MovieChat Forums > Monster Ark (2008) Discussion > Can't they get it right?

Can't they get it right?


These Scifi channel movies always get Army stuff wrong. They keep calling that guy major and he is wearing 1Sgt stripes, which by the way is worn on the coller and not on the sleave. It is so easy to get little details like that right.

And did they have to do the Indiana Jone staff thing to find the tomb? This movie had so much potenial. Good idea of a story but poorly exacuted.

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Actually, he's wearing Sergeant Major stripes. You're right about it being on the collar though.

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[deleted]

These low budget morons know NOTHING about the military, how they wear their uniforms, how they fight, how they act.... I know. I've worked with them and I can't count how many times I argue about these very facts ... ON SET! and I've overridden by some young 20 something moron who has authority over that aspect of the production.

I CAN attest that if the director wasn't a moron, they would want the military stuff to be correct. But 90% of the low budget directors (and a good portion of the major motion picture directors) ... are morons.



Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

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Amen! to that!

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Actually, nowadays they wear their rank in the center of their chest. You're right about the Sergeant Major, tho.



YOU'RE - "you are", -> "you're stupid".
YOUR - possession of "you", -> "your head is up your ass".

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What do you expect when you film on a shoestring budget in Bulgaria?

At first, I thought the film got the M-16s right. They looked correct in the night scenes, but as soon as it was light I could tell it was the M-16 rip-off: some ComBloc weapon made to look like an M-16.

You can rent/buy Hummers to look like military Hummers. The Russian-made APCs are a dead giveaway.

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ACTUALLY

The rank is worn in the center of the ACU uniform. This guy wasn't wearing an ACU;howerever, he was wearing some kind of DCU. Air Force wears their rank on the arm, NOT Army. I tend to agree with everyone who says these shows need an advisor on set when charachters are going to be wearing a military uniform. I tried to watch this movie, and I tried to like it in spite of all the inaccuracies where the Soldiers were concerned. I had to turn it though when the Sergeant Major handed his weapon to a civilian!! THAT is where I draw the line.

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When I was in the army in 1967 there was a rash of people pretending they were in the service (don't ask me why)One nut case was wearing buck SGT (three stripes) and a major Oak Leaves calling himself a SGT MAJOR.
See some stars here
http://www.vbphoto.biz/

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Sergeant Major is an enlisted rank. Major is an officer. It shows that no one at the SciFi channel has a clue about the military. My vision of their writers is long hair with a beard riding a skate board. No wonder they create such suck ass movies.

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who gives a flying *beep* if the uniforms arent exactly accurate?

if you are going to bitch about minor stupid *beep* like a rank insignia being off, then why dont you just stop watching Sci Fi...

THIS IS A MOVIE

NOT real life

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You're definately a civilian so of course you don't understand the indignation that Soldiers feel when some idiot is wearing one of their uniforms incorrectly.

So to answer the question who gives a *beep* about the uniforms being inaccurate?

The Soldiers who live AND die in them do.

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I can see you're a very dramatic person

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Look, I'm "definately a civilian" but I care about accuracy in military uniforms in the movies, too. Unprofessional things add up to make a bad movie even worse. (Like a character flashing poorly faked cash instead of real currency... or in this movie's case, archeaologists having INSTANT air toxin detectors and no need for a video camera when they make the find of a lifetime.)

I couldn't help watching this - it was awful and yet I just had to see it through. I guess I hoped it would remind me of a James Rollins or Clive Cussler book, but with the bickering couple it felt more like watching a soap opera (ack!). How nice it would have been if anybody else in those shouting scenes had smacked one or both of them in the back of the head and told them to shut the hell up.



If you're going to be a prisoner of your own mind...make sure it's well furnished. (Peter Ustinov)

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I'm not military but I'm an old Air Force brat and all I can say is, Amen. Sadly, even more insult than the bad uniforms & weaponry, the performance by the guy who played Gentry was an insult to every serviceman, regardless of rank or branch. He very nearly made the movie unwatchable for me, and I grew up on the worst of the worst B movies starting in the 50s, so I've hung in through a lot of bad acting.

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me too.l I belong to militarybrats.com and basekids.com. I think Slip is probably just a jr high kid, doesn't know any better.

RIP Heath Ledger 1979-2008

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As I do so often on these boards: to say "it's just a movie" or "it's just fiction" is no excuse. It's just carelessness, that's what it is.

