MovieChat Forums > Unknown (2011) Discussion > Okay, I'm confused. I need answers.

Okay, I'm confused. I need answers.


I just looked through a lot of the posts on this message board. I keep seeing the word "unrealistic", and people are going on about the scenes that they found stupid, or annoying.

Did ANYONE find the ladder scene unrealistic, stupid or annoying? I thought for sure that at least one person would have said something about it by now. I just watched the film two days ago. When that guy flies down the ladder THAT fast, and then lands all nicely, and doesn't have broken legs? Or completely torn up hands? That was ridiculous! My friend and I could NOT take the rest of the film seriously once that happened. It completely ruined it for both of us. Sooooo cheesy and random as hell. We laughed so hard we were nearly crying. I think it's hilarious. I just can't believe no one has said anything. Unless I just missed it, in which case...sorry.

~Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.~

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That was mentioned somewhere, but no one thought it ruined the whole film. If you think that's cheesy and random then what the hell are your favorite films? Because a lot of films (especially action and thrillers) have these type of "unrealistic" stuff.

Oh, I take it you enjoyed the car chase scene. Because that was more unrealistic, seriously.

And what "scene"? It was brief. It was finished in a blink. Of course he wouldn't break his bones if he's grasping on the ladder all the way to ground - he was supporting his weight. Come on...

And you like Tale of Two Sisters? Ghosts, seriously? Now that's unrealistic.

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Actually, the car chase made us laugh as well. I hate *beep* like that. When did I say that I liked that scene? I thought I said that I didn't enjoy the film. Before your head explodes, let me remind you that it is an OPINION. And why do you have to be such a prick about it? If I had said something like "This film is stupid and anyone who likes it is a moron", then you'd have a point. I don't know if you realize this, but not everyone has the same taste in films. I didn't say it ruined the film. I said it ruined the film for me and my friend. We couldn't stop laughing. If that bothers you, I really don't know what to say other than you have some issues that you might want to address. And you missed the entire point of the post. You make it sound like I said that unrealistic things are stupid, and have ruined every film ever. And I love how you said "Because a lot of films (especially action and thrillers) have these type of "unrealistic" stuff." Who the hell said that I'm into action films OR thrillers? And when did I say that every film should be completely realistic? I just can't believe how ridiculous and ignorant you've made yourself look. Also, do you know what a scene is? You put quotes around it like if it's not five minutes long, then it isn't a scene. I'm not even going to explain why that made you sound like a moron. And your explanation of why the guy in the film didn't break his bones is astonishing! I never thought I would learn so much from someone on an imdb message board! Are you a physics professor?! You are brilliant!

By the way- looking at my list of films has got to be the saddest, most pathetic and rather strange thing that I ever could have imagined someone doing in response to my post. I find that very sad. I'm not being mean, I'm trying to help when I say - GO OUTSIDE. FIND SOMETHING BETTER TO DO. It was a harmless post, written by someone who found a scene in a film to be funny, and wanted to know if anyone else felt the same. Don't take it personally, and don't try to prove me wrong on something that is just a *beep* opinion. Seriously man, you need to relax.

~Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.~

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[deleted]

Aww, you can't back that up with an explanation? How cute are you!

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[deleted]

Oh and I'm not surprised that you didn't see the humor in that post; that I was kidding when I said everyone who watched the film and came on this message board is stupid, or whatever I said exactly. *sigh* Any reason you can find to attack, right? Silly boy.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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I don't know why there aren't more posts like this. Awesome. Good on you.

And I thought it looked cheesy, but now that you mention it--it was hilarious. That "scene" was hilarious.

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Wow. How unnecessarily rude.

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As soon as I saw that I thought "no way. His hands would be on fire going that fast". I also thought he must have been some kind of spy who was thinking he was someone he had studied. After his wife didn't know him, that was an explanation I could imagine. I was close. I wouldn't watch it again, but I didn't hate it.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!”

