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“Uh, It Doesn’t Work Like That”: 40 Unrealistic Movie Moments That Require Viewers To Suspend Their Disbelief
Interview
According to Hollywood, you’ll be totally fine if you jump out of a moving car. Maybe you’ll get a few scrapes. Babies come out of the womb perfectly clean and looking three months old, and hacking into a government database only requires smashing a keyboard for a few seconds.
We all know movies aren’t real life, but sometimes, they could try a little bit harder to be realistic. Reddit users have recently been discussing moments in films that cause them to seriously suspend their disbelief, so you’ll find their most spot-on replies below. Enjoy scrolling through, and keep reading to hear from the man who started this conversation in the first place, as well as film critic and founder of Every Movie Has A Lesson, Don Shanahan!
This post may include affiliate links.
We reached out to the Reddit user who started this conversation in the first place, u/czp55 or Ryan, and lucky for us, he was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. As far as what inspired him to ask this question, the OP shared that he's been over-analyzing media for as long as he can remember.
"I had watched one film in particular that day which prompted the question, but I honestly can’t remember what it was now," he noted. "Could have been one of the Fast and Furious movies, but I might be wrong. I definitely never expected the question to pick up activity the way it did. I had to silence notifications for a while."
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#2
When a baby is born and it’s a beautiful, squeaky clean 3-6 month old twice the size of a newborn. They are tiny, goo covered, swollen purple aliens IRL.
#3
::15 seconds of keyboard clicking::
"I'm in. Now we have access to all the super secret classified government files and can control anything that runs on electricity anywhere in the world."
Mustafa Kiziroğlu 12 months ago
Mr. Robot was far far better, much more realistic as a hacking story. So many U.S. productions feel like they pulled words one by one out of the bag.
We also asked Ryan which scenes he always has a hard time taking seriously in TV shows and films. "As a Software Engineer by profession, I’ll go with almost any scene with a 'computer expert' in it showing off their 'skills,'" he says. "There were several great comments to that effect in the thread which explain the problems with those scenes much better than I could."
#4
My dad was a pipe engineer for 35 years. Every time he watches The Titanic, when Jack is handcuffed to the pipe, he has to point out to everyone in the room how the curved elbow pipe in the shot didn’t exist at the time. The correct setup should have been two straight pieces soldered together to make a corner pipe. I love him and his obscure dad facts!
LauraDragonWench 12 months ago
Obscure dad facts are the best! Then again, I have a soft spot for dad jokes, so...
#5
The extent that people can get punched in the face and just keep going. No one is having Jason Bourne style fights and able to keep going for as long as they all do.
Rachel Ratty 12 months ago
I think the most realistic fight scenes have to be the ones in Bridget Jones - Tee Hee
On the other hand, we also asked the OP if he could share any films that he appreciates for how surprisingly realistic they are. "This movie is fantastic for many reasons, but I loved the unexpected depiction of iterative design in How to Train Your Dragon, when Hiccup is creating a replacement tail fin for Toothless," Ryan shared.
"The first few times he tries, he runs into problems, which he designs around before trying again. He eventually figures out he needs unique positions for different maneuvers before having a complete working product," the OP explained. "There was a surprising amount of experimenting and redesigning for a fictional, animated movie. Contrast that with most movies treating first generation prototypes as flawless artifacts that work perfectly."
#6
Crawling through air ducts. Most aren't that big. Or they aren't that strong to not bend or break at all. They are also incredibly filthy. I have taken out enough duct work to know that you could almost create another person with how many skin cells end up in your air ducts. I also am not doubting the strength of the large threaded supports some duct work has. I'm doubting the strength of the 20 gauge metal to not end bend in the slightest under the weight of a full grown man.
#7
90% of the depictions of women going into labor. It's rarely 'Mom feels fine all day > suddenly has one sharp contraction > water immediately breaks and makes a puddle on the floor. Everyone I know who's given birth has had at least a few hours contracting before the water breaking, if it breaks at all, and then it can be even longer before you're in active labor.
Amelia Jade 12 months ago
As a labor doula, I get annoyed at how labor and birth is portrayed on tv.
