We know that what makes for a well-lived life doesn't necessarily make for good entertainment, and if Hollywood followed this advice movies would lose all their drama and excitement. Some of the greatest films of all time, in fact, rely on rash decisions made by characters in the throes of conflict. What would happen if Harry Potter, Darth Vader and Will Hunting adhered to the Third Metric philosophy? We imagine those scenarios below.
Instead of walking into the woods to face Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter would have taken some time out to think in the Room of Requirement in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2."
If Darth Vader had prioritized family alongside his quest for power, he might have enjoyed a healthy relationship with Luke Skywalker, instead of announcing that he was his father during a lightsaber battle in "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back"
Rather than investigate the commotion in the bell tower, the nun would have taken a nap and Judy and Scottie would live happily ever after in "Vertigo."
If Dorothy was getting more sleep, her "Wizard of Oz" dream probably wouldn't have even occurred.
Had Diane Lane taken a moment of mindful pause in "Unfaithful," the movie would have been over in 15 minutes.
Instead of keeping it in the basement at Xanadu for decades, Charles Foster Kane would have brought Rosebud back to his mother's home in Colorado, where they would have spent the rest of her days sledding in "Citizen Kane."
If only Sonny had paused to meditate, he wouldn't have wound up racing to the Long Beach Causeway in "The Godfather."
Had Andy Dufrense gotten a good night's sleep the night of that fateful rainstorm, he would still be in Shawshank prison in "The Shawshank Redemption."
If Sam paused to consider his actions, he wouldn't have caught Joanna at the airport in "Love Actually."
Had Will Hunting eaten kale salads on the regular, he might not have been so fond of apples in "Good Will Hunting"
If Samuel L. Jackson's character in "Pulp Fiction" had dedicated himself to a life of quietly studying the Bible instead of reciting Bible verses before he shot people, big-brained Brett would still be talking about the metric system.
Actually, Ferris Bueller was pretty Third Metric in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off": "Life moves pretty fast sometimes, if you don't stop to look around once in a while, you might miss it."