Nailing a movie’s story is the best way to make it a hit with audiences, so there’s
lots of pressure on the screenwriter to craft a narrative that compels and makes sense.
And even if they do a great job highlighting interesting themes and character arcs, sometimes
the script can get derailed just by one tiny mishap that becomes a point of confusion.
Here are Screen Rant’s 10 Movies That Make No Sense Because Of One Small Detail.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
The romance between Anakin and Padme is a forbidden one, as it’s against the Jedi
Code for Jedi Knights to fall in love. But this is something that doesn’t make a whole
lot of sense. The Phantom Menace clearly introduces a biological component to the Force, and those
with high midichlorian counts are more powerful with it. You’d think that the Jedi Order
would want their members to pass on their midichlorians to a new generation to ensure
strong Force users instead of hoping they come across children with the right blood
samples. We get rejecting temptation, but Anakin should have been allowed to love.
Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino films are known for hyper-realism, but this is an instance where even he went
off the rails. Django Unchained is set in the late 1850s, a couple of years before the
Civil War. Throughout the film, particularly in the explosive destruction of the Candie
Land plantation, dynamite is used. The time period should make this impossible. Dynamite
was not invented until almost 10 years later in 1867. While it is fun to see Django win
and give the villains their comeuppance, it might have been better if he played by the
real-world rules to get his upper hand.
Gravity
The thrilling space drama is essentially a race against the clock, as astronaut Matt
Kowalski says they have 90 minutes before the debris completes an orbit around Earth
and threatens them again. But in reality, the chances of the debris presenting further
danger is quite small. After the explosion, the debris would have been sent in several
directions, and the film depicts several impacts that are separated by time and distance. After
the initial hit, all of the debris would be in completely different orbital tracks and
would not return to cause harm to Kowalski and Ryan Stone. Alfonso Cuarón went the extra
mile to portray space, but even he had to suspend disbelief.
Inception
To tell the difference between the real world and dreams, extractors use a totem that only
they know the exact properties of. There’s a strict rule that says you can’t let anybody
– even your trusted allies – touch your totem. But Cobb goes against that guideline.
The totem he uses in the film is the spinning top, but the top originally belonged to his
wife Mal before she died. Inception makes a point of saying that Cobb frequently does
things he advises against, but viewers have to question how reliable the totem is, since
it wasn’t Cobb’s to begin with. How’s that for a mind-bender?
Frozen
Disney films are typically fairy tales, but they need to be grounded in some form of reality.
In Frozen, Hans’ plan is to marry Anna and take the throne by killing Anna and her sister
Elsa. But that’s not how monarchies work. Someone married to royalty cannot take the
throne for their own, there would have to be a cousin, uncle, or someone else from the
bloodline to be next in line. Hans would always be a prince no matter what, and since he is
a prince when we first meet him, he should already know about this rule. Can Frozen fans
let this one go?
Mad Max: Fury Road
When he’s deemed a universal blood donor, he’s connected to the sick war boy Nux,
who needs fresh blood to recover. It is true that type O is the “universal donor,”
but that refers to the packed red cells only. When Max’s blood is being transfused, it’s
the whole blood – which includes red blood cells and plasma. There’s no universal donor
type for the whole blood, so the plasma should cause a transfusion reaction because it contains
A and B antibodies. It’s worth the risk in an emergency case like Furiosa, but it’s
typically not wise medical practice.
Whiplash
J.K. Simmons’ Fletcher is a tyrannical teacher, who uses intimidation tactics and extremely
tough love to motivate his students. He justifies his actions by telling the story of Charlie
Parker and Jo Jones, saying that Jones once threw a cymbal at Parker’s head to make
him the great player jazz fans know today. Fletcher actually bent the truth to fit his
needs. According to Charlie Parker himself, he was so distraught after the incident that
he didn’t practice his instrument for another three months. This means that Fletcher teaches
on faulty logic and his whole philosophy is incorrect. Hard criticism can inspire greatness,
but he goes too far.
Pulp Fiction
In Pulp Fiction’s “Bonnie Situation” story, Jules has an epiphany when he and Vincent
survive an attack. Instead of being fired down at point blank range, the hitmen watch
in amusement as their assaulter hits the wall behind them. But someone had already shot
the wall. Before the man pulls the trigger, a shot of Jules and Vincent show bullet holes
in the wall, meaning that the miracle Jules witnesses is unfounded and he should remain
in “the life.” Call it a continuity error, but Tarantino should have made sure the wall
was intact to ensure the maximum effect.
Moneyball
The Oakland A’s of Moneyball buck traditional team building practices and adapt advanced
statistics to sign undervalued, yet productive, players to help them win games. Their success
is credited to some of Billy Beane’s key pickups like Scott Hatteberg and Chad Bradford,
but they were hardly the stars of the team. In 2002, Oakland had the American League Cy
Young winner in Barry Zito, and shortstop Miguel Tejada was named MVP. They may have
had something to do with the 103 wins too, and the movie doesn’t even mention them.
Big stars go against Moneyball’s theme, but that’s a glaring oversight.
Nightcrawler
The ambitious Lou Bloom quickly rises to prominence in shady TV news with his coverage of horrifying
events, but he never should have gotten that opportunity. He makes his first connection
by simply walking into a TV station and sharing his footage with the producer. This goes against
real-world security practices, where stations are on total lock down and employ even stricter
methods at night, such as password protected doors. How Lou was able to get in without
being challenged by any authorities is a mystery we’re still trying to solve. No matter how
great his footage is, he needs to set up a formal meeting.
So what do you think of our list? Are there any movie details that drive you crazy? Be
sure to sound off in the comments section below and subscribe to our channel for more
fun videos like this one!