Ryan also told Bored Panda that the responses his post received were amazing. "I found myself nodding furiously at most of them as they came in," he noted. "One that sticks in my mind is the mention of a certain GI Joe movie scene where they torpedo icebergs, which then sank. There was also a fantastic reply to it: 'I have the perfect scientific explanation for this: That movie sucked.'"
#8
Pretty much any scene where there's some magic computer program that turns blurry, heavily-pixellated images into razor sharp photos?
Yeah. That doesn't exist.
#9
Every time they perform CPR in a movie. Bonus points if the victim wakes up immediately and is totally fine and talking.
David Stutzmann 12 months ago
I add defibrillation systematically administered on asystole (flat trace)! This is totally absurd since the defibrillator is so called because it is only used during fibrillation (ventricular). In semi-automatic mode, it is impossible to shock a patient into asystole. And even in manual mode, there is no chance that his heart will restart if the shock occurs during a flat route. Yet we see this in all films, even those dealing with internal medicine or emergencies...
Ryan shared that he actually posted the question shortly after he started writing his first novel several years ago. "It certainly helped motivate me to do my fair share of research for certain aspects of my story, and I hope it’s better for it," he told Bored Panda. "I published the novel in 2022, and I’m working to publish the sequel soon. Having delved into the art of writing a fair bit more now, I can confidently say that, for fiction at least, we all generally want realism to take a backseat to effective storytelling."
"There was one comment that mentioned unnaturally perfect dialogue without stuttering or pauses for instance, which is absolutely true, but depending on the genre and tone of the story, the audience may appreciate the efficiency of the dialogue to allow time for other things," he went on to explain. "Still, even when we appreciate the trade-off, it’s always great fun to harp on everything stories get wrong!"
#10
Chloroform. It takes several minutes to knock you out, and you won't be out for that long. I promise I know this because we use chloroform to clean stuff in the lab I intern at, and my advisor told me this. In case the FBI is reading this.
LauraDragonWench 12 months ago
Right, you use chloroform to "clean your lab." Sure, I believe you. *wink*
#11
If someone is falling, and say Superman catches them, they're actually f****d because the forces involved are still going to tear them apart. Superman would have to catch them and decelerate them over time, but this almost never happens. He just catches them. You also can't just lift an enormously heavy object. The object has to have the structural integrity to remain in one piece - all that pressure at one point (Superman's hand) would make the object break apart.
SadieCat17 (she/her) 12 months ago
Imagine falling onto two superman arm shaped pipes at terminal velocity. That's what it would feel like.
To gain even more insight on this topic, we also reached out to film expert Don Shanahan, founder and writer of Every Movie Has a Lesson. Don shared that, aside from being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, he's also a fifth grade school teacher by day. "That makes me notice movies have inaccuracies or impossible conveniences that take place in school settings," he told Bored Panda. "For example, there are so many movies (Back to the Future, the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, Ender's Game) where outside, non-active student characters somehow just infiltrate a school and wander the hallways undetected or unstopped by school personnel."
#12
Rolling out of a speeding car. Na man, you're about to look like you made out with a cheese grater.
Scott Rackley 12 months ago
exact same thing as laying a bike down or high siding, you're going to need some paramedics even with the best gear
#13
Anytime sword fighting or fencing in a movie is related to dancing (looking at you Pirates of the Caribbean and GoT.)
It’s the exact opposite of dancing. The point is to have a completely unpredictable tempo and, if your opponent does have a specific rhythm, to interrupt it in unpredictable ways.
Source: fenced for ten years.
Anna Soldánová 12 months ago
This is correct for "I americký actively trying to kill you" sword fighting. Which is what they are trying to present in The shows. But for The stage sword fights or reenactment it is, exactly like dance. You Need counting, tempo, precise choreography si it looks cool but you do NOT kill each other. Basically The fightchoreographers should use their routine and techniques from stage fighting to máme it look like unpredictible "killing" fighting, but... It is, hard. Classic form over substance fight (punc intended).
"In today's day and age, especially in this sensitive era of school shootings, visitor security protocols would never let that happen," Don explained. "That and the staff know everyone. No stranger would get through without getting spotted and questioned by even the most low-level school employee."
