ADVERTISEMENT

After seeing a good amount of movies, you start to see the patterns in the story lines, in the way certain characters are portrayed and even can quite easily guess the events that were supposed to be unexpected plot twists. The predictability might be one of the factors why a movie could be considered to be bad or at least boring.

But Reddit users have many more reasons that completely ruin a movie that initially seemed promising. User lawyeratyourservice asked “What ruins a movie instantly?” and people provided their opinions on what movie directors’ decisions distract them from enjoying the movie or make it annoying altogether.

More info: Reddit

#1

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Whispered dialogue, ear shattering action sequences

idothisforauirb***h , Jeffrey Report

You most probably had or have to write essays or stories during some of your lessons at school. And even if writing is one of your strengths, you know that the process can be tiresome and you are not always satisfied with the result. What may be even more frustrating is that you might not know how to fix it.

For most people, creative writing or pros and cons essays end when they finish school, but those who feel that their writing skills are better than average might choose it as their career path. They get to know how a good story is written and what it needs to be captivating and interesting, even though there will be people, like those on Reddit, who will find some of their ideas annoying.

#2

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When it’s so dark you actually can’t see what is happening. Also characters that’s mumble their lines. Drives me nuts

buddyknowles , Joke van Niekerk Report

#3

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group That all the major issues could be solved by a simple conversation but instead "No, I dont have time to explain", leading to force conflict from misunderstanding.

annoyingone , Robert Couse-Baker Report

Add photo comments
POST
liverpoolroze avatar
Rose the Cook
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If people did the sensible thing in situations it would make for very short films.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

Bored Panda reached out to a screenwriter to find out more about the process of writing a script. We got in touch with Juliet Giglio, a screenwriter who attended NYU Grad Film school and now is a screenwriting professor at SUNY Oswego.

She also works as a screenwriter with her husband Keith Giglio and worked on such films like Disney’s Tarzan, Pizza My Heart, Return to Halloweentown, Joshua, and A Cinderella Story. They also are publishing their first novel this year called The Summer Of Christmas.

#4

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Forced romance. Sometimes movies don't need it and that's ok.

pineappledaddy , nate bolt Report

#5

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When they give out the whole plot in a trailer

Aidencore22 , Aviron Pictures Report

#6

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group running through wilderness in heels for the majority of a movie. IRKSOME.

likeireallycare , Universal Studios Report

We asked her what the screenwriting process looks like and what it all starts with. Juliet Giglio explained, “The process of screenwriting begins when you come up with the idea (the logline) and then begin fleshing out the story. This is typically done with index cards or using a program like trello.com that helps to organize the story. From there you create an outline (Google Docs works well). After you have a very fleshed-out outline and you know what will happen in all of the scenes, you can begin writing the script, using a screenplay software. Screenwriting is ALL about structure. It's 3 acts (with act 2 broken in half) and 8 sequences.”

ADVERTISEMENT
#7

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group I watch movies with subtitles. When they speak a different language and it just says "speaks foreign language." Especially when it's not just a few lines, but actual dialog.

drowningvikesfan , Walt Disney Pictures Report

Add photo comments
POST
vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember when I was watching a movie with downloaded subtitles and during a scene the character was reading Shakespeare and the translation was "Shakespeare s**t no idea what they say"

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When people figure out someone’s password in literally no time.

KungFu-omega-warrior , Adikos Report

ADVERTISEMENT

Very often, when you watch movies, some unexplainable things that happen in the beginning of the movie are implicitly explained later on and you may wonder if that was planned from the start or if the screenwriter came up with it as they went along. Juliet Giglio told us that “You definitely need to know the ending of the script before you begin writing so that you know what you're going toward.”

#9

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Sex. No seriously. When I see a movie labelled "Action/Thriller", I want action or thriller. I do not want the undercover spy to start diving deep inside some random girl who may or may not be involved in the plot.

RedditLawEnforcer , Serene Vannoy Report

Add photo comments
POST
jmscargill avatar
Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Agreed. James Bond is notorious historically for this. Spoils a good movie.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#10

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When there's a scene that's just advertising a brand.

mushy_cactus , Netflix Report

Add photo comments
POST
flawziedh-123 avatar
postboredom
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This movie reminds me of the half-assed moment where the main character removes their glasses and becomes hot all of a sudden. Kills the movie for me

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

The most challenging part of screenwriting, according to Giglio, is “Breaking the story and figuring out who the characters are is the most challenging and can take at least a month if done properly. Once the story is fully fleshed out, the actual writing of the script isn't as hard.”

You may think that maybe screenwriters shouldn’t take so much time developing a character because the actor will do that for them, but it is one of the biggest misconceptions about screenwriting and our expert says clearly that actors don’t make up their own dialogue. “Sure, there can be some improvisation on set, but typically actors stick to the lines because they know they work for their character.”

