Top 10 Movies That Could Have Been Solved in 5 Minutes

#10: “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000)

Cartoon villains often have overly complex plans, which frequently end up leading to their defeats. Yzma is no exception. Her initial plan to turn Kuzco into a flea, put him in a box, mail it to herself, and then smash it seems rather effective. However, to allegedly save on postage, she instead decides to use poison - except it's not poison. Her thriftiness, and Kronk’s incompetence, ultimately prove her undoing, as Kuzco is turned into a llama instead when Kronk gets the vials mixed up. Kuzco is then able to get his groove, along with his empire, back from her. If you want something done right, do it yourself.

#9: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003)

For as fun as this movie is, it does have a pretty simple solution to all the entertaining pirate action - just give the pirates what they want. Barbossa’s crew of undead buccaneers are in search of a single gold coin of the cursed treasure that has turned them into living skeletons, unable to taste, feel, or die. But if Jack Sparrow and company just gave them the coin, they’d be mortal again, and easily killable. And sure, they do end up doing exactly that…after two hours. Less entertaining? Sure. But wayyyy easier!

#8: “Jurassic World” (2015)

These dinosaur parks are always suffering easily preventable disasters, but this one is especially dumb. The Indominus rex is Jurassic World’s newest attraction. For some baffling reason, the scientists gave the genetically engineered dino the ability to mask its heat signature and camouflage itself, making them believe it escaped. Instead of looking for signs it left outside its enclosure, they instead go inside and are naturally attacked, and several people are killed. Even then, if they hadn’t left through the big, dinosaur-sized gate, it wouldn’t have gotten out! If anyone at the park had any common sense, they would’ve avoided Indominus rex’s escape and the ensuing disaster.

#7: “28 Weeks Later” (2007)

Where do we even begin with this one? There are plenty of idiotic decisions throughout this dumbed down zombie, er, “infected” outbreak film. But perhaps the biggest involves Don visiting his infected wife, Alice, and getting infected himself after kissing her. Despite being in quarantine, Alice isn’t guarded and Don is easily able to sneak in to see her. And then after this catastrophe, it’s made even worse by herding survivors into a small, dark contained space. Because that’s what you want in an emergency with rabid rage monsters - packing people in like sardines.

#6: “School of Rock” (2003)

Dewey Finn impersonates his roommate to get a job as a substitute teacher, and instead of doing the job properly, he gets the class to form a rock band. Look, this is an amazing movie, but it does require a pretty big oversight to work. We’re expected to believe that nobody asked for his identification before allowing him to teach children? “Oh, no I.D.? OK, we’ll find someone else. Good luck finding employment.” And sure, like the song says, “rock got no reason,” but if there were a little more reason, the movie never would’ve happened.

#5: “Home Alone” (1990)

The sheer number of easily solvable problems that lead to Kevin McCallister being left at home when his family goes on a trip are well-documented. The family oversleeping due to a power outage is one thing, but not noticing Kevin isn’t there until they’re on the plane? Seriously? Even then, Kevin wouldn’t have been on his own and in danger from bandits if his parents had gotten him to stay at a friend’s house or if he’d just called the police! The sequel is just as bad - who changes batteries while walking in an airport?! [xref]

#4: “The Little Mermaid” (1989)

Ariel gets in her own way way too much in this classic Disney movie. The eponymous mermaid’s first big mistake was not reading the contract with Ursula. Losing your voice in exchange for legs? Gotta’ read those terms and conditions, girl! But what’s even more baffling is that she relies entirely on body language to get Eric to kiss her within 3 days. If she’d just, you know, written it down, she could speak AND have legs! And don’t tell us she can’t read or write - she signed the contract in English!

#3: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005)

Given that it’s a story that involves magic, you’d think everything could be solved quickly. However, logic would’ve ended the fourth “Harry Potter” film faster. Voldemort hatches an overly complicated scheme to enter Harry into the very dangerous Triwizard Tournament, despite him being ineligible because he’s too young. But, when the titular Goblet spits out Harry’s name, he’s forced to compete. Instead of “calmly” getting to the bottom of things, Dumbledore throws Harry into yet another life-threatening situation. “But it’s a magical contract!” Yeah, that was altered by magic! There’s no reason why it couldn’t be amended again, or the competition delayed, or for Harry to lose on purpose! Voldemort’s dumb plan to resurrect himself could’ve easily fallen apart if anyone had thought this through.

#2: “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)

The fate of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes down to several major moments, but few of them are as crucial as this one. When the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy team up to stop Thanos, they’re inches away from getting the Infinity Gauntlet and stopping the purple people killer from continuing with his plan to wipe out half of all life. And then Star Lord hears that Thanos killed Gamora, the woman he loves. Granted, that’s devastating. But maybe if Peter Quill had waited just a little longer before taking out his anger on him, the Mad Titan might not have snapped trillions of people into dust.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“The Ring” (2002)

“On Second Thought, Watching a Cursed Video Tape is a BAD Idea.” Credits

“Jingle All the Way” (1996)All He Had to Do Was Buy the Action Figure When His Wife Asked Him to 2 Weeks Earlier

“Clerks” (1994)

Dante Could’ve Just Told His Boss “No” - It Was His Day Off!

“Tangled” (2010)

Why Would Mother Gothel Tell Rapunzel Her REAL Birthday? Or About Birthdays at All?

“Gremlins” (1984)What Part of “Don’t Put It in Water & Don’t Feed Them After Midnight” Wasn’t Clear?

#1: “Mamma Mia!” (2008)

In this ABBA inspired jukebox musical, Sophie isn’t sure who her dad is, but wants one of the potential candidates to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. She invites all three men to the wedding, leading them to reconnect with her mother, and romantic comedy hijinks and catchy pop song musical numbers ensue. Except, none of it would’ve happened if Sophie had just done the obvious thing and gotten a DNA test. Granted, they weren’t quite as readily available in the 2000s, but it’s gotta’ be easier than trying to figure it out based on vibes!

Is there a simple movie solution we forgot? Pull the lever on your picks in the comments!