The Worst Way To Defeat An Enemy

[Sire Of Dragons]

I just watched this movie Flight Of The Dragons.

I was half enjoying until it came to the defeat of Ommadon. That has to be the most retarded way to defeat an enemy I ever saw. I understood the reasoning. It was the method of how it was carried out. After that I was just disappointed about the ending.

What is the worst method you have ever seen used to destroy the bad guy in a fantasy or sci-fi film? Was it the special effects or just poor imagination?

How would you have done it?

 

[Sar]

The worst that I ever saw was in the movie "Signs". I mean come on, the aliens are smart enough for space travel, but they decide to attack a world mostly made of water when water kills them?

 

[Quokka]

I wasn't huge fan of 300, it was ok but way over hyped imo. One of the scenes that bugged me was when they built this huge wall of corpses (ok defense from arrows, all good so far) and then they waited until ONE guy was standing in front of it... one!... and pushed the wall on top of him. Then they climb over the corpses to fight the enemy that is still standing on nice solid ground? Maybe not worthy of worst ever and I know it's not meant to be realistic but tactically that's gotta be questionable.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

A Flight of Dragons was one of my favorite movies as a child!

But in answer to your question...

I know it wasn't a personified enemy, but the corruption of the male side of magic in The Wheel of Time was a very real and powerful enemy and yet they defeated it just by running it through a filter. It was kind of anti-climatic for such a huge event considering it was a fundamental change to their world and hardly anyone took note of it. One of the reasons I stopped reading WoT, apart from the lack of plot progression and deeper characterization after the third book.

 

[Ice fyre]

Oh I dunno, I think its nothing compared to the might of the most advanced army in the known universe being beaten by ........Teddy Bears!

Oh please I have never been able to watch Return to jedi without cringing oh lord where was Darth Vader when you need him!

I agree with signs it was the worst idea for a film ever, wouldnt the water vapour in the air kill em as well?

 

[Rodders]

Wasn't the end of the Matrix a bit lame?

 

[Vladd67]

I think it was in The Brides of Dracula that there is the worst way I have seen of killing a vampire, using the shadow of a windmill, the sails of which cast a crosslike shadow on the count.

 

[Cayal]

I don't think Signs is any different to the War of the Worlds ending.

 

[Asmer20]

Since the topic is up and I was curious, even if it's about my story and not a film. Would it be ridiculous if a hero used music art and sports to defeat the enemy?

 

[ManTimeForgot]

Not if the story was about a super hero named American Guy who had to face off against a villain named Quiz Show whose "super vulnerability" was anyone who knew more about a topic than him...

MTF

 

[ratsy]

Since the topic is up and I was curious, even if it's about my story and not a film. Would it be ridiculous if a hero used music art and sports to defeat the enemy?

Well, it would be acceptable if the music was really awful singing or a two year old playing a violin...that would kill the bad guy. Or doing really bad math...like yelling at the enemy "2+2= 5!!!!!" or "3X7= 42!!!". And if that doesnt work maybe challenge them to a game of checkers or if things get heated...fooseball.

 

[ktabic]

I do remember a old cartoon from my childhood where the hero finally defeated the dread evil overlord thing by shouting equations at him. Not even particularly complex ones. E=mc2 was about as hard as it got.

 

[Team 2012]

I don't think Signs is any different to the War of the Worlds ending.

Yeah, but it goes further into stupidity. God gave a kid asthma so he wouldn't die from alien gas... like all those other kids who God apparently didn't give a damn about.

 

[The Ace]

Well yes, but when Wells wrote, 'War of the Worlds,' the ending was a spectacular twist. Nobody saw it coming but it's perfectly plausible and made his point.


When you father a genre then you can criticise Wells.

 

[ray gower]

Since the topic is up and I was curious, even if it's about my story and not a film. Would it be ridiculous if a hero used music art and sports to defeat the enemy?

Well they did launch Slim Whitman against the enemy in Mars Attacks and a two year old scraping a violin would kill anybody, though I think dragging a cat down a blackboard would be more humane

Overall, as very few people sing like Susan Boyle, nobody has found an excuse for dieing when trying to understand the Turner prize and the England cricket team haven't died of shame, I think you would have to come up with some really spectacular reasoning?

 

[ratsy]

I do remember a old cartoon from my childhood where the hero finally defeated the dread evil overlord thing by shouting equations at him. Not even particularly complex ones. E=mc2 was about as hard as it got.

Isnt that what the guy did in Flight of Dragons?

 

[Ursa major]

I don't think Signs is any different to the War of the Worlds ending.

Strictly speaking, the Martians in The War of the Worlds came across something both unexpected and deadly. In Signs, we have a space-faring species that lands on a world that's mostly covered in in a substance that's deadly to them.

And even we humans can detect water molecules from billions of light years away: BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Black hole spews water vapour

 

[Urien]

Much as I love Babylon 5 the way Sheridan defeats the great old ones (the Shadows and the Vorlons), with a speech which ends with "Get the hell out of our galaxy", always struck me as one of the show's weaker moments.

One can only assume the shadows and Vorlons responded...

"Goodness... you're right, after millions of years we'd never thought of it that way. We'll take our advanced technology, our xenocidal wars and manipulation and be off then. Toodle hoo... and thanks for clearing up all that ancient philosophical confusion we had in your five minute speech."

 

[Rodders]

Yeah. Sheridon was great wasn't he?

 

[reiver33]

I think this is the counterpoint to 'Why the bad guys can't shoot straight' (unless at a token minority minor-sub hero whose death serves to motivate the hero, etc.).

I terms of the 'worst way' (including obvious flaws here) I think the original Death Star takes some beating - lets have an exhaust port that gives straight, direct access to the reactor core, with no fans, filters or other obstructions (health and safety issue!). Plus, even although you realise there is a risk, you do sweet FA about it

(a) You! Take those explosives and blow a hole in that wall into the exhaust pipe, then jam those girders through the gap! Oh, you might not want to breath too deeply at that point.

or

(b) Why can't we just blow the gas giant away rather than orbit it to get a shot at the moon? Are we paying by the planet or something?

Then again, when you destroy the Imperial flagship and Death Star Mk.II the whole fleet seems to loose heart and fall apart. OK so the admiral is toast, but isn't that what vice-admirals are for?

How do you become a military advisor to an evil empire anyway?