Behind every great action movie, theres some sort of flimsy excuse for the shooting.

Heres our list of genres five most common plotlines…

In screenwriting classes, they call it the inciting incident.

To this end, here are the five basic action movie plots as we understand them.

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Lets start with a particularly common one.

Filled with righteous fury, the hero tools up and embarks on a bloody rampage.

Thats a plot everyone can follow, even after five pints of strong lager.

Screenwriters, meanwhile, are saddled with the tricky task of dreaming up new revenge scenarios.

The lesson to be learned here?

Dont mess with architects in wigs.

Random bad guy quote:They killed the giggler!

Random bad guy quote:Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.

I have the only gun on board.

Welcome to Con Air.

In space, no one can hear you play Aerosmith.

Random quote:Man, what are you doing with a gun in space?

Kidnap

Where would action movies be if no one had invented kidnapping?

Thered certainly be noCommando, perhaps the finest kidnap-based action movie ever made and certainly among the most over-the-top.

Enraged, Arn-huld uses the bad guys for target practise.

Random bad guy quote:One man against trained commandos.

Who do you think this man is?

People have been besieging or defending castles ever since they were first built.

The situations differ, and the weapons have become more advanced, but the stories seldom change.