Another Top 10 Deus Ex Machina Moments In Movies

Miracles are great and all, but they don’t always work on the silver screen! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for Another Top 10 Deus Ex Machina Moments in Movies.

For this list, we're looking at the most contrived last minute saves in movies that embodied the concept of “deus ex machina” - or literally, “god in the machine”.

“Superman” (1978)

Lex Luthor had Supes right where he wanted him, weighed down by kryptonite. All Luthor had to do was fire his missiles, but alas, it turns out Ms. Teschmacher’s mother lives in one of the target locations. Luthor is indifferent to this, so Teschmacher frees Superman so that he can go save the world. Sure, her mother has to live somewhere, and small-town New Jersey is just as likely a location as anywhere, but it seems an awfully big coincidence, especially since that rather large coincidence was the only thing that saved Superman’s life... well, and New Jersey.

“GoldenEye” (1995)

Sure, Q by this point was on his third M and his fourth Bond, but what was he thinking giving 007 a pen grenade? When would you ever need such a device? And what fidgeter among us hasn’t nervously clicked a pen before? Fine, Bond has gotten some weird gadgets in the past, so whatever. But how is it that after Bond was captured and searched, the pen just happens to find its way to a serial pen clicker like Boris? It’s awfully convenient, and just a little too much not to believe that the hand of god might have had a role to play.

“The Lost Boys” (1987)

Okay, this one’s the same old story, you’re about to be killed by vampires when a jeep comes barreling through the living room and saves the day… it's how Shakespeare would have done it. There we are when Max is about to transform Michael's mother Lucy into a vampire, only for Michael's grandfather to crash through the living room in his 4x4 and impale Max on wooden stakes. So… is granddad an accomplished vampire hunter? And how did he know about the attack? It’s a bit of a stretch that the protagonist's grandfather could magically save the day out of nowhere.

“Toy Story” (1995)

Alright, they've sentient toys, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a narrative free-for-all! When Woody and Buzz are stranded at a gas station, a delivery truck for the pizza place that Andy happens to be going to shows up. It's already unlikely, but then lo and behold, the duo are picked up by none other than Sid, Andy’s toy torturing neighbor. Granted, pizza planet's as good a place as any for two kids to wind up in, but it seems like the writers really wanted Woody and Buzz to find a convenient way to be trapped next to Andy’s place.

“Signs” (2002)

If Aliens attack, the odds are pretty much certainly against us. If they’re technologically advanced enough to traverse vast distances in space and find our planet, then we are hopelessly out-teched. Fighting off attacking aliens seems pretty hopeless - as it does, at least at first, in “Signs”. If only there was some magical way to defeat them… oh, look at that. Turns out the aliens just so happened to attack a planet which is about 71% covered in something that will kill them if they touch it. It's a revelation so sudden that we have no choice but to declare: deus ex machina!

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)

No, we’re not going to talk about the damn eagles! Besides, we already made a list of plot issues in “Rings”. Now, there’s a strong case to be made in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy that Samwise Gamgee is the true hero. In spite of Frodo’s failures in his quest, Sam seems to never waver in his support. So how did Sam get involved in this heroic quest? Well, he heard about it through the window. That’s right, if it wasn’t for a little eavesdropping, Sauron would have ruled middle earth. A little late for trimming the hedges indeed.

“Spider-Man 3” (2007)

When “Spider-Man 3” begins, things are looking up for Peter Parker! It’s a good thing no evil alien lifeforms crash landed in the park where he just happened to be. Oh… The chances of this happening are so astronomically huge, it’s unfathomable. Fine, the symbiote crash landed on earth, but then you say that it just happened to snag a ride on a superhero? Granted, a Deus Ex Machina usually happens to resolve a conflict rather than get it going, but this is just lazy! It’s a good thing the rest of the movie got better from there … Oh wait.

“The Boondock Saints” (1999)

After the MacManus brothers decide to take on the city’s organized crime with their own particular blend of stylized violence and Catholicism, they meet their match when Il Duce is hired to hunt them down. He gets the drop on the brothers, but as they recite a family prayer over a fallen comrade, Il Duce finishes the prayer instead of killing them. Turns out: he’s their dad, and not only will he not kill them, he's going to help them. Even ignoring the fact that it’s weird they don’t recognize him at first, it really seems as if the good lord answered their prayers.

“Training Day” (2001)

Los Angeles is huge. We know this. So it’s lucky that trainee detective Jake Hoyt is able to protect a young girl when they come across her mid-assault. Things takes a turn south though when Detective Alonzo Harris hires a couple gangsters to kill Hoyt. Hoyt's day is about to end in the worst possible way, but then suddenly, it’s discovered that the girl he saved earlier is the cousin of his would-be assassin. As a result, the gangsters let Jake go. Yes, it was set up in act one, but that’s a pretty huge coincidence and an unbelievably convenient way out of an otherwise impossible situation.

“Star Trek” (2009)

Now, Kirk running into Spock Prime, after being marooned within walking distance on the same planet, is contrived enough . . . But Sulu being a bad pilot? Just can’t buy it! When Sulu forgets to disengage the “external inertial dampener”, the Enterprise ends up reaching Vulcan behind the rest of the fleet . . . which turns out to be a good thing. The idea that Sulu, a trained pilot, could make such a simple error is already a stretch, but the fact that this mistake is what saves the entire crew and all the main characters when every other ship that went into warp was destroyed? That definitely makes us pause.