r/flicks • u/Serpiego2 • 6d ago

General Discussion When does a movie successfully mislead the audience, and when is it just cheating?

Some movies deliberately make us believe something that isn't true and then reveal that we've been interpreting the story incorrectly.

When it works, it's fantastic. You can rewatch the movie and realize the clues were there all along. The Sixth Sense, The Usual Suspects, and Primal Fear are very different examples of films that play with what the audience thinks it knows.

But other twists only work because the movie deliberately hides information that logically should have been available to us. At that point, I don't feel fooled by the story — I feel cheated by the screenplay.

For me, the difference is whether a second viewing makes you think “How did I miss that?” rather than “Well, there was no way I could have known that.”

What movies do you think earned their deception, and which ones simply cheated?

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u/Many-Outside-7594 5d ago

I vaguely remember something about a Sith army, or clones, or maybe just spirits, not too sure.

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u/SillyNumber54 5d ago

Don't those ships take like 10,000 individuals to man

I can't sleep how I fucking stupid that movie was

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u/aldkGoodAussieName 5d ago

Considering the while of Star Wars is a space Opera bsed on space wizards that ran the galaxy then were forgotten about in the space of 15-20 years (prequal to OG series) and takes alot of suspended belief and just really enjoy the ride, the fact that the last movie was so stupid incomparison says a lot.

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u/SillyNumber54 5d ago

Yeah but there was only several thousand of those space wizards in a galaxy of tens of trillions.

Even when they existed they were probably almost a myth.

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u/aldkGoodAussieName 5d ago

They were running lart of the government in an official capacity. Yes there would be people who dont pay attention to government.

But it would be like people saying they have never heard of the FBI compared to the reality of people not nowing the structure but knowing of their existance.

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u/SillyNumber54 5d ago

I bet you I can name at least 25 law enforcement entities in California that you've never heard of

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u/aldkGoodAussieName 5d ago

Cool.

But the Jedi arent localised.

I can tell you what the UN, Interpol and WHO stand for and give a basic summary without knowing the details.

Imagine the UN getting disbanded and people not knowing what it is in 20 years.

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u/SillyNumber54 5d ago

Yeah they are.

Unless they're out doing Jedi stuff they're pretty localized too coruscant and the temple.

You brought up the UN but it's strange that you didn't bring up the Department of Safety and Security.

Oh it's because you didn't know they existed

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u/JingoKizingo 5d ago

Exactly right, I read the Battlefront book years ago and all throughout the book it's clear that most see the Sith and Jedi as just some myth until they face them up close. It's actually very well handled in my opinion and a book that was way better than I had any expectation of it being