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That's what my friend said! "His fuc|{ing hands would be on fire!"I still laugh every time I think about it. I don't care what anyone says, that's some straight up Batman $hit right there.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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[deleted]

Dear Pure,
Don't be confused, sliding down a ladder like that is common practice anyplace there's a smooth handrail and, if you noticed his feet, he's slowing his descent with them. (I've done this myself many times on board ships and drilling rigs.)

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There's no way he could have known it was a smooth handrail, though. The walls in her apartment were literally made of cardboard. What are the chances the handrail wouldn't have had tons of flaking (sharp) paint and/rust on it?

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Maybe it was not realistic but I thought it was one of the coolest stunts ever. Then again I thought they were just trained for that type of thing.

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Here's an easy solution - if you are incapable of suspension of disbelief, DON'T WATCH ANY ACTIONS FILMS! None of them are realistic, not a single one. ESPECIALLY spy films! You think James Bond, the Bourne Trilogy, Alastair McLean, etc are any more realistic? How about Batman?

Every one of these types films contains fight scenes that, if they were to happen in real life, would fracture faces & skulls, break knuckles each time a punch is thrown, rupture and collapse internal organs, and kill the participants via cerebral haemhorrage or cardiac arrest within three minutes.

Seriously, if you demand such a high degree of realism, you probably shouldn't be watching any movies at all, except perhaps for the odd documentary. Just read the Encyclopaedia Brittanica for fun, I guess.

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Right, I think this is the last time I'm going to respond to an absolute dolt on this message board. This is getting old.
I NEVER said I was into action films. As a matter of fact, I dislike them very much. I watched this one with a friend, it wouldn't be my first choice, but it was something new, and something that my friend was interested in watching.

Secondly, who the hell said anything about James Bond, The Bourne Trilogy, or any of that other $hit you mentioned? I do not like things like that. Can you read? I DON'T LIKE ACTION FILMS. I NEVER SAID I DID. SO STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT FOR LAUGHING AT A RIDICULOUS SCENE IN ONE. And the only reason I mentioned Batman is that my friend and I agreed that the whole ladder thing reminded us of something a superhero would do. Batman is a superhero, by the way. Just in case you didn't realize. Isn't it annoying when a complete stranger talks down to you for no good reason?

Also, I NEVER said that I don't like unrealistic scenes or situations in films. I don't know why you two morons assume that, but I thought I was quite clear - THIS SCENE MADE ME LAUGH. IT WAS CORNY. LIKE MOST ACTION FILMS ARE (in my opinion....yes, merely opinion, calm down). So this little statement:

"Seriously, if you demand such a high degree of realism, you probably shouldn't be watching any movies at all, except perhaps for the odd documentary."

....is really, really funny. I NEVER said that I expect realism all the time. How lame would the world of film be if that was the way things were? Quite a few of my favorite films are very unrealistic. The only reason I ever used the word "unrealistic" was because of all the MANY, MANY posts on this board containing comments/criticisms about what they felt was UNREALISTIC in this film. So I asked- Did anyone find that funny? Because it certainly wasn't realistic either. THE END. I didn't say "It's funny because it's unrealistic, and anything unrealistic is ridiculous and should be cut out of every film ever made", or anything like that. I don't know where you two got that from.

I'll sum this up, just for you, because I can see how ignorant and quick to judge you are. And clearly, you're a poor reader. If you weren't, you wouldn't have said any of the things you said in your post. So I suggest that YOU have a look in the Encyclopaedia Britanica. Or just a dictionary. Or, you may want to start with something a bit easier, i.e. a children's book.

- I don't like action films.

- I don't like James Bond films, or The Bourne Identity films, or anything like that. I don't even like the characters. Okay? Do you understand?
So that obliterates any credibility in the first two paragraphs you wrote.

- Finally, I don't have a problem with unrealistic films (and not once have I ever said that I did....ever). That includes scenes, characters, plots, and everything else.

