11 Movie Cliches You Couldn't Live Without
10. The "Arming-Up" Montage
The Cliche: Ahead of the climactic showdown between the hero and his adversaries, a quick-cutting montage shows the hero gearing up with weapons and protective gear and basically looking as bada** as possible. Popularised in, yes, Commando, as well as Rambo: First Blood Part II, Evil Dead 2 and more recently Sin City.
Why It's Awesome: For one, it makes the protagonist look extremely cool, and secondly, it's simply a visually exciting way to get the audience hyped for the upcoming action sequence.
These days most films are in on the joke when it comes to this because the cliche is so widespread, so they tend to have a little fun with it and wink at the audience. Even self-serious examples are usually pretty entertaining, though: it rarely warrants an eyeroll.