8 Ways Modern Blockbusters Trick You Into Ignoring Plot Holes

8. Special Effects

Wowing the audience is a good way to stop those pesky viewers from asking any goddamn questions, and using special effects to do the trick is something all modern blockbusters are guilty of €“ there aren't many that haven't used glistening CGI and cool, fake explosions to paper over the cracks. Thor: The Dark World, for example, has a ravishing opening sequence of beauty and wonder, featuring battling astral realms. In fact, there's such wonder apparent that the rather obvious piece of dumb storytelling is hardly noticeable: If Dark Elf Malekith wants the Aether, and if, in the opening prologue, all he has to do is absorb it, then why does he just stand next to it and gawp at the battlefield instead, allowing enemy forces to win the war? Pacific Rim is another culprit, relying heavily as it does on its impressive design work and special effects to be something entertainingly mindless. So much praise was given to the look of the film that the questions didn't come until later, questions like: With such technology available, why can't the Jaegers be operated remotely? Why was Gipsy Danger's super-effective sword used so late in the game? And why exactly does a Jaeger require two pilots? It's something the film dismisses with a casual, "Don't ask me, science is a mysterious mistress." Which leads us nicely onto...