Sometimes, we let the most
illogical, unbelievable things on the big screen
slip past us when we're into a really good movie and glued to our seats. Some of these movie mistakes are so common, that some of us might not even realize that those sorts of things wouldn't ever happen in real life.
Injecting a bit of science and common sense definitely makes watching a movie a bit more interesting, right? Pay close attention to what you're watching and you just might spot some of them! Here are some common movie mistakes you might want to watch out for:
Easy Electronic Locks From
James Bond to
The Terminator, at some point,
tech-savvy movies usually involve a scene where the hero has to gain access to some super-important, yet equally super-password-protected computer by using some sort of
code-breaking program. It does the job by trying every possible combination of figures until it finally gets the right one –conveniently presented as something like a password-slot-machine. Here's a neat little experiment:
grab a friend's iPhone and try guessing the
passcode to unlock it. After a couple of (failed) attempts, the device will lock you out and prevent you from trying to input anything more. If a cell phone can keep out
pesky intruders so well, how much more would a high-tech, super-important computer, right?
“Cut! Stylist!” Is it just me, or can some films double as feature-length shampoo commercials? Neo and company from
The Matrix and the girls of
Charlie's Angels can kick butt all day and walk away from a
tussle with their hair (still!) perfectly styled and silky-smooth. Being an expert
martial artist not only keeps one safe from hordes of baddies, apparently. It keeps hair free from
frizz and
tangles, too. And it doesn't just work for action movies. Check out Audrey Tautou in the French romantic-comedy
Amélie, or Audrey Hepburn in the classic
Roman Holiday: day-long scooter rides with the city air whizzing past are no match for the leading ladies'
impeccable dos.
“He's out, right?” With their fast-paced plots, exploding set-pieces and
hunky,
indefatigable protagonists, action movies have a lot to
distract you from one of Hollywood's subtlest, yet most common movie mistakes: firearms having seemingly infinite bullets. In the climactic scene where the hero takes on a group of evil henchmen with their curiously inaccurate guns, shots fire and a hail of bullets pour into the room and after a while, you're probably left wondering, “Hey, shouldn't they be reloading by now?”
Here's another fun experiment: in any action movie with a
shootout scene, try to keep track of the characters' guns and see if anyone keeps firing more than what their guns should hold without reloading. Revolvers like those in spaghetti westerns will hold 6 bullets and modern handguns typically have around 15, while
assault rifles usually hold 20 to 30.
Cars and Explosions Cars and explosions go hand in hand in Hollywood. High-speed chase scenes usually end with one or two cars crashing into something, getting shot at, or falling off a
cliff (or a combination of the three) and then blowing up in a loud,
fiery explosion with the hero escaping just in the nick of time.
If any of these things really happen in real life, I'd probably be very scared of climbing into the family car and driving out to traffic every Sunday. Cars are – surprisingly - not too keen on exploding into
fiery balls of
doom. The most likely source of fuel for an explosion is found in the gas tank, which car manufacturers
wisely seal in and put out of harm's way. The most exploding your car will ever do, really, takes place in the combustion engine. And thankfully, it's nothing like what you see in the movies!