Tropescilloscope: Action Prologue

An exciting beginning followed by the "real" story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes In Medias Res Black Comedy Rape Butt-Monkey Cool Old Guy Kubrick Stare Artistic License – Gun Safety Insistent Terminology From Nobody to Nightmare Canadian Movies Adorkable Rule of Three Love Triangle Unusually Uninteresting Sight Kill 'em All Bi the Way Department of Redundancy Department Smoking Is Cool Berserk Button Abhorrent Admirer Ambiguous Disorder Freeze-Frame Bonus From Bad to Worse Antagonist Title The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Stock Footage Spanner in the Works N-Word Privileges "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Artistic License – Geography Gorn Captain Obvious The Mole Bland-Name Product The Stoic Agony of the Feet Parental Substitute Adaptation Distillation Green-Eyed Monster Evil Is Hammy Fainting The Bully Motor Mouth Outrun the Fireball Cloudcuckoolander The '50s Horror Comedy Chewing the Scenery Took a Level in Jerkass Product Placement Despair Event Horizon Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Red Right Hand Intrepid Reporter Demoted to Extra Would Hit a Girl Vacation Films Storming the Castle Downer Ending Suspiciously Specific Denial Beard of Evil My Beloved Smother Black and Gray Morality Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Awesome, but Impractical Made of Iron Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Demonic Possession Aside Glance Straight Gay Chekhov's Gun Evil Sounds Deep Call-Forward Idiot Ball Logo Joke Hero of Another Story Badass Normal Eyepatch of Power Mighty Whitey Sequel Hook Re-Cut Knife Nut The Cavalry Only a Flesh Wound Not Using the "Z" Word Paper-Thin Disguise Adapted Out Arranged Marriage Adults Are Useless Neck Lift Cat Fight Instant Death Bullet Kick the Dog Time Skip A God Am I After the End Artistic License – Law Flashback 20 Minutes into the Future Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Actually Pretty Funny Ship Tease Foregone Conclusion Unspoken Plan Guarantee Spared by the Adaptation Foil Smug Snake An Axe to Grind Action Prologue Handicapped Badass Vitriolic Best Buds Improvised Weapon Red Oni, Blue Oni Mystery and Detective Films Famous Last Words Comically Missing the Point Canon Foreigner The Chick What the Hell, Hero? Biopic No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Punch-Clock Villain Character Development Ominous Latin Chanting Intergenerational Friendship Spiteful Spit Gratuitous English Rule of Symbolism Historical In-Joke Yandere Title Drop Punny Name Slasher Movie Annoying Younger Sibling Did Not Get the Girl Credits Gag Sassy Black Woman Took a Level in Badass Obviously Evil Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Broken Aesop Animal Title Index Vampire Fiction Offscreen Teleportation Decoy Protagonist There Is No Kill Like Overkill Roaring Rampage of Revenge Once More, with Clarity! Hypocritical Humor Left the Background Music On Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Heel–Face Turn Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Shirtless Scene Defrosting Ice Queen What You Are in the Dark Reasonable Authority Figure Final Girl Belligerent Sexual Tension Random Events Plot Heterosexual Life-Partners Corpsing A Date with Rosie Palms Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Alpha Bitch Fingore Half the Man He Used to Be Catch-Phrase Bloodier and Gorier Bring My Brown Pants A.I. Is a Crapshoot Hollywood Darkness Dark Is Not Evil Groin Attack Real Life Writes the Plot Peek-a-Boo Corpse You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Mood Whiplash Epic Movie Epic Fail Documentary Hate Sink The Un-Reveal Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Serial Killer She's Got Legs Abusive Parents Authority Equals Asskicking Rewatch Bonus Disguised in Drag Mythology Gag Silence Is Golden Video Credits Central Theme The Dog Bites Back Death by Irony Advertised Extra Military and Warfare Films Trailers Always Spoil One Steve Limit Henpecked Husband Too Dumb to Live No-Sell The '60s O.O.C. Is Serious Business Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie No Name Given Insane Troll Logic Reality Has No Subtitles Noodle Incident Greater-Scope Villain Major Injury Underreaction "The Reason You Suck" Speech Small Name, Big Ego Mundane Made Awesome May–December Romance Damsel in Distress Skewed Priorities Pimped-Out Dress Off-into-the-Distance Ending The Sociopath Mad Scientist Let's Get Dangerous! Creator