"Chekhov's gun" is a long-standing dramatic principle, created by writer Anton Chekhov, that states a story should not introduce any unnecessary elements. More specifically, it infers that if an object is prominently shown, it should ultimately have a purpose within the plot. The concept has had multiple re-phrasings over the years; the most common says that if you show a gun in the first act, someone should fire that gun by the end of the third. Film critic Roger Ebert put his own spin on it, saying, "Every gymnast in a movie sooner or later encounters a bar."
Tons of movies utilize this principle. In some cases, the item in question really is an actual gun. In others, it's something else. When you stop and think about it, a gun is too easy. The following movies went a more creative route, introducing far less common objects in their first acts, then calling them back for their big finales. Whether it's a lion, a bear trap, or even a bottle of hot sauce, these items came in handy when the good guys needed to defeat the villains once and for all.
Which of these Chekhov's guns provided the most perfect payoff? Vote up your favorites.
The Chekhov's gun in The Fifth Element is memorable because it's so incredibly subtle that the audience never sees it coming. Bruce Willis plays Dallas Korben, a futuristic cab driver. He's trying to quit smoking by limiting himself to four cigarettes per day. An early scene shows him scouring around for a match. After finding multiple empty boxes, he finally comes across one with two matches left. Dallas uses one to light his smoke. He sticks the other in his pocket.
The matches aren't mentioned again until the movie's climax. Dallas and his cohorts have obtained a group of elemental stones that they need in order to fend off an ancient evil. One of them, a fire stone, has to be lit in order to activate. With no way to do that, everybody seems doomed. But then Dallas remembers he has exactly one match left in his pack. He uses it to ignite the stone, saving the world in the process.
Viewers have forgotten all about the match by this point because its introduction seemed like nothing more than a minor character detail. Having something so seemingly insignificant be the catalyst for protecting mankind gives the story a final kick.
The male characters in Aliens have no clue what Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) went through on the Nostromo. She was, of course, the sole survivor, thanks to her toughness, intelligence, and ability to think fast on her feet. When she offers to help a crew of men load the ship they'll soon be traveling in, they scoff. To show what she's capable of, Ripley hops inside a power loader, expertly using it to move around heavy objects. The scene's apparent purpose is to reiterate her competence, and also to get a laugh out of how she proves the guys wrong.
Cut to the end of the picture. Little Newt is being threatened by a massive, towering Xenomorph. Knowing she needs something powerful enough to take out the alien, Ripley hops into the power loader again, warns the creature to get away from the girl, and then beats the stuffing out of it with the machine.
The moment generates a rousing response from viewers because that power loader is literally the only thing that can level the playing field. In it, Ripley has a chance of triumphing over the alien queen.
When the proton packs are introduced in Ghostbusters, they come with a stern warning from Egon Spengler: Don't cross the streams. Egon makes it clear that this would be bad, as in "all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light." The sequence is funny because of how Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) reacts. He's just been given a weapon he doesn't know how to use and told that, should he misuse it, the results will be cataclysmic. In a movie filled with over-the-top jokes, this sly one earns a huge laugh.
The final act of Ghostbusters finds the guys facing down an unlikely enemy, namely a 100-foot-high manifestation of the Stay-Puft marshmallow man. Nothing they try works in foiling it, so they decide to break the single most important proton pack rule. They hit the marshmallow man with the crossed streams, causing him to explode. As an added bonus, his liquefied remains land right on top of their constant nemesis, EPA inspector Walter Peck.
Having the characters break their own rule allows them to triumph over the apparition, while also adding a layer of danger. Neither they, nor us, know what will happen when the streams are crossed. That it works out in their favor provides the movie with a rousing conclusion.
We all know that Kevin McCallister has a pretty good time being by himself in Home Alone. After his family accidentally leaves for vacation without him, Kevin watches TV, eats junk food, and snoops around his brother's bedroom. In there, he finds Buzz's pet tarantula, Axl. Kevin accidentally sets it free from its tank after unsuccessfully trying to climb a shelf, only to come crashing down.
Later, two inept burglars, Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci), break into the house. Kevin uses a series of homemade booby traps to foil them. Both men are badly battered and bruised in the process. It briefly looks like the tables will turn when Marv grabs hold of Kevin's leg. But the boy is smarter, and when he sees Axl roaming around, he grabs the tarantula and puts it squarely on Marv's face. The burglar screams in horror, while Harry attempts to bash it with a crowbar, hitting his partner instead.
Axl provides Home Alone with one of its biggest laughs, thanks in large part to Daniel Stern's uproarious reaction. The actor really did have a live tarantula on his face, so some of that horror is genuine.
Before his demise, which sets Knives Out's plot in motion, noted mystery author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) complains to his caretaker Marta (Ana de Armas) about his obnoxious, entitled grandson Ransom (Chris Evans). He accuses Ransom of "playing life like a game without consequences, until you can't tell the difference between a stage prop and a real knife." A stage prop just like the one he has in his collection, as a matter of fact.
Harlan turns up dead, a detective shows up to investigate, and eventually, Marta tricks Ransom into revealing that he's the culprit. Enraged by what she's done, he grabs a knife from his grandfather's collection and attempts to stab her. Alas, it's a prop knife. He really couldn't tell the difference.
Knives Out not only introduces a doozy of a Chekhov's gun, but also uses it to deliver a climactic humiliation to a character the audience has grown to detest. Comeuppance has rarely been so satisfying.
Leave it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to introduce Chekhov's gun in one movie, then have it pay off in a completely different movie. During Avengers: Age of Ultron, there's a scene where the characters all try - and fail - to pick up Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. The weapon, we are told, can only be lifted by those who are "worthy." Most of the team members can't even get it to budge. Captain America can't lift it, either, although it does wiggle very slightly in his grasp.
Several years later, Avengers: Endgame was released. During the climax, the Avengers fight the evil Thanos, who previously wiped out half the world's population with a literal snap of his fingers. In the heat of battle, Cap extends his arm, and Mjolnir flies right into it. Now wielding Thor's mighty hammer, he proceeds to repeatedly bash Thanos, leading the team to victory.
A video of a movie theater audience going nuts at this scene went viral when the film came out. There was something richly satisfying about Endgame delivering on a promise that had been set up several MCU installments back. It additionally solidified Captain America's status as a hero of the highest magnitude.
