2. Stay True To Your Characters
There's nothing more frustrating than watching a movie and suddenly being wrenched right out of it. This can happen for all sorts of reasons, though often it occurs when you find yourself thinking "hey, that character would
never do that." And generally speaking, if an incident like this occurs whilst you're watching a movie, you're probably in the right. After all, you're not consciously trying to pick out moments where characters are doing things that don't seem like them - you just
feel it, because you're only going on what has been established so far, and you can't help if it doesn't feel logical, right? If you're pulled out as a result of one of these moments, it's probably because the screenwriter has done a bad job in setting up the motivation for a character to act in such a fashion. Either that, or they've been lazy and decided to utilise a character to do something they usually wouldn't because it's easier that way. A lot of people had this complaint when it came to the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Alfred in
Rises. After a lifetime of friendship, would Alfred really have abandoned Bruce? Not likely, given what we've learned of him over the course of two and a half movies. It didn't feel
justified. It's important to keep your characters consistent. Stay true to their motivations and how you've set them up in your screenplay thus far. If they start acting differently on page 50, your audience will notice. And in case you're unsure whether you've compromised a character's integrity, have a trusted friend read your screenplay and ask them what they think. As an outsider, they'll likely hit on it straight away, should anything be going array.