• Bullets that penetrate human bodies never shatter bones, cause severe shock, or sever a major blood vessel, except if fired from small-caliber weapons toward bad guys at a great distance, in which case the result is sudden and certain death.
• When the protagonist notices any tool or object in the vicinity (at times it’s only necessary for the audience to see it), surely he or she will use it within minutes to survive a near-death crisis.
• At the moment of climax, a villain never fails to indulge the need for a soliloquy or dramatic pause, giving our hero enough time to avert what could have been a curt, straightforward confirmation of inevitable death.