Best action movie questions of all time

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle picture

Question: When Merlin stepped on the land mine, why didn't he just wait there until Eggsy and Harry completed the mission? Surely he could have just stood there, then later on they could have called in bomb experts or use Statesman resources to get him off that thing? Eggsy and Harry could have easily taken out those 5 guards.

Answer: At the time, these people only had a really short time to save the world. Merlin thought that, with the landmine, he could sacrifice himself along with many guards to save the world.

More Kingsman: The Golden Circle questions
Die Hard picture

Question: On the some versions (TV), when Al walks in the lobby to check it out, right before he gets to the elevators and then leaves, the camera pans to the left and you see a terrorist with a machine gun waiting for him. On other versions (VHS) you don't see this terrorist. Why? NOTE: I've seen both on the same TV set.

Answer: The most likely reason is that the two versions have been "panned and scanned" differently. In the original theater version, both things are on screen at the same time at opposite sides of the screen. In one version, the person who did the TV P&S (not someone associated with the making of the film) chose to move the view from one side of the original picture to the other, showing the terrorist, while the person who did the VHS P&S stayed focused on one side of the frame, only showing Al.

Myridon

More Die Hard questions
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot picture

Question: I could swear when I saw it it had a different ending. The one I saw at the end Jeff Bridges dies in the car. And Clint Eastwood pushes him out of the car and leaves him on the side of the road, then drives away. But I can't find anything on that. Has anyone else seen that version?

Answer: You must be thinking of another movie, because as far as I know there is no different ending.

I totally agree with your answer. Sometimes movies do film alternate endings that may be used in different markets (i.e. Europe or Asia). Also, alternate endings are sometimes filmed after a test audience reacts negatively to the original one and they may show up in the DVD or director's cut. I didn't find any indication that another version was ever filmed for this movie.

raywest

I concur - I can't find any evidence of this alternate ending existing beyond some people claiming it does. Like other examples (Wizard of Oz ending with a shot of the shoes under Dorothy's bed, etc.) I suspect this is just a false memory, although no doubt some will argue that, trouble is there's no way to prove a negative.

You are absolutely correct. Just watched this film again for the first time since the 70's. Thunderbolt leaves Lightfoot sitting (respectfully) by the roadside before driving off! Hope you come across this comment one day.

Answer: I remember the scene of pushing Jeff Bridges out of the car as well. I recently watched the movie on Cable, and Eastwood just kept on driving with Bridges (dead) slumped in his seat. I could have sworn he pushed him out in some alternate version.

Answer: I saw the film on VHS tape 30 years ago and the ending on the tape had Clint Eastwood throwing Jeff Bridge off the cliff.

Answer: Mandela effect.

Answer: The one thrown out of the car was red pushing his friend out of the trunk of the car after he was shot Clint saw his friend die, and he drove off with him still in the car.

More Thunderbolt and Lightfoot questions
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls picture

Question: Greenwall says that the warrior must stand on the tower for five days. Wouldn't he die of dehydration?

Answer: Not if somebody climbed up and gave him some water to drink.

Answer: As someone else said, somebody could give him water. The test might be more about staying in one place and denying himself the daily activities and pleasures of life - not having access to his usual amount of water and food.

More Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls questions
X-Men Origins: Wolverine picture

Question: Given that Logan's body (skin, bone, muscle, etc) is what "regenerates" quickly, and Adamantium is absolutely fixed once it is solidified, Logan would now have two permanent holes in the front of his skull from the bullets fired into his brain to destroy his memories at the end of the film? Unlike the skin, muscle, bone and brain tissue, the Adamantium would not "heal over" or regenerate, so the two vulnerable bits of bone would remain, a bit of a vital vulnerability in a dangerous area of the body.

Answer: That would indeed seem to be the case. Granted, it would have to be an extremely lucky shot to find one of those holes under his flesh, but, yes, it is an apparent vulnerability.

Tailkinker

More X-Men Origins: Wolverine questions

Answer: He's punishing Michelangelo for disrupting the session with Keno, which he used as an opportunity to diss Raph.

Phaneron

More Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze questions

Chosen answer: Obsolete programs are given the choice of deletion or exile. The Merovingian takes them in and, with his abilities to code the Matrix, allows them to stay under his protection.

