That's So Cliche

I'm sick and tired of movie critics talking about cliche as if they actually know what it means. They're using it incorrectly. A cliche is an idea that is repeated ad nauseam, usually to the point of becoming a joke. Now, in some cases, there are lots of cliches in a movie, but they're not nearly as prevalent as critics would have you believe. They are confusing cliches with genre standards. For example, they say things about Jerry Bruckheimer movies being riddles with cliches, but what they mean is that the movies are full of elements that are essential for the correct categorization of the movies as "action movies." If there were no action "cliches" as you so incorrectly put it, then the movie would become a drama, which, by the way, has its own set of genre standards. Something that's cliche would be the classic (70's and 80's) setup-punchline format for sitcoms. That whole practice of the obvious setup followed by an incredibly predictable (and thus not funny) punchline is a true cliche. I have a lot of respect for some of them, but the vast majority of film critics are complete morons.