# Famous movie twists you saw coming a mile away **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2006, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719 "2006-07-09T10:25:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/41 "2006-07-10T12:58:38Z")
Not a movie, but the music video “Smack My Bitch Up” by someone. Prodigy, I think. I saw it coming about sixty seconds in, but my friends were all agasp and avowed. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/42 "2006-07-10T13:12:25Z")
Terminator 2. You may be wondering what twist. The twist is Arnie is the good guy this time. The idiot producers gave this away in the trailers. Watch the movie and you will see Arnie and the other Terminator are searching for John Connor. The tension builds becuase we are not meant to know which is good and which bad. Except it does not build becuase everyone knew already. I found this really annoying first time I watched T2 ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/43 "2006-07-10T13:18:04Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Terminator 2. You may be wondering what twist. The twist is Arnie is the good guy this time. The idiot producers gave this away in the trailers. Watch the movie and you will see Arnie and the other Terminator are searching for John Connor. The tension builds becuase we are not meant to know which is good and which bad. Except it does not build becuase everyone knew already. I found this really annoying first time I watched T2 [/QUOTE] Even if it hadn’t been given away in the trailers, anyone with a half-decent understanding of Hollywood dramaturgy would have spotted it the instant T-1000 knifed the cop in the stomach. They just wouldn’t let a hero do that. Note that the T-800 doesn’t kill anybody when getting his clothes, and in fact gives his victim a chance to surrender them willingly. ---
**Author:** ![Maelstrom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Maelstrom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maelstrom)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/44 "2006-07-10T13:26:22Z")
About half an hour into the movie _Identity_ I had it figured out. The group of people who were also watching it didn’t believe me so my husband volunteered to hear my “plot Killer” and he had an “OMG how did you figure that out!?!” moment. I usually just enjoy movies and don’t treat them as puzzles but that time it just became obvious to me. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/45 "2006-07-10T13:38:59Z")
For me, the twist in **The Usual Suspects** isn’t the identity of Keyser Soze but that he made the entire story up after glancing at the bulletin board and coffee mug. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/46 "2006-07-10T14:12:09Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] For me, the twist in **The Usual Suspects** isn’t the identity of Keyser Soze but that he made the entire story up after glancing at the bulletin board and coffee mug. [/QUOTE] Excellent point, and one that has puzzled me all along, especially when I get in discussions about the “real story” being told. We only have the scenes outside the room (where Verbal is being interrogated) that can be relied on for “facts” in this movie. We have to discount the ones that are either flashbacks or dramatizations of things Verbal is saying. That leaves precious little, as I see it. The drawing that they get from the burn victim, while having a decent hairline, looks so little like Spacey that it could be anybody. In any case, that victim’s fear of Keyser Soze is about all we have to suggest there’s even a real KS. ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/47 "2006-07-10T14:17:18Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] I got _The Bone Collector_ killer as soon as the character was first shown on-screen. I wasn’t even watching it, I walked past at that moment while mrs.gnu was watching. Not from my scriptwriting, though, but from storyboarding class: …The camera lingers on him just a little too long. Going to film school makes you watch movies differently. I look for general movie standard practices, especially the end-of-act-one timing based on the total movie running time. [/QUOTE] For me, it was something completely different. Odd that it’s screenwriting vs. storyboarding that gives this away, but… We’d discussed the week before the introduction of minor characters. The give-away? If a minor character who seems insiginificant to the plot appears twice, it will be his third appearance in which something major will either happen to him, or a big reveal will be made of him. Guy appeared twice, and walks in the third time right before the ‘big climax’. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/48 "2006-07-10T14:34:15Z")
