Movies That Got It Wrong

[JoanneAZ]

Have you ever gotten so disgusted with a movie for getting things wrong that you quit watching? I was watching a horror movie called “The Devil Inside” and had to stop because all of the medical things they were doing were flat out wrong, I’m a nurse and this is why I don’t watch medical shows, the mistakes they make just annoy me so much!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Did not stop watching it, but the "clicker training" in Jurassic World was shameful - for the budget that film had, they could have hired someone to explain the basics to Chris Pratt in 5min. It is years later and I am still amazed that no one even through post production understood the concept enough to realize how poorly it was portrayed.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Any movie with the magical defibrillator
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE CLEAR!! ZAP....Beep Beep... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Dial up more magic power!!! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE CLEAR!!! ZAP
Normal Sinus rhythm.
Nope. Shocking someone flatline does nothing.

 

[slo]

The Untouchables - so wrong in many ways.
I read a book that Elliot Ness wrote and I was amazed at the actual facts.
I love this movie though, so even though the facts aren’t all correct, I don’t care and still enjoy watching it.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Brave annoys me.

Its supposed to be set in Scotland, but it shows a ring of stones which is recognizable as Stonehenge in England and a waterfall which is recognizable as a waterfall in Ireland.

Basically any Disney or American made film about Ireland, set in Ireland or with Irish characters. Its been really funny over the last few years on social media, seeing how Irish people rip apart these films for inaccuracies.

 

[BrianL]

One movie I can think of that just "get's it wrong" on every level regarding the character they are trying to portray is Man of Steel. Yeah, let's make Superman dark and angsty and have him stand by and do nothing as his father dies and then have him kill the bad guy at the end too. That's what Superman is all about.

 

[footballmouse]

The Untouchables - so wrong in many ways.
I read a book that Elliot Ness wrote and I was amazed at the actual facts.
I love this movie though, so even though the facts aren’t all correct, I don’t care and still enjoy watching it.

Please do tell! I also like this movie but never read the book.

 

[KingLlama]

Sports is one of the great passions of my life, but they're often portrayed so poorly in film, I have a hard time watching ANY sports-related movie.

- The athletes/coaches don't talk like that
- Baseball players don't swing like that
- Basketball players don't shoot like that
- Football plays don't happen like that

Basketball seems to be the worst (at being portrayed accurately). And for some reason, it's the one that has poor portrayals of even smaller details like uniforms, how crowds cheer, etc. Drives me insane. The only basketball movie (and one of the few sports movies) I'll actually watch is "Hoosiers". That movie got it right.

 

[JaxDad]

I’m often amused at mistakes in movies and TV shows with military subjects—incorrect uniforms, ranks, procedures, hardware names, etc. Of course, CNN isn’t much better. They are often completely ignorant on military matters and nomenclature.

 

[design_mom]

Oh, there are lots of things. It's funny how different things bother different people.

Mine are often around photo retouching or enhancement. Photoshop does not have a magic "make this look how I want it to look" button. It takes work, and multiple steps. The same way with "enhancing" pictures. If the info wasn't there in the original, it's not going to magically show up.

My sister-in-law is a nurse and medical shows bother her too (although i think she still watches ALL of them). I have heard her shout at the screen more than once, "What are you checking?!? That machine isn't even turned on!!!!" I would never have noticed.

And my father-in-law is a car buff and he gets upset about several things. "This movie is supposed to be set in 1958 but that's a 1960 whatever-it-is." or, especially for old cars where the gear shift was on the steering column: "You're pretending to be driving, but you can clearly see that car is in Park!"

 

[bennifer]

I hate movies or shows that show people fighting back in bank robberies. First, no bank teller is going to try to stop you from taking a very small amount of money that is in a bank which is federally insured anyway. And second, seriously, do people really think the local bank has several millions of dollars just hanging around? Oh and third, the amount of people who "get away with it" as if banks and local authorities have no clue and have never been trained about bank robberies. I haven't worked in a bank for well over a decade and this crap still bothers me!

DH cannot watch anything that tries to be "computer geeky". It's sometimes fun to watch something with it because he cringes and laughs and shakes his head and yells all at once.

 

[Mysterian]

I was going to mention defibrillators too, it happens all the time. We don't even use paddles anymore, we use disposable adhesive electrodes!
That said I get a kick out of seeing recognizable equipment in movies- Oo look a Mindray monitor! A Welch Allyn thermometer and otoscope! So far haven't seen a TV/Movie patient mouthing a red tipped thermometer (blue for oral, red for rectal).


