MovieChat Forums > Flawless (2008) Discussion > what if the security guy wasn't eating?

what if the security guy wasn't eating?

posted 16 years ago by ariel7684
16 replies | jump to latest

the whole heist was predicated on the 60 second delay. but if the guy hadn't been eating, he would've caught hobbs. that pretty much ruined all that planning for me since neither of them factored in the guy being distracted. also, how the hell could hobbs push that cart filled with diamonds? didn't someone say there were "tons" of them? i tried to suspend my disbelief over hobbs being the actual robber, but it was hard to ignore that his charcater should'nt have done the robbing.

[–] Phileas79 16 years ago

--- Spoiler inside ---

You already answered your question. The storyline would be screwed...

As we know Hobbs had to enter the vault the same way over and over again. The first time he needed the camera's "offline-time" plus the distracting phone call plus the eating guard. Did all those things happened again every time he entered the vault??? I don't think so.

The movie's script is very far away from being flawless.

[–] bulldog-00 15 years ago

Though by not locking the vault after he left the first time, he might have saved precious seconds by not having to fumble with the combination each time he reentered. As we saw, the door was heavy enough to stay closed without the help of a locking mechanism.

... maybe.

I agree that the script if far from being flawless, but in this particular case, I just don't think it's that big of a plot hole if a plausible explanation can be so easily found.

[–] m-slovak79 15 years ago

+1 , cause i think your pretty much right... cause after the initial opening of the vault, further opening/closing of it would be quicker since he dont have to screw with the combination etc etc.

so i think if you can overlook the initial eating, to me it sounds plausible that it could be true that he would not be on the video camera in further opening/closings of the vault.

and even though the 'eating' part is a extreme stretch in real life.. it 'could' happen although it sounds highly unlikely that a guy would just happen to look away right at the perfect time. lol

p.s. i just watched 'Flawless' for the 2nd time a few moments ago and i changed my initial vote of a 7/10 to a 8/10... solid movie.

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My Vote History ... http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=11026826
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[–] ben_stilwell 15 years ago

The camera system was new, so an argument could be made that the security guard was operating against his normal routine.

He only needed the extra 30 or seconds the first time he opens the vault. Afterwards, supposedly hes able to leave the vault, drop off the diamonds and return within 60 seconds. If the distance wasn't great and it didn't appear to be then it could be doable.

Also he didn't need to push tonnes of diamonds, he took them in multiple loads over the course of at most 3 hours.

[–] Tylerdurden80 15 years ago

They knew that it would be a close call opening the vault the first time, because Hobbs had to enter the combination and turn the handle. That was why Demi Moore's character was going to telephone the guard at a designated time in order to distract him - they had synchronised watches in order to allow that to happen - but the phone was broken. Yes, that would have brought the plot unstuck had the guard not distracted himself, so they were lucky there.

As for Hobbs' subsequent trips back and forth - as is pointed out above he wouldn't have needed as much time as he wouldn't need to redial the combination or turn the vault handle.

A safer strategy might have been to leave the cart at the end of the hall, run down, enter the combination and turn the handle, but not open the door, then run back out of camera range. Then at the next window take the cart down and go through the vault door. But that wouldn't have been quite as tense.

And yes, Hobbes was in the vault corridor for three hours, which was a fair amount of time to run back and forth with the diamonds. I do think that you couldn't have put that many down the pipe in that time, but I'm prepared to allow a bit of creative license.

[–] LollyMM 15 years ago

I think it's a bit silly to over analyse things like this. It's like saying 'why didn't Goldfinger just shoot Bond when he had the chance?' Well because there would be no film! Would you have preferred it if Caine got rumbled by the security guard? Then what would have happened?

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Selebii 15 years ago

Lunacy. Healthy people drop dead of heart attacks after running for years. Plenty of smokers live normal lives. He was an active man, he almost could have certainly done it.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] AnotherSchmoe 15 years ago

To the OP:
If the security guard hadn't been eating *THE FIRST TIME* he opened the vault, he would've been caught. After that I assume he just closed the vault without locking it each time, that way he could just swing it open and shut. It was entering the combination and turning the wheel that took up so much time. If he's only swinging it open and shut each time after that he could make it much much faster. =)

[–] alvshill 14 years ago

If the security guard wasn't eating, he'd have had diarrhoea, and if he didn't have diarrhoea he'd have been doing a crossword, and if he wasn't doing a crossword, he'd have had a bad cold, causing him to sneeze and blow his nose often... all of which would have diverted his attention from the screens.

the writer chose eating, obviously:)

[–] gorgsharpy 11 years ago

It's just a story told by an old lady to an interviewer and to us. It's not necessarily how it happened.

[–] cervantes-4 11 years ago

(Michael Caine was not portrayed as a 74 year old (his actual age) in the movie but, presumably, a 64 year old about to turn 65 and be forcibly retired, just as Demi Moore was not said to be 45 (her actual age) but 38. Actors thru vanity have no problem accepting character roles portraying them as being younger.)

To the main point of the eating security guard: this reduced the movie from thriller/heist to a comedy for me. If you haven't seen it try 'How To Steal a Million'. Much cleverer, funnier & better.

'You can't buy a smile like that.' - Monsignor Quixote taking refuge in a brothel

[–] Strings101 10 years ago

"Who dares, wins" this ancient British/Roman/Greek motto (adopted in the past century by the famed SAS Commandos) sums up this supposed "flaw" in the script--i.e. even with all the cunning and planning and diligence, it still required a huge amount of DARING!... and it worked. ;')

[–] Strings101 10 years ago

To the main point of the eating security guard: this reduced the movie from thriller/heist to a comedy for me.

Not so far-fetched or statistically outlandish at all... human nature, and the INability to stay focused on BORING tasks... add to that the self-indulgent sensual pleasure/distraction of eating... very plausible.

For that very reason, Israel's famous El Al Airlines security personnel--i.e. the ones staring at the X-ray monitors--are switched out every 20 MINUTES. The guard character in this film would be staring at stagnant air for 8-12 HOURS.

Now whether the director composed/shot/edited the "gaff" in the slickest way, that is another matter.

[–] Kawada_Kira 9 years ago

Yeah, I thought it was plausible. It has to be boring as all hell to be sitting there the entire night staring at a bunch of empty rooms and a janitor walking around cleaning the building. I don't think any human being would actually be staring at the screens every second for the whole night.

The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of history.
-Mao Zedong