40 Plot Holes In Movies That Were Never Actually Explained – Audiences Were Left Confused
One of the many factors that make a film script good is how clear and well-thought-out it is. If a movie tries to do too much all at once, not only can it confuse the audience, but it also opens up the potential for plot holes. This can turn what could have been an otherwise decent film into a seemingly lazy piece of cinema. Although some filmmakers are lucky and the plot hole goes over the audience's heads, others aren't so fortunate. These are some of the movies with plot holes that simply can't be ignored.
Signs Shows That The Aliens Weren't Smart...At All
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, 2002's Signs follows a former Episcopal priest and his family who discover crop signs in their fields, only to realize that aliens are invading the Earth. In the climax of the film, it's revealed that the aliens' biggest weakness is water.
Not only was this hinted at tirelessly throughout the film, but leaves one big question. If the aliens are smart enough to travel to Earth, how did they not know their own weakness, and why would they travel to a planet covered in 71% percent water?
Marty McFly's Mom Was Totally Clueless
In Back to the Future, when Marty McFly travels back in time and meets his mother Lorraine, it's a bit of an awkward situation. Seeing that Marty has the name "Calvin Klein" on his underwear, she assumes it's his name and refers to him as Calvin for the rest of the film.
So, it seems a bit odd that his mother would never question things when Calvin Klein underwear exploded in popularity in the '70s. On top of that, shouldn't she be a bit freaked out when her son grows up to look exactly like a guy she had a major crush on in high school?
Nobody Is That Desperate In Superbad
Today, Superbad is considered to be a revolutionary comedy, following a group of high school seniors tasked with the daunting mission of securing the alcohol for one final party. Through all of their trials and tribulations, they eventually resort to emptying laundry detergent jugs and filling them with stolen beer from another house.
They're welcomed like heroes when they arrive successfully at the party, and few people seem to care that the beer they're drinking doesn't just taste like soap, but is essentially poison. Well, maybe high schoolers are that desperate.
Prometheus Throws Expertise Right Out The Window
Acting as somewhat of a prequel to Ridley Scott's Alien franchise, 2012's Prometheus features a group of scientists in 2089 that travels to a distant planet in the hopes of meeting humankind's creators. Although the film's concept and special effects are captivating, one scene completely throws the film off.
This is when the team's leading biologist decides to try and touch an alien creature, setting the horrors of the film into motion. What kind of expert biologist would think it's a good idea to try and touch an unknown species, let alone on a different planet? Come on, Ridley.
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy Swept Something Way Under The Rug
Adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's epic novels, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings series set the bar high for fantasy in film, and are considered to be some the most epic movies of all time. Throughout the trilogy, Gandalf is helped by the Great Eagles, who also save Frodo and Sam after the One Ring is destroyed.
Many people have speculated why the Great Eagles didn't just fly over Mount Doom in the beginning and drop the ring into the fire. Granted, there wouldn't be a story otherwise, and there's probably some fantastical explanation for why they didn't.
The Dark Knight Rises Makes Batman More Like Superman
One of the most highly-anticipated sequels ever, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises shows Batman being injured for the first time, and possibly even his death. However, the major plot hole in the film that goes answered is when Batman appears to sacrifice himself when he flies a nuclear bomb into the sea using the Batcopter.
Yet, in the final scene, he seems alive and well with no real explanation as to how he survived a nuclear explosion. On top of that, he was already what appeared to be mortally wounded. We guess that's just a Batman thing.
The Lazy Villain In Goldfinger
In the classic 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, Bond finds himself shackled to a table by the villain, who's going to cut him in half with a laser. The villain makes sure that he's in the room to watch Bond's doom, which means that agent 007 has to rely on his wits.
Right before he's about to die, Bond tells the villain that if he's killed, they'll just send agent 008 in his stead. For some reason, this terrifies the villain, who decides its not worth it and keeps Bond as a prisoner. This is a pretty gullible and lazy evil mastermind, in our opinion.
The Karate Kid Forgot About The Tournament Rules
In The Karate Kid, the new kid at school, Danny LaRusso, finds himself at odds against a group of bullies that practice karate at the overly-aggressive Cobra Kai dojo. After taking a fair share of beatings, Daniel begins training karate with the silent but firm Mr. Miyagi. In the climax of the film, Daniel competes in a karate tournament where he's injured in the knee.
He continues on to compete against his nemesis Johnny, in which he wins after delivering a kick to Johnny's face. While this is a great underdog story, it's stated before the contest that face shots aren't allowed. So, shouldn't he have been disqualified?
