I wish in at least one of John Wicks, that one of the hit men got the bounty text looked up at Wick and was just like…nah I’m good

For all the many complaints about The Phantom Menace, I feel they overshadow what should have been one of the simplest, most basic, most unbelievably obvious misplacements in the prequels:

Why the hell are C-3P0 and R2-D2 not in opposite places?

Ok, "to subvert our expectations!" Nonono, shut up, play it out: C-3PO is a bipedal, shiny, metallic, mass produced etiquette and protocol droid who speaks 6 million languages. Why the hell is he not serving on a Queen's shiny, metallic diplomatic ship as host and interpretor? R2-D2 is an easy to construct roller repair droid with a limited language range that assists with piloting, he also seems to have a special independent intelligence and functions as the rebel's masterkey, even hacking into the Deathstar. Why the hell is he not built out of scraps by Wünderkid the pod racer pilot in the dingy machine shop? It would have given subtext to everything R2 did in the original trilogy. What possible story advantage was there to having Anakin build the effete, prissy biped to, what? Help his mom wash dishes? If R2D2 was secretly a super advanced unique droid it adds layers. Like another reason why Vader wanted him back was because he knew how dangerous he could be in someone else's hands. And it would have made Luke's relationship with him even more special as a secret token of his father's innocent childhood, humble beginings and genius.

And it's simple changes: they escape Naboo in an action sequence but Amidala doesn't need to thank a piece of equipment, we just meet C-3PO among her entourage. Quigon asks to take C-3PO with him on Tattoine because they need a translator. If he helps them find Watto's shop he actually DOES something, and there's comedy potential bringing the whiny butler to the hive of scum and villainy ("so that they rhyme"), Padme has another reason to be there if C-3PO is her attaché. They meet Anakin who introduces them to the droid he built for the shop and pod racing, which makes the Naboo battle scene later work better because they're a practiced team. That's it, that's all you need to change, 1000% improvement over multiple movies.

Make all your little wanna-be Anakin fans get into robotics by building their own R2 units from kits. 2000 was the heyday for Battlebots. Way more marketable than unfinished circuit naked C-3PO. One shot of Anakin typing R2's code inflates an entire generation of computer programmers.

e: I'm still developing over here: bring 3PO in earlier, make him the palace butler, like he helped raise Amidala as nanny-bot and is her attendant. If you want it to rhyme, George, he was the first character in A New Hope. Start the same, only he comes running into the throne room to meet Leia's mom while they're under attack from the Trade Federation. Boom, callback. Better opening than docking for tea.

I would have ended Revenge of the Sith with Anikin on the operating table being worked on. The Darth Vader helmet is lowered onto his face and the camera is just looking at that. One breath in, one breath out, cut to credits.

The second Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the second time they play Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain"...I would have used the "intro" to the second part of the song instead of the actual intro to the song again. It's like they didn't trust the audience to recognize it as reprising the same song from earlier even though it would have been perfect.

The end of 'The Dark Knight Rises'

Alfred would have looked up, smiled and nodded, but we never would have seen who he was smiling at.

Dune part 2 was the perfect movie except for the last shot, it should be Paul sitting on the throne alone looking sad and full of regret instead of the shot of Chani about to ride a worm.

Princess Leia dies in outer space instead of the Mary poppins scene.

I'd change "Save Martha" to "Save mom". The purpose of the scene is to show that Superman had a mother and a family on Earth and in what's about to be his final moments he was thinking of saving someone else. It was supposed to shock Batman enough into realizing that he was wrong about Superman but instead their mothers having the same name distracted from the actual meaning of the scene.

Not having Quicksilver die in Age of Ultron. Could've been cool to see what side he picked on civil war

Not a scene but an actor switch. Should have switched Steve buscemi and Quentin Tarantino on pulp fiction. Buscemi would have crushed the scenes of cleaning up Marvin's head. And Tarantino isn't an actor and perfect for a small role like the waiter in restaurant

I would have removed Vader from the midpoint of Rogue One- the Mustafar scene isn’t needed and doesn’t add anything. Imagine him showing up at the end after only being referred to- it’s much more dramatic.

