Common Tropes In Movies That Never Actually Happen In Real Life

As fun as it is to watch movies and to read books, sometimes there are plot points that simply could never happen in real life.

As disappointing as that might be to think about, it's probably best for us to accept it and just enjoy the stories as stories.

But some plot points are simply too fun to imagine, and possibly laugh at.

Redditor mak0sthrowaway asked:

"What's a common trope in movies that NEVER happens in real life?"

Wild Explosions

"Shoot the gas tank of a car once, and it explodes into a huge fireball."

- vayyiqra

"And a grenade will take out a whole city block while the bad guys never have to reload."

- travelin_rambler

"Shooting off a padlock with a gun. Unless it's made of really cheap unhardened steel, a bullet impact is just going to make it deform internally and become even more locked."

- undeletable-2

The Ridiculous Gunshot Wounds

"You can shoot a person in the shoulder, and it's no big deal, because there's nothing important there."

- defrockedwizard1

"Yeah, obviously. Don't you know your arms don't need blood?!"

- flightguy07

Unrealistic Living Arrangements

"Living in an enormous apartment in Manhattan while you are a bike messenger and your roommate works at a coffee shop."

- foxmag86

"I always thought it was weird in 'The Big Bang Theory' that Penny the waitress has an apartment of her own. Yet two people who work at one of the most prestigious universities in the world have to share an apartment."

- mikel145

The Magic Of Hacking

"Typing a few things into the computer and magically hacking into extremely complex systems."

- redsnowman45

"I also love how every time they hack into anything at all, everything on screen always has to turn into this wacky VR (Virtual Reality) roller coaster ride of random lines of code wrapped around a whole 3D environment and flashy visual effects and crap."

"But of course only in a semi-monochrome cyan-ish color tone with horizontal raster scan lines drawn on top of everything because we still have to keep things fashionably low-tech looking."

- FoilHattiest

"I like how in 'Mr. Robot,' they acknowledge that hacking is mostly just social engineering and even then throw in two side characters having a convo, 'I bet there's some dumb Hollywood writers out there creating a whole new misunderstanding about how hacking works.'"

- KingofReinwg

Just One At A Time

"100 bad guys versus the hero. Bad guys come at him ONE AT A TIME. Always."

- PanicAtTheS**teShow

"The short-lived TV show, 'Jean-Claude Van Johnson,' really nailed that trope."

"'Wait! One at a time! Otherwise we'll get confused!'"

- T-money79

"No no, it was, 'Otherwise we'll run into each other!' And then later on, THEY DO."

"What a great show."

- Alexisnotonfire

The Chosen One

"A rando person with no prior training etc. is selected for a special task at which he later succeeds."

- grumpy_me

"Similarly, a trainee is pulled from the academy because they have one specific talent, to join an elite team or mission. Because god knows there isn't possibly anyone else in the CIA that speaks Farsi except Trainee Walker."

- Zoethor2

So Talkative

"A hawk makes noise every time they're shown. Like, 'Hawk! Don't forget your LINE.'"

- punarob

"Hawk sounds are used every time a bald eagle is shown."

- sarcastic-nanny

"When I learned about this, I was stunned. Just show a f**king hawk if that's the sound you want!"

- rredline

Definitely Not So Quick And Clean

"Pulling a fire alarm and the sprinklers start pouring out water. Also, the water inside those sprinklers is disgusting."

- DStew713

"I always like to tell this story. A sprinkler right above a coworker failed, and it shot water down all over him and his desk. It was the nastiest brown rusty disgusting water that had been sitting in those pipes for years and years. Yet every movie and tv show has clean and clear water."

"There was that episode of The Office where they have all the candles lit and that sets off the sprinklers. Nice clean and clear water. Side note: all the stuff that got wet and was ruined was never mentioned. The fire department has to come and shut it off, so how long were they going for."

- holdholdhold

Always The Perfect Moment

"Turning on the news at the exact moment the plot-relevant portion is on."

- StrykersWeaponX

"And then shut the TV off. Don't keep listening for updates or more details, noooo."

- Abdul_Exhaust

"'A massive, alien ship entered our atmosphere and demanded all of our freshwater and pets prompting governments worldwide to... click.'"

"Super Dramatic Protagonist: 'What the h**l is going on?!'"

- cutitsthere

"And don't forget, if there's going to be a crowd of people running away from something just outside the hero's door, they won't hear the screams and see the crowd of people running by UNTIL they've heard the relevant news information."

"It's all in the timing, you see."

- TheBookishAndTheBard

Seriously, Get Out Of The Way!

"When I'm chasing someone in my car, and they're on foot, they don't typically run down the middle of the road like in movies."

- Dizzy_Store_760

"Is that something you do often? A hobby... maybe?"

- umpteenthn

Hearing Damage, Anyone?

"Firing a pistol inside a car or small enclosed room and no one has any lasting hearing damage. Guns, especially handguns, are ridiculously loud, and when the sound bounces off enclosing walls or objects, it's amplified greatly."

"(There's a small number of instances where it is portrayed regularly, but it's super rare.)"

- AngryGames

"Linda Hamilton actually got hearing damage because she forgot to put her earplugs back in after a break during the hospital elevator scene in 'Terminator 2.'"

- kurinbo

So. Much. Paperwork.

"The lack of considerable paperwork from any police-action movie."

- Zoey_Moon

"It is hilarious how they invert this in 'Hot Fuzz.' Heroic music, dramatic camera angles to highlight the necessary paperwork."

- firelock_my

"'Are you sure you want to process this lot? My pen's run out of ink.'"

"'Not a problem!' (produces a fresh pen from his pocket)"

- JTDC00001

Lots Of Angry Captains

"Cop has a 30-minute violent shootout in the middle of the city that kills seven suspects, blows up five cars, and destroys two buildings."

"The only consequence? The captain is really, really angry!! 'If this happens again, I'll have your badge!'"

- tecg

The Impossible Tech

"The protagonist says, 'Zoom in on that tiny, fuzzy image of the suspect. Now make it clearer.'"

"A few keyboard clicks later: 'Here is your crisp, clear image of our suspect.'"

- Head_Kangaroo

"Someone: 'Buy me 30 more seconds to hack into the mainframe!'"

"KEYBOARD CLICKING INTENSIFIES."

- Dr_BloodPool

All The Gears You Could Ever Need

"There are always an unlimited number of gears in a car."

- Kuuki_Yomenai

"And there are extra gears for FAMILY."

- OldManPip5

"'I understood that reference.' - Captain America."

- TheBookishAndTheBard

Some of these observations were too hilarious to pass up, and these Redditors made so many great points.

The next time you decide to run down the middle of a road to escape a car, or you decide to set off something loud without putting ear plugs in first, maybe don't.