# Hey movie, you have not solved the problem! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083 "2015-10-19T01:09:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/21 "2015-10-19T09:11:15Z")
> [@solosam](#): > > The one that comes to mind for me is Elysium. As I mentioned in the other thread, the central conflict was caused by massive overpopulation. The movie ends with dozens of magical medical machines being unleashed on Earth, which guarantees that the overpopulation problem is only going to get worse. > > That said, I don’t think the core or overarching problem has to be solved. It’s enough that the main character’s story (their part of it) is told. The solution to overpopulation, of course, is to build more orbiting habitats. Lots of them, But then, that shouldn’t be that difficult. After all, when space flight is so cheap that a two-bit criminal can own multiple orbital spacecraft, building new space stations is a piece of cake, especially if you don’t make them too fancy. Of course, you don’t need to beat the rich folk in order to do that. The film gave no indication that the were opposed to other stations being built. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/22 "2015-10-19T11:57:19Z")
**Return of the Living Dead** – no matter what they do (including nuking the site) just seems to cause the zombie-making chemical to spread. It makes you wonder how they ever dealt with the initial outbreak of the stuff. How’d they ever manage to get ALL the zombies into 55 gallon drums? **Colossus: The Forbin Project** – At the end, Colossus is still in control. D.F. Jones, who wrote the novel _Colossus_, wrote two sequels, in which Colossus is defeated, although another threat comes up, and the ending is still ambiguous. But at least differently ambiguous. **The Thing** – The 1982 John Carpenter version. Bill Lancaster’s script is wonderfully faithful to John Campbell’s original story, but I guess the unambiguous, upbeat ending was too Nice for Lancaster and Carpenter, so we’re left with an ambiguous ending that might still leave the Thing alive. In the comic-book sequels, it is. **Paths of Glory** – (spoilers) – Three innocent men get executed, but at least their commanding officer got his due. Unfortunately, the higher Brass assumed that Kirk Douglas’ Colonel Dax was only defending the men and pointing out his superior’s flaws in order to advance his own career, _and applauded him for doing it_. They didn’t really have a problem with the executions. So things will continue going the way they have. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/23 "2015-10-19T12:10:53Z")
Oh, I forgot a classic. **The Iron Giant.** Mmmh. Yeah. Superman. Sure. Very nice. Manly tears were shed. Buuuut- ISN’T THERE STILL AN EVIL ALIEN INVASION COMING TO DESTROY EARTH? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/24 "2015-10-19T15:51:54Z")
As pointed out on an episode of _The Big Bang Theory_, Indiana Jones wasn’t really needed in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. The nazis would still have opened the Ark and gotten wiped out by God’s wrath. The Ark is still lost at the end of the movie, only this time lost in bureaucratic limbo. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/25 "2015-10-19T15:59:27Z")
The X-Files, both the movie and the TV show. The alien invasion is still coming (should actually have happened by now), in which they plan on killing everyone/converting us to aliens via the Black Oil. We didn’t have anything to stop them. Maybe they got bored and forgot. Unless you postulate that everything in the Mytharc was a lie. That’s kinda cheating, though. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/26 "2015-10-19T16:13:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Return of the Living Dead** – no matter what they do (including nuking the site) just seems to cause the zombie-making chemical to spread. It makes you wonder how they ever dealt with the initial outbreak of the stuff. How’d they ever manage to get ALL the zombies into 55 gallon drums? Yahbut, the movie doesn’t pretend to solve the problem. In fact, the movie makes a point of showing the fall-out spreading and the other people getting skin irritations and the president coming to visit the site. . … ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/27 "2015-10-19T16:29:37Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Oh, I forgot a classic. > > **The Iron Giant.** > > Mmmh. Yeah. Superman. Sure. Very nice. Manly tears were shed. Buuuut- ISN’T THERE STILL AN EVIL ALIEN INVASION COMING TO DESTROY EARTH? Is that really how it ends? I would appreciate my ignorance being fought. I think I had assumed that the accident/attack that dented the Iron Giant’s head also threw it off course and it ended up on Earth randomly. It was being used in some galatic battle and Earth was off to the side. When I first saw you reference the Iron Giant, my first thought was “yeah, maybe it fits the OP: at the end, we see that the Iron Giant is working to rebuild itself, as we have seen it do successfully before. Okay, it rebuilds itself - now what? What has changed from the beginning of the movie?” But you went a different place. If this needs a separate thread, we can figure that out. But if there is something obvious to point to that demonstrates the aliens are coming for Earth, I am happy to smack my forehead and move on. Nice thread, **Biggirl**. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/28 "2015-10-19T17:05:24Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Yahbut, the movie doesn’t pretend to solve the problem. In fact, the movie makes a point of showing the fall-out spreading and the other people getting skin irritations and the president coming to visit the site. . … You could say the same for the others I cite – basically, the Bad Guys win. But all my proposals still fit the thread – the problem isn’t “solved” in any of the cases. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/29 "2015-10-19T17:14:46Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I think I had assumed that the accident/attack that dented the Iron Giant’s head also threw it off course and it ended up on Earth randomly. It was being used in some galatic battle and Earth was off to the side. > > Nice thread, **Biggirl**. Fair enough. He could have crashed on Earth randomly. There’s nothing in the story about what the robot was supposed to be before the dent, that I remember. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/30 "2015-10-19T17:21:56Z")
