Off the top of my head you could list Vertical Limit, Speed, Iron Man, Italian Job, Alaska, First Blood, The Edge, even Animal House...my head explodes in movie titles. I'd include any episode of the A-Team.

I get what you're saying, though and I agree. I like movies that spend time on the nuance, celebrating the thought process, crafting and celebration of making something from nothing but with what you have ready in your hands to beat the bad guy.

To open this a bit to reality tv, that might be the one area where there is a celebration of being a McGuyver. From building an elaborate wedding cake to creating fire or finding water in an adverse climate, its all there in better contrast to movies, because here we truly see people with the expertise to think outside the box rather than just using it as a mechanism to provide plot points.

(I can not believe I am comparing the realism of reality tv to a completely fabricated fake tv personality).

For example, there was an episode of a reality show called, Man, Woman, Wild. In the epi, Mykel Hawkes with Ruth gets dehydrated and suffering badly. He makes a fire by bow drill or friction technique (can't recall) and while we it only taking a few moments of screen time, he is discussing the technique, walking us through the process and admits its taken him 90 minutes to get it started.

To me that was huge compliment to the Preparedness community compared to Bear, Les, et al that even when they obviously have trouble with a fire it is rarely if ever mentioned the time or effort to complete it unless there is drama like a cut or accident or something.

Sorry if I rambled and hijacked.