History Main / UnnecessaryCombatRoll

For no apparent reason, the protagonist will tuck into a roll, coming out shooting. If this is during some sneaky activity, rather than outright combat, they may do the roll to cross any open space, for no apparent benefit. In RealLife of course, coming out of a roll into a shooting position puts the person in a less-stable stance, wastes a lot of time and energy, and is likely to be very disorienting. Often parodied, through sheer gratuity, through the rolling individual just being really bad at it, or through {{lampshad|eHanging}}ing.

Note that rolling is acceptable when the character has [[LeParkour fallen from a great height]], as otherwise piling the weight of of one's entire upper body on one's legs is a good way to cause injury or '''break''' the bones holding them together.

* Subverted in the film version of ''Film/{{SWAT}}''. In the training exercises, one must tuck, roll, and hit a target as part of the exercise. When it's [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Sergeant Hondo's]] turn, he refuses to pull the unnecessary maneuver, stating "They only do that in John Woo movies, not real life."

* ''VideoGame/PrimalLight'': [[PlayerCharacter Krog]] is able to pull of a combat roll in the game. Perhaps it's useful for getting across wide obstacles.

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' (more so in Snake's ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' appearance), it's more of a tackle than a roll, and can actually be pretty useful... or just [[RuleOfCool Roll of--]], excuse me, ''[[RuleOfCool Rule]]'' [[RuleOfCool of Cool]].

Video games tend to fall victim to this as the negative consequences of rolling are often omitted as AcceptableBreaksFromReality. This often leads to repeated diving rolls being a better choice than flat-out running when moving from place to place, something especially evident in {{Speed Run}}s. It could be argued that in RealLife a single diving roll covers more distance than a large step -- it's the ''recovery'' that takes a lot of time and the maneuver is likely to result in injury. Remove the need for recovery and make rolling safe, and we might as well roll rather than run or walk. Of course, if you DO have the [[LeParkour agility and balance to pull it off and recover on landing]], it suddenly becomes a [[https://youtu.be/R88MlO8W_jc?t=47 really effective]] method of [[https://youtu.be/R88MlO8W_jc?t=116 outmaneuvering someone.]] [[TruthInTelevision The level of athletics needed to pull that feat off is probably why it is left to the high Dex classes.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' this is the fastest way to move around the game world that many speed runs make use of. You're also invulnerable to 99% of enemy attacks other than few special boss moves when rolling. It is also not only possible to keep your bow drawn, but to keep drawing your bowstring ever tighter to increase damage, all the while rolling to dodge counterattacks. Even if you're wielding an endgame bow that's as long as you are.

* In his introduction/DynamicEntry in ''Literature/TheScorchTrials'', Jorge pulls this off in front of the Gladers, possibly to highlight how insane he's becoming due to being an early-stage Crank. [[spoiler:Except that it's all an act, and he's been Immune the whole time...]]

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has these once they start using motion capture and animation. Mostly it's there for legitimate reasons, like the Freelancers dodging explosions or gunshots, but sometimes it's egregious. Notably, done very reasonably by Washington to get to a heavy weapon lying on the ground, because the PyroManiac's fire was in the way.

Video games tend to fall victim to this as the negative consequences of rolling are often omitted as AcceptableBreaksFromReality. This often leads to repeated diving rolls being a better choice than flat-out running when moving from place to place, something especially evident in {{Speed Run}}s. It could be argued that in RealLife a single diving roll covers more distance than a large step -- it's the ''recovery'' that takes a lot of time and the maneuver is likely to result in injury. Remove the need for recovery and make rolling safe, and we might as well roll rather than run or walk. Of course, if you DO have the [[LeParkour agility and balance to pull it off and recover on landing]], it suddenly becomes a [[https://youtu.be/R88MlO8W_jc?t=47 really effective]] method of [[https://youtu.be/R88MlO8W_jc?t=116 outmaneuvering someone]]. [[TruthInTelevision The level of athletics needed to pull that feat off is probably why it is left to the high Dex classes.]]

