Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
Total Film The smarter take on movies
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Subscribe
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows

Recommended reading

Danny Boyle directing Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams on the set of 28 Years Later
Horror Movies 28 Years Later director Danny Boyle used a 20-iPhone rig to capture the film's "graphic" violence: "You feel like you're in the room with the unzipped spine and head"
Formula 1 racing scene from F1 The Movie
Action Movies Apple takes inspiration from controller haptics as it rolls out new F1 trailer that makes your phone vibrate with the race cars – but you need an iPhone to get the full experience
Leonardo DiCaprio as Trooper William "Billy" Costigan Jr. undercover and sneaking next to a wall during a scene in The Departed.
Thriller Movies The 25 best thriller movies to send a shiver down your spine
The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time: pictures of Alien, Arrival, Terminator, Brazil and 2001.
Sci-Fi Movies The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time
Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in Plane.
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch this week
Neytiri in Avatar
Movies The 32 greatest sci-fi movies of the 2000s
King Kong doing his thing on the Empire State Building in 1933's King Kong
Movies The 32 greatest New York City movies ever made
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

10 Movies That Wouldve Been Drastically Changed By Smartphones

Features
By Total Film published 14 March 2014

SPONSORED by Sony

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Jaws

Jaws

Brody’s attempts to convince the Mayor of Amity Island that there’s an enormous man-eating shark nibbling the locals falls on deaf ears.

However, had Brody snuck a quick selfie with Jaws the moment he first saw him, the forthcoming wave of bloody, tourist-eviscerating munch-times whole thing would’ve been quickly averted.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Before Sunrise

Before Sunrise

One of the most emotional cliff hangers in movie history comes from Before Sunrise’s heart-wrenching finale.

When Jesse and Celine are forced to go their separate ways after a heady, intoxicatingly romantic day and evening together, they vouch to rely on a simple spoken promise to bind them together, promising to meet back in the same spot months later.

Had they had smartphones on the other hand, they could’ve stayed in contact – and rung the moment the other didn’t arrive.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
The Fugitive

The Fugitive

Dr. Richard Kimble accidentally Facebook checks into the Water Pipe he’s squirreled away hiding within.

Game over.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Back to the Future

Back to the Future

Marty McFly essentially births rock music when he decides to play Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode to a host of unsuspecting high school prommees.

One quick use of Shazam, on the other hand, and he would’ve been found out for the sneaky musical maestro he really was.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Fight Club

Fight Club

One of the greatest movie twists in modern history could’ve been averted very, very quickly had smartphones been around.

***SPOILER ALERT***

After a movie full of chaotic, anarchy-catalysing escapades, it’s revealed that Tyler Durden is no more than a figment of the narrator’s fractured, sick psyche.

Had he attempted to take a photo of the two together – either on the plane, at their Fight Club or another – and the whole game would’ve been up.

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
The Matrix

The Matrix

What IS The Matrix? Neo’s mission to unravel its secrets leads to all manner of death-defying chase scenes, and more than a little mind-altering drug use.

A quick Google later, and Neo would be more than a little aware.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Knocked Up

Knocked Up

Had Ben and Alison been looking for love on Tinder, it’s almost guaranteed that he would’ve tapped the big green tick, whereas she would’ve very quickly swiped to the right.

Drunkeness and resulting pregnancy averted.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project

No matter how good or bad your phone reception; most smartphones have a handy feature that all but guarantees tracking your GPS in case of emergencies.

Cue a police search quickly and efficiently finding everyone’s favourite erstwhile Witch-bait trio.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Toy Story

Toy Story

Let’s not kid ourselves – love Woody, Buzz and co or not, had smartphones been around during Andy’s childhood, he would’ve spent more time playing Angry Birds and less time pretending to be a member of the Star Commanders.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Home Alone

Home Alone

Kevin McAllister’s surprisingly memory-averse parents could have solved their whole ‘oops, we left our child at home’ dilemma mere minutes after they left their house.

One quick phone call later - ‘Erm, Mum, have you forgotten anything?’ - and the whole movie would never have got going.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Xperia Z2 from Sony

Xperia Z2 from Sony

Equipped with a 4K camcorder and a 20.7 MP camera, Xperia Z2 from Sony is just what budding filmmakers and photographers need to ensure their low budget shoots get the high quality treatment.

Whether it’s due to Sony’s award-winning G Lens or Intelligent BIONZ™ for mobile image-processing engine, or perhaps the long list of pre-installed Sony camera apps, such as the cool Timeshift video, which captures high speed clips at 120 frames per second and has the ability to select and slow down one or multiple sections of your clip, there’s never been a better time to document your ideas and bring those experiences to life.

Xperia Z2 not only offers market-leading 4K video capture, but just hook it up to a TV and you can zoom in on the action while it’s playing, even if you don’t have a UHD television. If you’re not up for shooting a potential classic, you can watch a couple on the go, instead. Filled with movie bundles, including Captain Phillips, you’ve always got a great film experience at the ready with Xperia Z2.