Basically, you completely misread every word I said. I know this, because your reply was clearly the product of a very bored and slightly hostile person looking for any and every reason to "attack" someone on a message board (which you would never do if we were talking in person). I never said any of the things that you were trying to disprove. You are a jackas$. Understand? No? Didn't expect you to.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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at least batman is sensible enough to bring gloves!

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and that's what makes batman completely realistic... to me when I was 10 anyway. Like jerry sienfeld says. When 10yo's are watching superheroes, these aren't fantasies to them, they're career options (or something like that lol). and proverbial gloves are all the realism we batman fans need to make it completely plausible.

“In my sentences I go where no man has gone before.”
- George W. Bush

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It's not that unrealistic.

People do that on ladders all the time, I mean, my best friend does that same "slide down the ladder fast" thing as one of his parkour tricks.

Granted, in real life people do it on ladders that are only 1 story or so. Only about 5 seconds of "sliding", the movie had him slide down for about 10-15 seconds, which is a stretch. But no, his hands would not be 'on fire' as you put it. It was winter, if anything his hands would be freezing from sliding over that much frozen metal.

But seriously, its quite possible. Most of the force is done on your legs, the hands are just there to keep you from falling off.

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It's not about the heat/temperature of what he's touching. It's friction - slide your skin that fast over another solid object and it'll burn due to the heat generated by the rubbing particles.

Totally ridiculous scene. Have no idea why they didn't just have him wearing gloves, completely eliminates the ridiculousness of it all.

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I thought the entime movie was unrealistic but I also thought unrealistic to think that this kind of movies could be or should be realistic. It never has been their goal.

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The movie is set within the parameters of our real-life world. It's not an alternate dimension where the rules of physics or human abilities are different, like in X-Men, nor does the movie provide any such backdrop that would explain any differences. As such, there's no need to break those rules just to provide some entertainment. Would you have been happy if it turned out that Dr Martin was an alien cyborg who could shoot lasers out of his eyes and decides to take over the world? Judging by your answer, "yes", you would, but that doesn't mean everyone else would be equally accepting of something ridiculous happening within a movie where there's no reasonable explanation for it to be possible.

There's a difference between something that is clearly impossible/ridiculous and "stretching the imagination". The plot/action scenes in Unknown fell into the latter, but things like sliding down a pole were overly ridiculous imo.

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testinator-
Yes. Thank you. For fuc|{s sake, I've been waiting for SOMEONE to make sense...

MrBelette-
You missed the point of my post as well. Good job.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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testinator-

For some reason I didn't see the second post from you until now. THANK YOU!!! I thank you because you have shown me that I am not alone. I was beginning to think it entirely possible that I was the only sensible, fairly intelligent person who watched this film and came to this message board. Ha. But seriously...I'm glad someone else tried to explain what I was saying to these seemingly slow-witted people. In all actuality it was probably lost on them, but hey. You made perfect sense, you made a point that I obviously failed to make, and you didn't completely misconstrue EVERYTHING I have said here. Bravo sir or madame (I'm guessing you're a sir but I wouldn't want to offend). Well played.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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Agreed on all counts!
I don't understand why people feel the need to be so mean and ridicule someone else's opinion...
When I saw this scene, the first thing I said was "He wouldn't be able to do that without wearing gloves!"

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I thought the entime movie was unrealistic but I also thought unrealistic to think that this kind of movies could be or should be realistic. It never has been their goal.

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I think that we have to remember that the ladder railing was undoubtedly not just cold, but frozen, so one would not necessarily burn one's hands, although I do agree that it didn't look very realistic, not that that matters particularly in a film like this.

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To the OP: who cares? I agree that scene was over the top, his hands would burn, or at least lose some skin, I don't know. But it's a movie. None of it's real. Even realism-type movies have some over-the-top scenes in them. It's just Hollywood. Anytime I see a scene like that I just look past it or blow it off. Doesn't really bother me. I know movies aren't real and they want cool stunt scenes or cheesy action scenes because some people love it.

