A common criticism of the action movie genre is that audiences can just turn their brains off and enjoy the mindless mayhem on screen. It is clearly unfair to categorize an entire genre in such a way, as there are some very smart action movies out there. But of course, some plot developments are more convincing than others.
When action movies attempt to deliver big plot twists, many tend to be pretty predictable. From the reveal of the movie's true villain to the "surprise" fate of certain characters, these twists might have seemed shocking on paper, but were rather obvious on screen.
Shaw's Death Was Faked - The Fate Of The Furious (2017)
The eighth Fast and Furious movie set up the intriguing idea of Dom Toretto turning on his family. While it is explained fairly early in the movie that Dom is being forced into this position, the scene where he executes Deckard Shaw was meant to convince fans there was no turning back for him.
But there was no one who believed that this was how Shaw was exiting the franchise. Though he disappeared for some of the movie, fans were fully expecting it when he appeared again, revealing the whole thing was a trick orchestrated by Dom.
Jack Sparrow Isn't Really Dead - Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
At the end of the heartbreakingly, Jack Sparrow is seemingly devoured by the monster.
Of course, at the time, the thought of continuing the franchise without Jack Sparrow was unheard of. He had become one of the most popular movie heroes around, so fans knew he was coming back. Sure enough, before the movie even ended, they were sure to hint at his speedy return.
The Team-Up - Godzilla Vs Kong (2021)
After setting up separate solo movies for the two iconic monsters, Kong and Godzilla were finally ready to faceoff with each other. Godzilla vs Kong largely delivered on the promise of the two titans fighting, but instead of declaring a real winner, the film went for a predictable climax.
After the two monsters battle a few times, a common enemy is introduced with Mechagodzilla's arrival in the third act. This obviously leads to the two monsters putting aside their differences and teaming up to take on this new threat.
Mutt Is Indy's Son - Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008)
After a long absence, Indiana Jones returned for a new adventure in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This time, he was ed by a sidekick named Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) and fans quickly began to speculate at a possible connection here.
Once fans started seeing Indy and Mutt interact and talk about the fact that Indy knew Mutt's mother, it was clear what the movie was setting up. Though it was confirmed Mutt was Indy's son, the unpopular character doesn't seem likely to be making a return in Indiana Jones 5.
Slevin Is Out For Revenge - Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Though not seen by many, Lucky Number Slevin is an underrated crime-action movie starring Josh Hartnett as a seemingly innocent guy in the wrong place at the wrong time who gets tangled up in a war between two mobsters. But it is revealed at the end that Slevin was not so innocent, and he was actually out for revenge after the mobsters killed his family.
Thankfully, the movie is fun enough without the twist, which is botched in the first scene. There is a long backstory about a family being killed by mobsters that the movie tries to off as just a story, but it makes it pretty clear what the catch is.
Komarov Is The Bad Guy - A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)
With A Good Day to Die Hard felt like the franchise fizzling out with uninspired ideas.
This includes the villain Komarov, who is introduced as a mentor to John McClane's son Jack. Before long, it is revealed he was using Jack and is the mastermind of the evil plot. But the fact that the movie had yet to introduce its villain at that point made it pretty obvious who it was going to turn out to be.
Miranda Is Talia Al Ghul - The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Tom Hardy's Bane was introduced as a formidable villain for Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, and he appears to be the one behind the whole plot to destroy Gotham. But in the end, he proves to be working for Bruce Wayne's love interest Miranda, who is actually Talia al Ghul.
The fact that they put her in a costume that's very similar to her comic book look helped fans draw some conclusions. Also, having Marion Cotillard in a seemingly pointless role and focusing on random things like Miranda's scar made it clear something was up with this character.
Optimus Is Resurrected - Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)
Michael Bay's Transformer Autobot Optimus Prime attempts to save the human protagonist from the Decepticons, he is ambushed and killed.
Even with a whole lot of other Transformers to take his place, there was simply no way the movie was going to kill its main mechanical hero off in the second movie. So as the movie pretends Optimus is really dead, the audience is left waiting for the magical thing that will bring him back, which inevitably comes in the third act.
Walker Is John Lark - Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Though Tom Cruise is clearly the star of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Henry Cavill made a wonderful addition to the sixth movie. He played John Walker, a CIA officer who teams with Ethan Hunt to find a mysterious man named John Lark who is attempting to acquire a nuclear bomb.
But the problem with casting a big-name actor like Henry Cavill in Mission: Impossible is that it's quite obvious he's not just there to play second-fiddle to Cruise. Luckily, the much-delayed reveal that he is Lark doesn't diminish the fun of the movie.
They All Come Back - Avengers: Endgame
Seeing some of their favorite heroes turned to dust at the end of Avengers: Infinity War was quite devastating to fans. However, the sting of watching these characters fade into nothing was somewhat lessened by the fact that everyone knew they'd be back.
With Black Panther disappearing just after his billion-dollar franchise was launched and Spider-Man appearing to die despite having a sequel on the way, there was no question the Avengers: Endgame was going to end with all the heroes coming back and uniting, which is exactly what happened.