Captain Defenestrator

More The Matrix Reloaded questions

Answer: It's never explained why but, judging from the numerous license plates from other vehicles attached to his truck, the truck driver is a serial killer and was just targeting people at random and decided to make David his next target.

Trucks used to have to be registered in multiple states if they were going to operate in them. It was very common to see semi trucks with a half dozen or so license plates on them, each from a different state.

Answer: According to director Steven Spielberg, the trucker was a serial killer, and each of the license plates were trophies from previous victims.

Answer: David pulled ahead of the truck not once but twice. He got to the gas station first, and got served before the trucker. For any normal person this would not be cause to try to murder someone, however the truck driver is an unhinged psychopath who doesn't need much reason to go into an obsessive rage. Add to that the fact that David is driving a much smaller car, and the fact that they're out in the middle of nowhere with nary a cop around, and the truck driver probably saw David as easy prey.

Answer: "It was very common to see semi trucks with a half dozen or so license plates on them, each from a different state." And that's how the psycho trucker got away with it. He could have those 'trophy' plates on the front of the truck in plain sight, and to anyone who saw it, the truck would look like just another big rig with multiple license plates. Nothing out of the ordinary or suspicious about it.

More Duel questions
Thor: The Dark World picture

Question: Loki (as Odin) quotes a conversation that occurred between Thor and Odin. This conversation happened after Loki let go of the handle Thor offered to keep him from falling off the bi-frost. How does Loki know what Odin tells Thor when he's supposedly headed to Midgard (Earth) as they speak? Can Loki read minds? If so, I don't recall any movies he comes out in mentioning mind reading.

Answer: Loki has been shown to exhibit numerous powers in the movies that can explain how he knew about this conversation. In all the movies, he has been shown to appear in hologram-like forms in different locations. For example, in The Avengers, he uses this power to meet up with The Other who is in the middle of space, whilst he is on Earth. In the end credits scene for Thor, he was able to watch over Selvig and Nick Fury's conversation despite not being there. In Thor: Ragnarok, he was able to see into Valkyrie's past through touching her head (though this power was not established until Thor: Ragnarok). Any of these powers could have been used to find out about this conversation between Thor and Odin.

Casual Person

More Thor: The Dark World questions
John Wick picture

Question: In the hotel fight scene with Ms. Perkins, she takes what I think is the bottom end of her jacket and bites down on it. Any idea why? Just curious.

Answer: She is setting up the choke move she uses on Wick seconds later. She places the strap to her jacket in her mouth so she can reach it when she spins around. She then wraps it around Wick's neck and tries to strangle him with the strap.

BaconIsMyBFF

More John Wick questions

Chosen answer: The script of The Bourne Supremacy actually calls Martin Marshall the "Deputy Vice-Director" of the CIA, although in the same script and film dialog, Landy refers to him as "Director Marshall". So it appears Kramer is CIA Director in all the Bourne films, but Marshall is either acting Director in Kramer's absence or is just referred to as a Director.

Sierra1

More The Bourne Ultimatum questions
Armageddon picture

Question: Would someone please explain why they need a huge Gatling gun on the asteroid? Are they scared of aliens or what?

Answer: If you look at the deleted scenes on the special edition DVD, you will see a deleted scene in which A.J. asks what they needed a gun for, and Max explains that it's for debris elimination, in order to take out small rocks in the way.

More Armageddon questions
The Blob picture

Question: For the original, the sequel and the remake, what materials did the crew use to create the blob and how did they get it to move?

Answer: In both the the 50's original and 70s sequel, the majority of the Blob effects were created using a thick silicone gel colored with red vegetable dye; its movement was essentially controlled by gravity, just letting the goop run downhill and angling the camera to provide the illusion that it was moving horizontally, vertically, or straight at the audience. The original film also employed a large barrage balloon (or weather balloon) covered in the colored silicone goop for shots where people are actually consumed by the Blob. The 1972 sequel additionally used a preposterous rotating spit covered in red plastic, mounted in front of the camera, to provide the Blob's point-of-view as it steamrolled toward its victims. The 1988 remake used much more sophisticated practical effects such as robotics, latex prosthetics, pneumatic tentacles, et cetera, which were directly inspired by John Carpenter's 1982 special-effects-heavy horror flick, "The Thing." For the last couple of decades, there has also been talk of a major CGI reboot of "The Blob," but it has yet to materialize.

