Chill Pill

Its really not that hard for me to do, I dont care how ridiculous a movie is. However..

there are a few movies which... man, I just had a hard as hell time doing it. I swear the movie makers just threw this shit in to piss me off. Here they are:

1. Jedi.. when the ewoks are knocking out stormtroopers throwing rocks.
2. FOTR.. at the end when the two hobbits are knocking out orcs throwing rocks.

??????

Everything else I can excuse.. but a movie like FOTR with so much time and money used to create, why this?? Why couldn't those two hobbits have just stood there, watching? Why did they have to start throwing rocks, small ones, mind you, and killing huge orcs?

Jackskeleton

the idea that you can believe in ewoks and hobbits without questioning it worries me

jaeufraser

Considering that these films didn't show orcs or stormtroopers dying because of rocks, instead just quick shots of them getting hit and falling over, I'm not sure what's so hard to suspecd your disbelief about. They throw rocks, someone falls over. Perhaps they wouldn't completely fall over and just stumble, but who really cares. We're talking a few couple second shots.

The Ferret

Yeah i see what you mean though. Recently my dad said he had problems suspending his disbelief watching The Aviator. Since he was around when all these stars were it was hard to watch these caricatures of them. No problem for me though!

Edit: except Katherine Hepburn, she was a bit much for me, not to say that Blanchette didn't do a great job. The problem was she played her so well...

Chill Pill

Ewoks and hobbits must obey, along with their thrown projectiles, the laws of simple gravity.

Some things, like fucking gravity, can't be ignored.

WHY DID THESE ORCS FALL OVER FROM PEBBLES THROWN BY HOBBITS? I challenge anyone to provide a logical answer.

Chill Pill

How you go from Ewoks to Hepburn worries me, my friend.

FinkPish

You are reading too much into the action on screen. I just watched that scene over again, and I don't see one Orc get knocked out or even fall over from the rocks thrown by Merry and Pippen. They are throwing rocks, and you just inferred that they knocked some Orcs over.

As for the Ewoks, they weren't really throwing pebbles themselves, they were dropping close to head-sized rocks on the stormtroopers. Anyone would fall over from that.

You seem to be getting worked up over nothing.

Chill Pill

"getting worked up over nothing" is my middle name.

I love these movies as much as anyone, don't get me wrong.

I just finished watching FOTR, and the hobbits would throw rocks, next shot I see orcs getting hit with rocks and falling over. I dunno, maybe those rocks fell from the sky.

And those damn ewoks must be pretty strong lil' sonsabitches to be able to pick up and throw them huge boulders like peanuts...

FinkPish

OK, apparently you were watching the EE, which does have this. At this point, I don't know what to tell you. You seem intent on not suspending your disbelief regarding this, so what is the point of arguing with you.

caligulathegod

I dunno. Ever get hit with a rock? It freaking hurts.

Duder

Three points.

1. Hobbits are reknowned for their rock-throwing.
2. The ewoks were, as noted, dropping some pretty large rocks.
3. Momentum equals mass times velocity. A small rock thrown fast will knock a person over just the same as a larger rock thrown slower, due to the conservation of momentum.

Chill Pill

This is good stuff, Duder. I guess if I want an explanation bad enough I can make it work.

But still...

Rivero

Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck are the two physically strongest halflings in the Shire. Tolkien details in the Book One chapter 'A Conspiracy Unmasked' how a year prior to the four hobbits meeting in Crickhollow, Merry and Pippin placed first and second place respectively in the Shot Put competition at the Hobbiton Olympics, throwing the hardest and the furthest out of all of the hobbits in the Shire. Pippin even screams a declarative "O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!" before each of his throws, evocing the name of one of the mighty Valar of Middle-Earth. It's Chapter Five if you want to look it up.

tanman

Honestly I know what he is saying in general. That is the problem with any story when there is only a handful of good guys against an unending number of bad guys. You just have to suspend disbelief. Even when they use a sword some of the orcs seem to drop from paper cuts. And how can storm trooper have all this armor and still be killed so easily, and be such bad shots. Basically the good guys have the cards stacked in their favor.

Count Dooku

Is it just the idea that rocks can be thrown that you can't wrap your head around?

caligulathegod

I've heard it said a rule in screenplays (or stories in general) is that you can expect the audience to accept the impossible but not the improbable. For instance, you can have a man fly but you can't have him open a safe by accidentally happening across the combination by accident.

Kudama

Two more points:

As far as the Hobbit's go: Critical Hit and a secondary roll of 20 (Oh YEAH!). Critical shot to the toe.

As far as Ewoks: Stormtrooper armor was ornamental to the point of being detrimental. I love the angry bumblebee look, but if it cant stop a goddamned jedi mind trick, what good is it in combat? The same must have applied to their ordinance. Aesthetically well designed, but mass (and cheaply) produced.

I am not actually a “strong geek/weak nerd”, but I have played one on TV

Kudama

P.S.) Back on Subject:

I think that most humans would not be able to watch “Point of No Return” for more then ten minutes at a time. That whole movie is my personal “Unwatchable Scene” The Max Fischer version of Le Femme Nikita without the humor.

Doughboy

I always liked Ivan Reitman's rule when he was discussing Ghostbusters. He said that when dealing with suspension of disbelief, he expects the audience to accept one impossible element of the plot. In the case of Ghostbusters, it's the notion that ghosts exist and you can catch them. If you can run with that, the rest of the movie works.

talemyn

You can believe Legolas stand-sledding down a flight of stone stairs on a metal shield while firing arrows with lethal accuracy, but being knocked out by a thrown rock brings up doubts?

Corvin

I'm not sure how logical it is, and it's been a while since I read Fellowship of the Ring, but in the "Concerning Hobbits" portion of the novel, I believe Tolkien does make a comment that they are exceptionally good throwers or something like that. I went and looked it up. Here it is.

Also, isn't the stone-throwing in FOTR only in the extended edition? Perhaps PJ left it out of the theatrical cut exactly because it might seem a bit silly to most movie-goers, and maybe he figured those watching the EE would be a bit more familiar with the novel and thus able to accept the scene.

talemyn

I think Corvin just called you a Tolkien n00b.

Tracer Bullet

This is the only appropriate response.

PopcornTreeCt

I never understood how through all that fighting Legolas doesn't ever get a scratch or any mark at all.

DRG

This has a lot of truth. For me, I am willing to buy fantastic/sci-fi elements in a story. But when the real world elements (things that we have in real life) are out of whack I won't buy it. For example, on the show Buffy I will buy that there are demons, vampires, etc. But it is still absurd IMO when they can punch up the blueprints to any building in the city within seconds by getting on the internet.