| abstract | - A Big Damn Heroes moment of the best kind. The heroes are facing overwhelming odds. Everything looks hopeless and there is no possible way they can survive this. It almost looks like they are heading for a Bolivian Army Ending, when suddenly a large, menacing aircraft buzzes in over the horizon carrying enough firepower to turn the tide in favor of the heroes. It is often set up to be a complete surprise to the ones being rescued. That way, when the gunship lowers into place it produces squeals of joy from the audience. The real joy is the look on the enemy's face when the gunship appears and they have to stare down the gatling guns, rocket pods, lasers, or whatever heavy firepower is mounted on the craft. Often preceded by It Has Been an Honor. It also invokes some resemblance to Death From Above, and can often include an awesome looking visual of the rescuers doing a flyby, often putting themselves between the rescuees and the bad guys. Not classified as Deus Ex Machina, since most times it is set up in advance and rarely anticlimactic. And while most examples are of aircraft, specifically helicopter gunships or the Technology Level equivalent, ground vehicles and ocean vessels with a BFG mounted can sometimes be used for a Gunship Rescue. Examples of Gunship Rescue include:
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