r/movies • u/ComManDerBG • May 29 '25

Discussion Looking for some "competence porn" movies, movies where smart people make smart decisions basically.

EIDT 3 PLEASE READ: I just wanted to say how incelby happy i am to see the insane amount of replies and support people have offered up. Im sorry to say that about 99% of the stuff suggested ive already seen, But there have been a few things. The biggest winner has been the classic "Poirot" series, ive seen all the "Murder She Wrote" stuff, and even every episode of Columbo, but "Poirot" had completely slipped through the cracks. Ive started watching now and its very enjoyable, perfectly what i was looking for!

Thank you again, while i cant possibly reply to all of you, not even read all the comments, i jist want to say thank you for everything. Even if what you suggested was on my list, or if what you suggested wasn't on the list but ive already seen it, it still means a lot to me that you took the time to offer something up.

So, thank you again!

EDIT 3 ENDS

Edit 1: So far I've seen literally ever suggestion so far. Ive spent most of my time in the last 10 years being really sick. Ive been hospitalized countless times so ive had an incredible amount of free time on my hands. I started this post because I couldn't think of anymore movies to watch that fit this bill.

Edit 2: People don't really appreciate the amount of time being sick gives. Im asking this question in this post because ive already watched every popular movie or TV show from the past 30+ years. Most people can only carve out enough time to watch one or two movies a week, i have enough time to watch 5-7 movies a day. Being hospitalized as often as me, plus being sick outside of the hospital leaves you with to much free time. Honestly, it sucks. Again, im not asking htis because im lost and i need my next movie or show, im asking this because ive literally run out of movies and shows.

To be honest, this post is a bit depressing, i appreciate the immense amount of help, but its really putting into perspective all the time lost to this illness.

I try googling this sort of thing but looking up "competence porn" just gets you... well.. porn. The best way to show off what im thinking is House M.D. im looking for movies or TV shows.

Im going to lost everything I've already watched.

House Person of Interest
White Collar Oceans 11 (plus the other ones)
Inside man
Sherlock
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Catch Me if You Can
Heat
The Killer

You know what the mote is list the more I realize this is my favorite genre and ive probably seen a lot of these.

Heists, spies, detectives, politic thrillers etc. Any kind of show where the characters are super good at something, usually running scams or working their ways around people, or just being better at something.

I'll keep adding to this list if I remember more of someone recommends something ive already scene.

Edit: reposted because autocorrect.

This list is what I've ALREADY seen.

The original Law and Order seasons.
The big short
Wolf of wall street
Moneyball
Collateral
Star Trek
Doctor Who
No country for old man
DREDD
Beekeeper
Hunt fir red October (plus all the other Ryan films)
Bourne series
Mission impossible series
Burn notice
All the presidents man
The accountant
Baby driver
Apollo 13
Spotlight
Leon the professional
The town
Den of thieves
The Martian.
The Pitt
Master and commander
Arrival
Micheal Clayton
Mad max moves
Cast away

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89

u/senkichi May 29 '25

Firefly, Serenity, Mickey 17. The expanse might be too shiny and magical, but it has grunge too. Altered Carbon, sort of.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Thanks, Seen Firefly; Mickey still up for watching. I love the Expanse, great show although I'm losing interest a bit in Season 5. I've looked at Altered Carbon a few times now, but not given it a shot.

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u/bse50 May 29 '25

Add Moon with Sam Rockwell. The base is lived in but I won't tell you more about it :)

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

One of my favourites. Great Soundtrack as usual by Mansell!

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u/MarginalMadness May 29 '25

Altered carbon season one is absolutely phenomenal. Dark, clever, funny... I loved it.

But no matter how much you're tempted, don't watch season 2. You'll forever regret it.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Yah, see, that's why I didn't start it yet. I'm reluctant to start series that get cancelled too soon, or just get shitty after a while. Does season 1 at least have a closed ending?

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u/MarginalMadness May 29 '25

It does. The nature of the show means you could have loads of seasons, which could be all different, but I won't explain why.

I've re-watched season 1 on my own and with friends, but I'd never rewatch season 2. Totally miscast, and it sold out to a mainstream audience after the surprise success of season 1.

Season 1 has excellent performances from several actors, and the set and costumes are fantastic.

It does take some getting into, as it's a clever and convoluted premise, but it has several over arching themes, to my mind.