But opinions right? That's what makes this world a lovely place. I applaud your original post, because me and my friend said something about that scene too. Although, if the guy was wearing gloves, maybe it could be more realistic. At least a little bit.

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I agree about the Ladder and also then not long afterwards the big fight in the apartment and somehow Diane Kruger's character gets there to help out but the ladder slider is too slow in the brain and somehow conveniently only gets there in time just after Liam and Diane are out the door. That was also ridiculous. Why did the Tram feel the need to smack into the upturned Taxi, couldn't they see it there? After the Tram had just seen the Taxi on the track a minute previously. Sigh.

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I am with the OP.
For me the ladder scene was the same as if someone had levitated or if a door suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The only explanation, for me at the time, was that it was some Matrix type of programmed universe where the laws of physics did not apply. I expected a reboot at any time.

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Yea I saw that scene and I thought "ok so THAT'S the route this movie is going". It made no sense at all and any explanation is as ridiculous as the scene itself. His hands would have at some point given way and he would have tumbled the remaining distance to the ground. Even with gloves on he would have had some type of negative reaction. Whoever thought of that scene and allowed it probably only did it because of a time constraint or maybe the actor was unavailable for a re-do. It would have been more realistic if they had shown him at the top, then cut away to a different scene, and then shown him at the bottom.

BTW, these movies need to clean up better than this. These people involved with the movies get tons of money, obvious nonsense should not be in movies. And the retarded morons who defend the stupid scenes should make start their own posts about how much they love the unrealistic scenes instead of defending them when we call it out...good job bro!!

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I agree. That scene stuck out for me as well. A really stupid idea, and it's not even fun with suspension of disbelief. If I wanted to see fantasy or whatever then I'd watch the X-Men. I can handle lasers, I just can't handle assassins flying down five stories and landing like a cat.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTOAi1bLPPI
This should answer to all of your doubts

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HAHAHAHAHA! That is not even CLOSE to the same thing, man. First of all, it's only 50 feet. Secondly, the guy does not haul as$ like the man in the film did. Thir....you know what. There's no reason to point any of this out. Nice try, but....just no. :P

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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[deleted]

Im sorry the OP has to be the king of the trolls. Out of everything that happened in the movie it was a guy sliding down a ladder that pissed you off. The whole movie is ridiculous and improbable but you take like the least inconsequential scene that has no effect on the rest of the movie and you flip out. I agree with one of the other posters stop watching movies altogether; its one thing to say you dont like a movie, its one thing to say you dont like a movie because its unrealistic because the entire plot is far fetched; its altogheter something else because a guy slide down a ladder. Just think about it, I dont like this movie because a guy slide down a ladder.

One of my buddies thought speed racer was unrealistic not because of the cars or the race tracks or anything else, but because one guy in the movie use steel ball and chains as an attack. But You sir take the cake. I didnt like Unknown and thought it was unrealistic because fodder assassin A slide down a ladder.

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Exactly! He starts a thread complaining about such a pointless thing and then when people don't agree with him he starts abusing them.

To the OP, don't watch any more movies but more importantly stay away from the internet.

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The OP is an idiot.

First off it has been pointed out that this film contained a lot of unrealistic scenes and to single out this 10 second ladder scene seems rather unnecessary. To say it spoiled/ruined the movie to me sounds incredibly dumb.

Second he goes to great pains to say he doesn't even like action films. Now he said he watched it with a friend who wanted to see it which is fair enough but why bother to come into the Internet and take the time to post in a forum about a film he didn't like in a genre he doesn't like and then proceed to not only post about a very minor scene but then take time to respond in an aggressive and rude manner to anyone who disagreed with him.

I could understand an action/spy film fan posting their likes and dislikes about this film but why waste your time arguing when you don't even like the genre in the first place.

Made me lol when he told someone to go outside and basically get a life. Think he needs to take his own advice.

