... FOR "MOVIE COINCIDENCE OF THE DAY #5"

In which we take a look at a series of odd movie coincidences - scenes, jokes, dialogue, even specific camera shots shared between two seemingly unrelated films. Anyone who's sat through a particular scene in a movie and thought, "Gee, haven't I seen someone do this somewhere before?" will know exactly what I'm talking about.

A Historical Drama and a Sci-Fi Action parable which end with strikingly similar closeups of the same actor's face. Two Horror film sequences seemingly inspired by Fred Astaire. And a gag about urination, used first in a spoof on 70s cop shows and then again during a Comedy about baseball. You look at these films and you have to wonder: Are these screenwriters purposely cribbing from each other, hoping no one will notice? Or are they paying deliberate homage to previous films, hoping overly attentive audiences will? Or is it, in fact, pure coincidence, plain and simple, since there is technically nothing new under the sun?

Today we consider The Matrix Reloaded (2003) versus Iron Man 2 (2010), two high-caliber sequels to game-changing Hollywood hits. On the surface, at least, they couldn't be any different one is a CG- loaded Science-Fiction actioner about a band of rebels fighting back against the race of machines that enslave them, and the other is a prototypical franchise entry about a self-absorbed superhero fighting mostly himself. Both films, however, owe their debt to comic books, complete with protagonists endowed with the power of flight.

At the climax, both heroes take to the skies to rescue the woman they love. As they do, they strike two familar poses, which for the sake of this article we'll call the Superman Shot:

It spoils nothing to say they succeed, scooping up their beloved in their arms and whisking her away to the nearest rooftop:

Then, after a brief heart-to-heart (literally, in Neo's case), hero and heroine share a passionate lover's kiss:

Cue the romantic music! And sound a trumpet for our latest Movie Coincidence of the Day.