"Another school setting inaccuracy are those moments when a big speech scene that interrupts a school event is allowed to happen with all kinds of bystanders," the film expert continued. "Take the big graduation public confessional that goes down at the end of Crazy, Stupid Love. The number of school staff members or witnessing parents would squelch and shun those moments in a heartbeat."
#14
The amount of time between responses in phone conversations.
"Hi mom."
*1.37 seconds later*
"What do you mean Larry and his ferret were hit by a scooter in Moscow!?"
#15
EpiPen usage!! You HAVE to call the ambulance or rush to the hospital after administering it. EpiPen’s are not a magical fix they simply buy you enough time to get to medical care. It bothers me relentlessly when movies show someone being given and EpiPen and they just take a big gasp of air and go back to eating dinner like nothing happened.
We also wanted to know if Don ever has a hard time taking scenes seriously, when he knows they're extremely unrealistic. "I tend to pride myself on suspending my disbelief and letting things play out," he shared. "In most cases, those examples I'm talking about are done with humor where the fish-out-of-water or public spotlight circumstances make for good laughs. I may chalk them up to lazy research or uninspired screenwriting, but they don't take me out of the movie like I know they do for others with more sensitive antennae for accuracies."
#16
Pretty much everything to do with sleeping:
* No awkward clean up after doing the deed
* Ever so gently waking up in a room that is already brighter than the sun
* Immediately kissing and talking right at each other without recoiling from morning breath
* Perfect hair and make-up, both going to bed and waking up
* The infamous L-shaped sheet of modesty
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 12 months ago
As a Goth, my favorite is when I hook up with a fellow Goth, spending at least 20 minutes going through the mass of black cloths on the floor. Also figuring out how you both ended up naked except for your boots. Pants, chains everything but the boots. I've done it a few times and I still can't figure out how I do it.
#17
When the guy stalks the girl and gets the girl in the end
LauraDragonWench 12 months ago
I blame "Twilight" for promoting this toxic concept of "love" and making it somehow the standard in modern romance novels, films, tv shows.
As far as scenes Don has noticed were done quite accurately, he shared, "Sticking with the school teacher hat I wear and the education setting, one of the best examples of a realistic school teacher was Woody Harrelson's character Max Bruner in The Edge of Seventeen, written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, who's an awards contender this year for Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."
#18
How "beautiful" depression and disorders are. How it makes you so dainty and pretty and soft. If you threw up your guts every night you would not be bright eyed and gentle with luscious hair and strong nails. If you were depressed you aren't sitting prettily, and looking mysterious. And don't get me started on how suicides are NOT that easy, nor that painless and perfect.
#19
Our hero is beaten, stabbed and shot. Next scene he wakes up bandaged in the hospital. Within seconds, he yanks out all the tubes and wires, jumps out of bed, finds his - suddenly clean - clothes, and rushes out to continue his quest. In the next scene he's full of energy as he pursues his foe, and while his face may have a single scratch or bandaged cut - usually above one eye - there's no sign of what would ordinarily be a yellow-purple swollen pulpy mess with blood-red eyes.
Dash Junior 12 months ago
In the movie Total Recall the Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Sharon Stone characters get into a fight. The Stone character kicks the Schwarzenegger character in his nuggets. He goes down in pain. I am sure that every almost every man in the theater clenched up in horror. Well, it took less than five seconds for the Schwarzenegger character to get back up and start fighting again. Lordy! I think that I would have been down for a week.
"Harrelson's blunt honesty and callous expectations in his interactions with Hailee Steinfeld's Nadine Franklin are spot-on for high school teachers," Don explained. "Yet, his stern and sarcastic persona still balances an available empathy that 99% of teachers have and never lose when it comes to supporting their students. He's far more realistic than the usual book-smart, naive idealist stereotypical traits they lather on actors and actresses playing school teachers. Give me more movie teachers like Max Bruner."
If you'd like to hear more of Don's thoughts on popular films, be sure to check out his site Every Movie Has A Lesson!
