When a movie is good, it's easy to dismiss certain scenes that don't make a lot of sense. Say the movie is going along well, you're enjoying yourself, and then a scene pops up where, if you stop and think about it, really shouldn't occur. Often times it's a twist ending or a deus ex machina that forces the viewer to suspend logic, but if the movie is otherwise good, it's easy to let it slide. But not today! I'm taking some beloved movies and their iconic scenes to task, and calling them out for their parts that left me scratching my head.
Most people are willing to ignore these scenes' craziness because, with some of them at least, the movies wouldn't actually exist without them (or if they did, they would be entirely different films). And keep in mind, none of these are what I would call bad movies. They're all pretty good movies, some of them are great, and several of them are considered classics in their own right. But all of them take the same shortcut of including scenes for convenience without apparently thinking them through all the way. To see what I'm talking about, here are 13 beloved movie scenes that make no sense. Years-old spoilers ahead!
1. Titanic — Jack Dies
Rose, why didn't you move over?! There was clearly room for Jack on that plank. I get that Jack had to die for the movie to work, but would it have killed the filmmakers to find Rose a smaller piece of wood to float on so that she doesn't end up looking like a murderer?
2. The Sixth Sense — Malcolm Was Already Dead
The big twist in the movie is one of cinema's greatest, but if you stop and think about it, it makes no sense. How did Malcolm not realize, through the entirety of the movie, that no other human had spoken to him besides Cole? Not his wife, not Cole's mom... nobody. I'm pretty sure if I even went a day where everyone acted like I was invisible, I would start to figure out that something was going on.
3. The Karate Kid — The Crane Kick
Daniel defeats Johnny with the iconic crane kick, delivering a devastating blow to Johnny's face. It's a cheer-worthy moment, for sure... too bad it should have been illegal, since the movie had already mentioned that kicks to the face would result in disqualification.
4. The Dark Knight Rises — Alfred's Lunch
In The Dark Knight Rises, Alfred mentions how he likes to eat at a cafe in Italy and hopes that one day he'll see Bruce Wayne there. After Bruce fakes his death, that's exactly what happens, in what has to be the biggest coincidence of all time. How did Bruce know what cafe to go to? And at what time? Even the explanation that Alfred imagines it makes no sense, because why would Selina Kyle be in his vision? It's the most unbelievable scene in a superhero movie, which is saying something.
5. Aladdin — The Unnecessary Choice
At the end of the movie, there's the heartfelt moment where Aladdin chooses to use his final wish to free Genie rather than become a prince again. But this choice shouldn't have even occurred because Aladdin was already a prince. Just because Jafar changed Aladdin's clothes doesn't mean he's no longer a prince, unless Genie's wishes have no staying power whatsoever.
6. The Empire Strikes Back — Luke's Fortunate Jump
I get that Luke Skywalker is upset to hear that Darth Vader is his father, but why does he jump of that ledge? There's no way he could have known he would survive (and it's still not clear how he survived), and I'm pretty sure he wasn't suicidal, so why did he do it?
7. Jurassic Park — Sneaky T-Rex
Just when it looks like Ellie, Alan, and the kids are going to be eaten by raptors, the world's quietest and most invisible T-Rex appears to save the day. Where did it come from? How did no one notice the giant, earth-shaking animal right in front of them?
8. Home Alone 2 — The Murder House
While lost in New York, Kevin just happens to run into the wet bandits, but instead of alerting the police (who are not hard to find in NY), he converts a brownstone into a death trap and lures the criminals there. What is wrong with this kid?
9. The Avengers — Hulk Is Always Angry
If Bruce Banner is always angry, then shouldn't he always be the Hulk? Not sure his logic for how he controls his transformation makes any sense.
10. Edward Scissorhands — Ice Sculptures
The movie ends by showing Edward in his mountaintop castle carving ice sculptures, but where did he get those giant blocks of ice? Is his castle in Arendelle?
11. Independence Day — The Virus
An advanced alien race that traveled light years is defeated by a primitive computer virus? Even the U.S. military of today (and probably 1996) couldn't be done in by such a weak piece of tech, so why are these super advanced beings so helpless?
12. Back to the Future — They Should Know This Kid
When Marty fixes the past, he returns to the present to find that his parents are now much better off. That can be explained by his father's confidence he gained in the new new past, but what can't be explained is why Marty's parents fail to recognize that their son is the same mysterious kid from their high school who played such a pivotal role in their relationship and then disappeared forever.
13. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — Literally the Entire Movie
Time travel is tough to pull off (see above) because it creates paradoxes, but this movie spins such a complicated web that it's impossible to unravel everything and have it even come close to making sense.
Obviously there are other movies out there, but these scenes stand out to me as being particularly head-scratching. You'll notice that a lot of these happen at the end of a movie, which just goes to show you how tough it is to come up with a good ending, and should really make you appreciate the films that can pull it off.
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures
