History AwesomeButImpractical / Film

!!Films-Animated

!!Films-Live Action:

-->'''Ismay''': Icebergs travelling ''in formation'', sir? At a steady eight knots?
-->'''Winston''': We'd have to work on the details..
-->'''Ismay''': ...And with smoke coming out of a funnel?
* ''Film/IronMan'':
** Believe it or not, the titular character's armor was like this for a while in the first film. One montage shows Tony Stark repeatedly testing the armor and correcting various design flaws that crop up. Among these problems are the fact that the suit tends to freeze up when Tony flies too high into the sky. This serves as {{Foreshadowing}} for the final battle, when [[spoiler:Tony -- who has already experienced and solved the problem of his armor freezing -- lures Obadiah Stane, whose armor is reverse-engineered from one of Tony's earlier models, to that very same height.]]

** While it isn't initially evident in the film itself, the Comicbook/WarMachine Mark I armor is also this. "Iron Man [[RecycledInSpace but with]] MoreDakka" is a pretty kickass premise, but the suit itself is just Tony's outdated Iron Man Mark II prototype with a new paint job and some guns grafted on. Worse, the redesign was done by the shoddy Hammer Industries, meaning that some of the weapons (like the "Ex-Wife" smart missile) don't even work properly. A comic {{Interquel}} reveals that Tony confiscated the suit from Rhodey shortly after ''Iron Man 2'', noting that in addition to being an obsolete prototype, the suit wasn't even calibrated for Rhodey's body, meaning that prolonged usage could've caused serious internal injuries or brain damage. There's a reason why in the subsequent movies, the new War Machine armors are always new suits that Tony has personally designed for Rhodey.
*** This could be a CallBack to the comics. Rhodey took over the role of Iron Man from Tony while he was on a drinking binge. Since the suit hadn't been calibrated to Rhodey's brain, he started to get unstable and a recovered Tony had to take him down with an inferior suit he was working on as part of his recovery.
** In ''Film/IronMan3'', the Mark 42 armor. It's Tony's most advanced suit to date, but it never leaves an unfinished prototype stage, and its ability to deploy piece-by-piece and assemble on the wearer makes it alarmingly easy to break apart. The assembly part was also clearly not well thought out, as at one point Tony gets effectively [[GroinAttack punched in the jewels]] by his own codpiece. [[spoiler:{{Invoked}}, as it's heavily implied this is the end result of Tony throwing himself into making new armors to try and unsuccessfully cope with PTSD from the events of ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', and as a result of being heavily sleep-deprived Tony's ideas are getting worse but he isn't recognizing this.]]

* In ''Film/JurassicWorld'', Hoskins plans to [[spoiler: militarize the ''I. rex'',]] a vicious, NighInvulnerable creature that's destroying everything in her path. The idea of [[spoiler: militant dinosaurs]] may sound cool, but they're also wild and difficult to control, making them useless in combat, and a danger to everyone around them. Basically, they come with all of the drawbacks that using living animals in war already comes with (they need to be fed, housed, bred, grown, and socialized; they require regular activity and their waste needs to be exposed of; and, unlike a gun, they have a mind of their own and can panic or turn against the person who's supposed to be in charge; hence why most armies ''don't'' use animals anymore now that we have guns, cars, and planes), plus about a hundred new problems on account of being ''dinosaurs''.

** The double-bladed rotating lightsabers the [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Imperial Inquisitors]] use. They're clearly built with intimidation in mind rather than practicality, meaning that they're very unwieldy compared to normal lightsabers. This is okay when dealing with most enemies of the time, who either have no Force power or are inexperienced Padawans, but against a trained Jedi Knight they're easily destroyed, leaving their wielders defenseless. This leads to [[spoiler: the Grand Inquisitor's death; once Kanan overcomes his fear of the Inquisitor, he easily bashes him back before using standard sabers to slash the rotating saber in two.]]

** ''Rise of Skywalker'' also explains why hyperspace ramming from ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is [[GodzillaThreshold rarely used]], being both immensely costly (a ship large enough to deal substantial damage) and risky. Holdo managing to cripple the First Order fleet in a single strike was ''ridiculously'' lucky.

** Subverted in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', where the Final Order just slaps PlanetKiller cannons onto regular Star Destroyers instead. Or just downplayed. These cannons become a weak point and these Star Destroyers are [[GlassCannon less durable]], but the ease of their mass production makes this hardly an issue [[spoiler:until their navigator is taken out.]]

** The AT-[=ACTs=] from ''Film/RogueOne'' are bigger than the AT-[=ATs=] and can send ground troops fleeing. However, they're ''huge'' targets and their open cargo spaces are major structural weakpoints. During the climactic battle, they are shown wiping out rebel infantry only to be easily blown up by the X-Wings and U-Wings. Then again, AT-[=ACTs=] are transports equipped to only fend off raiders and thus are not designed for frontline combat; the only reason they were used offensively is that the Imperials were caught off-guard by the Rebel strike teams and were scrambling to muster any firepower they could.

