What movie would have been over in 20 minutes if the story/characters were smarter?

[AdeptHelper]

Can be any

Not a movie but all 7 series of Sons of Anarchy would have been unnecessary if the main characters had made better decisions in the first episode.

Not the entire films, but huge parts of Harry Potter wouldn't have existed

For example in Chamber of Secrets, Harry and Ron cant get through the barrier to the platform. Do they wait for one of the hundreds of adult wizards that will be returning though, after dropping of their kids? Do they send Hedwig with an emergency message? No they nick a flying car and followed the Howarts Express!

The Bible

I once saw a review of a TV series (no idea what) that said most TV dramas/films rely on an essential moment of stupidity [EMS]. I squeal EMS at the screen rather a lot.

And then the car wouldn't have saved then from being eaten by Aragog later - so we wouldn't have needed the next five books/movies.

Movie or real life - Titanic. Maybe don't go top-speed through the waters where the ice bergs are. If you do have to, maybe put enough lifeboats on board. If you're captain of the California, don't ignore the distress rockets. With those last two, maybe the movie would still be long; it would just be more upbeat.

Alice In Wonderland. Don't crawl down rabbit holes.

Frozen. Why didn't they just explain to Anna about Elsa's powers?

Most of the home alone films - check you have all the children with you when you leave the house / board a plane

Jaws. Just get out of the water and stay out, okay?😂

Just give the ring to the eagles and ask them to pop it into the mountain

LOTR

If only they'd checked their aircraft for leg-free reptiles before departure...

The vast majority of crime stories (Agatha Christie type) depend on people holding back information from the police and/or the private detective investigating a murder. Even when someone's been killed a person with crucial information will decide to blackmail a potential murderer instead of telling the authorities all they know. It never ends well!

The Blair Witch Project. Just follow the river/stream and then you won't get stuck walking around in circles.

Any action/Bond-type movie where the hero has been captured and tied up in some weird situation by the bad guy. And instead of just shooting the hero in the head, the bad guy leaves the hero there for his slow painful death which of course he always escapes.

Romeo and Juliet. Flipping teenagers.

Midnight Express. Not trying to smuggle hash out of Turkey would have led to an uneventful trip home.

Any horror film in which the characters awaken the supernatural force by doing something they CLEARLY DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT DO. Like using a ouija board or reading from The Book of the Dead or watching a mysterious video or saying Candyman five times.

Don't do it. Just don't do it.

Hitchcock's The Birds.

"Shall we buy those sweet little lovebirds, darling?"
NO. They are creepy as fuck."

The Truman Show

Road Trip. Scotty should have created another email address when he found out he was blocked.

well societal stupidity rather than individual…

breaking bad. If the US wasn’t so sure universal healthcare is the first step on the slopes to communism the whole thing would be over in the time it took to write management plan and a sick note for work.

The Matrix

if Neo chose the blue pill.

The Devil Wears Prada, if Andy hadn't taken a job with a company she was manifestly unsuited to.

Orrr, The Little Mermaid, if King Triton had any parenting skills.

beauty and the beast. if the dad had just visited a flower shop!

Jurassic World, and subsequently Fallen Kingdom and Dominion. If they'd just waited 5 mins for Claire to check with control room the location of the Indominus Rex's tracker they would have known she was in the pen and never opened the gate.