Dear Hollywood,
I sincerely appreciate all of the wonderful movies you make and the hard work of your actors, writers, producers, directors, designers et. al. But Hollywood, I do have a request that I need to make, and I ask that you take it seriously. You see, every time I see a falling bridge scene (FBS) in a movie, a little part of me dies. And I need you to stop. Just stop. There was a time when the FBS was suspenseful. But, just like with anything else, there comes a time when it is better to let go and that time has long since arrived. As far as Action/Adventure movies are concerned it seems as if the FBS is inserted as a matter of course; as if it is an essential element of the genre. I assure you, it is not.
Especially in the suddenly numerous Fantasy/Adventure movies I have found the falling bridge scene to be unnecessary at best, and a major annoyance at worst.
In Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, for example, Frodo, Gandalf & company are in constant danger. The inches away from death suspense, so essential to Adventure movies, is accomplished in many creative ways throughout the story. So why, in between battling a Cave Troll and fleeing from hundreds of Orcs and a Balrog, was it necessary to insert a lengthy scene in which the party navigates a crumbling bridge!? The answer, it seems, is that the FBS has somehow become an absolute necessity of the Adventure movie. How else can we justify the considerable chunk of time devoted the the FBS in Fellowship of the Ring? After all, this is a film that a) had little room to spare in squeezing Tolkein's exquisite storyline into a few short hours and b) was already fraught with suspense. A more recent Fantasy/Adventure film The Golden Compass also contains an irrelevant FBS, which failed to create any added suspense whatsoever.
Now, Hollywood, if you absolutely insist on continuing to use the FBS, or other inches away from death moments of its like (teetering on the ledge of a tall building, grasping on to a high rope, etc.) please, I beg of you, use them sparingly. And if possible connect them directly to the plot. Simply cutting and pasting them in just reminds me "HEY, YOU ARE WATCHING AN ADVENTURE MOVIE. IN CASE YOU FORGOT, HERE'S A SCENE WITH A PERILOUS BRIDGE. DO YOU THINK [insert name(s) here] WILL MAKE IT ACROSS? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!" And I just don't need that all the time, it takes me out of the story.
And while I'm on the subject of cutting and pasting, why is the Cave Troll in Harry Potter the exact same Cave Troll from Lord of the Rings? I would imagine that two different fictional worlds would yield two different looking Cave Trolls. But maybe that's just me.
Thanks very much for your consideration, Hollywood. I just felt the need to get that out there.
Affectionately Yours,