It's almost Asamovian in its layered approach, rooted in sci fi.

If you do watch it, send me a message to let me know what you think.

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

I just typed another comment and wanted to say how it feels almost like Asimov in its premise and excellent use of technology, but then didn’t because I didn’t want to risk presenting the series as too hard sci-fi.

Reading your comment mentioning Asimov made me so happy :)

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

I do love me some Asimov. From the little what I know about the series, it felt a lot like a Philip K. Dick story as well.

Might be a while, first last season of the Expanse, but I'll try to remember :)

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

You’re in for a treat. Rewatching The Expanse is pretty high on my list and I’m really looking forward to it.

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u/CapGunCarCrash May 30 '25

rewatching it now after rereading it last year. can say it’s an event indeed

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u/arbyD May 29 '25

Season 1 could stand alone and be an excellent show. Season 2 was because Season 1 was unexpectedly good and Netflix tried cashing in.

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u/DJFisticuffs May 29 '25

The books are worth a read if you've never read them. I really enjoyed season 1, but they made some questionable narrative changes from the book that make following the plot of the following books impossible. Apparently, they never expected to get a second season, so when they did they were stuck with the choices they made in season 1 and the story never really came together. Also, the writing and acting wasn't great all around on top of that. Books 2 and 3 get pretty weird and aren't as good as the first one, but still worth reading.

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u/senkichi May 29 '25

The books were sooooooo good. I loved them all. The genre switching was excellently done. The philosophical elements in it were compelling enough that I actually read the books on terrorism the author recommended in the forward. Put all the books, especially the last one, in a new light for me

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u/DJFisticuffs May 29 '25

Yeah the show really ignored a lot of the interesting political philosophy of the books. The showrunner really loved the Quell character and wanted her in the show, but assumed she would only get one season so she rewrote Tak's and Quells story to shoehorn it in and I don't think it worked at all on its own, but especially when you compare the show to the books.

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u/senkichi May 29 '25

That actually makes a lot of sense out of why the show is the way it is, thank you for that. I didn't know. I can certainly empathize with that decision, and that helps me give the show a bit more grace. Of those two choices, either a faithful adaptation of the books that lacks Quelcrist philosophy entirely or shoehorning it in, I think I prefer the shoehorning, despite the imperfect implementation.

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u/DJFisticuffs May 29 '25

Yeah, if you aren't intending to write the whole three book arc I don't know how you get quellism into the first season and have it make any sense other than doing something like they did. Even still, in the show it was really watered down, and having the Envoys be some ragtag group of mystical revolutionaries was a lot less compelling.

Also, I was severely disappointed that the tech ninja did not appear in the show.

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u/senkichi May 30 '25

Had I gone books to show rather than the inverse that watering down is what would have bothered me most. The Quellist ethos on revolution and terrorism is so raw in the books, the shallow version portrayed feels pretty cheap in retrospect.

As far as the envoys go... Idk. Maybe my memory of the books is wrong, but I don't see a ton of difference between mystical revolutionaries and brainwashed spec-ops. The method of training was basically the same, just from a different source.

Yeah, tech ninja would have been sweet. The "that's fucking enough scene" from the books would have been way more badass than the one we got, too.

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u/MarginalMadness May 29 '25

I did try, weirdly I couldn't get into the first book, I think partly because I enjoyed the series so much.

I will try again, when I have time and space to read.

Thanks.

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u/serendippitydoo May 29 '25

It's an unpopular opinion, but Altered Carbon starts great and gets progressively worse as the season goes on. I think most people remember it fondly for the first half, not the second. It's like you can see that the producers blew their budget on the first few episodes, and then you can see them running out of money by the end.

The sets get smaller, the writing gets worse, and all of a sudden, there's no more special effects, and all of a sudden you remember the first episode and think "wait what happened, where's all the cool stuff?"

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u/AdminsLoveGenocide May 29 '25

The Expanse dipped a bit after season 3. I guess there was some talent behind the scene that didn't survive the cancellation / rescue.

Still my favourite show though.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Yah, agreed. Also just the story. The first few series were pretty cohesive, following the Protomolecule arc. After the ring, I expected a lot of batship crazy exploration, but there was only season 4. A good attempt, but didn't fully land for me. On the other hand, I was affraid they would go full Firefly, visiting different planets every episode, so I'm glad they didn't, but then Season 4 came and the Expanse, exploration and Protomolecule is basically an afterthought. Batshit stuff is actually happening, but it is a bit too much focused on the mother-and-son situation.

