Every movie has flaws, and strangely enough, it’s often the single major flaws in otherwise fantastic films that rankle fans the most. Sometimes one glaring flaw in a film can prevent it from becoming known as a masterpiece, while some have that reputation despite its issues. Furthermore, some movies are so good, and have been watched and rewatched so many times, that it’s inevitable someone will find a flaw or simple mistake that suddenly becomes impossible to ignore.
With that in mind, it’s fun to take a look at some of the movies that were able to overcome whatever issues they had. Some of them are tiny little things that hardly affect the overall quality of the film but are distracting nonetheless. Others can be great movies that were ruined by their third act, or some other sizable section of the film. Whatever the case may be, there are multiple recognizable movies that have one glaring flaw, despite being gems in their own right.
10 Gladiator (2000)
One Of The Extras Is Wearing Jeans
While there are several historical mistakes in Gladiator, the only one that’s really a major flaw is the extra wearing jeans in the stands above one of the arenas Maximus (Russell Crowe) fights in. This is one of those mistakes that’s impossible to forget about after seeing it, but in the end, Gladiator is still a fantastic movie. While this is a fairly egregious mistake, the person in jeans is hardly visible, and they are only on-screen for a brief moment, so it doesn’t affect the overall quality of the movie. Even so, it’s a jarring mistake in an otherwise great movie.
9 Sunshine (2007)
The Invaders In The Final Act
Sunshine‘s major mistake is much more foundational than Gladiator‘s, and unfortunately, it actually does hurt the movie quite a bit. Sunshine is a thought-provoking and highly original science fiction film for two-thirds of its runtime until inexplicably, a mysterious alien invades the protagonists’ spaceship and kills them. For most of the movie, the crew of astronauts it follows are trying to find a way to reignite the sun and save Earth from freezing over, and instead of concluding this storyline, Sunshine decides to randomly introduce unknown deadly aliens, completely ruining the premise.
8 The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
The CGI Used For Lizard
The Amazing Spider-Man is almost one of the best Spider-Man movies, but the terrible CGI used to create the movie’s main antagonist, the Lizard, is extremely distracting. Andrew Garfield makes a fantastic Spider-Man, and he pairs perfectly with Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy, but the film’s potential is severely limited by the distracting visual effects used to create the main villain. The Amazing Spider-Man is still a great movie, but it would be better if the CGI wasn’t constantly destroying the audience’s suspension of belief.
7 Rogue One (2016)
Awkward De-Aging CGI
Rogue One is another superb film, and it might even be the best Star Wars movie produced by Disney, but its major flaw comes in the form of awkward de-aging CGI. Rogue One brings back Grand Moff Tarkin (Guy Henry) and a young Princess Leia Organa (Ingvild Deila) by using CGI to superimpose approximations of their faces in the original movies onto the actors. As far as this technology goes, Rogue One does a decent job, but that doesn’t stop the characters from looking like cartoons in a live-action format. The de-aging serves as an unwelcome distraction in one of the 21st century’s best science fiction films.
6 The Irishman (2019)
More Awkward De-Aging
The Irishman is a masterpiece of a movie, but it runs into the same problem as Rogue One. By using de-aging CGI to make Robert De Niro’s character look younger, the film ends up with an awkward scene where De Niro’s stiff movements belie the young look on his face. CGI can make his face look younger, but it cannot reinvigorate his body and make him capable of the type of stunts a young man would do. The result is a scene in which it’s very obvious CGI is being used, which detracts from an otherwise incredible movie.
5 The Dark Knight (2008)
Rachel’s Recasting
The Dark Knight faced one unavoidable flaw: Rachel’s (Maggie Gyllenhaal) recasting. There is nothing wrong with Gyllenhaal’s performance, but she feels like an entirely different character from the first film. She doesn’t remotely resemble Katie Holmes’ Rachel, and it sometimes feels like her personality is different as well. In the end, the two actors simply have different interpretations of the character, and while neither is bad, the fact that they barely feel like the same person is hard to ignore when transitioning from The Batman Begins to The Dark Knight.
4 The Godfather (1972)
The Infamous Missed Punch
The Godfather is commonly hailed as one of the greatest movies ever made for good reason, but there is a mistake that’s hard to unsee after noticing it. It occurs when James Caan’s Sonny Corleone is beating up Gianni Russo’s Carlo, and he throws a punch that comes nowhere near Carlo, but still sends him crashing into a railing. Fight scenes in the 70s were never as realistic as modern fight scenes, but they were typically shot in such a way that viewers couldn’t see a fist fly through open air. Ultimately, this flaw doesn’t hurt the movie, but it’s jarring nonetheless.
3 Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
A Disappointing Final Act
Law Abiding Citizen is another movie that could have been one of the great thrillers of its time, but the narrative is damaged by the final outcome. Gerard Butler’s Clyde orchestrates an ingenious revenge plan from his cell in prison, shocking audiences in great ways for the majority of the movie, until Jamie Foxx’s Nick Rice ends up duping him into a trap that seems terribly obvious. With all the genius Clyde displays for most of the movie, it’s hard to believe he would fall for this, and the inconsistency hurts the overall narrative.
2 The Matrix (1999)
The Kiss Of Life
The Matrix is a great movie with a lot of strong points, but the scene where Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity kisses Keanu Reeves’ Neo and brings him back to life feels out of place. It’s a nice twist for her loving Neo being the proof that he is the One, but the kiss bringing him back to life makes very little sense and comes off as corny. Fortunately, it’s not enough to invalidate the film’s many strong points.
1 Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Ewoks Replacing Wookies In The Battle Of Endor
Ewoks have become a hugely recognizable part of the Star Wars universe, but their involvement in the Battle of Endor seems awfully far-fetched. While the creatures are cute, their ability to take down stormtroopers with laser guns seems like too much of a stretch. This mistake is made even worse by the knowledge that it was originally supposed to be Wookiees that helped in this battle instead of Ewoks. The Wookiees would have made far more convincing allies for the heroes, but even so, Return of the Jedi remains a classic movie.
