10 Facts About Fighting That Action Movies Always Get Wrong

2. Being Knocked Out Can Be Life Threatening

This one is most common in movies that have more of an action-thriller vibe to them, where it's pretty typical for the hero to get knocked unconscious from behind, only to wake up a couple of hours later tied to a chair. He's confused and a little groggy, but otherwise is still in prime fighting shape. (Or he would be if it weren't for his hands and feet being bound.) ...Except that being unconscious for the amount of time it would take the hero to be dragged back to the villain's basement is pretty much a recipe for becoming a vegetable. In fact, if someone is knocked out for more than a couple of minutes, there's a good chance their brain won't ever fully recuperate from the incident, leaving them with severe brain damage. Now compound that time by about 100, which is almost always the amount of time our brave hero spends in the dark, and not only will he not be able to think clearly enough to untie himself and beat the bad guy to a pulp, but it's pretty much a guarantee that he won't be able to differentiate the villain's face from a bowl of pea soup for the rest of his life. So rather than Bruce Willis' and Ving Rhames' characters from Pulp Fiction waking up in a basement staring, horrified, at a gimp, they'd be waking up no longer knowing what feet are or how to use their tongues. (This might not be a bad thing considering the circumstances.)