Every single movie ever made is built upon a series of rules; these might simply be copied facsimile from the world around us, or they might relate to some high level of reasoning, as with science-fiction and adventure films primarily. The common feature in all of these films is that they establish a very specific universe governed by logic and rules, which they then needlessly appear to obey in order to move the plot forward. It is as though the screenwriters got tangled up in their own world-building and couldn't find a way out. Some of these offenders are in otherwise excellent films and so can be forgiven, whereas some are the icing on a very crappy cake indeed. Here are 8 movies that broke their own rules...
8. Everything - Battlefield Earth
Rule: Psychlos are a technically superior race in every aspect, most humans are still highly primitive. Battlefield Earth is an infamously awful movie, one which establishes itself quickly as existing in a universe in which an alien race called Psychlos have governed over Earth for 1,000 years. Humans are enslaved and/or primitive, yet later on in this movie, that doesn't seem to stop them being able to learn how to fly a freaking airplane in a
week. Most modern-minded, informed folk wouldn't be able to do so, let alone a depraved tribesman of Earth. Oh, and then there's other stupid logical derailments; despite Earth being neglected for a millennium, buildings still somehow have electrical power. Gee, I wonder a) how that's being fueled and b) who the Hell is supplying it? Oh, and how come these apparently sophisticated aliens don't discover Fort Knox in 1,000 years of enslaving Earth? Given that their entire goal is to steal gold, it's pretty shoddy researching on their part. There are countless other rule-breakings, but the point is that the film sets up a universe that's completely unsuited to the story they are trying to tell. Awful.