Why?
No, really, I mean, why?
This trope exists in at least 95% of all action movies, 80% of suspense or thriller movies, and 75% of science fiction or fantasy movies. It is depressingly overused, and in most cases could have been simplified with no discernible differences simply by stealing someone else's such scene and pasting your actor's face in.
I enjoy watching moderately bad, or even somewhat terrible, movies. I delight in watching the shoddy acting, lack of fight choreography, and low-budget CGI. But even when I'm enjoying the badness of a movie, this inevitable shot of exploding building/car/helicopter/universe ticks me off. It might be preceded by a 'chase' scene, in which an oddly slow-expanding shockwave or cloud of fire pursues the protagonist out of the building to be destroyed, before accelerating precipitously just as he or she can dive out of its path.
Yes, 'dive'. Whatever the material is, it will be a graceful, full-body, I-want-to-fly-like-Superman facedive onto the surprisingly forgiving earth. Despite proximity, no burns will ensue on their hair or their stylishly damaged clothing. No shockwave will notably perturb them, and no smoke will remain to choke on.
This is usually the point of the movie at which I start cheering for the protagonist's death, if I wasn't already.
Ran across this empty node, and had a rant to fill it.