"Na vkus i tsvyet, tovarishcha nyet."

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You ask who cares if the uniforms aren't accurate? Well, anyone who likes a good story, that's who. I'm a civilian, and would not have known the insignia were wrong if I hadn't read this post. Nevertheless, being a writer as well as a reader, I can tell you this: DETAILS MATTER. There are no "minor" details, pal. Even in fiction, your details have to be accurate if you want to hold your readers, or in the case of movies, your viewers.

And funny thing.... you came here to complain about the complainers? Weird.

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Err ... people with more than 2 brain cells give a "flying *beep* if the uniforms arent exactly accurate".

This film is crap on any number of levels. NOBODY who worked on the production side has more than 2 brain cells, as all the archaeological nonsense in it attests. No wonder you liked it.

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[deleted]

I love low brow statements like "It's only a movie". It makes me think that there are still uncouth boobs who claim to watch movies. They will excuse any idiocy or implausibility with the mantra "It's just a movie". :D

Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

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I noticed it too. I can tolerate the times when you call them "Sir" because even in the real military someone says it on an occasion though rare. I could stand the sergeant major being called major. Whos acting was over the top. However what got me was the douche was running around what was suppose to be Iraq with no armor or kevlar. Also the vehicles wouldnt even have been used in the early parts of the war. Almost all vehicles have turrets and most these days have armor on them. Also what was with the black vests? They prob could of found surplus vests around for cheap. The rifles were strange to the very least. Also I kept on wondering what the hell was with the uniforms. I cant think of anyone who uses that. Oh well. At least they qualified for a good late night pop corn flick.

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2 things matter

Pace and gore

thats it

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<i>Blackout2122</i>

Good Point. It is a flick on SciFi, they are allways bad, but still better than reruns of the news. lol




“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his palace, his possessions are safe.”
(Luke 11:21)

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Since the OP is a stickler for accuracy, it's "collar" not "coller", "sleeve" not "sleave" "Indiana Jones" not "Indiana Jone", "potential" not "potenial" and "executed" not "exacuted". I didn't even mention the punctuation errors. Physician, heal thyself.

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lol. runar-4, I usually notice spelling errors, and I can't believe I missed all of those.

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Hey, even big time Directors screw up, check out the ARMY stripes on MARINE SGT. APONE in ALIENS. My dad pointed that out to me once since he served in both.

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At least Aliens has the excuse that it is in the future, and military insignia _do_ change over time...

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Nonsense. He wasn't talking about the SPELLING.

Try again.

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You think the military representation is upsetting, what about the archaeologists??? YIKES! Which cereal box does the Doctorate come in? These morons couldn't find their toothbrushes in the dark!
Yeah, okay, less archaeologists on the board, I know, but for the record: abysmal representation on this front too....

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i hear ya'. a sad moment for all scholars in the historical disciplines... they did get the excitement of discovery pretty damn close. :)
of course in these movies it's always so "different from anything i've ever encountered".

You have the power to make this life free and beautiful... a wonderful adventure! Charlie Chaplin

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Best not to rag on their unfamiliarity with military uniforms when you can't even get basic spelling correct...

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Fail. The filmmakers have no excuse. The poster you're criticizing probably typed his response very quickly. The Filmmakers had months/weeks to get the correct wardrobe, dialogue, procedure, or even have someone research the 'science' to make it not sound so stupid. Even clever pseudo-science is entertaining.

But you're defending work that is the ultimate "Who cares?" mentality. Utmost contempt for the audience as well.

Someone who does a typo, STILL has more right to criticize anachronisms or downright errors in a film, than you have to insult his typing skills.

Dr. Kila Marr was right. Kill the Crystalline Entity.

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I agree completely. In almost every SyFy movie that has military in it, they always get it wrong. You would think that someone there would do some fact checking. They do it so much, I'm beginning to believe that they do it on purpose just to disrespect the military.

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I noticed two mistakes, not listed among the errors on the IMDB entry. The soldiers would NEVER have called the Sergeant Major " Sir". He would have immediately been told " Don't call me sir. I work for a living".

Second, the "scientists" would NEVER have used a laser to cut through the lock. Lasers do not stop when they cut through something. The beam continues to burn anything on the other side of the barrier. Scientists would not risk damaging anything inside the container.

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