It’s hard to get behind this idea, but some movies could in fact be over and done with in 10 minutes or less if pivotal scenes weren’t set up the way they were, since if common sense ruled in the movies then a lot of ideas would be blown out of the water without any hesitation. But there’s a reason why common sense doesn’t rule in the movies until it’s absolutely pertinent to the plot since otherwise the movies might be just as boring a real-life sometimes and it might be that people would start losing even more faith in the creative skills of those that try to come up with these ideas. But there are a few movies where one scene could make all the difference since if a character reacted differently then things might have happened very differently and the story might have had to take on a much darker or lighter tone considering what was needed. Sometimes these scenes really make a person wonder of big of a fool the filmmakers must think the average audience member is considering that the decisions made on-screen are enough to deserve a seriously hard face-palm.
Here are several movies that could have been done in 10 minutes if the main characters weren’t idiots.
5. Trespass
A lot of people might not know about this movie but it starred Bill Paxton, William Sadler, Ice T, Ice Cube, and several other talented stars that made it pretty enjoyable. But when two firemen, Paxton and Sadler, are given a map detailing where a cache of hidden golden artifacts are, they go to investigate. Unfortunately, they run afoul of a gang that has just killed a local dealer and are discovered. If they’d stayed out of sight when they realized that someone was there they could have waited until the gang was gone and then gone about looking for the gold at their leisure, easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
4. Frozen
There are a couple of different ways that this movie could have ended quickly, and fans of the movie might actually consider these fighting words, but oh well. If Anna had actually gone back to bed instead of continually bugging her sister, or if Elsa could have ignored her, it might have been better. Or if the trolls had advised the king and queen to help Elsa control her powers and not be afraid of them it could have helped and would have taught her how it was possible to embrace what she could do instead of always being afraid that it might get out of control. It might have even been wise to discuss their mother’s origin early on to make certain that it was understood where her powers came from.
3. Beetlejuice
Some people would say that it might have been wise for Adam and Barbara to read the handbook they were given, but here’s a better one. Keep your eyes on the road when you’re driving and you might not have to swerve for a little dog that’s in the middle of the road, and could apply the brake while the dog goes on its merry way. The biggest insult is that the dog essentially killed them in a couple of ways, first by being in the road, and second by leaping off of the one board that was somehow keeping them from falling. Just remember, eyes on the road at all times, since dogs don’t always worry about traffic.
2. Batman
This has to be one of the easiest movies to pick on when it comes to this since all of Batman’s vaunted power and skill goes away if the Wayne’s either tell their son to use the bathroom and perhaps even stand out in the lobby with him to calm the kid down, or at the very least have a cab or their limo pull up in front of the theater to take them home. Seriously, they’ve got more money than they know what to do with, and Bruce could have grown up with a loving mother and father and a fortune that he would have inherited eventually, without any need to be the constantly brooding vigilante he would become.
1. Alien
So to be fair here, the crew of the Nostromo was responding to a beacon, but it would have been wise to sit on it and discover that it was a warning, not a distress signal. And of course, it would have been wise of Kane to NOT go near a strange object that looks like a pulsating egg. There’s no telling if the eggs would have opened had he not come near, but it does appear that the facehuggers can either sense the proximity of a living host, or perhaps can be triggered through the tendrils that connect to the eggs. In any case, getting close should not have been a priority after what they’d already seen. And Kane was infected? Lock the door and say ‘oh well’ since as ranking officer on the ship, Ripley had the right to follow protocol.
Seriously, dumb decisions tend to make some of the best movies.
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