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Waynebond- You're pretty funny, calling me an idiot, and saying that I need to get a life, when you use abbreviations like LOL and OP instead of speaking fuc|{ing English. You're contributing to the deterioration of intelligence on this planet. Bravo. And why is it that because I don't like action films, I can't talk about a scene in an action film? What exactly are the rules on discussing films? I'd be interested to know.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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That guy is as obnoxious as you are for a few different reasons, but unless you hear "LOL" from an actual voice IRL(in real life) and they're not joking around, taking issue to abbreviations on message board forums is just retarded. I've never seen anyone criticize using "OP", it's widely used.

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crownklown- If you had actually read and UNDERSTOOD anything I said about any of this, you would know that everything you said is untrue. Except for maybe the king of the trolls thing. That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. :P The scene didn't piss me off, it made me laugh. A lot. Therefore I am glad I watched the film. And guess what? It's not that I don't like the film because of that one scene. I don't like the film because it's not my style. I found it cheesy and ridiculous, same as you. So it's sweet that you decided to talk down to me for not liking Unknown because of a ladder, but you misunderstood me, same as most of these other people. And regardless, I could do the same thing and say that you are a jackass for not liking a film for whatever reason you don't. And I bet you would ridicule me for THAT as well, even though you're doing it to me now. And what kind of a person does that anyway? Christ, what is wrong with you people.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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I've only just watched the film and I've got to say that this scene was the standout scene for me; not because it was the most unbelievable but because it just didn't feel right. The reason I'm posting anything at all is because I've just trawled through the posts on here and I'm quite surprised at the vitriol used in some instances. I agree that Pure_Narcotic might have been a bit forceful in her responses to her original post, but I can see why she got defensive. It was a post with a simple idea: that the ladder scene was funny. It was (in my opinion. I'd better write 'in my opinion' because otherwise I might be accused of something I didn't mean) not in keeping with the rest of the film. There were less realistic scenes, such as the car chase when the VW is on the pavement and the taxi is on the road. The taxi could have turned around and got away because the VW was stuck on the pavement between the pillars, and anyone being chased at that point would have done anything they could to get away (it reminded me a bit of 'cartoon' moments when someone is being chased along train tracks instead of just running off the tracks), but that didn't wholly detract from the film. The ladder scene just felt 'wrong'.

I wonder if anyone will respond to this and tell me that I shouldn't watch action films, perhaps because you have to suspend belief in order to enjoy them, and I'm not able to suspend belief?

-- Why put <quotes> at the bottom of a message? --

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I agree with OP, man. That cracked me up and I thought "why?"

The other unrealistic stuff is necessary to the plot and the action.

It didn't wreck the movie (I didn't really like it that much anyway) but it was noteworthy and I was wondering if someone would bring it up here.

I used to be a house painter and while you can slide a short bit on a ladder, it's a whole different story when the ladder is tilted at an angle rather than straight like the movie. Something about gravity, but I'm no bio-scientist.

It would have made about as much sense to have the bad guy shed his skin and show himself to be a cyborg when he hit the bottom hahaha

And to all those criticizing this post, I come to IMDB to read posts on small things like this - we are obsessing over movies. Why should you be able to tell people what is okay to obsess on and what is not?

I encourage you all who are saying the ladder thing could happen to find a similar building and film yourself doing it and put it on youtube and provide us the link. That will stop the arguing! Go, do it now!

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This scene appeared rather clear to me...it was that bam "a-ha" moment where you pieced two and two together to confirm the "spy" plot. I'm not sure if that scene was used as entertainment value or perhaps comedic relief for some, but what I got out of it was the "spy" storyline element typical of spy movies...

Yes, there were quite a bit of "unrealistic" scenes in this movie like most action movies...my big one was at the beginning of the movie where the EMTs used a defib on a wet man surrounded by water. I would think the producers would have consulted a medical expert to film that scene properly. I can't see any reason for the "mistake" to have been left purposely. But overall I enjoyed the movie (it was fun).