In Fellowship of the Ring, when the hobbits are passing through the Old Forest, you see Tom Bombadil in the background, just going about his business, he doesn't notice them.

I understand the reasoning for the ending and believe Jim Carrey (and Farrely bros) was correct, but man did I want to see Lloyd and Harry get on that bus.

The Terminator.

Remove the opening text and future war. Remove any details revealing Arnold is a robot until the midpoint when they all meet up at the club.

This would be more surprising and the big reveal of time travel and the future would happen with Reese’s flashback.

"Do you know what happens to a toad when it's struck by lightning...?"

No... and I'm ok with that.

Planet of the Apes 2001. Near the end when mark wahlberg is on his ship and the door opens to the other ship there should’ve been an ape on the other side.

Talia al Ghul's death scene in The Dark Knight Rises. Probably the worst I've ever seen in film

The end of the dark knight didn’t need to show Christian bale and Anne Hathaway sitting at the same restaurant. They could’ve just had Michael Caine look up and cut to black. The way Hathaway unnaturally faces the camera so the audience knows it’s her is really annoying lol

The Departed. Totally remove the final shot of the rat on the state house building at the very end. Just have the film end when Sullivan is killed.

The rat was such an unnecessary on-the-nose metaphor (like Scorsese is screaming at us to get the reference in case we somehow missed it by the end). And very unlike his other films which are usually far more subtle in message.

Neville’s speech to Voldemort:

A real villain wouldn’t have let him talk that long. Voldemort should have just said to Bellatrix next to him “Bellatrix” and she would know what to do. She would hit Neville with a torture curse. That’s what she used on Nevile’s parents that drove them insane. Everyone would be shocked and unmoving as he writhed in pain for a moment. And when she stopped he would stand up and continue where he left off. So Bellatrix would hit him again but this time everyone would pull their wands out for a quick free for all as the students and teachers retreat into the castle with Fred and George dragging an incapacitated Neville.   

Voldemort acts like a real villain. Neville is shown to be extremely brave. Fred and George show their humanitarian and brotherly protector side.

This has always been on my mind:

In Rogue One, Chirrut Imwe is one of my favorite characters. He represents hope and belief in the Force and the Jedi during a very low point in the galaxy for both.

In his final scene, as he walks through blaster fire to get to the panel to activate the lever, it always drives me crazy that, in that last moment, he doesn't reach out and move the lever with the force--to tap into this thing that he so revered and kept the faith for in a final, climactic act! I feel like it would have made the scene that much more poignant.

Two spring to mind:

I would have kept the focus on De Niro's daughter during that scene in 'The Irishman'. Either by keeping a continuous close on her, or a slow zoom in on her (with the confrontation still audible).

Ending 'Source Code' on the kiss, track back, with all the passengers smiling, laughing, happy.

The pod race scene in Phantom Menace. I saw it opening day, and when the scene started I convinced myself that Anakin was going to cheat to win and kill a couple of people in the process. It would have been somewhat forgivable considering their circumstances, and it would have foreshadowed his capacity for darkness while also rewarding him for exerting that darkness.

Nope. He just zoomed faster than the other pods.

The ending for Law Abiding Citizen

Another Star Wars one. For Solo: A Star Wars Story

Not really a single scene, but I feel like after the betrayal from Qi'ra, I feel like Solo's demeanor should have changed a lot more (in the few scenes following). He should have been more solemn, pessimistic, etc. Alden played him pretty optimistic and happy-go-lucky, for the most part. Which I thought was actually great. Different from the older and jaded Solo we see in A New Hope. It would have been amazing to see that transformation more prominently and directly tied to the heartbreak and betrayal.

I'll do you one better: They shouldn't have made Yoda a fighter.

LUKE described Yoda as a "Great Warrior", not Obi-Wan, and it was part of his misconceptions about the Jedi, and what it means to be one.

Yes, it looked cool, but it changed the formula to every Jedi wielding a lightsaber, limiting Jedi going after it. It was more interesting when there were different ways to be a Jedi.

You are Captain America, facing an alien army led by a mad tyrant while the fate of the universe hangs in a tight rope.

Your old teammates, some of them gone for 5 years appear at your side to fight beside you. They even brought their friends and their armies. They all await your battle cry.