My brother and I saw the preview for [_The Recruit_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0292506/), looked at each other, and said at the same time “Al Pacino’s the mole” We were correct, as it turned out. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/49 "2006-07-10T14:40:12Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] Watch [**The Spanish Prisoner**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120176/), then. Mamet takes the movie-watching skills and expectations you’ve developed over a lifetime and _uses them against you_. Not only did I miss the final twist during the movie (he doesn’t actually reveal it but leaves it as an exercise for the viewer to figure out) but it was about 24 hours of mulling things over, DD [/QUOTE] Could you share some of your insights (in a spoiler box)? I liked the film but much of the plot still mystifies dumb ol’ me. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/50 "2006-07-10T14:51:54Z")
**Black Widow**. > **[Black Widow (1987) ⭐ 6.4 | Crime, Drama, Mystery](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090738/)** > > 1h 42m | R Movie reviewers who talked about the “plot twist” at the end need a lesson in what constuitutes a Plot Twist. I Hated, Hated,. Hated this movie. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/51 "2006-07-10T14:54:25Z")
OK, **RealityChuck** , what is the “Rule of Conservation of Characters?” A quick Google confirms it exists, but does not explicitly state it. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/52 "2006-07-10T15:53:02Z")
**Minority Report** The second he came on screen I knew that Max von Sydow was the “surprise” villain. **The Bourne Supremacy** I groaned when I realized that they were making Brian Cox a “surprise” villain, because I liked his character in the first movie. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/53 "2006-07-10T15:55:12Z")
I forgot the stupid “surprise” villain in **Strange Days**. They pretty much telegraphed the crap out of that one, though. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/54 "2006-07-10T16:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=BluePitbull] I didn’t know about the twist in 6th sense till the end. What gave away the twist? [/QUOTE] For me it was a couple of things - when he was late for their anniversary dinner and she just totally ignored him (cut him dead you could say !) not even a glance; the grown ups at the wedding not noticing him or reacting to his presence, then the piece of furniture in front of the door down to his basement room. The time he broke the window of her shop by jealous thoughts was too obvious. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/55 "2006-07-10T16:32:05Z")
Roger Ebert’s Law of Conservation of Characters: “Every individual, no matter how brief their initial appearance, will have some crucial role to play later in the proceedings.” That’s probably a paraphrase, and I’m guessing it’s from [_Ebert’s “Bigger” Little Movie Glossary_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0836282892/ref=sr_11_1/002-4295565-6331206?ie=UTF8). ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/56 "2006-07-10T16:57:24Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Jones] For me it was a couple of things - when he was late for their anniversary dinner and she just totally ignored him (cut him dead you could say !) not even a glance; the grown ups at the wedding not noticing him or reacting to his presence, then the piece of furniture in front of the door down to his basement room. The time he broke the window of her shop by jealous thoughts was too obvious. [/QUOTE] Basically what you said, but when people asked me how I got the twist, I just told them “Hmm. The kid sees dead people. The guy gets shot. NO ONE in the entire movie talks to the guy \*except \* for the kid. Do the math.” ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/57 "2006-07-10T23:13:11Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] Even if it hadn’t been given away in the trailers, anyone with a half-decent understanding of Hollywood dramaturgy would have spotted it the instant T-1000 knifed the cop in the stomach. They just wouldn’t let a hero do that. Note that the T-800 doesn’t kill anybody when getting his clothes, and in fact gives his victim a chance to surrender them willingly. [/QUOTE] I think you are getting the chronology wrong ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/58 "2006-07-11T00:27:11Z")
In the James Bond film **Goldeneye** I figured out who the surprise villain was going to be about 5 minutes into the movie. Let’s just say a character that seemingly gets killed very early in the movie was played by an actor who even then was too big a star and had too high billing to be gone that soon. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/59 "2006-07-11T00:57:48Z")
Ironically, **Twisted** had terribly predictable twists. Awful movie. I figured out **Inside Man** right away. It kind of took some of the enjoyment out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719/60 "2006-07-11T01:47:46Z")
I figured out the ending to _The Life of David Gale_ about halfway through the trailer for it (never actually saw it; checked to confirm that I’d guessed right when it occurred to me to do so). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-movie-twists-you-saw-coming-a-mile-away/363719.md?page=4)