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Wow. It's incredible how much I've written, and explained myself, yet people still keep saying that I'm an idiot, or a bad person for thinking the ladder scene ruined the film. I did not say that. I never even said it was a bad film. I never said it pissed me off, like one person said, I never said I was better than anyone, I never said that was the only unrealistic scene in the film.
And to the person who said I was "abusing" others who didn't agree that the scene was funny- how ignorant could you possibly be? Seriously. The only reason I responded to any of them in the first place was because THEY were hostile toward me for finding a scene in a film funny. I found that ridiculous, and I felt bad for them for being so blind and so hateful. So I explained to them that they were completely misconstruing everything I had said, and that there is no reason to have that kind of attitude over a disagreement. Oh dear, I am such a "troll", such a bad person for doing that...what?
The fact that people are getting so worked up and rude over a simple disagreement is made even more ridiculous due to the fact that it's over a scene in a fuc|{ing film. It's not like this is a serious issue. What don't people understand about this? I thought it was hilarious, my friend thought it was hilarious, we wanted to know if anyone else thought it was hilarious. Jesus Christ man, why do people have to be so angry. And by the way, I'm a female. So you can stop saying "he" and "his", and begin saying "she", "her", and any offensive or derogatory names/terms you like.
The fact is that I shared my opinion on a message board in a calm and polite manner, got attacked by people who disagreed, and got attacked yet again because I stood up for myself and tried to explain to the attackers that they were not only overreacting, but twisting my words as well. How dare I.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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Bleedred- I don't remember, and probably didn't notice, the defibrillator thing. That is pretty bad. :P

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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The guy does slide down the fire escape ladder using his hands AND his feet. I assumed that most of the friction would be absorbed by his shoes, while his hands were just used as guides. It's all very doable. Plus, I remember thinking, "That guy's wearing gloves. Our guy won't follow him because he's not prepared with gloves."
So no, that was not a stunt that stood out as ridiculous. We've seen it done before.

But hey - everyone please continue with the name-calling. It really classes up the joint!

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Oh god, I really have nothing left to say. I've explained and explained and people still don't get it. Everyone just seems to think that the scene made me angry, and that the reason I replied to people who "disagreed with me", was because they disagreed with me. That wasn't the reason at all. I don't even care if anyone thinks that the ladder thing is possible. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHO ELSE WAS MADE TO LAUGH BY IT. The end.

~Yes, I'm hearing voices too.~

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Actually, it was that scene but a different element to it that made me laugh. Yes, the sliding down the ladder made me wonder, but also, there were no footprints on the ground. Look at the scene again, if the assassin thought that Martin went that way, why were there no footprints in the snow below the ladder??


"What was that, an exhibition?"

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You have just critised ewagner-1 who was just giving their opinion and did not say anything nasty because:

I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHO ELSE WAS MADE TO LAUGH BY IT.


However this is what you asked orginally:

Did ANYONE find the ladder scene unrealistic, stupid or annoying?


Which to me seems like you are asking people for their opinion of that scene.

Therefore it does come across like you dont like people to disagree with you. Fair enough people where nasty in their response but you just came back with nasty insults of your own and 2 wrongs don't make a right.

Anyway even though you now only want to know who else laughed at the scene I thought I would give my opinion, everyone is entitled to their opinion and it is for nobody to say when it should or should not be given on the internet!! I found the scene a tad ridiculous because of the length of the ladder but that sort of think does not ruin my enjoyment, most action films are unrealistic and I don't mind that.

When real people fall down in life, they pick themselves up and keep on walking.

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It was probably below freezing outside in the the movie so the writers probably figured they could have the guy go down the ladder in a "cool" way. And that's also probably why his hands weren't on fire like you thought they would be. I do agree it was really random though. Everyone in the room was like "WTF?" when it happened during the movie.

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Unrealistic, stupid and annoying? God damn it's a f@cking action movie, practically every action movie and even non action genre movies have unrealistic scenes which district viewers beliefs. If you found this scene annoying, stop watching movies altogether.

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