10 Supposedly Smart Movie Characters Who Totally Dropped The Ball

7. Hooper Forgets That He Has The Most High-Tech Boat On The Market In The Harbour - Jaws

JawsJaws tells the story of a sentient shark with an unconquerable appetite, and the three men who end up facing off against that shark on a small wooden boat when the local townsfolk find themselves getting eaten up. These men are Chief Brody, local law enforcement and ocean-scaredy cat, Mr. Quint, a shark hunter by profession and U.S.S. Indianapolis survivor, and the smartest of the bunch, Matt Hooper, a member of the Oceanographic Institute, all-round shark nerd, and the brains of the operation. He's also incredibly rich (and he has a beard). The last third of the movie concerns our heroes as they board Quint's tiny boat, the Orca, which looks as though it might fall apart at any second, and set out to kill the 25 foot shark that is plaguing their hometown. Given that they've hired Quint, of course, it seems logical that they would take his boat... but the movie also seems to forget that Hooper and Brody went out on an incredibly high-tech boat in an earlier scene where they found Ben Gardener. This boat, Hooper's own, is state of the art, and their best chance at finding the shark out at sea. In fact, it's hooked up with all kinds of expensive gadgets and gizmos, many of which Hooper outlines in detail - not to mention it looks far more shark proof than Quint's boat. And yet Hooper somehow forgets that he owns this thing when he boards the shoddy Orca in the third act?
Contributor

All-round pop culture obsessive.