A Question For The Ages
James Cameron's Titanic not only focuses on the fateful maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic but also on the love story between the two star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose. After the pair manage to survive the sinking of the ship, Jack has Rose lay on a door to keep her out of the freezing water.
What bothers the audience about this part of the film is why Rose took up the entire door as Jack slowly froze to death. Although some people have defended the film by saying that there wasn't enough room or that the door couldn't hold their weight, surely, Jack could have found another piece of debris.
The Village Was Torn To Shreds
M. Night Shyamalan's climactic twist in The Village has been labeled as one of the most outrageous endings to any of his films. Supposedly set in a 19th-century community plagued by creatures that stalk the woods, it turns out that the village is a farce created by the elders to prevent their children from experiencing the cruelty of the outside modern world.
This seems like an absolutely outrageous thing to accomplish, considering that airplanes most likely flew overhead or that they would probably have taken someone to the hospital if they were desperate enough. Roger Ebert commented, "It's about one step up the ladder in narrative originality from It was all a dream..."
Gremlins Creators Didn't Think Hard About The Film's Supposedly Strict Rules
When a father gives a little creature known as a "mogwai" to his teenage son, Billy, there are rules that come along with it. Don't expose it to light or sunlight or it will die, don't let it come into contact with water, and never feed it after midnight.
Nevertheless, the biggest plot hole of all revolves around the rule to not feed the mogwai after midnight. What if it's taken on a plane or it's daylight savings? Can you ever feed them, because technically every time is after midnight?
We Thought Nazis Were More Ruthless Than This
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Nazis seal Marion and Indiana Jones in what's known as the Well of Souls, assuming they would just die. Of course, Indiana Jones and Marion escape this deathtrap with relative ease, foiling the Nazis' plans. So, what makes this a plot hole is the lack of effort put forth by the Nazis.
If we know our history, it's clear that the Nazis were evil machines that wasted no time when it came to taking out those they wanted dead. Therefore, it seems a little ridiculous that they would go through all this just to kill two people. Dramatic? Yes. Realistic? No.
The All-Powerful Macintosh In Independence Day
After massive alien ships begin hovering over Earth's biggest cities, it seems that mankind has finally met its match. Luckily, the world has Will Smith, Randy Quaid, and Jeff Goldblum there to save the day. Just when all hope seems lost, Goldblum's character David has an idea about how to defeat the aliens -- with a computer virus!
He takes out his handy Macintosh computer and whips up a few lines of codes to infect the aliens' computer network. But seriously, how is one human-made computer going to be able to infiltrate and destroy the extra-terrestrials' far superior technology? Well, it's Jeff Goldblum, of course.
The Shawshank Redemption Has A Few Issues
The Shawshank Redemption tells the story of an innocent man who is imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover. However, he has no intention of being confined forever and spends decades working on his escape by tunneling through the walls.
To begin, it's incredibly unlikely that a man wouldn't change cells in over 20 years, but that's not the worst part. A poster of Rita Hayworth hides the tunnel, but how did he reattach it to the wall on his final crawl through the tunnel? He could barely fit in climbing straight forward!
Armageddon Was Just A Mess
In very Michael Bay fashion, Armageddon has a massive plot with even bigger plot holes, all in the name of entertainment. The film stars Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and their oil drill team, who are hired by NASA to drill into an asteroid in space to save the planet.
One of the most significant issues in the film (although there are really too many to count) is that it would have been easier to teach astronauts how to drill rather than teaching blue-collar drillers how to be astronauts. Who would have thought? Apparently, even Ben Affleck brought this up to Bay, who allegedly told him to "shut the [expletive] up."
A Quiet Place Kept Its Plot Holes On The Hush Hush
Regardless of the fact that A Quiet Place is considered to be one of the most notable horror films in recent memory, that doesn't mean it didn't have any issues. In the beginning, we see the Abbott family cleverly walking along a trail made of sand and ash to dampen the sound of their footprints in order to evade the monsters, which are attracted to sound.
While this seems like a good idea, how did they lay the path down in the first place without making noise? Then, when the father explains that the creatures can't hear over the sound of the waterfall, it only seems logical they would build their house right next to it.
Lara Croft Really Botched It In Tomb Raider
In Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Angelina Jolie's character sets out to protect the world against the Illuminati, who are planning on using an artifact known as the Triangle during a solar eclipse to unleash chaos on the world.
After we learn that the Triangle is separated into two parts, we watch Lara Croft acquire on part in Cambodia, and she goes off to find the other part in Siberia. However, the audience knows that the Triangle can't work without the two halves. So, all she had to do was destroy the one she already had, and the Illuminati would have been up a creek without a paddle.
