Movies with Complex Plots (and a few TV Shows)
Those films or shows whose plots are incredibly complicated. Unlike other takes on this topic, this does not include films that are intentionally vague or up-to-interpretation, as that is something very different. Just films that have a lot to remember.
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- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryJill St. JohnCharles GrayA diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.On the surface this is just a goofy movie where Bond stops an evil plan about a diamond satellite. However, if you look at the character motivations, it's a mess. It was already based on a complicated novel, and it is as if the creators had tons of different ideas to add on top of that, and added them all, but then also somehow didn't care about implementing those ideas properly in the script.
The basic plot is that there is diamond smuggling ring where each member also has a regular job and has to hide the diamonds and pass it on to the next member across the world to an unknown destination, while meanwhile 2 assassins of unknown origin are going through the line killing the smugglers, and Bond secretly infiltrates this ring and thinks that behind it all is a powerful billionaire named Willard Whyte, who hasn't come out of the upper rooms of his casino and hardly contacted anyone in years. However, it turns out his arch-enemy Blofeld and SPECTRE (his global crime organization with secret agents everywhete) are behind it and have kidnapped the real White, and only certain members of the organization know.
That's the basic premise. That's not including: A separate line of SPECTRE agents Bond goes through in the opening, Bond- as a smuggler- and another smuggler girl creating another hidden smuggling ring inside the hidden smuggling ring to escape, but Bond knowing she was going to betray him and setting up CIA monitoring around the ring, real and fake diamonds that are confused for each other, a real and fake casette tape that get switched around for each other constantly, a subplot about the main villain cloning himself- and it being hard to tell who is the real one and who is the clone-, the CIA who are allied with Bond except at one point when they confine him and he has to go against them, and Bond's other girlfriend who becomes entangled in all of this. - DirectorMichael AptedStarsPierce BrosnanSophie MarceauRobert CarlyleJames Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while protecting an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.A lot happens from the outset, then piles on plot twist after plot twist.
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppOrlando BloomKeira KnightleyCaptain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, find Jack Sparrow, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleMichael CaineKen WatanabeAfter witnessing his parents' death, Bruce learns the art of fighting to confront injustice. When he returns to Gotham as Batman, he must stop a secret society that intends to destroy the city.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleTom HardyAnne HathawayEight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.Lots of complicated politics.
- DirectorAnthony RussoJoe RussoStarsChris EvansRobert Downey Jr.Scarlett JohanssonPolitical involvement in the Avengers' affairs causes a rift between Captain America and Iron Man.The amount of characters this has to balance. (There's the main 12, a separate villain and the government on top of all that, as well as the 2nd government man, Peggy Carter's niece in her relationship with Steve, Aunt May, and Iron Man's deceased parents.)
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsTobey MaguireKirsten DunstTopher GraceA strange black entity from another world bonds with Peter Parker and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsEmile HirschMatthew FoxChristina RicciYoung driver, Speed Racer, aspires to be champion of the racing world with the help of his family and his high-tech Mach 5 automobile.Again, way too many characters. Gray Ghost, who is marketed as if he is a supporting villain, is barely featured in the film as a result.
- DirectorAnthony RussoJoe RussoStarsChris EvansSamuel L. JacksonScarlett JohanssonAs Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he teams up with a fellow Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Black Widow, to battle a new threat from history: an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.Lots of elaborate action scenes and background characters.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonJack NicholsonKim BasingerThe Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.Not too many characters, but a lot going on in a short span of time.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsCharlie CoxClaire DanesSienna MillerIn a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.Essentially every character in this film is memorable or weird in some way, and the plot juggles most of them right up to the end.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.Lots of scenes with large groups of characters chatting and a fast pace.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawRachel McAdamsDetective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsRobert Downey Jr.Jude LawJared HarrisDetective Sherlock Holmes is on the trail of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty, who is carrying out a string of random crimes across Europe.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJessica ChastainJoel EdgertonChris PrattA chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsCate BlanchettLiz GilesRod CulbertsonThe early years of the reign of Elizabeth I of England and her difficult task of learning what is necessary to be a monarch.The Godfather of historical dramas.
(in that the plot structure is extremely similar) - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoDiane KeatonAndy GarciaFollows Michael Corleone, now in his 60s, as he seeks to free his family from crime and find a suitable successor to his empire.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonEdgar RamírezJoan AllenJason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.Honorable Mention
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonFranka PotenteJoan AllenWhen Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.Honorable Mention
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsTom CruiseEmily BluntBill PaxtonA soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.Honorable Mention: can get confusing with the time travel mechanics and the amount of characters.