#12

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Characters that are brought back alive just to keep the show moving

Wanted-TreeGuy , Chris Harrison Report

#13

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group knowing the story from a book and the adaption is just not meeting expectations

pk1950 , David Shane Report

#14

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group MLD802 said:
Breaking the rules they set

BadDudes4Life2018 replied:
The Walking Dead did this so blatantly, that I couldn’t watch it anymore. First season: Walkers can smell us so we have to cover ourselves in rotting meat to escape. Second season: Oh that hoard of Walkers can’t smell us with this car in between us and them.

MLD802 , AMC Networks Report

Add photo comments
POST
luthervonwolfen avatar
Luther von Wolfen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

TWD had so much bad writing. I stuck with it for a while because I thought "It's a zombie show - it doesn't have to be realistic." Eventually, I just coul;dn't stand anymore.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

To conclude, we asked how Giglio herself would answer the question the redditor gave as we were quite interested to know what a professional thinks. She told us that for her, a movie is ruined “When the inciting incident is rushed. Before we can throw a problem at our hero, we need to get to know them first. See what their life is like if the movie never happens. If we don't fully grasp who the hero is, then we won't be as invested in the movie.”

Let us know what you think about the screenwriter’s insights and if anything surprised you. Also, did anyone mention the thing that makes you not want to rewatch a movie? Upvote the ones that you agree with and if nobody shares the same opinion as you, share it in the comments!

#15

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When the two main characters fall in love quickly, especially if they start out hating each other. Most recently: Jungle Cruise. It would have been a good movie without them falling in love. They could have just been friends.

Poptartmama , Walt Disney Pictures Report

Add photo comments
POST
bursanvime avatar
Pisco
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah. Why media forces romance all the time? I have barely ever seen a movie where the protagonist doesnt fall in love with "the girl". Friendship and family relations exist people. Why not making a movie about two siblings (of different sex) or two best friends who dont like each other romantically.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group treedemolisher said:
Heavy makeup and perfect hair. How am I supposed to enjoy a post-apocalyptic movie when the lead actress looks like a beauty pageant contestant? Drives me insane.

fly-not-fox replied:
God this is season 2 of Witcher! Was watching it last night with my partner and we kept commenting on the pink lipstick someone was wearing. It kept pulling us out of the moment, which was driving me mad.

treedemolisher , Netflix Report

Add photo comments
POST
adambelaire avatar
Adam Belaire
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What gets me is perfect teeth. A character is captured for months or out in the woods, covered in dirt yet their teeth are pearly white.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Firing more ammo than the gun actually holds without reloading. Car keys in sun visors. Hacking a protected computer system in seconds.

listenup78 , jlamping Report

Add photo comments
POST
vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's well known by now that 6 bullet guns in movies have approximately 50 bullets and they ran out only when the bad guy is standing in front of the main character

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Slightlyunlucky said:
People driving in films and talking and NEVER looking at the road. That ruins it and makes it not believable

TheBravan replied:
Olivia Wilde 'driving' in Tron....

Slightlyunlucky , Walt Disney Pictures Report

#19

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When the story includes, "the magic was inside you all along" cliché

LeoneKaizer , Carol Alejandra Hernández Sánchez Report

#20

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group ImReellySmart said:
In superhero movies when the balance of someone's abilities constantly changes.

Especially in fight scenes when a character could end the fight in 2 seconds but that doesnt allow for an epic battle scene so instead that character just randomly decided to avoid using their most valuable abilities.

This completely takes me out of the moment.

Rubels replied:
The Flash series lost me because of this issue.. literally every fight with a non speedster would be over in 0.2 seconds

ImReellySmart , Warner Bros. Television Distribution Report

#21

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Dregoralive said:
Background actors in fight/war scenes waiting for their turn to attack the main character

xasdfx666 said:
Throne room sceen in star wars 8. The red guards just keep spinning for no reason or obviously miss their hits on purpose. Its so dumb.

Dregoralive , Dan Randow Report

#22

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Successful_Morning95 said:
Characters acting out of character just to make the plot work. Immediately makes me see them as puppets for storytelling rather than people and I stop caring about them.

Bot8556 replied:
The last 2 seasons of Game of thrones

Successful_Morning95 , Warner Bros. Television Distribution Report

Add photo comments
POST
rachaelsampson avatar
Rachael Sampson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Daenerys was absolutely NOT out of character. She was a power hungry tyrant since the end of season one. She always showed signs of anger and violence when someone disagreed with her or she didn't get her way.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Showing and then telling anyway/ treating the audience like idiots.

-_-NAME-_- , Dan Randow Report

Add photo comments
POST
vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually hate mostly in crime shows when they explain the entire case to each other but it's obvious that it's for us because the conversation wouldn't be like this between them! Example "criminal minds"

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Time period movies where every car looks like it just drove off the lot. What cars never get dirty in movies?!?

