9 More Films "Based On True Stories" That Missed Out The Best Part

Truth is often stranger than fiction, and sometimes it's just better, too.

By Simon Gallagher /

Universal

In Hollywood, the idea of truth is a very fluid term. It's now got to the stage where movies that carry the formerly reassuring "based on a true story" or "inspired by real events" is fake news. Audiences know full-well that artistic licence trumps commitment to the fact and it really doesn't help matters that what qualifies "based on" and "inspired by" has become increasingly tenuous.

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It used to be the case that when you're watching The Rock barbecue human hands in Pain & Gain and a message comes up reiterating that really, this definitely happened, you'd believe it. And the film-makers knew as much, just as they knew that making such claims sounds an awful lot better than "this kind of, sort of happened with another guy in a different way." Upselling on reality is just part and parcel of making a compelling story, and the truth should never get in the way.

But what about those films that do the opposite, setting up a story that actually misses out key details that would fully improve their version of events. And though you'd think that was a rare thing, but we've been here before, and there are far more examples out there of writers and directors taking liberties that leave you scratching your head.

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Truth is often stranger than fiction, and sometimes it's just better, too.