Question: Maybe I missed some dialogue, but why exactly did Voller think the fissure they were flying towards would take him to his desired date in 1939? I get that the dial detects fissures in time, but why would he think that particular fissure was the one he needed to travel through?
Answer: We're supposed to accept that the dials are pointing to the rift in the sky, which is what makes this plot decision so ridiculous. There's no common reference point (magnetism wouldn't be discovered until and used in compasses for another 2,000 years), and the dial is 2-dimensional. Thus, you could turn your body 90 degrees and aim it down, and there's no indication from the movie that the dial would in any way turn to face the previous rift.
I think, technically, the fact that there's no common reference point is addressed when Voller mentions that the coordinates given are 'Alexandrine coordinates'... which I think might be another anachronism since all I can think it means is the ones used by Ptolemy in his Geography, which was hundreds of years after Archimedes' time. The dial is 2-dimensional, but there are 3 hands. It can be argued that when all 3 align, it does show that the direction you are headed is definitely correct, including the height you are pointing at. I definitely think it's entirely implausible, but the way the unknown mechanism works, attuned to something that does not exist such as time rifts, is kind of a lesser problem. Even if it is supposed to work by some mathematical principle, and then acts as some dowser rod.
Not true. The Chinese were using compasses around 200 BC, and Vikings are believed to have had them as well.
Answer: As they approach the rift, all three of the dial's hands are suddenly pointing towards it. If that is no clear indicator, then what is?
The dial pointing towards it only indicates that they are heading towards the fissure. How does that give Voller any certainty that this is the exact fissure he needs to travel through in order to reach his desired destination, especially considering it ended up not being the one he needed? Were there coordinates in Basil's diary that indicated where the exact fissure would open? I only recall the date of August 20 (?), 1939 being written down.
Only the time is written in the diary (the date you mention is next to August 20, 1969, which would be then supposedly when the finale of the movie takes place). For the coordinates, you need to have the device, which, apparently, allows you also to input with firsthand your desired destination. Voller couldn't know that to concoct his plan, though, since he did not have the diaries at the beginning of the movie.
Question: Spoiler! Does this movie actually end with Dominic and his son Brian about to die and the bad guy Dante winning?
Answer: It does - it's a massive cliffhanger leading directly into the next (and apparently final) film. The team's plane has been shot down and crashed, seemingly killing them all (but let's be honest, that's unlikely...). Dom and Little B survive the drive off the dam and crash into the river. Dante looks down on them and arms massive bombs along the length of the dam, they apparently have nowhere to run to... End of film.
Question: When Felix Ravenstill was declared dead, why did Dr. Gaul think that the way to get back at the Districts was to kill off the remaining tributes in the "rainbow of destruction"? If you were chosen as a Tribute, you basically were already dead before actually dying. That's pretty much the essential nature of the Hunger Games. Wouldn't the government announcing a retaliatory missile strike have made much more sense?
Answer: Doing something unexpected and even more violent during the Games sends a warning but also adds a "shock value" that "thrills" Capitol viewers, keeping them engaged and increasing TV ratings. Launching a missile strike would be an extreme and counterproductive move that only causes extensive and expensive damage, disrupts the districts' productivity and adversely affecting Panem's commerce, directly hurting the Capitol and its citizens.
Question: Why did Daniel and Ethan fight on the train hand-to-hand, instead of using guns? (02:16:00 - 02:20:00)
Answer: Maybe they didn't have any guns at that point.
Answer: In an enclosed place, a bullet can ricochet around until it hits something - one of them or an innocent person: man, woman, or child. Worse, it could hit a section of the train, a brake line, a cable connecting the cars, or one of the conductors.
Question: How did English Spider-Man (the rebel one with the guitar) get back to his own dimension after leaving his watch thing for Gwen in her dimension?
Answer: Hobie or Spider-Punk gave Gwen's father a watch he'd built himself. It's fairly safe to assume he built more than one.
Question: Why is Supergirl a brunette here when she has always been a blonde?
Answer: Some possible reasons gleaned from the Internet: Filmmakers wanted a different vision of Supergirl to reflect a darker, grittier personality and to show her refugee-like experience. Her dark short hair symbolizes her harsher journey from her home world. Also, it gives her a more androgynous look, reflecting both her feminine and masculine traits. Adopting a radically different look for an established character also shakes up viewers' expectations and generates more publicity and interest in the film.
Question: We learn in the film that Shazam and Wonder Woman are friends, and (Spoiler alert) she brings him back from the dead at the end. So, why didn't she help him during the final battle or give any other much-needed assistance during the film?
Answer: The dinner scene, where Wonder Woman has the head of the Wizard, never happened. There's no indication they knew each other, let alone were friends. In the realm where superheroes actually do exist, there'd really be no reason why she, Superman, who is supposed to know them too, or any other hero wouldn't be there to help. So the only answer would be an unsatisfactory one that sounds pedantic: she didn't help because it's a Shazam movie and not a WW or JL movie. One could say that she and the other heroes were busy with fighting crime/battles in their own city or they didn't know they needed help. She only appears at the end, it seems, to restore the god realm. It's also been said they didn't think Gal Gadot would be available to shoot her cameo scene, so Wonder Woman may not have been in the film because of a scheduling conflict. But to me, if she was meant to be in the film, they would have secured her availability long before shooting.
Answer: Where did you get the idea that they are friends? The movie makes it pretty clear they have never met before.
Cause they are having dinner together near the beginning. And you still didn't answer why she didn't help.
Answer: The other superheroes don't sit around waiting for someone to call. Batman has a city full of rogues' gallery: Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Catwoman. Wonder Woman also has the same. They're busy people! But they'll come if asked or if they find out another hero needs help.
Question: Regarding the scene where people catch fire after John Wick shoots them with a particular gun, what exactly is causing them to catch fire? I recall an earlier scene showed men carving lines into the tips of their bullets, though I don't remember if the two things are related. If so, is there something about carving the bullet that causes it, or is it the particular gun?
Answer: These are dragon's breath shotgun shells. The shells are filled with magnesium pellets and ignite when fired. The film seems to exaggerate the stopping power, making it seem almost like an explosive round rather than incendiary. These are not the same rounds that we see the men carving into. Carving grooves into a bullet is done so the bullet expands upon impact and causes more damage similar to a hollow-point round, though the effectiveness of this method is debated.
Answer: There is a bit of dialogue en route to the airport when Voller sets the instrument that says, "the first hand sets the destination," as in the time you want to travel back to. This would make the device completely absurd in principle if true (that's why I wanted to mark it as a plot hole/stupidity). Since it's supposed not to open portals but just detect them, it can't be that there are infinite portals for every moment in time you can choose to go back to (and they even close). The sky, while vast, is not infinite. We then find out that it is a trick since it is set to actually bring you to just one destination, but they don't know it yet.
Sammo ★