#20
When someone shoots 10000000000000000 bullets with a single magazine in a pistol but then it runs out when they have an actual shot at someone
#21
There's the trope of people in advertising having to stay late around the holidays, rushing to finish up the holiday campaign for the new client and having to choose between their career and their family. Yeah, that would not happen very often.
In reality the holiday campaign would have been finalized quite some time ago after months of planning, back-and-forth with the client, reviewing layouts/proofs, etc. Around the holiday season we would most likely be working on planning stuff for the spring/summer of the next year.
Two_rolling_black_eyes 12 months ago
I've worked for a couple fortune 400 companies. Advertising takes December off. Them working the week of Christmas would be like Martin Scorsese working in the editing room after the movie has been out 2 weeks already.
#22
Pretty much any scene that involves biologists. “Look, the DNA is a perfect match!” as the computer superimposes two identical graphics that are basically just the symbol for DNA 🧬.
Anonymouse 12 months ago
There was one CSI where the victim had plucked a guitar in a p**n shop and they got DNA from the guitar strings. That miniscule amount of DNA, cross contaminated with everyone else - not gonna happen.
#23
There was a scene in the GI Joe cobra movie where they torpedo ice bergs, and then they sank. Yeah, ice doesn't change its density to be heavier than water just because EXPLOSIONS
Tabitha 12 months ago
Icebergs aren’t only what can be seen on top of the water. You only see 10% of it above water, and depending on how big that 10% is, the other 90% can be BIG, and go very VERY deep under the water. Haven’t seen this movie (and probably never will), but I’m curious. Did they actually obliterate 100% of the iceberg, top and bottom?
#24
When some random person in a bar yells out ”next round is on me!", Everybody cheers, and the bartenders instantly start handing out drinks without ever talking to the person or getting any kind of payment.
#25
It always takes me out of the movie when say someone will be like “you’ll never believe what’s on the news. Put it on”. Their tv is off, they turn the tv on, and it’s on the EXACT station of said news crew, at the EXACT moment they’re talking about I said topic. That’s not how it works. And it could be anything. Not just news. They turn on the tv and it just so happens to be on what their looking for. Just a small aspect of television/movies that takes me out of it and I’m always like “that’s not how this works.”. Lol
Kelli Goldstone 12 months ago
This actually happened to me. I found out my aunties parents got shot by walking into it on the news. My parents wanted to tell me in person and asked me to drive back from the lake as soon as possible. The timing was crazy. They were front page.
#26
Hitting animals with tranquillizer darts and they collapse immediately.
The reality is that it can take 30-45 minutes for an animal to go down completely, longer if the animal is agitated.
This is why when kids fall into gorilla pits, the lethal weapons are used. Responders don’t have 30-45 minutes to wait for a large, agitated dangerous animal to stumble around and possibly injure someone. The response has to be immediate, and tranquilizers don’t do that.
#27
“The neutrinos are mutating!” -2012.
Neutrinos can’t f*****g mutate. They can’t even decay.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 12 months ago
2012 was pretty much all bad science. Right there with The Core in terms of garbage science.
#29
Basically any time they show lab work being done.
They either don't wear PPE, or they do wear it but don't wear it properly, or for the right things. Food/beverage/chewing gum in a lab is a big big no. If some character in a drama TV show walked into my lab demanding results, the first thing I'd do is give them safety glasses...
LauraDragonWench 12 months ago
Not necessarily the lab, but I loathe the trope of "coroner eating lunch while performing autopsy." Makes me want to scream.
#30
An explosion nearby and everyone talks and hears fine. I love that scene in The Other Guys about this.
#31
People getting knocked out and waking up a bit later, shaking their heads, and then heading off like normal. Getting knocked out is not like lightly bumping your head on something.
LauraDragonWench 12 months ago (edited)
When I was, like, 8, I fell off a friend's swing set and got my head bonked by the seat. I can't remember if I passed out - I think I did because I remember one minute being on the ground, seeing my friend's shocked face and then seeing their mother squatting next to me. I do remember that, because of that bonk, I completely forgot my address and phone number for about 10 minutes, even though I just lived down the block and had memorized my number years earlier. The brain and any injuries to it should never be taken lightly.