DetroitXL , dave_7 Report

#25

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group liashor56 said:
A bad accent

stevenmeyerjr replied:
House of Gucci why didn’t we just get some actual Italians to act for the main parts?

liashor56 , MGM Report

Add photo comments
POST
lindacowley avatar
Auntriarch
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought actors were supposed to be able to successfully pretend to be someone else, it being the actual job description

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When they repeat the same sentence 2-3-10 times in the story for no reason, just to have a kind of motto.

Meewelyne , Universal Pictures Report

See Also on Bored Panda
#27

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Probably cringy pop culture references that will be soon outdated.

EternalLatias , Michael Steeber Report

#28

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When the villain is just bad for no reason whatsoever.

AnotherAtretochoana , Kara Report

Add photo comments
POST
vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find the opposite annoying! When there is a always a horrible background, a traumatized childhood or someone that screwed them over and they became villain! Yes there is a chance they are assholes for not any reason at all! These people exist and are out there!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#29

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group when you indentify the protagonist love interest 5 minutes in

deikiii , Netflix Report

#30

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Trying to explain unexplainable things with quantum mechanics, nanotechnology, worm holes, etc

OiJao97 , UC Davis College of Engineeri Report

Add photo comments
POST
manusal avatar
El muerto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is classical trope. they always turn the newest popular science theories to make plots work. In Frankenstein was electricity, people knew about electricity, but many couldn't understand it. War Worlds, were germs. in the 50's and 60's was radioactivity and nuclear power. in the 80' and 90's DNA, like in X-Men...people know about them, but they are still close to magic for most

View more commentsArrow down menu
#31

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group S***ty fight scenes where I can barely tell what I’m looking at

ryanjoseph55 , Craig Hadley Report

#32

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When it starts following a familiar formula. Basically when s**t gets predictable.

DodgeMalloy , Walt Disney Pictures Report

#33

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Warkitz said:
When you know an actor was chosen for the role for their fame and not for the casting.

AllPowerfulSaucier replied:
It’s getting more and more commonplace too. Especially with movies put out by streaming services like Netflix just jamming celebrities in to get more viewers. I just watched Don’t Look Up yesterday and Ariana Grande felt force fed to the movie audience any time she was on screen (Kid Cudi was a bit too but he’s not as recognizable as Ariana).

Warkitz , Netflix Report

Add photo comments
POST
jeffrequier_1 avatar
Requiem
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The movie was about how everyone acts towards things that happen to us. She was there for a reason to play a version of her self

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#34

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Characters not showing emotion when someone passes away. Often they look a bit sad for one shot, and then the movie continues like nothing happened. Totally takes me out of the movie.

AsianMoocowFromSpace , Sarah GathFollow Report

Add photo comments
POST
ps421 avatar
Guy MacGregor
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't necessarily agree. I personally don't really react physically to things. Some people think things pass over my head but they don't. The fact that I don't show does not mean I don't process. Don't expect your own kind of reaction from others.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group When they use CGI to make an almost 80-year-old man look like a 40-year-old but he still moves like an 80-year-old when trying to kick a poor shopkeepers a**.

Oggmonster42 , Netflix Report

Add photo comments
POST
vickyz avatar
Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

However the CGI has improved a lot the last ten years!! I'm still haunted by the baby in the twilight movies ten years ago

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#36

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group Cringey and inappropriate use of gen z slang

International_Ad2893 , Douglas Muth Report

See Also on Bored Panda
#37

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group I will say when they have a whole well designed space suit or futuristic outfit or something that has a helmet to it or face cover that would normally always stay on or be on 80% of the time, BUT they just decide to never wear it or are constantly taking it off to remind us of the "famous actor" who is playing that person.

I've also seen a few movies where a character will have a whole really cool looking space suit or battle attire, only to ditch the whole thing at the beginning and go the rest of the movie looking like the most generic person ever.

shady_businessman , David Shane Report

Add photo comments
POST
suuspuusje avatar
Susie Elle
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Rule no. 1: When on a distant planet where other crewmembers have died under mysterious circumstances YOU DO NOT TAKE YOUR HELMET OFF HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF AIRBORNE DISEASES

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group xluqx said:
Overanimated, overacted friend of the main character.

[deleted] said:
Akwafina in Shang-Chi. She’s good but she was over the top in this one.

xluqx , Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Report

#39

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group The spoiler heavy banners at the local cinema

McBoody_TheMemr , Dennis Sylvester Hurd Report

Add photo comments
POST
#40

40 Things That Immediately Ruin A Movie As Pointed Out By Folks In This Online Group justmoochin said:
Cringey dialogue, takes me right out the scene, in fact I want to leave the scene

Potatobender44 replied:
The entirety of Free Guy. Like every single line. Especially f**king Antwan

justmoochin , 20th Century Studios Report

Add photo comments
POST
bursanvime avatar
Pisco
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What pissed me off is that the whole plot of Free Guy revolved around f*****g romance. First, what kind of lazy writting is that? The guy couldnt free himself without romance? And second, lets repeat it people: Love at first sight is lust not love.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu