Nothing ticks me off in a movie like the good guy neglecting to finish off the bad hombre when he has him down and out. How many times have you seen the supposedly mortally wounded thug raise up on his elbows, reach for that hidden weapon and renew the hostilities? It would have been so easy to just pump a couple of extra bullets into his sorry carcass … but no … for the sake of intrigue we extend the plot and allow the criminal a fighting chance.
When you look at the pain and suffering invested in besting the malicious villain, why not invest the extra energy to make sure it is a done deal? What is so noble about saving his hide for the convoluted jurisprudence process? If you have him dead to rights and it is a righteous killing … I say “Go for it!”
Yet time after time, the hero turns his back and celebrates prematurely with his rescued heroine — only to be dragged back into the harsh reality of continued conflict and life-threatening struggles. I know my kids have grown up hearing me holler at the TV, “Finish him off!”