Rou

Movie magic. I love it. And I hate it.

When you sit down to watch a movie, you knowingly suspend your disbelief to immerse yourself in the story. However, there are times that my mind just steps back and refuses to accept.

The funny thing is that the more fantastical the concept, the less likely it is to set off my alarms. A sci-fi movie wants to accept that all aliens are humanoid? The Matrix? I’m on board baby. I’ll forgive the counter always running down to 1 second left before it’s stopped. Want the ship to go past light speed? No problem.

The problem I’ve got is when things you know are incorrect are crucial building blocks to a movie. I have dozens of examples.

Why do sci-fi movies always show troopers standing up firing in lines? Didn’t that go out of fashion with muskets? Somehow, the future involves forgetting that firing from cover is smarter than standing up in the open.

I saw one on the sci-fi channel. There was a black hole. On earth. In a laboratory access tunnel. It was sucking wrenches, loose equipment, and people in. But the wall right next to it? Oh, that’s fine. Elementary physics surrenders.

Why, in Die Hard 2, don’t the planes all land in other airports around the region? There are about 60 bazillion of them within an hour of DC. The other traffic controllers in the area would certainly have no problem redirecting them. The movie kinda goes to hell unless you ignore that glaringly obvious flaw.

I saw Blade. I’m not proud. The vampire used sun block to prevent himself from frying in daylight. What? No vampire before him ever tried that? None? Really?

Remember the Core? Yeah. That film killed my disbelief in about 30 seconds flat. And that was the commercial. Sure it’s sci-fi, but for whatever reason, it fails to help me suspend my disbelief.

Gone in 60 Seconds. The guy out runs a HELICOPTER because he clicked his nitrous. Down a drainage canal. Right. Sure pal.

In Indiana Jones, they jump out of a plane on a raft. They hit a mountain side. Slide down it, and land in a raging river rapid. No injuries. Okie dokie.

I don’t mind a mild reversion of reality to help drive a movie home. I gotcha. And as a viewer I should be willing to surrender to the enjoyment of the film. But I swear there are things that my mind will not accept. Movie magic allows me to grant leeway. But somehow I’m incapable of ignoring something that should be realistic but becomes blatantly unrealistic.