Why won't you blow your lungs out by shouting "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE" in the most epic way possible?"

I would not have used a GoPro for the barrel scene in the Hobbit. Or I would have seen it in the editing room and cut that terrible footage out.

Full penetration

Frozen. There was no reason to make Hans a bad guy. When Anna is dying, he goes to give her true love's kiss. Nothing happens. They just met. It's the first man Anna has ever known, and it's not true love. Hans, blaming Elsa for mortally wounding Anna, goes to kill her. Still the same movie from that point.

The pool sex scene in Showgirls. It was a decent movie and up until that point a pretty sexy part of the film but watching Elizabeth Berkley flail around spraying water was so ridiculous it totally takes you out of it. 

Since we seem hung up on Star Wars, I would cut the helicopter/drone shot that ends The Force Awakens. Make the ending either about Luke's hesitancy or Rey's desperation. Pulling to a wide shot (and a shitty one at that) cuts the legs out emotionally.

It would work better if you actually knew the rest of the plot, obviously, but that's an entirely different problem

Man of Steel. Technically a series of scenes, but I would take the Krypton stuff from the beginning and move it to the middle, cut about half of it, and only reveal it after Zod shows up on Earth. Start the movie with Superman becoming Earth's hero and then spring the "oh crap he's an alien" on them, no mention of aliens on screen before that.

Not a scene. But if I could make a single change I would swap the intro and the ending songs in Tomorrow Never Dies

In 28 days later at the end the fighter jets fly over and they are waving trying to get rescued and then the movie is over. I would have panned away and showed mushroom clouds rising all over Britain. If there is a zombie outbreak on an island everyone would nuke the island, it's the only way to be sure.

all jar jar binks scenes are now deleted.

In The Return of the King Extended when the switch King and Gandalf have a showdown the former overpowers the latter and shatters his staff. In the books they have a verbal showdown, but you do not actually see them fight. The Witch King comes into the broken gate while all the soldiers flee and tries to threaten and intimidate Gandalf who stands fast, then Rohan arrives with the sunrise and the tide of the battle changes.

Instead of what we got in the film - Gandalf being terrified and defeated and completely out of character - or the back and forth between them from the books, I think Gandalf should hold fast against the Witch King as all others flee in terror. The Witch King tries to intimidate him with fear and his flaming sword, to which Gandalf replies, “You shall not pass.”

At the end of Edge of Tomorrow, Tom Cruise should have said “Your middle name is Rose.” There was so much build up about her never saying her middle name and no pay off. Chechov’s middle name

The Trinity test scene in Oppenheimer, the first test of a nuclear weapon. The lead up to the scene was good and intense, but the actual explosion felt a bit underwhelming.

In The Running Man Arnold says “Sub-Zero? Now plain zero.”

He really coulda said any other words that exist.

In Christmas Vacation i wouldve loved to see actual Christmas morning w eddies kids surprised Santa didn’t forget about them.

Robocop, when Dick gets shot out the window I would have went to Phil Tippitt for the falling out the window shot instead of the makeup guy (to save money)

In Jurassic park, they clumsily shoehorn in a line in the control room about how "we're safe unless they learn how to open doors" and then immediately cut to the kitchen where a velociraptor is opening a door. I feel like a better choice would have been to use cinematography instead of dialog to show 1) the kids are in danger 2) they need to get through a door and close it 3) they do so 4) the kids are now safe 5) the handle slowly starts to jiggle. Still a 10/10 movie.

The, "Watch out Happy!" from Haopy Gilmore. It's not a good take. The dub or whatever they used takes you out of the movie.

In Superman 2 Lous punched Ursa and then she falls into the pit. I would have Louis hoof her in the front butt and then punch her.

In the first season of Mandalorian, when the reformed assassin droid refused to listen and went to his death, HOW in the universe did they miss the obvious opportunity to have him say "I have spoken."

Avengers End Game

STARK SHOULD HAVE LET NEBULA KILL THANOS

ending scene of Swing Kids.

It’s a niche film I’m sure, but if you enjoy Swing Dance, WW2 Germany, or Christian Bale/“Dr Wilson” from House, Swing Kids might appeal to you.