Gravity Forgot About The Laws Of Gravity
In Gravity, we see Sandra Bullock's character endure a worst-nightmare situation as she is stranded in space, battling the conditions of zero gravity. Although most of the film is incredibly unrealistic, one scene stands out. This is when George Clooney's character sacrifices himself to give Bullock a chance at survival.
The two are attached by security rope, and Clooney decides to sacrifice himself by disconnecting into space to avoid dragging Bullock with him. Because of the laws of physics, in zero gravity, all Bullock's character would have to do is give a tug on the rope, and Clooney would have floated right over to her.
Buzz Lightyear Was Truly Out Of Touch
Although Toy Story may not be all that realistic considering that it's about sentient toys, there are other plot holes in the film that have to be considered. One of the major ones is that Buzz Lightyear actually believes he is a space ranger that's just landed on another planet, claiming that there are "no signs of intelligent life."
But even though he refuses to be a toy, when Andy walks into the room, he freezes like the rest of them. That would have made for quite the movie if he didn't.
E.T. Seemed To Forget His Own Powers
Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an iconic tale of a young boy named Elliot who finds a kind and loving alien in his house and is allowed to keep him as a friend. As adorable as the movie is, there's one thing that's rather questionable.
In the iconic scene when E.T. and Elliot evade capture by flying off on Elliot's bicycle, it raises a big question. Why didn't E.T. use this little trick when he's trying to avoid capture by the government at the beginning of the film?
Men In Black Only Send Two Agents To Save The Entire World
In the first Men and Black film, Agents J and K find out that the planet is about to explode. Obviously, they tell their headquarters the deal. Yet, they only send those two agents to fix everything.
If the planet was in that much jeopardy, one would think more agents would be called to help neutralize the situation.
The Police Officers Would Have Been Ragged-Looking In The Dark Knight Rises
In The Dark Knight Rises, the entire Gotham City police force is trapped underground for a solid few months. In that time frame, men typically grow a lot of facial hair. Not to mention they'd be very dirty when they're finally rescued.
Well, not the GCPD! These men waltzed right out of the tunnel and looked like they had just got out of the shower and dressed for work.
How Does Michael Meyers Know How To Drive A Car
The main antagonist in the Halloween franchise is Michael Meyers. This character was in a mental institution from the time he was ten years old. So, he clearly never learned how to drive.
Yet, he is seen driving a car perfectly throughout the first film. How does he know the inner workings of a car and how to drive one?
Ripley Should Have Been Sucked Into Space In Aliens
Throughout the film Alien, Ripley is fighting an enemy she'd never seen before. So, she got creative and had to find new ways to take out the aliens invading her spacecraft.
Her greatest idea came when she opened the airlock door, sucking the creatures into space. The thing is, Ripley wouldn't have been able to hold onto that ladder with one hand. The sheer pressure and force of space would have sucked her straight out along with the alien.
Spider-Man 3 Sweeps An Alien Symbiote Under The Rug
The biggest plot hole in Spider-Man 3 is when Peter Parker brings a symbiote sample to his college professor. During the scene, Parker's professor tells him, "It's definitely alien. I wouldn't let any of this stuff touch you."
The professor literally just examined something alien and completely swept it under the rug! Totally unrealistic.
Imhotep Should Have Been Squinting In The Mummy
In the first Mummy film, the 3,000-year-old Egyptian priest Imhotep is on a mission to become whole once more and not a skeletal mummy. To do so, he takes body parts from American looters, putting himself back together.
The plot hole comes when Imhotep takes the eyes of a guy who wears glasses. Wouldn't the priest be squinting throughout the film since the eyes technically weren't 20/20 vision?
The School Bus Wound Have Been Damaged In The Dark Knight
The opening scene of The Dark Knight has the Joker and his minions robbing a bank. When they go to leave, the robbers get into a school bus and literally bust through a brick wall, getting in line with other buses.
This is beyond not plausible, as a bus wouldn't be able to withstand that impact without getting damaged. The Joker really could have been caught a whole lot sooner.
Luke Skywalker's Not-So-Hidden Hide-Out In Star Wars
Obi-Wan really dropped the ball when it came to hiding Luke Skywalker, making for a huge plot hole in the entire franchise. When the Jedi knight decided to take Luke, he not only allowed the baby to keep his father's last name, but Obi-Wan really brought him to live on Darth Vader's home planet.
How Vader never sensed Luke's presence is a total mystery.
Hades Could Have Checked For Hercules' Soul
At the beginning of the Disney film Hercules, Pain and Panic are instructed by Hades to kill off Zeus's newborn son. Well, they mess that order up, and Hercules goes to live with a human family on Earth with Hades finding out he's alive years later.