Computers are a big one. Remember Independence Day? Or Assassins? That was a Wachowski movie with Stallone and Banderas, and the computer stuff for that era was comical. I've never seen Hackers but I'll bet that has plenty of the same. Any computer in a 90's movie will have a huge download bar as a way to build tension.

 

[BrianL]

Another one, which doesn't really bother me because I can take action movies for what they are, but the police movies where the cops are driving in a 90 MPH car chase hanging out the window cracking off rounds like a maniac and blowing up buildings as they go - that's some top-notch police work right there.

Also, when they get shot in the leg or something and act like it's no big deal and just continue the fight. "They just got me in the arm!" Yeah, you're done buddy. I'll see you at the hospital later.

But, you know, they do it to be exciting, so it doesn't matter. It's just funny to think about sometimes.

 

[BrianL]

I was going to mention defibrillators too, it happens all the time. We don't even use paddles anymore, we use disposable adhesive electrodes!
That said I get a kick out of seeing recognizable equipment in movies- Oo look a Mindray monitor! A Welch Allyn thermometer and otoscope! So far haven't seen a TV/Movie patient mouthing a red tipped thermometer (blue for oral, red for rectal).


Computers are a big one. Remember Independence Day? Or Assassins? That was a Wachowski movie with Stallone and Banderas, and the computer stuff for that era was comical. I've never seen Hackers but I'll bet that has plenty of the same. Any computer in a 90's movie will have a huge download bar as a way to build tension.

You mean you can't "hack the internet" by rapidly typing for 5 seconds? "I'm in!"

As for the thermometres - NEVER get them mixed up!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Just about any hacking in any movie is just laughable

 

[Mysterian]

Another one, which doesn't really bother me because I can take action movies for what they are, but the police movies where the cops are driving in a 90 MPH car chase hanging out the window cracking off rounds like a maniac and blowing up buildings as they go - that's some top-notch police work right there.

Also, when they get shot in the leg or something and act like it's no big deal and just continue the fight. Yeah, they "just got me in the arm!" Yeah, you're done buddy. I'll see you at the hospital later!

But, you know, they do it to be exciting, so it doesn't matter. It's just funny to think about sometimes.

Speaking of shootings, I think one of the biggest movie myths is people dying *immediately* from non-cranial gunshots. Reservoir Dogs was an exception, with Tim Roth bleeding and writhing in pain for hours.

 

[Mysterian]

Brave annoys me.

Its supposed to be set in Scotland, but it shows a ring of stones which is recognizable as Stonehenge in England and a waterfall which is recognizable as a waterfall in Ireland.

Basically any Disney or American made film about Ireland, set in Ireland or with Irish characters. Its been really funny over the last few years on social media, seeing how Irish people rip apart these films for inaccuracies.

I heard that the leprechauns in Darbie O'Gill were actually not genuine Irish leprechauns but outsourced leprechauns (some of which were actually elves and brownies, and had lied on their resumes).

 

[BrianL]

Speaking of shootings, I think one of the biggest movie myths is people dying *immediately* from non-cranial gunshots. Reservoir Dogs was an exception, with Tim Roth bleeding and writhing in pain for hours.

In the movie Shane, the director was a war vet, and many Westerns of the time depicted shootings to seem rather tame. He even would see kids playing cowboys and follow this misconception. That's why he depicted gunshots to be more powerful and brutal (like when Jack Palance shoots Elisha Cook Jr, he's actually blown back and doesn't just stand there). No surprised Shane was a big influence on Sam Peckinpah.

And of course, death itself. A lover dying in another lovers arms is never going to evacuate their bowels following their passing.

Oh yeah - all that stuff with violence and death is so messy in real life. Forget the gunplay, but sword fighting is just so clean in the movies. If you slice someone with a sword, there's going to be blood EVERYWHERE. Run them through? That's gonna be ugly. It would be too distrubing to show in most movies though, unless they are of the ultra-violent variety. That's one thing I don't like about Wonder Woman in the movies - she uses that sword, slashing as she goes along. She is an emmisary of peace! Superheroes should be better than that in my opinion.

 

[JoeA]

Movies where people use thermal imaging to "see through walls" (ie "there are five people in the room...")

It doesn't work that way!

 

[DLgal]

I’m often amused at mistakes in movies and TV shows with military subjects—incorrect uniforms, ranks, procedures, hardware names, etc. Of course, CNN isn’t much better. They are often completely ignorant on military matters and nomenclature.

I was going to say this. For me, it's always how sloppy and TOO LARGE the uniforms always are. Uniforms almost always fit super snugly. They are never baggy and way too big in real life. There are fit standards. Also, the haircuts are usually not even close to regulation.