Best crime movie character mistakes of all time

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The Green Mile picture

Character mistake: You'd think prison guards on Death Row would have known a little more about safe restraints, the way they bind and gag Percy could eventually kill him. They stuff a handkerchief all the way into his mouth, then tape his mouth closed. The gag reflex could suck the handkerchief into his windpipe and suffocate him in about three or four minutes. Even if he might be able to find away around the danger of suffocation the fact remains that no trained, experienced prison guard is ever going to restrain someone in that way.

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Suggested correction: Not everyone even has a gag reflex, and it is easy, though not comfortable to push the handkerchief forward into the mouth with the tongue. You can see Percy breathing through his nose, so he's not running out of air. The other guards had no intention of leaving him in the cell for a long time, only long enough to teach him a lesson.

It doesn't matter what he "might" be able to do, or even if he could push the handkerchief forward. That's not the mistake. A trained, experienced prison guard would not restrain someone like that. Never.

Again, what might or might not have happened is irrelevant. No skilled, trained, experienced prison guard would apply a gag in this way.

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Grosse Pointe Blank picture

Character mistake: Debbie is doing an "All 80s weekend" on her radio show, and the film's soundtrack is based on exactly the same idea. Debbie plays 'Rudie Can't Fail' by The Clash. This is from the London Calling album, which was released right at the end on 1979 in most countries. The song was never released as a single in any year, so it's definitely a 70s song. What's interesting abut this mistake is that the soundtrack was selected by former Clash lead singer Joe Strummer.

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Broken City picture

Character mistake: In the scene where Billy is called to the crime scene of Andrews' murder, Andrews' body is shown with a wound on his chest. Later in the movie though, Billy is questioning Todd Lancaster. Todd Lancaster says that he saw Andrews get shot in the head. (00:52:00 - 01:25:00)

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Road House picture

Character mistake: During the fight in the double deuce where Wesley brings Jimmy in to take all the bouncers on, Jimmy takes on Wade, and Dalton comes to his rescue. Afterwards Wade says to Dalton 'same town new story', when in fact the line should have been, 'new town same story'.

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Suggested correction: Wade said it that way on purpose. He was alluding to the idea that there is something different about this town's situation, compared with all the other towns where it was the same old situation.

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Ocean's Eight picture

Character mistake: Sandra Bullock's German is very good, but not perfect. She says about her husband, "Gestern hat er seine Schuhe in den Gefrierschrank gestellt," ("Yesterday, he put his shoes in the freezer"). Immediately afterwards, she says "seine Schuhe ins Gefrierschrank," ("He put his shoes in the freezer"). The word Gefrierschrank (freezer) in German is masculine and can never be preceded by the accusative case contraction "ins", the contraction for "in das." She just changed the gender of the word Gefrierschrank (freezer) from masculine in the first sentence (correct) to neuter in the second sentence (incorrect). (01:40:05)

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The Big Sleep picture

Character mistake: When Lauren is playing roulette, she has $14,000 worth of chips sitting on red - if she wins, she gets double, $28,000; and if she loses, she loses all of the $14,000 - but the croupier is troubled and says to Lauren that she hasn't got enough to cover the bet, which is ridiculous; all her $14,000 chips are sitting on red, what more does she need? Even the head croupier is called in, and, after much chatting, all the other players are asked to take their chips away as only Lauren is playing this round, which is ridiculous: All they have to lose is $28,000; that's nothing for them.

kh1616

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Demolition Man picture

Character mistake: When the alarms go off in the police station indicating the code 187 all the police officers are confused as to what is going on since they know nothing of MDKs. Zack Lamb should have already known what the code meant, yet he never says anything and just waits for everyone to figure it out.

jbrbbt

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Suggested correction: I took it as he went into almost shock that after so many years a murder had actually taken place. He says, "I don't believe it," indicating he knew what the code meant but then he kind of froze until Phoenix's name was mentioned.

Suggested correction: Zack Lamb is quite old and it's possible he simply forgot what the code meant. He was a pilot too, not a street cop.

lionhead

When Stallone first meets Lamb after being thawed in the future, he tells Spartan he was "grounded" after the events in the opening scene so had not been a pilot for 36 years.

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Live and Let Die picture

Character mistake: When Rosie sticks her revolver in Bond's room and Bond flips her onto the bed, Bond incorrectly identifies the gun as a Smith and Wesson .38 which would make it a model 10 or 15. It was actually a Model 19 .357 Magnum.

BocaDavie

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Croupier picture

Character mistake: Jack accuses Marion of being a mug punter because she bets on the lottery, despite the odds of winning of "14.5 million to 1." The odds of winning the lottery are in fact 13,992,000 to 1 - not much better, but at least a precise figure.

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A Shot in the Dark picture

Character mistake: When Clouseau and Ballon are playing billiards, and Clouseau accuses Ballon of murdering the chauffeur out of jealously, he accidentally refers to Ballon as "Inspector Ballon". (00:46:20)

Cubs Fan

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Jackie Brown picture

Character mistake: Near the end of the movie when Ray shoots Odell, Ray checks Odell's pulse using his thumb. Since the thumb has an artery in it, you should never check someone's pulse using your thumb. As a cop, he should know this because I'm sure he's taken basic first aid.

steven_frankel

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3 Days to Kill picture

Character mistake: In the bathroom scene with the fat man tied up, Kevin answers his phone upside down.

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Goodfellas picture

Character mistake: In jail when they're all sitting down to eat, Paulie says "c'mon boys let's eat, Freddie, Vinnie let's go" The problem is the other guy's name is Johnny Dio, not Freddie.

Family5

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A Time to Kill picture

Character mistake: The sheriff has his service weapon on him in the cellblock. Whenever law enforcement enters a jail or prison, they disarm.

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S.W.A.T. picture

Character mistake: The two fake cops that hit the prisoner transport bus used a suppressed Beretta 92FS and a TEC-DC9. At the press conference, Capt. Fuller says that they used AK-47s.

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I See You picture

Character mistake: Detective Spitzer went into Harper's dark/unlit house, saw his partner Greg on the floor, and then saw Alec standing in the kitchen. Without identifying himself, telling Alec to drop his weapon (pistol pointed toward the floor), or bothering to determine what happened, Detective Spitzky shoots Alec. (01:27:08)

KeyZOid

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