MovieChat Forums > The Terminator (1984) Discussion > One thing I realized is unrealistic

One thing I realized is unrealistic

posted 6 years ago by MovieElephant (349)
21 replies | jump to latest

After the police station massacre, there's no more police to be seen throughout the rest of the movie.

In real life probably all the neighboring police departments would get involved to help, the military would be sent in, the roads would be controlled, the whole place would be on lockdown until they find this guy etc.

And before you tell me there wasn't enough time for a reaction of law enforcement, remember that they spend the whole night under the bridge and then the next day casually check in in the motel, and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, and the roads are free for a later car chase.

It's like that police station was the only law enforcement unit in the whole world.

[–] degree7 (821) 5 years ago

Probably because the rest of the movie takes place far from where the massacre happened. Kyle and Sarah wouldn’t hang around there, they were on the road. Maybe there could have been some scenes of police helicopters flying around searching for them, but this movie was also made on a budget.

Next question.

[–] Castortroy82 (70) 5 years ago

Haha OP acts like they would shut down the whole state cause of the police massacre. You just answered your own question this wasn't the only unit in the whole world, so of course there would be a massive manhunt but across the whole fricking state? We don't know how far Sarah and Kyle drove before they were stranded under the bridge and next morning went to the motel. Yes this happens only a DAY after the massacre you expect to see cops and road blocks on every block in the state or towns? The police were still probably cleaning up the massacre site, but this sure as hell would not in that short of time change every part of LA into police barricades, and no the army would not be involved in this. To the police this was just some nut job that was able to take down all the cops, we know what the T-800 is but they didn't and still refused to believe any of it. Army? Stop basing video game logic on movie logic.

[–] Hans-Wilhelm (1372) 5 years ago

An unfair criticism if you ask me.
You would know there are tons of police mobilization.
But they drove off onto the open roads until the car runs out of gas and we see it is around woods and they sleep in the woods under a drainage canal and also the car is pushed into the woods.
From there they stay one evening at some little roadside motel.
They are in deserted, remote areas. They aren't in L.A. anymore.

[–] avortac4 (3768) 3 years ago

They don't know WHERE the terminator is, they don't know WHERE Kyle and Sarah went, if they even know about them.

It's impossible to mobilize so many people in such a short time that they would've reached every possible place they could be in. They have to start in some direction, then try others, etc.. Maybe some kind of radius can be filled, but they did drive a long way until the gas tank was empty (though why not get more gas, I don't understand - they had the money, clearly).

There was a lot of traveling in this movie, so that kind of explains that.