It's the end of the movie, the climactic battle royale between The Hero and the Big Bad... and The Hero is losing. After a long struggle the Big Bad finally manages to get through the hero's defenses and score what looks like a decisive hit. The hero crumples, looking to be in a dire strait indeed; usually at this point the villain takes the opportunity to gloat a bit, believing the hero to be his to dispatch at convenience. In more violent examples, the hero will have wounds that really ought to be fatal. There are hundreds of ways to do this same trope, but some of the most popular ones are: