# Dumb things in movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433 "2016-02-28T21:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/1 "2016-02-28T21:21:28Z")
1. Chase scene: People running away from cars. Why do the people run _down_ the street instead of simply running over to the sidewalk and into a nearby building where the car chasing them can’t go? 2. Computer sounds. I’ve never heard a computer make those sounds when I enter something??? 3. War of the Worlds movie 1953: The alien space ships had a dome shaped protective force-field-covering - a nuclear bomb dropped near these did nothing! Well Duh! They should have simply buried the nuke underground along in the path of where one of these spaceships was traveling, then exploded it when the spaceship’s dome was over the bomb! Geeezzze! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/2 "2016-02-28T21:40:38Z")
Outrunning an explosion, or ducking around a corner to avoid it. And of course, when you capture James Bond, just shoot him. Don’t explain your evil plan, don’t walk him right by the big red self destruct button, just kill him, and don’t walk away expecting the laser machine to do, wait there until he’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/3 "2016-02-28T21:55:45Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > . . . And of course, when you capture James Bond, just shoot him. Don’t explain your evil plan, don’t walk him right by the big red self destruct button, just kill him, and don’t walk away expecting the laser machine to do, wait there until he’s dead. You just don’t get it, do you Scotty? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/4 "2016-02-28T21:57:55Z")
Last night I watched the Dwayne Johnson blockbuster _ **San Andreas** _. End of post. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/5 "2016-02-28T22:28:15Z")
When you overpower one of the multitude of bad guys chasing you, **take his gun before running away again**. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/6 "2016-02-28T22:48:57Z")
Don’t throw your empty gun at the bad guys. > [@](#): > > Last night I watched the Dwayne Johnson blockbuster San Andreas. I have you beat. Yesterday I watched **Gods of Egypt**. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/7 "2016-02-28T23:04:26Z")
Pretty much anything to do with hacking computers. ‘Firewall’ was just one fail after another. Or pick a cop show. “The suspect bought a knife that matches the murder weapon on eBay in 2004.” ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/8 "2016-02-28T23:49:47Z")
When the gun magazine runs out of bullets, don’t just throw your Guns the floor. You might find additional cartridges or bullets on the next dead body you encounter. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/9 "2016-02-29T06:03:55Z")
When your opponent drops his fancy sci-fi weapon…keep it and use it against him!! Oh wait…This is why I love Predator 2. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/10 "2016-02-29T06:12:08Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Last night I watched the Dwayne Johnson blockbuster _ **San Andreas** _. > > End of post. Yep, drop the mic. If I lived in that world I’m not sure which would bother me more: the super-earthquake or the cheesiness. It’s so dumb I didn’t even realize one of the problems with the premise until it was mentioned on Cracked (that he’s a rescue worker, using a rescue helicopter, that spends most of the film ignoring people in need to go find his daughter). ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/11 "2016-02-29T06:24:26Z")
Lava only burns if you actually touch it. As seen in _Volcano, Dante’s Peak, The Return of the King,_ as well as every video game ever made. Excess radiation makes you feel sick and woozy immediately, but if you quickly get away from the radioactive area you’ll be fine. _(Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)_ ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/12 "2016-02-29T06:27:29Z")
I get that in Sci-Fi, you have to have sound in space for dramatic effect. But Star Wars took it beyond the pale with “sonic bombs” in space. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/13 "2016-02-29T06:37:19Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Lava only burns if you actually touch it. As seen in _Volcano, Dante’s Peak, The Return of the King,_ as well as every video game ever made. > > Excess radiation makes you feel sick and woozy immediately, but if you quickly get away from the radioactive area you’ll be fine. _(Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)_ Similarly life support failing means you will all die immediatly. And 'Radiation will become lethal in 12…11…10…" Because all species and every member of that species in every part of the ship at once will react exactly alike to that radiation. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/14 "2016-02-29T06:43:15Z")
Any scene that talks about guns being registered, or needing to be registered. Very, very, very few jurisdictions require any sort of registration for guns. (Except machine guns, but that’s a different issue altogether.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/15 "2016-02-29T08:12:49Z")
Patients with an hour to live will make a speedy recovery even if the antidote or treatment is administered in the closing seconds of that hour. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/16 "2016-02-29T08:16:50Z")
I still hear “over and out” as recently as February 2016. ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/17 "2016-02-29T08:41:38Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > 1. Computer sounds. I’ve never heard a computer make those sounds when I enter something??? Actually iPads and the like do make sounds when you type, and some morons don’t turn this off. But even worse, some TV shows (Bones…) have computer _screens_ make sound when they _display_ data. WTF?! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/18 "2016-02-29T08:56:19Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > 1. Computer sounds. I’ve never heard a computer make those sounds when I enter something??? I swear, I’m always hearing Atari Pac Man sounds emanating from computers in movies pre 2000. I always smile when I hear that though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/19 "2016-02-29T09:54:33Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > When you overpower one of the multitude of bad guys chasing you, **take his gun before running away again**. The absolute dumbest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do in a movie was when cop (or PI, or government agent; I don’t remember) Gene Hackman got the drop on a bad guy and then said \*“Ha! It’s a toy gun!” \*before he’d slapped the handcuffs on (or otherwise incapacitated) him. Naturally, the bad guy (by this time really, _really_ PISSED OFF!) just grabbed the gun out of Gene’s hand and proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of him! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433/20 "2016-02-29T10:48:45Z")
Any and all variants of the “Siskel & Ebert Fruit Cart” in chase scenes. It used to be in every urban auto chase scene in a TV show, one of the speeding cars would take off the open driver’s door of a VW microbus. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-in-movies/747433.md?page=2)