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The ending is full of holes and is ridiculous. spoilers

posted 12 years ago by moviewizguy
17 replies | jump to latest

How would the extremists have known that Michael, when speeding through the streets of Washington, DC, wouldn't be stopped by a cop car or get in a car accident? The payoff hinges on the fact that Michael would be able to get in the building (even though he wasn't authorized to). SO MANY THINGS could have happened that would have prevented him from getting there. The entire plan of the terrorists relied on luck, coincidences, and contrivances. In the end, their plan was quite poor and asinine. The film falls off the rail into ridiculous territory by the last 30 minutes.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] G_I_JOSH2003 11 years ago

Exactly. They alluded to this with the whole Scobee deal in St. Louis. The guys truck in that incident was parked only by the gate, because it was denied access. What happened with Bridges, is he got through and provided the best case scenario for Robbins. If he would have been denied access at the gate, he still would have been close enough to do damage, kill people and make a statement. It would have been sufficient enough.

In regards to the cops stopping him, I am sure they had enough personnel to view what was happening. For all we know Bridges was being tailed as he tailed the van. Through that communication they would have information and the ability to alter plans to fit their needs. Who knows maybe they would have blown the car in the middle of the streets if the police got involved.

Instead of picking holes into a movie, maybe think fully how there could be realistic factors that support them.

[–] sflamme 11 years ago

I just watched the film today and i also thought some plot elements were questionable.

But mainly, and i react here because the previous poster mentioned "making a statement", i'm wondering what statement is made by the terrorists in this film, when they go to such great lengths to have Faraday framed for the whole thing on account of the death of his wife?

Oliver Lang makes it very clear in a couple of dialogue scenes with Faraday that he is part of a whole organization and that they have a cause for which they are fighting. Lang also says of himself that he is a messenger.

But i don't see how having Faraday framed for blowing up the FBI building serves their cause and lets their message be heard?

[–] kinsayder 10 years ago

But i don't see how having Faraday framed for blowing up the FBI building serves their cause and lets their message be heard?

I didn't understand that either. How is it "terrorism" if everyone thinks it was just some grieving husband who went nuts and blew up the building with himself inside it? It's not like he's going to do it again.

It appears that the master plan of the organisation that Lang is part of is to travel around the country blowing stuff up and pinning it on random strangers. They might just as well make the bombings look like accidents if they're not going to claim responsibility or make any demands.

[–] Firstshot 10 years ago

You missed the whole point. They where setting up different people that got screwed by the US government to send a message against the feds. The message was more about creating the image of someone that was screwed over so that not only the story of what happened to them would come to light but the feds would also look bad while being killed.

Very smart film for those that understand the plotlines. Very deep film

"Let the games begin."
-Bane, The Dark Knight Rises 2012

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Firstshot 10 years ago

Nothing wrong with the Nolan Batman films. They are more adult themed and cover serious world issues in there stories. TDKR was shown in right wing theaters for the love of mike. Not a child's film at all. Very political films

"Let the games begin."
-Bane, The Dark Knight Rises 2012

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Firstshot 10 years ago

But was Harry Potter shown on right wing theaters? Was Harry Potter blasted by the democrats and the president himself Obama? Did a Harry Potter film cause controversy about the gun rights and such like TDKR did? Did Harry Potter cause a massive political debate on rather or not torture and spying on your own country is a good thing? I think you watched the Nolan Batman films as Batman films and nothing more. Way more to those films than just comic book stuff.

"Let the games begin."
-Bane, The Dark Knight Rises 2012

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Fad64 11 years ago

No, no, no! It is NOT down to us, the viewer, to make up stuff to fill the plot holes. THAT is the writer/director's job. If the terrorists were following Bridges during the end sequence, to ensure he got there, then they need to SHOW the viewer, not leave it to us to try and imagine how it MIGHT have gone down. Had Bridges ended up being blown up in some random location after being apprehended as he sped through the city, the film would have been far more realistic, and infinitely unsatisfying, as the whole terrorist plot would have been for nothing more than what they could have achieved by simply dropping a bomb in a bin somewhere.
Here's the clue; If a movie requires the viewer to make stuff up in order for it to make sense, it is, by definition, a BAD movie!

[–] Bob_Brooker 11 years ago

"How can anyone, even skilled conspirators, predict with perfect accuracy the outcome of a car crash? How can they know in advance that a man will go to a certain pay phone at a certain time, so that he can see a particular truck he needs to see? How can the actions of security guards be accurately anticipated? Isn't it risky to hinge an entire plan of action on the hope that the police won't stop a car speeding recklessly through a downtown area?"
— Roger Ebert's review of Arlington Road

__________
Last movie watched: The Skin I Live In (6/10)

[–] avex_13 10 years ago

The ending is unbelievably ridiculous. But not only the ending, the whole design of the bad guys is absurd.

[–] Ronin008 10 years ago

There's more holes in this than Swiss cheese.

[–] kascha-klaussen 10 years ago

It's one thing to say something wasn't done, and be able to prove it. It's another thing to be willfully blind about it.

They were in touch via radio the whole time. Did it ever occur to you that the guy in the Liberty van with the detonator computer staged and detonated the bomb EXACTLY on time?! How do you think he knew the exact time Faraday got to the building and the exact time he got back to the car and opened the trunk? ESP?

Did you not notice the girl on the walkie talkie telling people to "stand by"? They were clearly monitoring the situation real time with insight. You didn't want to see it.

And again. All of the posts on here bray about suspension of disbelief and skepticism about what's realistic. The comedy gold in that is that for all that talk of realism, not one person here thinks about how unrealistic it is that a terrorist cell only has ONE scenario by which they can get the bomb to the building, or that their operation has been built dynamic enough to cope with deviations in plan A.

It is just as possible that the plan was changed in response to the situation on the ground presenting them with a better opportunity than the original.

And for that matter, there is absolutely nothing in this movie on which anyone here can even state with certainty that there was only ONE BOMB. LOL!

I mean seriously? Do you know how much had to go right on 9/11? If someone made a movie with that scenario before it happened, how many of you would be eating crow double fisted now because you swore that plan was hair brained and too dependent on luck?

[–] sunnyroberto 10 years ago

I have to laugh a bit when people complain about "plot holes" and stuff when watching an action movie or thriller. I just watched "Die Hard". You know what, that movie had a lot of plot holes. But it's still a great movie!!! "Arlington Road" isn't a documentary, it's fiction, and it's quite good, even after watching a second or third time. Enjoy it!!

[–] morganseer 7 years ago

How about the terrible FBI response to a guy running in to tell them there's a bomb being planted in their midst? How realistic was it that they all stood around and stared at him and tried to calm him down? Dang, I'm no FBI agent but that van would have been out of there in two seconds on my watch; not to mention the building evacuating and the bomb-squad earning their keep. We could discuss the guy's mental health issues later.

And how could the terrorists have know the FBI had such poor response, and could take their time pushing that button?

The ending is full of holes and is ridiculous. *spoilers*

The ending is full of holes and is ridiculous. spoilers