A while back, our friend Oliver Noble over at HuffPo was picking my brain about movie clichés for possible supercut use. Bar none the most commonly-used action movie plot device is when the bad guy kidnaps the good guy’s special lady. Just once I’d like to see a bad guy get a little creative, threaten something else – releasing the hero’s Google search history, send those pictures of the dumps he took to the company list serv, reduce his PTO days – but nope, it’s pretty much always the wife thing. And how do you reduce that general plot device into a specific phrase, for simplified supercutting? Why, with “LET HER GO!”, of course.
No phrase so perfectly encapsulates “a bad guy has kidnapped my special lady” like “Let her go!” I offered the inspiration and Oliver did all the hard work, sourcing clips and making snips, and the result is FOUR AND A HALF GODDAMNED MINUTES of just that one phrase. And that’s just the ones he could readily think of. I feel pretty confident there are more than this out there. (Feel free to suggest those, if you’re so inclined).
Out of these, I think Harrison Ford wins the award for most enthusiastic read of the line, while Patrick Swayze gets best response. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it, brah.” Nothing stops Bodhi from being chill.
Here’s the list:
“Code of Silence” (1985)
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)
“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” (2005)
“Get Smart” (2008)
“Rush Hour 3” (2007)
“Tango & Cash” (1989)
“I, Robot” (2004)
“I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” (1998)
“Hercules (1997)
“Black Knight” (2001)
“The Dead Pool (1988)
“The Matrix Revolutions” (2003)
“The Lone Ranger” (2013)
“Seeking Justice” (2011)
“End of Days” (1999)
“Waterworld (1995)
“Year One” (2009)
“Me, Myself & Irene” (2000)
“The Conjuring” (2013)
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” (2012)
“Swordfish” (2001)
“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” (2011)
“Drive Angry” (2011)
“The Tourist” (2010)
“Heist” (2001)
“Breakdown” (1997)
“Green Lantern” (2011)
“The Warriors” (1979)
“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” (2004)
“Slither” (2006)
“Ticker” (2001)
“Batman Forever” (1995)
“Rise of the Guardians” (2012)
“The Abyss” (1989)
“The Godfather: Part III” (1990)
“Timecop” (1994)
“48 Hrs.” (1982)
“Bride of Chucky” (1998)
“The Rocketeer” (1991)
“Jackie Chan’s First Strike” (1996)
“Ghost Rider” (2007)
“Panic Room” (2002)
“Blue Ice” (1992)
“15 Minutes” (2001)
“Witness” (1985)
“The Jackal” (1997)
“Mission: Impossible III” (2006)
“30 Minutes or Less” (2011)
“The Samaritan” (2012)
“Children of Men” (2006)
“Cop Out” (2010)
“Speed” (1994)
“Point Break” (1991)
“Duel at Diablo” (1966)
“Ticker” (2001) clip 2
“Metro” (1997)
“For Your Eyes Only” (1981)
“The Last Boy Scout” (1991)
“Orgazmo” (1997)
“Léon: The Professional” (1994)
“Commando” (1985)
“Universal Soldier” (1992)
“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (2011)
“Licence to Kill” (1989)
“The Crow” (1994)
“Taken 2” (2012)
“Dr. No” (1962)
“Timecop” (1994) clip 2
“Loaded Weapon 1” (1993)
“Shaft” (2000)
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014)
“K-911 (1999)
“12 Rounds” (2009)
“Mission: Impossible II” (2000)
“Ride Along” (2014)
“Flashdance” (1983)
“Dogma” (1999)
“S.W.A.T.” (2003)
“The Last Boy Scout” (1991) clip 2
“Get Shorty” (1995)
“Into the Blue” (2005)
“American History X” (1998)
“Collateral” (2004)
“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)
“Men in Black” (1997)
“All About the Benjamins” (2002)
“Toy Story 2” (1999)
“Loaded Weapon 1” (1993) clip 2
“Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot” (1992)
“The Siege” (1998)
“Shoot to Kill” (1988)
“Lethal Weapon” (1987)
“Thelma & Louise” (1991)
“Spawn (1997)
“Sin City” (2005)
“Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997)
“The Dark Knight” (2008)
[via HuffingtonPost]