Cameo Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Cain and Abel Fake Shemp The Atoner Animal Motifs Breaking the Fourth Wall Sadistic Choice Light Is Not Good Dramatic Gun Cock Affectionate Parody Romantic False Lead Our Vampires Are Different Accidental Misnaming More Dakka Hair-Trigger Temper Informed Ability The X of Y Vomit Discretion Shot Eiffel Tower Effect Big Applesauce Lock and Load Montage Alliterative Name Public Domain Feature Films All There in the Manual Gold Digger Have a Gay Old Time Anti-Villain Award-Bait Song Enemy Mine Crapsack World Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Imagine Spot Riddle for the Ages No Celebrities Were Harmed Fun with Acronyms No Antagonist Works Set in World War II Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Russian Films Facial Horror Air-Vent Passageway Better to Die than Be Killed It Will Never Catch On Superhero Drugs Are Bad Anyone Can Die Killed Mid-Sentence Bowdlerise The Cameo Daddy's Girl Cluster F-Bomb Fiery Redhead Eldritch Abomination Papa Wolf Scary Black Man Depraved Bisexual The Alleged Car Dark Reprise An Arm and a Leg Grievous Bottley Harm Married to the Job Mr. Fanservice Cruel and Unusual Death Villain Protagonist Ungrateful Bastard Wicked Cultured Room Full of Crazy And I Must Scream Dark Action Girl Evil Plan My God, What Have I Done? Framing Device Faking the Dead Retired Badass Celebrity Paradox The '70s Hope Spot Naïve Newcomer Mooks Eye Scream Ugly Guy, Hot Wife The Voiceless Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Chekhov's Skill Bound and Gagged Dirty Cop Girl-on-Girl Is Hot True Companions Mercy Kill Vomit Indiscretion Shot Heroic BSoD Death Seeker Sexy Discretion Shot Male Frontal Nudity An Aesop The Stinger Cool Shades Show Within a Show Guile Hero Badass in a Nice Suit You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Author Appeal Mistaken for Gay Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Woman in White Redemption Equals Death Soundtrack Dissonance Bloodless Carnage The Dragon Alas, Poor Villain Anguished Declaration of Love How We Got Here I'm a Humanitarian Evil-Detecting Dog Funny Foreigner Reality Ensues The Place Creepy Child Not What It Looks Like Babies Ever After Parental Abandonment Disney Death Retcon Adaptation Dye-Job I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Big Bad Film Noir Index Dirty Old Man Chiaroscuro Rule of Cool Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Break the Haughty Rated M for Manly Diabolus ex Machina Defiant to the End Dying Moment of Awesome You Have Failed Me Fanservice Jerk Jock Camp Gay Brutal Honesty The Hero Poor Communication Kills Rape as Drama Plot Hole The End... Or Is It? Unwitting Instigator of Doom Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Film Series Names to Run Away from Really Fast Dropped a Bridge on Him Deconstruction La Résistance Continuity Nod Only Known by Their Nickname Didn't Think This Through Adaptational Heroism Country Matters Star-Crossed Lovers Dirty Coward Never Trust a Trailer Implacable Man Ass Shove Batman Gambit "Shaggy Dog" Story Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Face Death with Dignity Ghost Fiction Cowboy Cop Genre Throwback Artistic License – History Refuge in Audacity Badass Grandpa Fantasy Films Dies Wide Open Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Curb-Stomp Battle Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Composite Character Ambiguous Ending The Ditz Meaningful Echo Genre Shift Not Quite Dead Affably Evil Ironic Echo Spell My Name with an "S" Together in Death Man on Fire Kids Are Cruel Card-Carrying Villain Really Gets Around Men Are the Expendable Gender One-Man Army Broken Bird Brainless Beauty All There in the Script Extreme Doormat Death by Sex Developing Doomed Characters Dumb Blonde The Big Guy Evil Laugh Villainous Breakdown Stepford Smiler Shut Up, Hannibal! Black Comedy Bottomless Magazines B-Movie Nice Hat Bullying a Dragon Adaptation Name Change Easily Forgiven Funny Background Event I Need a Freaking Drink Bunny-Ears Lawyer Psychological Thriller Serious Business Police are Useless Blood from the Mouth Crucified Hero Shot Australian Movies Beauty Is Never Tarnished The Dreaded The Casanova Karma Houdini Improbable Aiming Skills Villain Song Adaptation Expansion Femme Fatale Almost Kiss Gory Discretion Shot Friend to All Children Hypocrite Camera Abuse Four-Temperament Ensemble Pre-Asskicking One-Liner World of Ham Scare Chord Pretty in Mink Dual Wielding Adaptational Badass Sealed