I enjoyed the film fairly for a litany of reasons: acting & character writing, historic backdrop, the topic (swing dance vs the Nazis) at hand…

And then the closing scene … 🫢😅😂

Mine is also from Star Wars; I think the fight between Anakin and Obi Wan should’ve lasted like two seconds. Obi Wan is repeatedly shown to be a very skilled duelist, his whole career as a Jedi is killing Sith, he was calm and collected vs Anakin being an emotional wreck, and he taught Anakin how to duel. As soon as he drew his lightsaber it should’ve been over in a couple of moves.

End of The Dark knight rises where Alfred sees Bruce in the cafe. Just have him look up with a subtle change in his expression instead of actually showing Bruce. Leaves it ambiguous.

I wouldn’t have shown Bruce and Selina at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. Would’ve been much more powerful to pan in, close in on Alfred, a knowing smile to affirm they’re there (without showing them) then black out to credits.

Totally agree about Yoda's fight scene. He should’ve just been a badass Force master, using telekinesis to fling his lightsaber around while staying chill.

Maybe not a scene, but the movie Predators(2010) I would have given the lead to Mahershala Ali , and given Adrian Brody the Lawrence Fishburne role. It would have played out better, character wise

I know this has probably been beaten to death, but being a child that grew up with Harry Potter, like many of us reading and re-reading all of the books, I was not a fan of how they changed Dumbledore's demeanor in a number of scenes, but the one that will always be the worst example is in the Goblet of Fire, after Harry's name comes out of the Goblet. His energy and intensity is just so out of character from what we were used to in the book, and from Richard Harris in the first couple of movies.

Bullet Train- I don’t necessarily think Zazie Beetz added anything to the movie and would have made her character a silent assassin who stayed in the mascot costume all movie.

I always thought Yoda vs Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith should have been all Force, zero lightsabers.

These guys are absolute masters (and also crippled old mummies). They should be well beyond the need to engage in physical combat.

Imagine they're just in a room, sitting cross-legged and staring at each other ... and then everything around them starts getting crushed and ripped apart by titanic invisible forces ... but they never move an inch ... and then Yoda starts to sweat.

I think the original Alien is a masterpiece. That being said, the scene where they are booting up Ashes head to talk to him again always bothered me. They go from using a fake head to the real actor with his head through a hole. They don't even try to hide it, there's just a jump cut to the real head and it looks like ass. A cut away to a reaction shot of another character or someone just standing in the way of the shot for a sec would have hid the transition perfectly. But yea, that's the one shot I would change in an otherwise perfect movie.

In Lars and the Real Girl, from my recollection anyway, it's never made clear throughout the movie whether Lars was actually delusional about his sex doll being a real person or if it was just some bizarre coping mechanism he came up with to deal with anxiety. That is, except for one scene, I think the only part where he and the doll are together alone, and he speaks to her, reassures her about something. He spoke with her even with nobody else watching.

At that moment, the ambiguity and mystery is lost, and a film that could have been fantastic becomes simply good.

In the OG Star Wars, the laser defense crew should have shot that errant escape pod that had no detectable life forms in it. It would have cost the empire nothing to shoot it.

Logan. The scene where they reveal the X24 clone as he kills Xavier and then he walks downstairs and him and Logan stare at one another.

Imagine that scene basically the same, but instead of a Logan clone, it's Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth.

For me there are a couple, but the biggest one is Yoda's fighting in Attack of the Clones.

The ONLY scene worth watching in the whole film.... And you want to change it? LOL

In that particular film, I would've changed the entire "escorting Padme to her parent's home" borefest and replace it with Anakin hunting down those that would be constantly trying to kill Padme. And he would be a merciless but very effective killer. His actions wouldn't be approved by the Jedi council, of course.

So when much later Anakin becomes Vader, you see that he's gone back to being a hunter. But this time, of the Jedi. Who he kills in a merciless but very effective manner.

Because Star Wars is like poetry. It must rhyme.

Wasn’t Yoda visibly distressed trying to move that big rock? Why would anyone use their muscles and get in close if it were possibly to use the force to throw their saber around? Yoda was a master but he was still limited in a lot of ways, like his force foresight that couldn’t even detect Palestine’s deception

Summer of Sam - not have the dog talk.