** From ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', we have Starkiller Base. Carved out of the surface of an ''entire planet that was the former pilgrimage site for the Jedi'', it drains stars and uses them to destroy entire star systems. While the Death Star II could at least shoot repeatedly, Starkiller Base takes a ridiculous amount of time to [[ChargedAttack charge up]] while it drains the sun's energy before it can fire. While its weak spot is at least fortified, it makes it evident that the First Order is ridiculously well funded, but instead of using those resources to build [[BoringButPractical a massive amount of fleets and smaller superweapons that are more mobile, expendable, and capable of swarming the fleets of the Republic]], all of this was used up on [[VideoGame/StarWarsJediFallenOrder a planet that was once mined by the Empire for its vast amount of kyber crystals]]. Plus, the fact that it drains stars means that a system's sun must be killed, sacrificing potentially valuable planetary assets and causing potential unforeseen consequences from the removal of a sun; the Death Star and its successor were able to at least power up without killing a star. The worst part of Starkiller Base is that it was destroyed remarkably easily, after the shields are lowered by Phasma, Hux is unable to put the shields back on. Then Finn uses a few torpedoes to blow up a single reactor, ''causing the entire planet to implode''. After Starkiller Base's destruction, it is not even referenced in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', and it is lampshaded in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', where Allegiant General Enric Pryde notes that the entire thing was a complete waste of resources.

** The Clone Army could count as one. An individual Clone Trooper takes ten years to reach full combat readiness under Kaminoan growth methods and can only be created in one facility in the galaxy. Additionally, the Republic only seemed to have one major rehabilitation facility for Clone soldiers rather that multiple hospitals in the field, which means clone production or healing could easily be disrupted by Separatist forces. Finally, Darth Sidious didn't care enough to have their rapid aging stopped once they reached maturity as long as they were ready for Order 66 when he wanted. After the Jedi Purge ended, [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch the veteran Clone Troopers were quickly replaced by regularly recruited trained Imperial Stormtroopers and discharged, due to the cost of making and training more not being favorable for the new Empire, as well as regaining their individuality that their inhibitor chips suppressed by the new regime's second year.]] Although some were [[UnwillingRoboticisation used as guinea pigs]] for the Dark Trooper project where [[FullConversionCyborg up to 70% of their bodies were replaced with cybernetics to bring them back up to fighting spec.]]

** From ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', we have Starkiller Base. Carved out of the surface of an ''entire planet that was the former pilgrimage site for the Jedi, it drains stars and uses them to destroy entire star systems. While the Death Star II could at least shoot repeatedly, Starkiller Base takes a ridiculous amount of time to [[ChargedAttack charge up]] while it drains the sun's energy before it can fire. While its weak spot is at least fortified, it makes it evident that the First Order is ridiculously well funded, but instead of using those resources to build [[BoringButPractical a massive amount of fleets and smaller superweapons that are more mobile, expendable, and capable of swarming the fleets of the Republic]], all of this was used up on [[VideoGame/StarWarsJediFallenOrder a planet that was once mined by the Empire for its vast amount of kyber crystals]]. Plus, the fact that it drains stars means that a system's sun must be killed, sacrificing potentially valuable planetary assets and causing potential unforeseen consequences from the removal of a sun; the Death Star and its successor were able to at least power up without killing a star. The worst part of Starkiller Base is that it was destroyed remarkably easily, after the shields are lowered by Phasma, Hux is unable to put the shields back on. Then Finn uses a few torpedoes to blow up a single reactor, ''causing the entire planet to implode''. After Starkiller Base's destruction, it is not even referenced in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', and it is lampshaded in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', where Allegiant General Enric Pryde notes that the entire thing was a complete waste of resources.

** The Death Star is the ultimate example. It's enormous, cost an insane amount of funds and manpower to build and operate, and its only advantage over large capital ships like Star Destroyers is that it can wipe out entire planets (as opposed to putting down a rebellion while leaving the population and economic centers mostly undamaged), costing further quadrillions worth of economic damage with every shot, destroying another irreplaceable world in the Empire's territory, and in doing so, promote justified fury and rebellion against the Empire for such crimes against sentience. A battle station the size of a moon ''does'' have [[SwordOfDamocles a massive intimidation factor]], which Grand Moff Tarkin himself noted can be used to keep populations in line, but it's so costly that it could never be mass-produced, thus severely limiting its effectiveness (though it was also intended to be unique, or one of only two or three ever made, since that was considered all that would be needed to convince the galaxy to meekly submit to Imperial rule). It also has a very critical weakness in the form of an exhaust port big enough for a few warheads to go in. However, ''Film/RogueOne'' reveals that last part [[spoiler:was a very intentional form of sabotage on the architect's part.]] ''Rogue One'' also revealed that the Death Star very nearly succeeded in its primary mission ''before it was even fully operational'': [[spoiler:once word of its construction leaked to the Rebel Alliance, the majority of the leaders were seriously considering surrendering to the Empire.]] Best summed up by an Imperial general after the Battle of Yavin:

