17 Plot Holes That People Hate In Movies They Otherwise Enjoy
In a viral thread this past week, redditor u/The_Thunder_Child asked, "What's the worst plot hole you've seen in a well-regarded movie?" And WHEW, people really came through with some all-time classic, maddening answers.
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So with all of that in mind, here are just a few of the best movies with the worst plot holes that were shared:
1.The Little Mermaid (1989)
"Girl, just write things down."
2.The Matrix (1999)
"It's safe to assume that the same technology could have worked using any other mammals — so why did the machines pick humans instead of, say, cows? It would have been far more convenient to construct and run a Matrix that's just a huge grass plain with a couple of shepherd dogs as agents. And they probably would never have had a 'Chosen Cow' come forward and mess with their plans."
3.Independence Day (1996)
"When the army is briefing volunteers for the assault on the alien mothership, everyone still looks at Randy Quaid's character like he’s out of his mind for saying he was abducted by aliens...as the world is currently being invaded by aliens?"
4.Back to the Future (1985)
"Doc paints a line on the road so Marty will hit the wire and get the lightning bolt into the flux capacitor at exactly the right time. The movie even says Doc has adjusted for wind resistance, etc. BUT when Marty goes to drive the car, it won’t start. The alarm clock goes off and the engine is stalled. So technically, Marty leaves late — yet he still somehow hits the wire on time? Was Doc’s math wrong and no one said a word? If the car had not stalled, Marty would have been too early, missed the lightning bolt, crashed into the movie theater, and never gotten home."
5.The Dark Knight (2008)
"In the opening scene, one of the Joker's guys smashed a school bus through a bank's wall, then the Joker 'escaped' by driving it out and hiding among other school buses. His bus was visibly trailing debris in the shot of his escape, but no one noticed? The bus was just perfectly clean by the time the police arrived? His bus took no damage from the impact of that wall?"
6.Star Wars (1977)
"Obi-Wan's plan for hiding Luke from his father was to move him to his father's home planet and keep using his father's surname?"
7.Hercules (1997)
"Hades would have been able to check to see if Hercules had actually died very easily — heck, he probably would've been eagerly waiting to watch his soul end up in the Underworld! Pain and Panic would NOT have gotten away with that lie for as long as they did."
8.Saw (2004)
"Why didn't he just use the saw to try to get the phone that was just barely out of reach instead of cutting off his foot?"
9.Cinderella (1950)
"Cinderella is told by her fairy godmother that everything would turn back to what it originally was at midnight. Her dress, carriage, and horses all did, so why didn't the glass slippers?"
10.Signs (2002)
"Why would aliens who are deadly allergic to water choose to come to a planet full of water?"
11.Toy Story 2 (1999)
"Toward the end of the film, Bullseye effortlessly kept up with a plane that was moments from takeoff. That would mean a toy horse was capable of running at about 150 mph with two riders."
12.Gravity (2013)
"George Clooney's character was hanging on to a tether and insisted that Sandra Bullock's character cut him loose to save herself. This is complete nonsense, as there is no physical force pulling him away. With a slight tug on the tether toward her, he would've floated over to her. It's a monumental plot hole."
13.Spider-Man (2002)
"The Green Goblin wants to know who took the photos of Spider-Man, when the photos literally say 'Peter Parker' in the Daily Bugle."
14.Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
"Lara Croft was the only one who could find the pieces, and they could only be used once every 5,000 years. She didn't want to use them herself — she only wanted to keep them away from the bad guys. So Lara Croft's best move would've actually been to do absolutely nothing."
15.Cars (2006)
"During the one-on-one race between Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson, the police officer read out the rules and literally said, 'No lollygagging!' Then what did Doc do? He lollygagged as Lightning sped away! So even though Lightning fell into a cactus and had to be towed out, Doc should have already been disqualified from the race!"
16.The Harry Potter franchise.
"Maybe not the worst plot hole in the series, but it's always bothered me: Rats are NOT on the list of animals permitted to be brought to Hogwarts."
17.And finally: pretty much every Christmas movie ever made.
"Every Christmas movie that centers on Santa being real, but the adults still don't believe in him. Who do they think is leaving the presents? Because if it’s the parents leaving the presents, then Santa is real but isn’t doing his job — and if it is Santa, then where on earth do the parents think these presents are coming from?"
Alrighty, you've read their picks, but now it's your turn! What's a plot hole that's always annoyed you in a movie you otherwise enjoy? Share yours in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: AskReddit.