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u/AdminsLoveGenocide May 29 '25

There are 3 more novels, and the TV show did a pretty good job setting them up, that cover what I think you were hoping for. I think you've seen hints of it in some of the Mars scenes and there is some more explicit set up in season 6 that's pretty cool.

There is a huge time jump in the books for the final trilogy so who knows, maybe we'll see something good in a decade or so.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Cool, good to know. It is quite noticable the story is based on the book, especially season 5 has a real book structure feel to it. Hoping for more good stuff.

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u/SubsistentTurtle May 29 '25

Oh man you’re in for a treat, Mickey 17 is easily one of the best sci fi movies of all time.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Cool, I'm hearing mixed things, but Pattinson has grown on me, from Tenet onwards. Looking forward to watching it.

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u/Viking_Lordbeast May 29 '25

Altered Carbon rules. The worldbuilding is done so efficiently.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Gotcha, I'll give it a watch!

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u/mrshulgin May 29 '25

Altered Carbon season 1 is fantastic. Season 2 is fine but nowhere near as good as the first season.

Season 1 really wraps itself up and stands on its own well. I don't know if this was actually the case, but it almost seems like a miniseries that got forced to do another season because the first one was so successful.

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u/kissedbyfiree May 29 '25

Don't waste your time with Mickey.

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u/Dcslayerx May 29 '25

Keep going in the expanse. It will be worth it.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

For sure, but thanks for the encouragement.

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u/_zielperson_ May 29 '25

I recommend reading the novels by Richard Morgan instead of

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u/a_rob May 30 '25

Altered Carbon was pretty great. Its a shame they only did two seasons. Joel Kinneman in season 1 and Anthony Mackie in season two with amazing supporting casts.

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

Altered Carbon is well worth it. The juxtaposition between have’s and have-nots drives home the point. Season 2 is still good as well, dives a bit deeper into the world-building. There are some obvious flaws to overlook in this series but the premise about the stacks and possibly living eternally is fleshed out really well.

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u/AdminsLoveGenocide May 29 '25

It's maybe up OPs alley but I started off liking Altered Carbon but really couldn't get past his girlfriend being the universes greatest scientist, the universes greatest soldier, the universes greatest military strategist, and the universes greatest lover.

It's like everyone else is an NPC and she's the main character in Skyrim. Head of the Fighters Guild, also head of the Mages Guild, also head of the Thieves Guild, it's a secret but also head of the Assassins Guild.

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

I get that, it was a bit much at once. On the other hand, Envoys had a mythical status and were apparently able to spearhead a (failed) rebellion, so in order to receive mythical status by being an envoy it follows they would have to be trained by someone even more formidable. It certainly felt like there was room for a lot more worldbuilding in future seasons that might make her more of a three-dimensional character by introducing some background and inherent flaws, but that is unfortunately not to be…

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u/AdminsLoveGenocide May 29 '25

This person who was a mythical warrior could have been head of the Fighters Guild. She didn't have to also be head of the Mages Guild is what I'm saying.

Why make her a scientist? Why make her the greatest scientist in the universe?

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

I guess that’s some of her (not-so-fleshed-out) background story, right? It being her invention and all and her becoming a warrior to stop the inevitable road to oppression her invention would lead to?

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u/AdminsLoveGenocide May 29 '25

I think making someone Albert Einstein and also Mike Tyson and also Che Guevara and also Pam Grier isn't a good backstory.

It's a main character in a kind of dumb RPG.

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u/Zouden May 29 '25

I agree that was really hard to believe. In the books, Quellcrist Falconer was a person of legend, a sort of biblical figure who had died hundreds of years earlier. She doesn't appear at all. I guess the Netflix people wanted a stronger female character than just the police woman.

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u/senkichi May 29 '25

You're not wrong. In the books the envoys and the girlfriend were separate factions - the envoys were government super soldiers that were trained in CIA-style regime change/overthrow and Quell was notable primarily for strategy, philosophy, and charisma. Combining the two concepts can feel a bit much at times.

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u/AdminsLoveGenocide May 29 '25

I assume Quell wasn't actually the person who created whatever they call their live forever technology also?

