Another exceptionally lazy plot device to move things forward; if writers can't find a way to realistically show a character's progress within the regular pace of the film, they'll simply speed time up by way of a clunkily constructed montage sequence, showing their improvement in just two or three minutes of screen time, usually accompanied by a cheesy pop song of the moment. While this has charmed in films such as Rocky and The Karate Kid - as well as being ably spoofed in Team America: World Police - it's pretty tiresome if ever undertaken in a serious way nowadays. It generally just smacks of a filmmaker who isn't imaginative enough to find another way to convey progress other than smattering images together like a music video, but it's not likely to be something that's going away anytime soon, because it's so easy to do, and hey, lots of people love montages.