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We've all been there, climatic fight scene where the good guy looks like he's going to lose and then the bad guy goes dumb.
I wanted to open this thread so that people can vent at how an awesome bad guy is brought down by the stupids all of a sudden.

My example is Darth Maul vs Obi Wan in Phantom Menace, not the best Star Wars. In fact as far as the prequels go, I'm pretty offended by them. Anyway. Darth Maul has obi wan hanging over a pit of doom and for no reason just stands there waving his lightsabre around. I mean he could have done anything, ANYTHING but instead he stands around looking stupid. Then suddenly Obi Wan wins, like a magic wand was waved and the fight was over.

There are others but I want to hear yours as well.

Plotstick, we challenge you

Maul was so awesome

Hmm, what about in Predator?

Another good example.

Then there was Independence Day where aliens who had interstellar travel and advanced technology were taken down by a computer virus. Just goes to show, some times you just need to pay for the anti virus protection lol

Hmm, I bet none of you have seen it, but 9 Dead.
And another example is LoTR 3. Witch king? More like Bit*h king amiright?
'no man can kill me!' 'ok lol' owned

battle Brother Lucifer wrote:Hmm, I bet none of you have seen it, but 9 Dead.
And another example is LoTR 3. Witch king? More like Bit*h king amiright?
'no man can kill me!' 'ok lol' owned

That was in the book as well wasn't it?

Double Checked, it was in the book.

Probably. I havent read the LoTR rings 2 or 3. So much description

she was no man

Lord of battles wrote:she was no man

Still, he could have gone down in a much more epic way.
Another one is from Batman Begins.
I'll try to think up more

Every James Bond movie ever made.

chowderhead13 wrote:Every James Bond movie ever made.

I don't know, the Daniel Craig Casino Royale was fairly good about not going that route.

battle Brother Lucifer wrote:Maul was so awesome

Hmm, what about in Predator?

Yea, Maul is still my fav. He was such a badass. I agree with the OP 100% Ive actually posted that very thing in many a fail thread.

Nighteyez wrote:Another good example.

Then there was Independence Day where aliens who had interstellar travel and advanced technology were taken down by a computer virus. Just goes to show, some times you just need to pay for the anti virus protection lol

Yea, teaches you guys! Windows 95 was nothing to mess with
I also find it funny that even though they were a few thousand years ahead of us technologically speaking, yet they never figured out how to do better then a floppy and a brick laptop

I personally find it annoying how Two-Face was so utterly punk'd out in The Dark Knight. I mean, he's a huge contender for coolest Batman villain ever, rivalling the Joker in almost every respect, and how does it end for him?

Donnie Darko. The whole film.

Massive quivering pile of elephant spank.

Ahtman wrote:

chowderhead13 wrote:Every James Bond movie ever made.

I don't know, the Daniel Craig Casino Royale was fairly good about not going that route.

If a house collapses into the waters of a Venice channel, after the collapse the water would be so murky that the under water visibility would be zero. But in the underwater scene the visibility is like that of a swimming pool.

chowderhead13 wrote:

Ahtman wrote:

chowderhead13 wrote:Every James Bond movie ever made.

I don't know, the Daniel Craig Casino Royale was fairly good about not going that route.

If a house collapses into the waters of a Venice channel, after the collapse the water would be so murky that the under water visibility would be zero. But in the underwater scene the visibility is like that of a swimming pool.

You seem to have missed the criteria in the initial post. It isn't 'what is unrealistic', but specifically where a plot turns on something for no reason just for the protagonist to succeed. The clear water was a cinematic conceit so that we could see her die, not exactly winning nor cheating.

Ahtman wrote:

chowderhead13 wrote:

Ahtman wrote:

chowderhead13 wrote:Every James Bond movie ever made.

I don't know, the Daniel Craig Casino Royale was fairly good about not going that route.

If a house collapses into the waters of a Venice channel, after the collapse the water would be so murky that the under water visibility would be zero. But in the underwater scene the visibility is like that of a swimming pool.

You seem to have missed the criteria in the initial post. It isn't 'what is unrealistic', but specifically where a plot turns on something for no reason just for the protagonist to succeed. The clear water was a cinematic conceit so that we could see her die, not exactly winning nor cheating.

