# What's the most preposterous film ever? Sudden Death (1995; Warning: Spoilers!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573 "2006-07-15T04:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573/21 "2006-07-17T15:53:10Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] See, the Catholic church is murdering people all over the world to keep a terrible secret. The secret is a lost gospel, one that would blow the lid off the Catholic church because it claims that Jesus is everywhere and that ordinary men can access the divine without the intercession of priests. This secret information will destroy the Church…and they will kill to keep the secret. [/QUOTE] Only, as evidenced by _Da Vinci Code_ mania, a surprising number of people don’t find a premise like this all that preposterous. In fact, many find it quite plausible. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![MagicXylophone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@MagicXylophone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicXylophone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573/22 "2006-07-17T17:33:03Z")
I’m surprised I’m the first to mention this. _The Core_ ftw. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573/23 "2006-07-17T19:24:30Z")
Time travel is always a dilly of a pickle, but **Time Cop** not only strained but burst through any semblance of logic or continuity. [As did **The Lake House** , but that one was just lame and forgettable.] ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573/24 "2006-07-17T21:27:56Z")
[QUOTE=Rilchiam] And not just bombs, but MOABs. [/QUOTE] They were actually nukes, called prosaically enough “planet busters.” The story was that ionizing radiation made “breathe-gas” (the atmosphere of Psychlo) explode. Hence, big nukes made big explosions, which caused the planet (which had been extensively mined for millennia) crack apart. Not plausible, but at least ol’ L. Ron made an attempt to explain it. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573/25 "2006-07-17T22:56:00Z")
[QUOTE=wm–] Only, as evidenced by _Da Vinci Code_ mania, a surprising number of people don’t find a premise like this all that preposterous. In fact, many find it quite plausible. :eek: [/QUOTE] Spoilers for the _Da Vinci Code_: There was only a single fanatic Catholic who was willing to kill a bunch of people for the secret. Even the Bishop (or whatever he was) was adamant that they operate nonviolently. The actual killings were orchestrated by the guy who wanted to see the Church fall apart. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573/26 "2006-07-18T02:34:30Z")
Psh. Most preposterous movie evar? Steven Seagal’s \*\*On Deadly Ground \*\* (a Steven Seagal Production) FTW! It’s got all the hallmarks of a great SS flick\*, with the bonus of ole Steve having his hand on the director’s button, so nobody else was able to temper the raging ego… - Multiple references to Steve’s “mysterious” past that nobody can unravel. Is he CIA? FBI? DOD? SAS? Nobody knows. But he’s a badass. - The barfight scene, which can be summed up in two lines: **Steven:** “What does it take to change the essence of a man?” \*\*“Bad” Guy, who Steven’s just kicked seven kinds of shit out of, after destroying most of the bar while taking out his crew: \*\* “Time. I need time to change” - The dialogue in almost every scene, where the only point of the characters speaking is to point out how Awesome Steve is, How Mysterious Steve is, How Dangerous Steve is or How Much of All Three Steve is - The few other scenes that existed solely to display How Evil The Oil Industry Is, right down to Michael Caine’s puppy-eating character, and his bumbling mercenaries who shoot innocent old Eskimoes - Mystical Martial Arts, and Inexplicable Boobies - The crux of his visit to the native settlement - And finally, the five minute “Teh oil companies and teh governments is keeping us in the dark about free fuel non polluting it’s all a conspiracy!” rant at the end of the film. Rumor has it the speech actually went for somewhere between 10-15 minutes, and Steve only “allowed” the movie company to shave it down when test audiences started leaving the cinemas less than halfway through. Sure, \*\*Battlefield Earth \*\* was cheesy sci-fi with plot-holes you could drive a Death Star through, and terrible acting from La Travolta. It was campy good fun. But I watched the two in quick succession, and I can tell you it was **ODG** that had my eyes rolling like little marbles all the way across the floor (when hubby and I weren’t going “Did he just say ‘Ah my balls?’”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-preposterous-film-ever-sudden-death-1995-warning-spoilers/364573.md?page=1)