** Han Solo pointed out that the lightsabers are completely useless in a fight compared to blasters. That's because it has the range and limitations of a sword while a blaster can be used at range and from cover. This is true unless the wielder is a Jedi with CombatClairvoyance, because then it can be used to [[ParryingBullets block enemy fire]] or [[AttackReflector send it back where it came from]], and the lightsaber itself is all the cover needed. [[ZigZaggedTrope And even then entries]] like ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Order 66'' showcase that if the enemy has hefty amounts of MoreDakka on their side they could still be swiftly overwhelmed (especially if the Jedi is surrounded, where they simply cannot deflect all the incoming fire). An InUniverse discussion even mentioned that while lightsabers are incredibly good at stopping blaster bolts, a big enough ''[[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter bullet]]'' won't be -- the saber's plasma will just melt the bullet and force the wielder to deal with a high-velocity ''wad of molten steel splashing all over them'' like say a [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Slugthrower Tusken Raider’s slugthrower rifle, which fire “metal slugs” aka bullets as opposed to blaster bolts.]] And as Darth Vader demonstrates in ''The Empire Strikes Back'', Force users can use telekinesis to take their enemies' weapons, making lightsabers unnecessary in a one-on-one fight with a regular person.
** Darth Vader's iconic suit. Yeah it ''looks'' badass while also enhancing his strength and durability, and lets him move around and breathe properly. At the same time, it's horribly uncomfortable and heavy, making it difficult to move quickly like he could when he was younger. Plus the suit's cybernetic nature makes him vulnerable to electric overloads and prevents him from using Force lightning. Vader's remaining physical strength and extremely strong Force connection is the only thing keeping the suit from rendering him a useless crippled invalid. At the same time, [[AllInTheManual supplementary materials]] revealed that the constant frustrations imposed by his suit allowed Vader to tap into the Dark Side of the Force with greater ease than he would otherwise; eventually Vader came to appreciate his suit and refused Palpatine's offers to upgrade it.
** The double-bladed rotating lightsabers the [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Imperial Inquisitors]] use. They're clearly built with intimidation in mind rather than practicality, meaning that they're very unwieldy compared to normal lightsabers. This is okay when dealing with most enemies of the time, who either have no Force power or are inexperienced padawans, but against a trained Jedi knight they're easily destroyed, leaving their wielders defenseless. This leads to [[spoiler: the Grand Inquisitor's death; once Kanan overcomes his fear of the Inquisitor, he easily bashes him back before using standard sabers to slash the rotating saber in two.]]

** From ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', we have Starkiller Base. Carved out of the surface of an ''entire planet'', it drains stars and uses them to destroy entire star systems. While the Death Star II could at least shoot repeatedly, Starkiller Base takes a ridiculous amount of time to [[ChargedAttack charge up]] while it drains the sun's energy before it can fire. While its weak spot is at least fortified, it makes it evident that the First Order is ridiculously well funded, but instead of using those resources to build [[BoringButPractical a massive amount of fleets and smaller superweapons that are more mobile, expendable, and capable of swarming the fleets of the Republic]], all of this was used up on a planetoid that is destroyed in the film it is introduced in. Plus, the fact that it drains stars means that a system's sun must be killed, sacrificing potentially valuable planetary assets and causing potential unforeseen consequences from the removal of a sun; the Death Star and its successor were able to at least power up without killing a star. The worst part of Starkiller Base is that it was destroyed remarkably easily, after the shields are lowered by Phasma, Hux is unable to put the shields back on. Then Finn uses a few torpedoes to blow up a single reactor, ''causing the entire planet to implode''. After Starkiller Base's destruction, it is not even referenced in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', and it is lampshaded in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', where General Pryde notes that the entire thing was a complete waste of resources.
** This is [[SmallNameBigEgo Orson Krennic's]] defining character trait in ''Film/RogueOne''. For instance, he opts to destroy the whole planet of Jedah when first testing the Death Star, which Tarkin [[PragmaticVillainy decides is too much and instead has him aim for a smaller portion of the planet]]. He's partial to an antique, low-capacity blaster instead of a standard issue weapon, even in firefights. Krennic's uniform also qualifies; he wears a cool white cape, but it serves no real purpose aside from making him look different from other Imperial officers. And the Death Star is an example of this, as mentioned above.