Same movie. Bond is trapped. Bond is getting "tickled."
Some guy appears from nowhere and takes out entire evildoer group...with a pistol.
Okkkkk.....

Frazzled wrote:
Some guy appears from nowhere and takes out entire evildoer group...with a pistol.

I mean, he was their boss, it wasn't as if the mooks in question had any reason to be suspicious of him.

Advancing the plot isn't a deus ex machina either. It is explained what happened and why it happened, and it makes sense. It also happens in the book. It needs to happen to push the plot forward and show a larger organization at work.

Avatar, I mean who leads the giant ELECTRONIC airfleet right into the middle of the STORM THAT DISRUPTS ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS

Hook
Muppet Treasure Island

History of the World, Part 1. Mel Brooks is being led to the guillitine and makes the comment "we need a Miracle"... in rides Gregory Hines with the cart from the Roman segment to save the day. He even still has the Roman Helmet on.

Helgrenze...the Horse is called Miracle, therefore the film and joke works!

dogma wrote:

Frazzled wrote:
Some guy appears from nowhere and takes out entire evildoer group...with a pistol.

I mean, he was their boss, it wasn't as if the mooks in question had any reason to be suspicious of him.

but he wasn't. He was an intermediary.

Frazzled wrote:
but he wasn't. He was an intermediary.

He was Le Chiffre's contact, and a member of a large terrorist organization (Quantum). For all intents and purposes he was Le Chiffre's employer. I mean, it wasn't as though Le Chiffre could have had him killed, or have chosen to walk away from the deal.

Even if you don't want to call White an employer, he was still in a position that afforded him with similar authority over Le Chiffre, who was a glorified accountant.

Mr Mystery wrote:Helgrenze...the Horse is called Miracle, therefore the film and joke works!

I know that. ... But it still fits the thread.

I'd disagree with the virus arguement on Independance Day, after all the government funded, super-virus(?) was to be purged from the system in a minute or two. I don't know if an A-bomb would work that well, though on the inside it might. My issue is the matter of how they would manage to take down all the surrounding ships if they only had a minute to do so? I mean, how the hell did Australia or Zimbabwe pull theirs off in a minute?

Also:

Emperors Faithful wrote: My issue is the matter of how they would manage to take down all the surrounding ships if they only had a minute to do so? I mean, how the hell did Australia or Zimbabwe pull theirs off in a minute?

I always assumed that, once the nuke went off in the mother ship, all the other ships lost power and crashed. After all, it seemed like their power supply was remotely directed (or supplied) given that the Area 51 ship didn't work until the arrival of the aliens.

I assumed the Aussie's brought theirs down with Boomerangs!

dogma wrote:

Emperors Faithful wrote: My issue is the matter of how they would manage to take down all the surrounding ships if they only had a minute to do so? I mean, how the hell did Australia or Zimbabwe pull theirs off in a minute?

I always assumed that, once the nuke went off in the mother ship, all the other ships lost power and crashed. After all, it seemed like their power supply was remotely directed (or supplied) given that the Area 51 ship didn't work until the arrival of the aliens.

If that was true, why even bother with the attack on the Area 51 ship or co-ordinate the attacks by other countries around the world?

Jihadnik wrote:I assumed the Aussie's brought theirs down with Boomerangs!

Impossible, somehow the aliens must have made the mistake of drifting low enough for the Drop Bears to pounce. Shields or no, once the hangar doors were ripped apart, they didn't stand a chance.

In most bond films the reason 'he is more use to us alive' is usually a fairly solid one.

Blofeld is a recurring exception, even that can be explained due to Blofeld's fascination with Bond.

Darth Maul was having a good gloat, again nothing wrong with that, he had killed one Jedi and now had the other over a precipice, thats a good time to gloat. you cant savour the moment in anything like the same quality after he is dead. However Maul had his light sabre in hand and was a well trained Sith, his knowledge of the force should have been enough to parry the attack even if he didn't forsee Obi-Wan getting his master's light sabre. Obi-wan had to reach out get the ligt sabre, a movement Darth Maul recognised as a move, even if he wasnt sure what. Then he has to sumersault over him twist and attack. Darth Maul should have been ready and able to parry that.