#32
I refused to see the movie Lucy because it was based around the myth "we only ever use 10% of our brain." Like, no we don't? We use the whole thing. We cannot just unlock our brains with fancy tech or drugs and suddenly have telekinesis and s**t.
Dash Junior 12 months ago
I think that Lucy is a very interesting, and entertaining, movie. I know that 10% brain use thing is a myth.
#33
Pumping the shotgun every time you mean business. You're just ejecting fresh shells on to the floor.
Two_rolling_black_eyes 12 months ago
I was taught its better to have a shotgun than a handgun for home defense. First, everyone knows the noise when you pump it the first time and the movies have made it scary. Hearing that coming from upstairs should encourage someone who broke in to steal a TV to leave. Life is better when you don't shoot someone (for both parties).
#34
The protagonists and antagonists fighting on the streets and not giving a s**t about thousands of people dying while the cars explode and buildings fall.
MrPractical 12 months ago
I take issue with the example picture. Zod was out to kill every human on earth, starting with Metropolis. Superman was trying to stop him.
#35
One that always gets me is when "medical professionals" shock a flatline heart rhythm.
ConstantlyJon 12 months ago
For those who don't understand, shocking doesn't restart the heart, it actually stops it in an attempt to get it to restart naturally. If a patient's heart flatlines, it is already stopped, thus stopping it again isn't going to do anything further. In that case, you'd give an injection to attempt to force the heart to begin beating again.
#36
There is no cleaning up before or after sex. Everyone is just ready to go allll the time!
Tyranamar Seuss 12 months ago
I really don't want to watch the cleaning up part of sex. I don't need every piece of reality.
#37
People in movies being "scientists", meaning they are good at all forms of science - biology, electrical engineering, physics, programming, communication protocols, advanced mathematics, hacking, robotics...
Sure, you could have some knowledge in all of those fields - but specialising in just one of them takes decades... These characters are usually wizards in all fields.
Paul K. Johnson 12 months ago
The Professor on Gilligan's Island. He was a professor and thus knew everything about everything tech and Science. Because that's exactly how Science works.
#38
In Interstellar when they have combines running through a field of green corn. They spent a ton of time getting little details of astrophysics right, then fell flat on their face in the depiction of farming.
#39
Movies set a long time ago trying to emulate people from 500-2000 years ago but they all have perfect skin and white teeth.
Cherry pie 12 months ago
Actually, I'm pretty sure peoples teeth were in good condition before sugar was available? Skin though? Not so sure lol
#40
Scenes that involve swimming. I try to hold my breath whenever a movie character (non super hero / fantasy) dives underwater and try to hold it as long as he/she is swimming or submerged. I end up dying 9/10 times. I mean there’s probably a lot of things to consider but the amount of time some characters can hold their breaths is super human.
What do you think ?
PattyK 12 months ago
When characters are in a bar and actually have a conversation. Most bars are so loud you can’t hear someone shouting as loud as they can. Also when women run in high heels.
JenC 12 months ago
I asked a friend who wore heels all the time about this. She said you get used them, and can even run a bit.
Load More Replies...
David Martin 12 months ago
Something I never considered until it was pointed out, and now I can't unsee it. The trapdoor in the roof of an elevator that people always climb through? Those don't open from inside the elevator, their locked on top, so emergency personnel can get in to save you. If they opened from the inside, there would be a billion videos of dumbasses on TikTok climbing up through one for likes
PattyK 12 months ago
When characters are in a bar and actually have a conversation. Most bars are so loud you can’t hear someone shouting as loud as they can. Also when women run in high heels.
JenC 12 months ago
I asked a friend who wore heels all the time about this. She said you get used them, and can even run a bit.
Load More Replies... David Martin 12 months ago
Something I never considered until it was pointed out, and now I can't unsee it. The trapdoor in the roof of an elevator that people always climb through? Those don't open from inside the elevator, their locked on top, so emergency personnel can get in to save you. If they opened from the inside, there would be a billion videos of dumbasses on TikTok climbing up through one for likes
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