eyes is when the noise of the timer starts getting louder and louder with each tick. I usually laugh when they sync it to the protagonists heart beat. That one is silly

Like brother, we get the point, can we not? Tension is high enough as is lol

 

[casval]

The only time the time bomb thing makes me roll my eyes is when the noise of the timer starts getting louder and louder with each tick. I usually laugh when they sync it to the protagonists heart beat. That one is silly

Haha, fair, that one is such a cliché.

There was a Mission Impossible, I was at a friend's house catching the last hour so I don't know which one, where Cruise cancels a nuclear detonation/launch/whatever remotely with one second left on the clock and all I could think was 'well, good thing there's no transmission delay.'

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

Haha, fair, that one is such a cliché.

There was a Mission Impossible, I was at a friend's house catching the last hour so I don't know which one, where Cruise cancels a nuclear detonation/launch/whatever remotely with one second left on the clock and all I could think was 'well, good thing there's no transmission delay.'

Another one that I find funny is Structurally unsound structures (Say A wooden Bridge) surviving much more punishment than they reasonably should. I'll suspend my disbelief for that one but it still makes me laugh.

 

[Prince of Spires]

It's genre tropes. They're everywhere, and if you start noticing and think about them too much, it can ruin stories for you.

In police movies, it usually anoys me that in a chase scene, the policeman always knows which way to run. Arrives at a random crossroads, doesn't know where the bad guy went, picks a random street and ends up behind the bad guy again. Same in spy movies the spy always knowing some random dude or car is following him.

There are whole lists of these. I tend to just accept that it's how these fantasy worlds work, simply because it makes enjoying the stories easier.

As for the ticking timebomb, I usually just put it down to our inability to watch 2 things at the same time. If you cut between 2 people and places, these things happen simultaneously, but we have to show them one after the other. Yes, when they drag it out too much, it can get a bit ridiculous, but overall, I just accept it as a limitation of the medium.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

It's genre tropes. They're everywhere, and if you start noticing and think about them too much, it can ruin stories for you.

I've been more and more 'aware' of these tropes as I got older? but, most of the time it doesn't stop me enjoying the thing. Especially video games.
Video Game Tropes are recycled CONSTANTLY especially within it's own genre. (RPG's suffer the worst I feel)
I enjoy the journey, not the destination, but sometimes it does make me wheeze when I call a plot point 40+ hours of game play before it happens.

This happened recently in Monster Hunter Stories 3.

Main character goes on a quest to find his mother and why she went on a journey to begin with.

The Party basically has to follow a 'paper trail' since she's not introduced as a character until later. (we only ever see her in flashbacks)

At one point a 'survey team captain' is introduced, she has amnesia. My writer self went 'hmmmmmmm suspicious'

Gets to the end game story beats: YUP totally YUP but I enjoyed the outcome.

In police movies, it usually anoys me that in a chase scene, the policeman always knows which way to run. Arrives at a random crossroads, doesn't know where the bad guy went, picks a random street and ends up behind the bad guy again. Same in spy movies the spy always knowing some random dude or car is following him.

There are whole lists of these. I tend to just accept that it's how these fantasy worlds work, simply because it makes enjoying the stories easier.

There are quite a few of these that I will suspend disbelief for.

The Male lead (or female lead, depending on who the proper 'main' character is) in Rom Coms almost always being brain dead romantically is one. Since the meat and taters of a Rom Com is watching them grow together as a pair. (despite sometimes having 5+ options to choose from) sometimes the protagonist is actually entertaining because he's an idiot, other times...you want to punch him in the face, constantly.

Protagonist Falling for Traps in cutscenes but in gameplay you never fall for these traps. This one shows a bit of story/gameplay dissonance but it doesn't bother me much, especially if the hero of the story is 'new to the job' or if it's say, indiana jhones coming out of retirement type deal.

Super Hero always having a plan B/C/D if they lose the first time. [coughs in Bat Man] But that's kinda his whole thing. Other super heroes do it too.

As for the ticking timebomb, I usually just put it down to our inability to watch 2 things at the same time. If you cut between 2 people and places, these things happen simultaneously, but we have to show them one after the other. Yes, when they drag it out too much, it can get a bit ridiculous, but overall, I just accept it as a limitation of the medium.

Can I steal this? I like this logic and it makes a lot more sense than 'movie timing is dumb' lol
I've said multiple times in the thread, but it doesn't bother me too much when the time stretch isn't that extreme. (Say 1 minute being stretched to 5 or 9 minutes) but when it gets extreme, my suspension of disbelief starts wavering.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Can I steal this? I like this logic and it makes a lot more sense than 'movie timing is dumb' lol

By all means, go ahead. It's not really mine to begin with I guess. So use it all you want.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

By all means, go ahead. It's not really mine to begin with I guess. So use it all you want.

I know it's silly to ask lol sometimes I'm just goofy that way (I also recently find myself using owo and such more often, no idea why I started doing that)

Another one that doesn't annoy me but actually makes me chuckle (Regarding Cinematic timing) is turn based RPG's.

The player is given plenty of time to make their move. In most cases (Unless it's 'Active' Turn Based like Final Fantasy 7) you can take as long as you need.

So when I'm taking a long time to plan out my 'turn' I just have this mental image of the characters engaging in awkward small talk while they wait for the time to come to do their thing. Particularly in Fire Emblem where talking to the other characters is kind of a side mechanic even in battle.

 

[Prince of Spires]

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I love this lol
I would genuinely love to try DND sometime.

 

[RoccO]

I find it different how there are a series of actions that do not shock and awe like they do in RL. There is suspense in a movie or book. Sometimes even tears. Then you have to return to the black void and light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[xena]

I think when it's too obvious it ruins it for me. I've seen some really good seamless versions where I only pick up on it when I rewatch, in general it gets the plot moving but it shouldn't be too obvois that 3 minutes has gone by when the bomb was said to go off in 30 secs.

 

[xena]

I just thought of the example in rush hour where the bomb is about to go off and Chan has to get to the top of the building to throw the bomb off. It feels like tha stairs scene goes on for agesss lol

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

I think when it's too obvious it ruins it for me. I've seen some really good seamless versions where I only pick up on it when I rewatch, in general it gets the plot moving but it shouldn't be too obvois that 3 minutes has gone by when the bomb was said to go off in 30 secs.

Yeah, it feels like a double edged sword, the good ones are so good that you barely noticed cause you're too invested in what's going on. Then you re watch the movie and you catch on.

Like I mentioned earlier: The Metroid Escape sequences are prime candidates for the good ones. (though in those ones time is sped up, not slowed down)
But the bad ones, yeah, they're really bad. It becomes so obvious that my brain just goes 'ok, something suspicious is going on here'

There's an Escape Sequence in Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door. But the time is weird. The clock is moving at what feels like a normal speed. But the timer is 10 minutes and you can take a good amount of time in order to fail.