10 Greatest Unspoken Action Movie Plot Points
Who said action movies can't be subtle?
Of all the movie genres out there, action might be the bluntest and least-subtle of all. For the most part, what you see is what you get - the ass-kicking hero saving the day amid a slew of gunfire and awesome explosions.
Action films can absolutely be smart and sly when conceived with sufficient care, though, enough that creative filmmakers can have additional stories and subplots going on just beneath the surface.
That's absolutely the case with these 10 action flicks, all of which had something else entirely happening in the periphery - wordlessly conveyed and yet noticeable if you were truly paying the utmost attention.
From secret romances taking place in the background to hilarious subplots you won't be able to stop thinking about, and also unsettling implications for what happens next, these movies all have a little more going on than you might initially assume.
And so, with these unspoken plot points in mind - brought to you with some help from the fine folk over at /r/MovieDetails - you'll certainly never watch these 10 classic action movies quite the same way again. For the better, mostly...
10. The Secret Romantic Subplot - Die Hard
In the midst of John McTiernan's all-timer action classic Die Hard, there's an unexpected love story hidden in plain sight beyond John McClane's (Bruce Willis) desperate quest to save his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia).
Early in the film, before Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his men descend upon the Nakatomi Plaza, a drunk couple accidentally bursts in on John, and once the hostage scenario unfolds, we briefly see the couple being accosted by the terrorists while in a state of amorous undress.
But in a cute-yet-unnecessary detail, at the very end of the film when the day has been saved, the couple can be briefly seen still together on the right-hand side of the screen, firmly embracing one another.
Given that this looked like nothing more than a boozy office hookup, and it would've surprised no-one if they went their separate ways once the bullets started flying, it's strangely heart-warming to know they stuck together and made it through.
More to the point, it's neat that John McTiernan thought enough about these incredibly minor characters to actually have them show up again at the end.
Nothing brings people together like the trauma of surviving a terrorist attack, right?