Click here to find out more!

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

See more Movies Features
Read more
Danny Boyle directing Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams on the set of 28 Years Later
28 Years Later director Danny Boyle used a 20-iPhone rig to capture the film's "graphic" violence: "You feel like you're in the room with the unzipped spine and head"
Formula 1 racing scene from F1 The Movie
Apple takes inspiration from controller haptics as it rolls out new F1 trailer that makes your phone vibrate with the race cars – but you need an iPhone to get the full experience
Leonardo DiCaprio as Trooper William "Billy" Costigan Jr. undercover and sneaking next to a wall during a scene in The Departed.
The 25 best thriller movies to send a shiver down your spine
The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time: pictures of Alien, Arrival, Terminator, Brazil and 2001.
The 30 best sci-fi movies of all time
Gerard Butler as Brodie Torrance in Plane.
The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch this week
Neytiri in Avatar
The 32 greatest sci-fi movies of the 2000s
Latest in Movies
Black Adam
The Rock had a bizarre request for his Black Adam action figure: "Can you make me more ripped?"
Orlando Bloom as Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean series
Pirates of the Caribbean star says there have "been talks" about reuniting the original cast for another movie: "We'll have to see where it lands"
Flik and Woody in A Bug's Life blooper reel
Pixar is bringing back iconic animated blooper reels for new movie Elio, just like in A Bugs Life and Toy Story, and the 90s nostalgia is real
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford in Star Wars: A New Hope
The "first print" of Star Wars just screened for the first time in decades: "There's so much tinkering that's gone on over the years [...] and then everybody kind of lost track of what it was"
The White Lotus
American Psycho reboot has another potential Patrick Bateman: The White Lotus and Gen V star Patrick Schwarzenegger
5 Centimeters per Second still
Live-action adaptation of Your Name director's underappreciated anime classic gets a trailer that might break your heart all over again
Latest in Features
A monster in Wuchang Fallen Feathers pounces on the main character against a giant moon and misty sky
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is the hardcore Soulslike you'd get if you tried to turn Sekiro into Chinese Dark Souls 3, and that devotion to FromSoftware is exactly why I like it
Out of Words
This co-op platformer was a "boyhood dream" for the self-taught stop-motion animator now directing it, and it might just rival It Takes Two with a more earnest story and action less likely to destroy your relationships
A Towa screenshot shows a character performing a bright orange attack in a green field at dusk
Bandai Namco's first-ever roguelike is an entertaining, direct descendent of Hades with anime girls, but I wish it really was "unlike any roguelike" the way its devs promised me
Dakota Johnson as Lucy and Pedro Pascal as Harry in Celine Song's Materialists
Marvel stars' A24 rom-com Materialists has great reviews, but many are repeating the 'elevated horror' mistake of the 2010s – and we need to dump it before it's too late
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle screenshot of Indiana
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has quickly become one of favorite adventure games of all-time, and the DLC promises to give me exactly what I want - more of it
The Outer Worlds 2 screenshot of the Spectrum Dance Saber being used against an enemy
The Outer Worlds 2 is fixing the first RPG's biggest weakness by improving guns "in every way", and the sci-fi nerd in me is already screaming about the Shrink Ray
  1. Jan sadly presses a hand on a screen that says 'deceased' in The Alters
    1
    The Alters review: "More tactile and story-heavy than the Frostpunk dev's earlier games, but the fight for survival is just as fierce"
  2. 2
    Splitgate 2 review: "A slick and enjoyable free-to-play FPS, but a disappointing sequel"
  3. 3
    Date Everything review: "A masterclass in character design full of wonderful faces I love meeting, but juggling so many means sacrificing depth"
  4. 4
    Deltarune review: "This Undertale successor is an unapologetically weird RPG epic, where each chapter is a new canvas that doesn't have to conform to any rigid rules, style, or logic"
  5. 5
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X review: "Bigger, better, and more user friendly than it's ever been – it's the perfect time to dive in"
  1. The Yautja in Dan Trachtenberg's animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers
    1
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  2. 2
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  3. 3
    Karate Kid: Legends review: "Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)"
  4. 4
    Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning review: "Wraps up this spy franchise in spectacular style with Tom Cruise in peak condition, even if its villain lacks terror"
  5. 5
    Final Destination Bloodlines Review: "Meticulous murderous mayhem"
  1. Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, Ruth Madeley as Shirley, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge Stewart, Varada Sethu as Belinda, Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, Millie Gibson as Ruby, Bonnie Langford as Mel, Susan Twist as Susan Triad, and Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble in Doctor Who: 'The Reality War.'
    1
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  2. 2
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision
  3. 3
    Rick and Morty season 8 review: "Largely plays it too safe after years of crossing boundaries"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 6 spoiler review: 'The Interstellar Song Contest' is "a blast and sets the stage for a thrilling season finale"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 5 spoiler review: 'The Story & The Engine' is "one of the most original and ambitious episodes this show has produced in years"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...