** The Clone Army could count as one. An individual Clone Trooper takes ten years to reach full combat readiness under Kaminoan growth methods and can only be created in one facility in the galaxy. Additionally the Republic only seemed to have one major rehabilitation facility for Clone soldiers rather that multiple hospitals in the field, which means clone production or healing could easily be disrupted by Separatist forces. Finally Darth Sidious didn't care enough to have their rapid aging stopped once they reached maturity as long as they were ready for Order 66 when he wanted. After the Jedi Purge ended, the veteran Clonetroopers were quickly replaced by regularly recruited trained Imperial Stormtroopers and discharged. Although some were [[UnwillingRoboticisation used as guinea pigs]] for the Dark Trooper project where [[FullConversionCyborg up to 70% of their bodies were replaced with cybernetics to bring them back up to fighting spec.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': One of the more well-known lines from the movie: "NO CAPES!" While the capes look impressive and add a distinctive flair to heroics, every hero shown in the montage never thought about having [[CapeSnag detachable capes]] and were swiftly dragged to their deaths [[spoiler:and neither did Syndrome.]]

** This is [[SmallNameBigEgo Orson Krennic's]] defining character trait in ''Film/RogueOne''. For instance, he opts to destroy the whole planet of Jedah when first testing the Death Star, which Tarkin [[PragmaticVillainy decides is too much and instead has him aim for a smaller portion of the planet]]. Krennic's uniform also qualifies; he wears a cool white cape, but it serves no real purpose aside from making him look different from other Imperial officers. And the Death Star is an example of this, as mentioned above.

** Han Solo pointed out that the lightsabers are completely useless in a fight compared to blasters. That's because it has the range and limitations of a sword while a blaster can be used at range and from cover. This is true unless the wielder is a Jedi with CombatClairvoyance, because then it can be used to [[ParryingBullets block enemy fire]] or [[AttackReflector send it back where it came from]], and the lightsaber itself is all the cover needed. [[ZigZaggedTrope And even then entries]] like ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Order 66'' showcase that if the enemy has hefty amounts of MoreDakka on their side they could still be swiftly overwhelmed (especially if the Jedi is surrounded, where they simply cannot deflect all the incoming fire). An InUniverse discussion even mentioned that while lightsabers are incredibly good at stopping blaster bolts, a big enough ''[[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter bullet]]'' won't be -- the saber's plasma will just melt the bullet and force the wielder to deal with a high-velocity ''wad of molten steel splashing all over them'' like say a [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Slugthrower Tusken Raider’s slugthrower rifle, which fire “metal slugs” aka bullets as opposed to blaster bolts.]] And as Darth Vader demonstrates in ''The Empire Srikes Back'', Force users can use telekinesis to take their enemies' weapons, making lightsabers unnecessary in a one-on-one fight with a regular person.

** Han Solo pointed out that the lightsabers are completely useless in a fight compared to blasters. That's because it has the range and limitations of a sword while a blaster can be used at range and from cover. This is true unless the wielder is a Jedi with CombatClairvoyance, because then it can be used to [[ParryingBullets block enemy fire]] or [[AttackReflector send it back where it came from]], and the lightsaber itself is all the cover needed. [[ZigZaggedTrope And even then entries]] like ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Order 66'' showcase that if the enemy has hefty amounts of MoreDakka on their side they could still be swiftly overwhelmed (especially if the Jedi is surrounded, where they simply cannot deflect all the incoming fire). An InUniverse discussion even mentioned that while lightsabers are incredibly good at stopping blaster bolts, a big enough ''[[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter bullet]]'' won't be -- the saber's plasma will just melt the bullet and force the wielder to deal with a high-velocity ''wad of molten steel splashing all over them'' like say a [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Slugthrower Tusken Raider’s slugthrower rifle, which fire “metal slugs” aka bullets as opposed to blaster bolts.]]

** In ''Film/TheLastJedi'', the Bombers that attack the Dreadnought. They can house 1000 space bombs, look cool and were designed intentionally as a callback to World War II, but in actuality having slow-moving ships that have to be directly above a target to fire on it is extremely impractical, given a single lightweight X-Wing was able to deal a good amount of damage to the same target.

*** [[ZigZaggedTrope On the other hand]], the AT-[=ATs=] actually make highly quite effective portable gun turrets, able to be deployed in various environments and hit targets from quite a few miles away. This is, in fact, precisely how they are deployed in the movie, and the Rebels need to deploy long-range fighters in order to engage them at all. The Empire took the base at Hoth by knocking out their energy deflector shield using this exact tactic. Thanks to a tactical blunder by the admiral revealing the attack far earlier than planned their deployment was rushed, and combined with said energy shield they were left completely without air support of their own.

* The spaceship ''Excavator'' in ''Film/StarWreck''. True, it can destroy a small planet on each shot, but aiming it is a pain, and recharging the energy required drains all the power of the ship, reboots the ship's main computer and takes several minutes.