Evil in a Can Maybe Ever After Foreshadowing Dwindling Party Be Careful What You Wish For Heroes Want Redheads Truth in Television Exactly What It Says on the Tin Setting Update Stealth Hi/Bye Bond One-Liner Captain Ersatz Zombie Stories The Load Only in It for the Money Humans Are Bastards The '90s You Killed My Father Guns Akimbo The Brute Closed Circle Villain Opening Scene Big Eater The Mafia Bittersweet Ending Five-Man Band Dressing as the Enemy Improbable Weapon User Jump Scare Body Horror French Films Narrator It Can Think For Want of a Nail Twist Ending Even Evil Has Standards Overly Long Gag Bad Boss Put on a Bus What Happened to the Mouse? Martial Arts Movie Determinator Black Dude Dies First German Films Tempting Fate Fire-Forged Friends Crazy-Prepared Knight Templar timeperiod Protagonist Title Wretched Hive Redshirt Army Cool Old Lady Stealth Pun Laser-Guided Karma Bury Your Gays Age Lift Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Index of Film Westerns In the Back Darker and Edgier Fanservice Extra Fourth Date Marriage Needs Wiki Magic Love As You Know I Have Your Wife Not Even Bothering with the Accent Large Ham Bait-and-Switch Christmas Movies Index Shown Their Work Obstructive Bureaucrat Pretty Little Headshots Fantastic Racism The Lancer Overprotective Dad Wham Shot Shower Scene Establishing Character Moment Ascended Extra Italian Films Sole Survivor Bond Villain Stupidity Dramatic Irony The Lost Lenore Homage Reality Is Unrealistic Blackmail Whole Plot Reference Slasher Smile Sinister Minister Actor Allusion Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Faux Affably Evil Beta Couple Action Genre The Great Depression Would Hurt a Child Big Fancy House Pyrrhic Victory Missing Mom Parental Incest Fate Worse than Death Double Entendre Covers Always Lie This Is Gonna Suck Jerk with a Heart of Gold Heel Realization Those Wacky Nazis Hell Is That Noise Anachronic Order Ripped from the Headlines Match Cut Wounded Gazelle Gambit All Girls Want Bad Boys Exact Words Made of Explodium Jerkass Has a Point Stalker with a Crush Bloody Hilarious Your Head A-Splode Super Strength A Minor Kidroduction NO INDOOR VOICE Badass Longcoat One-Word Title Throwing Your Sword Always Works Shell-Shocked Veteran Only One Name Leaning on the Fourth Wall Karmic Death Spiritual Successor Action Survivor Book-Ends Ms. Fanservice Woman Scorned Never My Fault Take a Third Option Deadpan Snarker Pragmatic Adaptation Unusual Euphemism Hero Antagonist Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Aluminum Christmas Trees Tagline Animated Credits Opening Not So Stoic Creative Closing Credits The Oner Bilingual Bonus Pet the Dog Insult Backfire Only Sane Man Love at First Sight Dogged Nice Guy Ax-Crazy Double-Meaning Title British Films Big Bad Duumvirate Drowning My Sorrows Same Language Dub Brother–Sister Incest Never Found the Body The '80s He Who Fights Monsters Visual Pun Meet Cute Posthumous Character Up to Eleven Shipper on Deck Costume Porn Manic Pixie Dream Girl Contrived Coincidence Adult Fear Back from the Dead Crazy Jealous Guy Becoming the Mask Music Stories Manly Tears Sci-Fi Horror Beware the Nice Ones Rule of Funny Evil Counterpart Badass Bookworm Take That! Gainax Ending Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Dramedy Arc Words Self-Deprecation Token Minority Make It Look Like an Accident The Faceless Bavarian Fire Drill The Film of the Book Mind Screw Here We Go Again! Failed a Spot Check Male Gaze Monumental Damage The Quiet One Fatal Family Photo Arch-Enemy Deliberately Monochrome The Starscream The Musical '80s Hair Catapult Nightmare Loophole Abuse Neck Snap Domestic Abuse It's All About Me Malevolent Masked Men Horror Films Casting Gag Suspiciously Similar Substitute Even Evil Has Loved Ones Conspicuous CG Happily Married Irony Race Lift Sports Stories Mugging the Monster Early Installment Weirdness Translation Convention Getting Crap Past the Radar Kill It with Fire Revenge My Greatest Failure Red Shirt The Ace Pre-Mortem One-Liner All for Nothing Cold-Blooded Torture Due to the Dead The Smurfette Principle BFG Soft Glass Race Against the Clock Chase Scene Fat Bastard Kick the Son of a Bitch And the Adventure Continues Grey and Gray Morality Red Herring Tranquil Fury Immune to Bullets Pay Evil unto Evil Retirony Asshole Victim Silent Movie Historical Hero Upgrade Artistic License – Biology Curse Cut Short I Did What I Had to Do Darkest Hour Cool Guns Apocalypse How Villain with Good Publicity Distracted by the Sexy Mama Bear