10 Ridiculous Movie Myths About Explosions

5. Bombs Always Have Helpful, Colour-Coded Wires

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdlfSTVRW_8 Alright, alright, we all know that the above scene from Lethal Weapon is a brilliant send-up of the red wire-blue wire cliche, but it's funny because it's true; though it's arguably become so prolific that filmmakers rarely use it now, the coloured wire scenario is an attempt to generate tension because the person trying to detonate it doesn't know which wire will cause the bomb to detonate and which will defuse it. There can be two wires, or three, or four, or really an infinite number, but the key thing is that they will all have different colours. If I was a movie villain, I'd make sure to use the same-colour wires just so they'd have absolutely nothing to work on - not that they really did already. However, the entire premise is ridiculously flawed, because if the good guys cut all of the wires at the same time, there would be no current running through the explosives and so they would be unable to detonate. I'm begging for an enterprising filmmaker to highlight this fact one day.