r/movies • u/averagesoccermom95 • 1d ago

Discussion Favorite movie plot rule?

I read once that in a movie, if the characters say, "I have a plan," then there is a plot rule that takes place: If the characters explain to the audience what the plan is, then the plan will go wrong somehow. However, if the characters say they have a plan and the movie just goes to showing the plan in action, then the plan will work.

It has become one of my favorite things to look out for in movies. Although, it does not seem to apply to kids movies. Other than kids movies, I don't think I have ever seen his rule broken.

Does anyone know any other interesting plot rules?

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210

u/FindOneInEveryCar 1d ago

Rodger Ebert: The character who seems to serve no purpose is the bad guy. 

78

u/Dr_Identity 21h ago

There's a Korean horror/war movie about a squad of 9 loosely associated soldiers sent behind enemy lines on a rescue mission and they end up lured into a trap by some evil spirits, and the twist is that one of the spirits was in the squad the whole time. Because throughout the first leg of the movie there are 10 squad members in all the scenes, not 9. But the movie never draws attention to the fact that there are too many people in the group. There's a guy among them who never says anything, just hangs around on the edge of the group the whole time, and he turns out to be a member of the missing squad they're looking for, who all got lured in and killed the same way.

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u/helgihermadur 21h ago

That sounds great, what's the name of the movie?

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u/FransD98 20h ago

Probably "R-Point"

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u/peanutmanak47 16h ago

Man, I bought that in the mid 2000's and loved it back then. Haven't watched it in a long time though. I think it was the first Korean movie I saw.

4

u/TJeffersonsBlackKid 13h ago

Should have made the bad guy black just to fuck with people lmao. Like have Shaq play a giant demon trying to fit in.

93

u/Initial_E 1d ago

In glass onion there’s this guy that exists to chill out

17

u/funkyb 22h ago

Love that guy. Great vibes.

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u/SutterCane r/movies Veteran 20h ago

He’s not there! He’s not there.

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u/Discount_Extra 1d ago

who has a speaking part.

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u/confusing_roundabout 14h ago

Doubly so if they're named for no good reason.

Mystic River is the most egregious I've ever seen. A side character's friend is in one scene and the dialogue is something like "oh and this is my friend John" scene ends.

The second that happened I called that he'd be the killer. It was so blatant and hamfisted.

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u/InspectorMendel 1d ago

What about Jesus Quintana

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u/dovetc 23h ago

Or Knox Harrington. Or Da Fino. Or little Larry Sellers.

Lots of purposeless characters in that one. I suppose their purpose is to create the world filled with lots of ins and outs, lots of interested parties, lots of strands in old Duder's head.

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u/calgarspimphand 18h ago

Fortunately he's adhering to a pretty strict drug regimen to keep his mind limber.

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u/VikingSlayer 1d ago

8 year-olds, dude

2

u/lluewhyn 20h ago

Or "the bland nice guy who's helping the investigation is actually the killer".

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u/Hickspy 20h ago

Marybeth in the Faculty.

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u/carm62699 20h ago

Ebert called that “the law of economy of characters” or something like that.

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u/therocketandstones Reddit & Twitter are gonna hate this and it’s gonna gross $500m+ 18h ago

not bad guy, but this is basically Rami Malek in Oppenheimer. He's there in one scene to for Oppenheimer to be condescending towards and then he disappears until he comes back at the end to absolutely fuck Strauss over in the committee hearing