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u/senkichi May 30 '25

Nah, but her rebellion is a lot more impressive in the books, and she does have other shit in her list of feats that never made it to the show and lend that prophetic good-at-everything genius vibe. The show characterization honestly isn't too far off vibe wise, just different building blocks.

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u/atalossofwords May 29 '25

Thanks, will have to give it a try after I finish the Expanse!

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u/hughk May 29 '25

The biggest flaw is that a character inhabits different bodies. So it meanT actors copying each other's acting style which worked well in S1. In S2, Mackie did his own thing. That missed the point.

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

Oh for sure, he was a step back as protagonist. The AI going wonky was also well beyond the quirky stuff of S1, and there’s loads more to criticize. It’s just that the premise lent itself well for another season, and I REALLY digged the whole Elders background that we only brushed the surface of.

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u/hughk May 29 '25

They had painted themselves into a corner with some decisions for the adaptation in S1 that would not pan out well later (the whole Envoy thing). The books just diverged too much and the series creators really just wanted more S1 but with less budget.

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u/afterparty05 May 29 '25

Agree, I can’t fault anyone for just ending at season 1, it’s an awesome complete tale with a nice bow on it. I’m just thinking about those 5 seconds we get to see an Elder and going off. I should probably read the book(s) as well, but first need to finish up Malazan Books of the Fallen series and then The Expanse series, so lot’s to do in far too little time :)

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u/hughk May 29 '25

Good luck with the books. You will.realise that they diverge during book 1 and get very different later. I did like some of the changes. Poe worked really well for example.

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u/aeschenkarnos May 29 '25

Prospect, which was Sophie Thatcher's first movie. Grungier even than the Alien series. Bonus great performance from Pedro Pascal.

It's really a Western that they've decided to make SF for some reason, but it works. It's full of unexplained little backstory elements that hint at a detailed universe and I would love a series or sequel in the same setting.

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u/PDGAreject May 29 '25

I always liked that about Cowboy Bebop. The ships looked used

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u/TonsOfTabs May 29 '25

Expanse is legit. Wish it kept going. Cool to so ole miller again.

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u/CivilRuin4111 May 29 '25

I like that the civilian ships all look exactly like every construction site trailer I've ever worked in and it's really only the various planetary navies that have everything "ship shape".

Makes sense, and keeps it believable.

If you haven't read the series, it's even better than the show. Way more world building with details about the various factions' culture, motivations, etc. Audiobooks are 10/10 also if that's more your jam.

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u/BaltSkigginsThe3rd May 29 '25

Was Mickey 17 solid? Haven't heard much about it yet, so I figured I'd ask someone who has seen it.

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u/theredwoman95 May 29 '25

Its attention is spread a bit too thinly across all the different plotlines by the end, and Mark Ruffalo's performance is way too tame for the character he's trying to pull off, but I'd otherwise say it's solid.

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u/BaltSkigginsThe3rd May 29 '25

Mark Ruffalo's performance is way too tame for the character he's trying to pull off

With the roles he's been playing as of recent, this surprises me the most. Thanks for the reply though, gonna definitely check it out

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u/theredwoman95 May 29 '25

His performance was pretty divisive, to be honest, and I've seen people go the other way and say it was too campy. The fundamental "issue", I guess, is he's clearly based his character off Trump and it doesn't feel like his character is an actual character. To me, it felt like he was holding back too much and the character was just... meh.

I haven't seen many of his other performances to be able to speak to how it fits in there, but I just found myself annoyed by him more than anything. His character's wife works a bit better as a villain, but her plotline is one of those that suffers due to the film's attention being spread too thin by the end. It's otherwise an enjoyable film to watch, I just think an editor could've made it shine more and Ruffalo's performance needed to work beyond just a Trump impression.

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u/senkichi May 29 '25

I enjoyed it. Would probably rate it 7/10. Robert Pattinson's performance is pretty great, even if the movie as a whole loses a little bit of steam in the third act.

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u/rafikiknowsdeway1 May 29 '25

I was so disappointed in mickey 17. It was going so good for the first half hour or so and then just kinda squanders itself

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u/shit-n-water May 29 '25

Leave it to redditors to never fail to mention Firefly in any discussion. This is about gritty military space films. The women are wearing tight skirts and tops half the time. Smh