Charles Austin Miller

More The Blob questions
The Hitman's Bodyguard picture

Question: In the beginning of the movie there is a man recounting his story about how his wife and child were killed by Dukhovich. The opposing attorney objects due to hearsay. How is this hearsay, when the man was telling his story of him seeing his own family killed?

Answer: You are right. It isn't hearsay and this is a mistake.

More The Hitman's Bodyguard questions
Breakdown picture

Question: When Kurt Russell gets pulled over by the sheriff, the sheriff gets shot and begins to radio dispatch. Dispatch then asks the sheriff what his 20 (location) is. Kurt Russell grabs the radio and also does not tell dispatch where they were, but dispatch says they are on the way. How can they be on the way if they don't know his location?

Answer: There's only one major road in and out of the town. They knew where the Sheriff was coming from (Red called in an accident out of town to get the Sheriff out of their hair). If they start driving along the road the Sheriff took to get back to town eventually they'll find him.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Jeff (Russell) may have thought that the sheriff already called in a location explaining why he didn't include it. He was not by the sheriff at the time the sheriff made the radio call - he ran up to him shortly afterwards.

Answer: There would be a tracker in the radio to let dispatch know exactly where the officer is.

The_Iceman

GPS? RF frequency? No tracking on walkie-talkies in 1997.

More Breakdown questions
Kill Bill: Volume 1 picture

Question: Why are there 2 swords on the plane with the bride?

Answer: Because they are being carried by the other passengers.

Greg Dwyer

Answer: There are more than 2. They are positioned similarly and look similar to The Bride's. So, Tarantino is saying The Bride isn't the only passenger with a kill list. This is where Tarantino reminds us that this is an allegory with The Bride representing all good people seeking revenge against the evil people who wronged them. A common theme in Tarantino films.

More Kill Bill: Volume 1 questions
Prometheus picture

Question: In the openings scene, the prehuman drinks a tar-like fluid (like the one poisoning Halloway later on), while looking at a spaceship hovering above. He then dies, falls into the river and disintegrates. I do not understand this scene, is he the last of the surviving prehumans committing suicide and the ship above is the others leaving the planet?

Answer: The giant ship has landed on Earth to drop off the Engineer so that he can terraform the planet and make it sustainable for life. He might drinks the black stuff to break down his own structure and spread life on Earth through his own DNA.

Anastasios Anastasatos

More Prometheus questions
The Lost World: Jurassic Park picture

Question: Malcolm asks Roland why he'd kill a T-Rex. Roland proceeds to tell a story about a guy that went up a mountain and came back barely alive, and when asked 'did he go up there to die', responded 'no, he went up there to live'. I sort of get the point of the story, but could somebody clarify it for me?

Answer: It's basically about facing one's own mortality. Many humans feel that they 'feel the most alive' when facing (and overcoming) dangerous situations, the more challenging, the better. Roland is a big game hunter, to him, the ultimate challenge would be to hunt the biggest and (presumably) most dangerous predator ever to exist. Facing the danger of the T. Rex would make him feel better and mightier than he had ever felt in his life.

Twotall

More The Lost World: Jurassic Park questions
Die Hard 2 picture

Question: Why was McClane introduced in the first Die Hard movie as a New York badge, and in the second Die Hard movie as a L.A. badge? Then in the third Die Hard movie, he's again a New York cop.

Answer: In the first movie he's a New York cop visiting his wife. In the second Die Hard, he tells the airport officer that he's LAPD and moved there because of his wife's job. In the third Die Hard film, he most likely went back to New York because of marital problems and became a New York cop again.

More Die Hard 2 questions
G.I. Joe: Retaliation picture

Question: General Joe says he wants some of his own men in the mission. You see them when they are making the plan and the are other old men. They don't really do much if anything during the actual battle. Who are they?

Quantom X

Chosen answer: They are probably other retired Joes.

lionhead

More G.I. Joe: Retaliation questions

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.