The Other Guys opening scene analysis.
The shot cuts to a close up shot of one the protagonists holding onto the top of a car roof while it is speeding down the highway connoting danger and also bravery and would give the audience the idea that the people inside the car are the antagonists. The close up speeds towards the back of the car where we see a police car following the antagonists. The audience notices that the man in the police car is talking to the man on top of the antagonist’s car, suggesting that they are partners and that this car chase would be a case of good v evil, which is a general cliché of an action film.
The next few shots are very fast paced and cut easily after one another to keep the audience excited. The fast paced shots connote the danger of this car chase, this as well as the sense of chaos are general conventions of an action film as they include a lot of physical stunts, car chases and fight scenes which all add to the thrill of a typical action film.
As the protagonist dangerously tries to shoot the car in front in order to slow them down, the antagonist fights back and we are shown an extreme close up of a bullet moving slowly towards the police car. The shallow depth of field in the background allows the audience to focus only on the moving bullet. The audience know that this shot is in slow motion as we don't get to see a moving bullet in so much detail for this amount of time because they move very fast when shot. As the bullet shoots the police siren, the protagonist quickly changes it for another one which introduces humour into the scene for the audience.
The fast paced, chaotic shots carry on while the antagonist shoots at the roof of his own car to try and kill the protagonist holding onto it, and even though he shoots countless times, the protagonist still does not get hit by a bullet which is also general convention of an action film. The protagonist puts himself in danger and he fearlessly jumps onto the police car behind, showing off his strength and agility, which can also be seen as a convention of an action film as the protagonist is usually stereotyped as a strong man, who has the strength to pull of all these physical stunts without getting hurt at all. As he finally gets into the car the shot cuts to a medium shot of both the protagonists together talking which then cuts again to a slanted high angle view of the car chase. The use of a distorted view also adds to the sense of panic and chaos throughout the scene which keeps the audience excited. The non-diegetic sound is a hip-hop song which stops the lack of tension possibly building up and makes the protagonists seem smooth and cool throughout the car chase.
As the scene carries on, the antagonist turn their car around and start to repetitively shoot at the police car and still cannot hit any of the protagonists, instead blows off the hood of the car, leaving them blind as to what is in front of them. The cameras shot are so faced paced and cut so quickly to a different shot which stops the audience being able to see whets going on in detail, which helps them feel part of the scene as they feel as chaotic as the drivers.
The audience watch as a bus suddenly stops in the middle of a busy road because it is blocked and can’t get through. The shot cuts to a close up of the protagonists shooting off the hood of their car and suddenly driving into the middle of the bus. We are shown a low angle long shot of it crashing through the bus and getting stuck. This is a convention of an action film as physical stunts keep the audience’s adrenaline high and grabs their attention. It is also a general convention as even though they are protagonists, they still put innocent people in danger in order to defeat the bad guys.
As the police car stops in the middle of the bus, the non-diegetic soundtrack stops. The character inside the police car says 'Did someone call 9, 1 holy shit!'. This use of humour allows the audience to connect which the characters as they will start to relate to them throughout the film instead of just seeing them as characters.
As the protagonist think they have finally escaped we are shown a long shot of the bus crashing behind the car to show that they definitely have not escaped yet. At this point the non-diegetic soundtrack begins again to imply that the protagonists are back on track and most likely to win this car chase. We are shown a fast paced long shot of civilians on the top of the bus panicking, wondering why they are being put in such danger and chaos. The shot cuts to a close up of one of the antagonists who is driving the car as we hear him say 'That's it, I’m sick of all this running' which leads onto the car drifting to the side and stopping. The antagonists get out of the car, stand their ground and start to shoot at the bus as it races towards them. The shot cuts back to a close up of the protagonists and are cut to an extreme close up of the driver pressing down on the accelerator implying that they aren't going to give up in any circumstance. As the bus swerves to the side, the car that was originally stuck in the middle of the bus jumps straight out the other side and drives towards the antagonists. We are then cut to a long shot of the antagonists shooting at the police car, to then being cut to a long shot of the protagonist shooting back, but this shot is in slow motion as we hear him say 'You have the right to remain silent...but I want to hear you scream!' throughout this the antagonists retreat and realise that if they don't move now they will die so dive to safety. The audience are then shown a low angle shot of the police car in the air, crushing the antagonist’s car, but still moving straight towards the building in front. The antagonists' car blows up and as the police car crashes into the building we are shown a series of explosions and the sound of glass smashing to connote action, danger and chaos. The explosion is definitely a convention of an action film as it a way to thrill the audience to keep them on the edge of their seats throughout the film. The scene fades to black as the explosion takes over the frame.
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