More than a few movies have some type of plot armor built into their stories since depicting real life and how things would turn out isn’t always the most desired aspect of a movie. This is why plot armor is important, but there are movies when the plot armor is way too thick and is hard if not impossible to believe. In this case, it becomes a choice to simply suspend disbelief or continually grouse about the fact that everything is so over the top that it’s hard to get into it since the movie might be like watching a live-action version of animation. Obviously, a lot of folks are going to choose to enjoy the movie and not give the impossible acts that much thought. But in some cases, it’s a little too difficult not to take note or make a few comments about it, since some movies thrive on being so over the top that realism no longer has a place in the script until it’s absolutely needed. Here are ten movies with the thickest plot armor.
10. Unleashed
Look, I liked Bob Hoskins a lot when he was alive and I like Jet Li, but as cool as this movie is, there’s one huge problem with it: Danny isn’t invincible. He can take a lot of pain and dish out even more, but he’s not an unstoppable juggernaut. One well-placed shotgun blast would have put him down, and it’s hard to imagine Hoskins being able to put down anyone even out of desperation. The trick with the collar was interesting but also self-defeating since as it was seen, Danny wouldn’t do anything unless he was given a specific command and then freed of the collar for the task he’d been given.
9. Predator
The reason why the creature didn’t slaughter every person it saw has more to do with the thrill of the hunt than the perceived threat, since the moment that a person picked up a weapon they became a target. But another big piece of plot armor is that this creature could see in several spectrums, and it was assumed that it was intelligent enough to understand various shapes. So how in the world couldn’t it pick out Dutch from a tangle of vines? Okay, the mud was cold, but it didn’t cover him like a blanket, and there was no mud on his open eyes, which would have been radiating heat. It’s nitpicking, I know, but it’s also a bit of plot armor that keeps things from ending then and there.
8. World War Z
The only real explanation for the zombies not being that quick to ascend the staircase would have been…never mind, they cascaded up a sheer wall at one point, so it’s not tough to think that they’d be able to swarm up a staircase. But apart from that, the fact that they couldn’t catch Gerry when they were out in the open is hard to understand since, without the need to worry about their aching muscles and the rest of their bodies, zombies should be able to sprint full out without holding anything back. And to be fair, it didn’t look as though Gerry was running that quickly, so it’s possible that he should have been brought down before reaching the helicopter.
7. Godzilla: King of Monsters
All a person has to do to understand how strong the plot armor is in this movie is to read up on how far a person needs to be from a nuclear explosion to avid any big, lasting effects. Needless to say, the answer is that the people in the movie would need to be far enough away that they couldn’t see Godzilla any longer, or at least to the point where he was a pinprick of light on the horizon. Otherwise, the nuclear fallout from this blast would have fried everyone and would have likely brought their aircraft crashing down since having a front-row seat to a nuclear explosion isn’t an enviable spot.
6. Avengers: Endgame
It’s plenty obvious that Scarlet Witch could have torn Thanos apart had she taken her shot. But allowing him to speak was a big problem since the two words, “Rain fire!” should have come close to ending this movie on a sour note considering that Thanos’ ship was unloading hard enough to vaporize the entire area. It isn’t bad to think that quick thinking could have saved several people, as the wizards did what they could to keep as many people from being blasted to pieces. But the sheer power that Thanos unleashed on the destroyed compound feels as though it should have done more damage and caused way more casualties.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Jack Sparrow has to be one of the luckiest men alive. First he escapes from an entire group of English soldiers that all have guns and could have easily put him down. Then he’s not impaled by Will Turner, who instead tosses his blade at the door to stop Jack from leaving. After that he’s allowed to live since with a bit of quick talking he convinces his crew that they need him since he knows whose blood they need to lift their curse. Then he lucks out when Will decides to free him, but that’s not exactly plot armor, just more of a decent plot to keep the story going since otherwise things would have gotten incredibly dark.
4. The Book of Eli
Divine intervention is perhaps the strongest plot armor since it can keep a person safe even when the bad guys should be able to put a bullet in the back of their skull. Plus, it would appear to give the type of guidance and abilities that are necessary to survive one fight after another without being able to see. Hopefully, folks don’t start citing Daredevil, since while there are similarities, this story is still very different. Eli is the type of wanderer that’s intriguing and secretive, but the fact that he was blind and could function this well is a sure sign of plot armor in the guise of
3. Hannibal
Hannibal is a smart man, there’s no doubt about that, but there are a couple of things that make this story hard to believe, namely because he’s a very recognizable individual and shouldn’t have been able to elude authorities for so long. Then there’s the idea that he’s toying with Clarice in this scene above, and placed the outfit in the photo booth with enough confidence to think that no one would come along before Clarice and snag what was inside. Then there’s the idea of hanging out in the open when it’s well-known that there are individuals out there looking for you, which makes a person wonder if Clarice was worth the risk.
2. F9
This is what happens when a movie script is encased in a suit of plot armor since there are so many things to talk about in this movie, as well as the rest of the FF franchise. The first movie might be the only one that isn’t bound to be torn apart by such things as physics and reality. But the fact that Roman can take on trained soldiers and not suffer a scratch, he can survive a minefield, and he can survive nearly being killed when his vehicle lands right in front of him, that’s hard to take. But this scene on the bridge when Dom expertly turns the wheel to hook the trailing rope behind the wheel of his car, it’s enough to elicit a hardy laugh.
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The rest of the movie isn’t much better when it comes to offering up believable moments, but when Indy decides that hopping into a fridge is the best option to avoid being harmed by a nuclear blast it’s hard to argue. That is, it’s hard to argue until said fridge goes flying over the heads of the amazed Russians only a moment before they’re consumed by the rolling cloud that’s been produced by the bomb. It’s fair to think that not only would he be fried by the heat of the blast, but Indy would have fallen out of the fridge with every bone in his body broken or shattered. It’s true, plot armor can help, but sometimes it’s necessary to laugh since it’s the only reaction left.
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