Line-of-Sight Name Fan Disservice Taking You with Me Say My Name Does Not Like Shoes The Alcoholic Action Girl Those Two Guys Manipulative Bastard "Awesome McCool" Name Good Is Not Nice Bolivian Army Ending Last-Name Basis Mr. Exposition Bar Brawl The Ghost Based on a True Story Rousing Speech Genre Savvy Historical Villain Upgrade Earn Your Happy Ending Those Two Bad Guys Children Are Innocent Corrupt Corporate Executive Playing Gertrude Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Scenery Porn Artistic License – Military Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Unreliable Narrator "Well Done, Son!" Guy Science Fiction Films Hoist by His Own Petard Nice Guy Car Fu Dark and Troubled Past Big Damn Heroes Toplessness from the Back Heroic Sacrifice Gilligan Cut Thriller Your Cheating Heart Big "NO!" Expository Hairstyle Change Bad "Bad Acting" Suddenly SHOUTING! Author Avatar Break the Cutie Morality Pet Japanese Films No Ending Very Loosely Based on a True Story Romantic Comedy War Is Hell Drill Sergeant Nasty Tap on the Head Blatant Lies Big Brother Instinct Disney Villain Death Wrong Genre Savvy Lighter and Softer Frame-Up Lampshade Hanging Flipping the Bird Bare Your Midriff Red Eyes, Take Warning Fatal Flaw Sacrificial Lion Honor Before Reason Precision F-Strike Gone Horribly Right Pragmatic Villainy And Starring Cassandra Truth I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Interrupted Suicide Ragtag Bunch of Misfits All Men Are Perverts The Power of Love Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Get Out! Freudian Excuse Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Adaptational Attractiveness Plucky Comic Relief Slashed Throat All Just a Dream Sir Swears-a-Lot The Hero Dies Villain Ball Meaningful Name Hooker with a Heart of Gold Extremely Short Timespan Film Noir MacGuffin Non-Indicative Name Taking the Bullet As the Good Book Says... Psychopathic Manchild Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Badass Boast Meaningful Background Event Leave the Camera Running Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Our Zombies Are Different Well-Intentioned Extremist Does This Remind You of Anything? Death Glare Anachronism Stew Psycho for Hire Evil Brit Combat Pragmatist Training Montage Jitter Cam Unresolved Sexual Tension In Name Only Death of a Child Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Stuff Blowing Up The Chessmaster Properly Paranoid Dissonant Serenity The Smart Guy Brick Joke Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Calling the Old Man Out Call-Back Everyone Has Standards He Knows Too Much Cool Car She Cleans Up Nicely Loads and Loads of Characters Wham Line Manchild The Remake Mexican Standoff Empathic Environment Eureka Moment Humiliation Conga Determinator aka: The Determinator Fish out of Water Running Gag Hidden Depths It's Personal Totally Radical The Reveal Worthy Opponent The Bad Guy Wins The Vamp Historical-Domain Character As Himself Bald of Evil No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Slap-Slap-Kiss folderlabel Daylight Horror Offscreen Moment of Awesome Sanity Slippage Hong Kong Films Face–Heel Turn Reckless Gun Usage Shout-Out Coming-of-Age Story Disappeared Dad Undying Loyalty Amoral Attorney Market-Based Title Amusing Injuries Word of God Chekhov's Gunman Adaptational Villainy Gender Flip Expy Black Best Friend Madness Mantra Death by Adaptation Boom, Headshot! Obfuscating Stupidity Cat Scare Armor-Piercing Question Attempted Rape Destination Defenestration Early-Bird Cameo Big-Bad Ensemble Betty and Veronica Driven to Suicide Not So Different No OSHA Compliance Stylistic Suck Dutch Angle Evil vs. Evil Eagleland Police Brutality Disproportionate Retribution Deal with the Devil Nothing Is Scarier Deus ex Machina Auto Erotica Parental Neglect Dull Surprise Moment Killer Anti-Hero Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Television Movie Index Recycled IN SPACE! Important Haircut For the Evulz Danny Peary Cult Movies List Ambiguously Gay Drives Like Crazy Evil Is Petty Rasputinian Death Scenery Gorn Politically Incorrect Villain A Father to His Men Hollywood Law Real Life Novelization Jerkass Artistic License – Physics Not So Above It All Accidental Murder Sequel Escalation Leitmotif Blood Knight Victoria's Secret Compartment Oh, Crap! Every Car Is a Pinto Naked People Are Funny Deliberate Values Dissonance Rich Bitch Laughing Mad Shoot the Shaggy Dog Older Than They Look As Long as It Sounds Foreign Broken Pedestal The Stoner Off with His Head!