Charley is not only still retarded, but he’s gone from living a reasonably independent life to lbeing locked up in an institution for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/31 "2015-10-19T17:24:49Z")
Independence Day OK lots of the ships crashed to earth. The world is saved! But what about the thousands /millions of conquering aliens who survived the crashes? Now they are loose on earth running around with high tech weapons and the ability to control human minds. What now? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/32 "2015-10-19T17:28:39Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Fair enough. He could have crashed on Earth randomly. There’s nothing in the story about what the robot was supposed to be before the dent, that I remember. Cool. A classic regardless! I do believe there was a limited edition DVD that included some edited footage. IG has a “dream” while asleep in Dean’s junkyard…and maybe it was broadcast on the TV in Dean’s place? I never saw it, but remember hearing about it. I think it was a battle scene - I think I jumped to my conclusions after hearing about that… ETA: here is a youtube clip on it: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=05XM9huSWNU](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=05XM9huSWNU) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/33 "2015-10-19T17:31:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > You could say the same for the others I cite – basically, the Bad Guys win. > > But all my proposals still fit the thread – the problem isn’t “solved” in any of the cases. Bad Guys Win isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. I’m talking about movies where the Good Guys supposedly win but, due to the big, gaping plot hole, not really. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/34 "2015-10-19T17:34:03Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Bad Guys Win isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. I’m talking about movies where the Good Guys supposedly win but, due to the big, gaping plot hole, not really. Like, say **Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.** I mean _sure_, they look badass bursting out of that hiding place…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/35 "2015-10-19T17:35:15Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Independence Day > > OK lots of the ships crashed to earth. The world is saved! > > But what about the thousands /millions of conquering aliens who survived the crashes? Now they are loose on earth running around with high tech weapons and the ability to control human minds. > > What now? That may or may not be true: I don’t recall an reference to personnel weapons. They might just be lot of regular humanoids: granted, that can still cause a lot of havoc. Speaking of which, pretty much the same thing would have happened had the evil plot succeeded in The latest Tron. There would have been thousands of AI-bots let loose upon the world – whose weapons would have been pretty much useless. Which isn’t to say they wouldn’t have been able to cause a little havoc before being put down. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/36 "2015-10-19T17:37:46Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Cool. A classic regardless! I do believe there was a limited edition DVD that included some edited footage. IG has a “dream” while asleep in Dean’s junkyard…and maybe it was broadcast on the TV in Dean’s place? I never saw it, but remember hearing about it. I think it was a battle scene - I think I jumped to my conclusions after hearing about that… > > ETA: here is a youtube clip on it: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=05XM9huSWNU](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=05XM9huSWNU) Yeah, which also explains why he’s full of lasers and stuff. But I agree that the battle scene only shows that he was intended to be a soldier from a hostile place, not that he was intentionally sent to Earth. The battle scene doesn’t have any real context to it (that I recall, can’t rewatch Youtube at the moment). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/37 "2015-10-19T17:41:32Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Independence Day > > OK lots of the ships crashed to earth. The world is saved! > > But what about the thousands /millions of conquering aliens who survived the crashes? Now they are loose on earth running around with high tech weapons and the ability to control human minds. > > What now? Surviving a crash from space? You mean like the crew of the Challenger? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/38 "2015-10-19T17:48:28Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > _The Full Monty_ was a terrific movie. But I doubt the guys cleared enough from their one show to alleviate the problems of their chronic unemployment. They pulled in, what, a few hundred (maybe a couple thousand) pounds each? Unless they took it on the road, they’re probably headed back to the job service in short order. That’s the problem the protagonist _thought_ he was solving. What he accomplished, though, was repairing his relationship with his kid, and getting his ex-wife to allow him more time with his kid. That was my take, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/39 "2015-10-19T17:56:05Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Charley is not only still retarded, but he’s gone from living a reasonably independent life to lbeing locked up in an institution for the rest of his life. That movie is based on the story “Flowers for Algernon”, and based on what happens there, Charley won’t be in an institution for long, because he, like Algernon, is going to die shortly. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083/40 "2015-10-19T18:00:51Z")
Some good ones in here: [6 Plot Threads Famous Movies Forgot to Resolve](http://www.cracked.com/article_18978_6-plot-threads-famous-movies-forgot-to-resolve_p2.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-movie-you-have-not-solved-the-problem/735083.md?page=3)