* In an episode of ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'', TheStarscream resurrects two monsters to go after the BigBad while he's meditating. To show how sneaky they are, one of them dramatically rolls into place instead of quietly walking. If Rio wasn't so ''completely'' dead to the world while meditating, he'd have vaporized him right then and there [[spoiler: instead of about two seconds after they started attacking.]] The scene is essentially identical (re-reading the paragraph with "Jarrod" instead of "Rio") in ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury.''

* ''VideoGame/CrossbowCrusade: The game allows you to be able to perform a combat roll that you can use to squeeze through tight spaces.

** Surprisingly, many of the games subvert this. Due to the way the AI is designed, rolling your way into a safespot can save you from gunfire on critical situations (assuming you're on a mission [[IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon and not fending off the cops]]) . Also, the same AI stupidity also manages to play this trope straight as many [=NPCs=] roll their way straight into your path on an attempt to screw you over with a surprise attack... [[TooDumbToLive giving you enough time to kill them before they even try to shoot you]] ([[UpToEleven and in some games, they make a ''look around for danger'' animation while ''hiding'' behind a wall, easily giving away their location before they even start shooting]])

** Also of note, Mickey Mouse in the same game takes this trope UpToEleven: being the smallest character in Mission Mode, his Dodge Roll is so tight that if the player hammers the button repeatedly, he appears to have turned into a [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime Morph Ball]]... with a Keyblade sticking out the side.

* ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' has an unnecessary roll during the Holdout Shot maneuver. The character rolls to one side, pulls a gun from the lower leg and comes up firing a final shot. If executed in flight, the roll will be replaced by [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning a mid-air pirouette.]]

** ''3'' ups the ante on this with its limited inventory system, which encourages the player to repeatedly [[ThrowAwayGuns discard and replace their firearms]]. When picking up a new gun on the move, something players will do about as much as shooting, Max will tuck into a roll to grab it and can easily come up shooting

-->-- Film/GalaxyQuest

* Former outlaw Cole Cassidy (originally named [=McCree=]) of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has Combat Roll as one of his abilities. Interesting in that it automatically reloads his [[RevolversAreJustBetter Peacemaker]], allowing him to chain together nasty rapid-fire combos with his skill that lets him automatically unload all of his remaining bullets into an enemy. He can kill most non-Tank heroes in seconds this way.

* Former outlaw [=McCree=] of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has Combat Roll as one of his abilities. Interesting in that it automatically reloads his [[RevolversAreJustBetter Peacemaker]], allowing him to chain together nasty rapid-fire combos with his skill that lets him automatically unload all of his remaining bullets into an enemy. He can kill most non-Tank heroes in seconds this way.

Not to be confused with [[TabletopGames Attack Roll]] or RollingAttack. The IndyHatRoll is a related trope.

** Avon had a tendency to do this during a QuickDraw; unfortunately this meant actor Paul Darrow ended up [[AwesomeButImpractical breaking several of the wand-like Liberator guns whenever he rolled on them]]. He was eventually given a stronger prop gun made specifically for him.

* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill": Dale performs a completely unnecessary roll, coupled with his trademark [[{{Kiai}} "Shi-shi-shaw"]] while using a nail gun to build a house in "The Father, The Son And J.C.".

* ''Film/MortalKombat'':

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* This is your primary means of evasion in ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' trilogy. How quickly you can roll and how many invincibility frames your roll has depends on your equipment load, except in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' where equipment load only determines the speed of the roll and the Agility stat determines i-frames. In ''Demon's Souls'' and ''Dark Souls 1'', staying below 25% of your total equip load will provide you with the fastest roll with the most i-frames, while staying between 25% and 50% provides a standard roll. Above 50% you are stuck with the "[[FanNickname fat roll]]": a slow, useless flop on the ground. ''Dark Souls 3'' has these breakpoints at 30% and 70% respectively, while ''Dark Souls 2'' has your roll simply get progressively slower until the 70% breakpoint where you begin fat rolling. In any of these games, if you go above 100% of your equip load, you can't roll at all and you can barely even walk.

* ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'':

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Parodied in ''VideoGame/DetectivePikachu''; Pikachu will occasionally do a combat roll if you use a Pika Prompt, which just means Tim is having a conversation with him. "Just in case!" in his words.