Best crime movie stupidity of all time

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

Thelma and Louise picture

Stupidity: Given Louise's character, it makes no sense at all for her to leave Thelma in charge of the money. She's known Thelma for years, and knows fully well how flaky Thelma is. And Louise is shown as a person who lives by "If you want something right, you've gotta do it yourself". She's responsible, perhaps even uptight, at that point in the movie. So it defies everything about her character that she would let Thelma guard the money - it smells like a device set up just to allow the money to be stolen.

More Thelma and Louise stupidity
The Untouchables picture

Stupidity: There is no logical reason for a bookkeeper to be present at the liquor deal on the Canadian border and even less of a reason for him to bring the primary ledger with him. This is compounded by the fact this is merely a secondary bookkeeper and the main bookkeeper is subsequently subpoenaed by the district attorney.

BaconIsMyBFF

More The Untouchables stupidity
Predator 2 picture

Stupidity: Harrigan leaves his partner's badge on his grave where anyone could take it and use it to impersonate a cop or abuse it in other ways. (00:50:15)

Jack Vaughan

More Predator 2 stupidity
Kiss of the Dragon picture

Stupidity: The Chief Inspector wants the video cassette back because it shows him committing murder. Yet he spends the entire movie shooting and killing people in public trying to get Johnny and the cassette.

More Kiss of the Dragon stupidity
Domestic Disturbance picture

Stupidity: Rick tries to kill Frank at his boathouse by dumping gasoline all over the place and using Ray Coleman's lighter that Frank had. At this point, Rick has gasoline over his arm, but instead of properly cleaning it, he opens the lighter immediately and has his arm burned. Surely a criminal genius like Rick wouldn't have risked this as this is a loose end. Further mention goes to when he has the bathroom door open for no reason while medicating the burn mark, which enables his wife to see him and discover who he really is.

More Domestic Disturbance stupidity
Shoot to Kill picture

Stupidity: When Jonathan is chasing the truck to try and save Sarah, he could have removed his heavy backpack and run faster...but instead just leaves it on. No wonder he wasn't fast enough.

Gavin Jackson

More Shoot to Kill stupidity
New Jack City picture

Stupidity: The crack house workers are all topless to prevent 'hiding' any product for personal use. Yet are also wearing parachute type pants that they could easily hide things in.

eaglegrad16

More New Jack City stupidity
Another 48 Hrs. picture

Stupidity: In the bar scene, Jack gets into a fight with a guy he busted a few years back, then Reggie turns to the bartender and asks for a gun. The bartender hardly hesitates and hands it over. There is just simply no scenario where a bartender would hand a loaded gun to a patron they had just met.

jshy7979

More Another 48 Hrs. stupidity
Panic Room picture

Stupidity: When the police turn up the first time the mother lies to them to get them to go away but the burglars can't hear the conversation. She could have told them exactly what was happening and that she had to make it look like she'd got rid of them. She could have then smashed all the cameras and just let them in.

Danhit

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This was a character decision, and a completely understandable one. Her daughter was being held hostage in the panic room. She decided to cooperate with their demands for the safety of her daughter. Your idea is a solid one, but she simply did not think of it in her state of mind. She opted to get rid of the police, and her decision is not a movie mistake.

jshy7979

More Panic Room stupidity
The Gauntlet picture

Stupidity: Other than creating a scene for the movie, there was no reason for them to be driving so slow through the streets of Phoenix when they are going to City Hall. If they had gone at a faster speed, they would've made it through without getting hit so many times.

Cynthia Gurski

More The Gauntlet stupidity
Murder by Numbers picture

Stupidity: In the film climax, Cassie tells Justin to put his gun on the floor and walk over to her. This he does but it gives Richard the chance to grab the gun, so we can have the usual daft Hollywood ending. Why didn't she simply tell him to kick the gun over to her first to void this?

More Murder by Numbers stupidity
Murder at 1600 picture

Stupidity: Anyone with a job in the White House would have to be known to the Secret Service on a daily basis, so the two Secret Service agents that find Cory the janitor should have been aware of his identity without him having to state who he was and that he worked there.

More Murder at 1600 stupidity
Death on the Nile picture

Stupidity: In the original novel, the attempt on Mrs. Doyle at the temples was made rolling a boulder off a cliff. In this adaptation, the culprit is said to 'dislodge' a large stone from the temple; you can however see that the stone is already dislodged and sticks out from its place on the pillar, and he had no way to know that the Doyles would be in that particular spot, making this attempt to Linnet's life rather nonsensical (requiring also herculean strength, no pun intended). (00:47:40 - 01:39:30)

Sammo

More Death on the Nile stupidity
Drowning Mona picture

Stupidity: Phil and Rona are in their usual cabin for their usual get-together when Phil tries to tell Rona that Mona is dead, but Rona says, "You'll find me floating at the bottom of the Hudson." If you are floating in a body of water, you are on the top, not the bottom.

kh1616

More Drowning Mona stupidity
The Transporter picture

Stupidity: At the start, when the bank robbers pile into the car, Frank flips a switch and the licence plate changes...out in full view of the public. Given how well-prepared Frank is demonstrated to be, that's absolutely something he would have done in private, before arriving at the bank.

Jon Sandys

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The plate is changed after the robbery for a reason. By allowing plate A to be seen during the robbery the information will be relayed to the police that a car with registration plate A is involved. Swapping to plate B after the robbery ensures that police will see plate B and know that the car is not involved.

Ssiscool

But the point is he drives up to the bank with plate A on display. The robbers pile in and he switches to plate B. So any witnesses have seen both plates (plus the fact that the car switched plates, doubly suspicious). Whereas if he'd switched to plate B while out of view in the car park, he'd still have a "clean" plate to use.

More The Transporter stupidity
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels picture

Stupidity: When Steve Martin reaches the beach with the wheelchair, he tips it over, giving the illusion that he fell out of it. However, with where he starts crawling on the beach, it's tipped the wrong way. If it was that way, he would've been on the other side of it. A clever con-artist should know better.

More Dirty Rotten Scoundrels stupidity
Appointment With Death picture

Stupidity: Poirot addresses the person in the shadow outside the hotel as "dear sir or madam", which would make sense given the clothes, but makes no sense with the fact that voice is definitely a male voice, there's no mystery at all there. (01:11:50)

Sammo

More Appointment With Death stupidity
Ten Little Indians picture

Stupidity: Ilona Bergen's murder happening as shown is laughable; she sees the hand with the syringe coming, slowly, at her, and not only she can't defend herself or avoid it (because, damsels in distress in the 60s, you know), but she does not even scream. There's no way the killer could have been sure, or even take a calculated risk, to murder her in such a way. (00:55:25)

Sammo

More Ten Little Indians stupidity
Auto Focus picture

Stupidity: In the scene in the KNX broadcast studio, the engineer gets Bob Crane's attention by banging on the control room glass. An engineer would more likely speak to the DJ by flipping a talk switch and speaking into a mic, and the DJ would hear him in his headphones.

More Auto Focus stupidity
The Punisher picture

Stupidity: During the final shootout in Saint's club, Lincoln (the long-haired hitman) sneaks up on the Punisher and fires at his chest with a shotgun at point-blank range, which does not harm the Punisher because of his body armor. Even though Lincoln could see that the Punisher was wearing body armor, he takes another point-blank shot at his chest to no effect when he had a clear head shot.

Phaneron

More The Punisher stupidity