Stupidity: The kidnappers steal a silver Citroen van and take it to a junkyard to switch the plates. They steal plates off an older green color Asian type sedan and place them on the van. If the cops run the plates as they normally do random checks as they drive, those plates will not match that vehicle. They should have found the same make and color of Citroen van they stole and swapped plates for plates, the chances of the owner noticing are small. Now if the plates get run they match that vehicle. (00:00:38 - 00:01:18)
Stupidity: Becky possessed the mysterious key that the four neo-Nazi prison escapees were at the lake house to retrieve. Becky didn't know what the key was for, so did not have a vested interest in it. By first denying that she knew where the key was and later refusing to give it to Dominick, her father was killed. Had Becky simply handed over the key when Dominick asked for it, it is possible no-one would have been hurt/ killed. Becky keeping the key with no importance to her served to further the plot.
Stupidity: After Roy escaped from the factory, he encountered a metal garage-door-type gate that was open at the bottom to the height of his knees. Trying to sneak away and in obvious pain from his injuries, it would have been quicker, quieter, and probably less painful if he crawled through the opening. Instead, Roy pulled downward on the chains, making a lot of noise, and it didn't even get the gate halfway up before he bent over to get out. The gate went up more after he stopped pulling on the chain. (01:15:29)
Stupidity: Jimmy parked his truck on the side of the road with woods running parallel and starting about 10' away. Jimmy moved to the passenger side so the Sheriff could sit in the driver's seat (for no apparent reason). After Jimmy threw the "white powder" into the Sheriff's face, he quickly got out of the truck and ran straight ahead on the road instead of ducking into the nearby woods. The Sheriff had a clear and easy shot to hit and kill Jimmy. Also, Jimmy should have been much further away. (00:11:51 - 00:12:21)
Stupidity: Noah chases one suspect while Leslie chases the other two. Noah eventually pulls out his gun and says, "Stop, police!" Leslie doesn't even try to draw her weapon until she hears sounds from the nearby brushes - but she barely has her hand on the holster when she turns around and gets punched in the face. Leslie is knocked over and the other man she was chasing repeatedly hits her in the face, quite hard. Her injuries could have been avoided simply by having her gun ready to aim and use. (01:04:48)
Stupidity: The metro police officer (and co-conspirator) went to the old cement factory where the other bank robbers were. Since the police officer (accomplice) wanted the money and did not want other police officers to be nearby, he called 911 and made an anonymous false report stating he spotted the person police were looking for and misdirected them further away. Maybe a good idea, but he made this call using his own cell phone. (01:12:20)
Stupidity: Angela ran over to her neighbor Mr. Charlie when she heard him come home. Angela was complaining that his son and friends make too much noise, do whatever the want, are bringing property values down, act wild/crazy, draw attention to everybody, and she doesn't want the police coming. These may be legitimate complaints, but the way Angela expressed them would bring down property values! Not only was she yelling in the street, she used "m-f-ing" several times, as well as other select words. (00:02:35 - 00:03:07)
Stupidity: After Casi changed the tracker on the Navigator, he was sneaking between vehicles to get out of the tow pound. The Whale came and stood in front of the two vehicles Casi was between. Casi stood up and, instead of turning around and running away, rushed TOWARD The Whale in an attempt to get past him. The Whale, much bigger, threw Casi against a vehicle and then onto the garage floor. (01:03:34).
Stupidity: Patrizia Reggiani is no rocket scientist in this movie, but it's quite bizarre that calling the fortune-teller she sees on TV, with her name written in giant letters in two different spots on screen, she asks her "What's your name?" It makes sense for the international audience who may not recognize the word "Pina" as a name, but an Italian wouldn't have any doubt. (00:41:05)
Stupidity: To quietly kill the hotel valet he is replacing, Diabolik throws a knife at him from distance, hits him in the back, and then drags his body in the middle of the street to the nearest manhole, leaving a long streak of blood he does not conceal. If this sounds pretty risky and unsafe especially for a meticulously planned murder, you have also to consider that in the comic book from 1963 this movie otherwise faithfully adapts, Diabolik did nothing this foolish; he quietly killed the guy strangling him next to the spot he'd dump his body into.
Stupidity: Instead of breaking into Gordo's house, covering all the furniture in one room with sheets/thin blankets, and waiting for Gordo to return home in order to kill him via a "dramatic re-enactment" (in an adjacent room which was not shown to the audience), Bill could have taken Gordo anywhere to avoid getting caught or calling the police on himself. Had Bill taken Gordo to his already-"wrapped" motel room, he had enough injuries after the fight to claim self-defense against an intruder. (01:43:20)
Stupidity: When Joaquin was running from Cornell, he turned into an alley between buildings. He was to the left (of the screen), which was unobstructed, but ran to the right, so he could jump over boxes. Cornell could have also stayed to the left, but ran far enough to the right where he could kick the boxes out of his way. Easily avoiding the boxes would have been faster. (00:11:37)
Stupidity: At the police station, a bucket of tools was left along the wall within a couple inches of the jail cell door where so-called "Amityville Strangler" Joe Gallo was detained. Gallo was able to reach the tools, use something to unlock his cell, and have a weapon - sledgehammer - "to go." (00:46:57 - 00:57:30)
Stupidity: Catherine, wearing a dress and coat, was outside in the snow chopping firewood while her teenaged son sat nearby playing video games on his tablet. This could also fall under "plot hole" because having the son close by made him available to try to help his mom when Pryce attacked her (with the intent to rape). (00:36:40 - 00:37:15)
Stupidity: Dirk squeezed a long stream of lighter fluid onto the pile of Mario's clothes, then saw a necklace, which he removed (and potentially got lighter fluid on his hand while doing so). Instead of tossing a match from a safe (r) distance, Dirk crouched next to the saturated clothes and held a match near the bottom of the pile, risking burning himself. (00:06:40 - 00:07:21)
Stupidity: The ending has a bit of a twist; apparently, octogenarian college professor Morgan Freeman somehow chased down and murdered offscreen 6'3" professional assassin Vernon Davis. That's not the toughest part to swallow, though; he also sent the two detectives (one of whom he is not even supposed to know of) via UPS 2-day delivery mail some body parts of his victim. We don't know which part Lavazzi gets (genitalia were mentioned earlier), but Boyd gets the eyes and decides to eat them. For starters, unrefrigerated 2-3 day old eyes would never look as pristine as the ones Boyd gets. Also, Morgan Freeman mentioned earlier in the movie that for the power of Muti to be effective, the body parts need to be taken from a victim that is alive, screaming, and eaten only mixed with herbs and other catalysts. So what the detective does doesn't make sense even in the movie lore.
Stupidity: Makes for a funny one-time gag for the benefit of the audience, but it doesn't really make sense that Jay would walk into the hitman's place without knowing he was deaf. It's not exactly the kind of detail that Tommy T. would not mention. In fact, it's the only thing he told the police, apparently, since they, on the other hand, show up knowing he's deaf but do not know he's a big ginger dude and are therefore initially fooled by his squatter story.