The plot hole is Hades would have known right away. He is the God of the Underworld and would have seen Hercules's little baby soul flying down.
Why Didn't The Glass Slipper Change Back After Midnight?
Cinderella is a story about a girl who, with the help of a fairy godmother, dresses to impress and goes to the royal ball. The catch is that she has to get back home before midnight, the time her ballgown turns back into peasant clothing, and her glass slipper turns into normal shoes.
This doesn't actually happen and is a major plot hole. The only reason the prince finds Cinderella is because of the glass slipper, something that should have turned back into a normal shoe at the stroke of midnight!
Bullseye Keeping Up With A Plane In Toy Story 2
Fans of Toy Story were introduced to Woody's trusty sidekick Bullseye in the sequel film. It is actually thanks to Bullseye that Woody and Buzz were able to save Jesse from being shipped off to Japan.
Too bad there is a major plot hole in the rescue mission. For Bullseye, a toy, to keep up with a plane, he would have been able to run a solid 150 mph, which is unlikely.
Adults Not Believing In Santa Clause In The Santa Clause
This plot hole isn't just in the film The Santa Clause but in the Christmas film genre as a whole. Sticking with The Santa Clause, though, a huge theme in the film surrounds the adults not believing in Santa.
Okay, adults, then who in the world is leaving gifts for the children, things the parents didn't actually buy. Did they magically appear? Yes! By Santa Clause.
The Marauders Map Would Have Shown Peter Pettigrew Sleeping In Ron's Bed
Before Fred and George hand over the Marauders Map to Harry in The Prisoner of Azkaban, there is something or someone they probably would have seen on the map for years -- Scabbers, Ron's rat.
Well, as fans find out, Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew, a name the twins would have seen in the Gryffindor common room and in Ron's bed a solid two years before handing the map over!
Dr. Strange's Portal Rules In Infinity War
Throughout the Avengers franchise, anytime Dr. Strange is in the picture, he is able to make portals to pretty much anywhere, including a super weird mirror dimension.
So, it begs the question as to why he thought he and Tony Stark were trapped on a spaceship headed towards the planet where they'd ultimately fight Thanos. Why didn't he just portal them back to Earth?
The Uruk-Hai Knowing What A Menu Is In Two Towers
While the Uruk-Hai is a more advanced, stronger, and larger species than orc in Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, something doesn't quite fit and makes for a weird plot hole.
Why would the Uruk-Hai say "meats back on our menu, boys"? How do they know what a menu even is? It's not like Saruman is ordering takeout from Gondor.
Using Salt For One Thing In Hocus Pocus
In the film Hocus Pocus, Max, Dani, and Allison learn a little too late that salt is a deterrent for the three Sanderson sisters. They literally cannot pass a salt circle.
So it begs to question why the kids didn't decide to go to the graveyard and stand in a circle of salt with the evil spellbook and wait for the sun to come up. It would have saved them a whole lot of trouble. Just don't leave the circle!
Mike And Sully's Friendship Timeline In Monster Inc.
Mike and Sully have a solid friendship, something they'd had since fourth grade, according to a conversation they have in Monsters Inc. Fast-forward a few years to Monsters University, and something doesn't fit their timeline.
While Mike tells Sully He's "been jealous of his good looks since the fourth grade," the prequel film makes it seem like they didn't meet until college.
How The Family Didn't Catch On In 17 Again
In 17 Again, Mike O'Donnell goes from Matthew Perry to Zac Efron, transforming into his attractive teenage self instead of a deadbeat adult. This is fine but leaves a huge plot hole in the movie.
When Mike transforms back into a 17-year-old, how do his kids not recognize him? There are bound to be pictures of their father back in high school lying around the house. He's literally a carbon copy!
EDITH Not Figuring Out Beck Is An Ex-Stark Employee In Far From Home
Peter Parker is given one last gift from Tony Stark In Spider-Man: Far From Home, a pair of super-tech glasses called EDITH. With facial recognition and a whole lot of complex software, EDITH leaves a huge plot hole in the entire film.
There is no way a pair of super-glasses wouldn't have been able to detect Beck as a former Stark employee and not some hero from a far-off planet in the multiverse.
The Phones Being Down In Home Alone Yet Kevin Is Able tO Order Pizza
When Kate McCallister realizes she left her son Kevin home alone, she attempts to call him from Paris. Sadly, the phones are down, thanks to a huge snowstorm.
As it turns out, a phone being down didn't stop a young Kevin from ordering a cheese pizza and having it delivered. This is just a minor plot hole, but it still might have people scratching their heads.
