Great movies tell great stories. Great stories have many moving parts. When that’s the case, there are plenty of opportunities for unintentional mistakes that make it past writers, directors, editors, casts, and crews. Sometimes, it remains unnoticed until the movie hits theaters. Other times, it takes a digital release to spot the issue. Either way, plot holes are everywhere. Even the best movies have them.
Update July 15, 2023: This article has been updated to include even more films with massive plot holes, including a few recent films.
Many of these films are at the top of the industry. From iconic releases to blockbuster hits, storyline mistakes are a part of filmmaking. With many, once you see it, it can’t be unseen. Want to see for yourself? Take a look. These are 20 movies with the biggest plot holes.
21 The Shawshank Redemption Poster Problem
We kick things off with a literal hole. Andy Dufresne knew he had to escape from prison and find his Shawshank Redemption. Not only was he innocent, but the torment by the evil warden and the sinister “sisters” was sure to be his downfall. When he asked his pal, Morgan “Red” Friedman, to get him a ball-peen hammer, he assured him that escaping with it would be a silly thought. After all, the hammer was tiny. It would take years to bust a gigantic hole through the cell wall and into the sewer system. Yet, that’s what Andy did. With one small hammer, he smashed an enormous opening into the concrete and crawled his way to safety. It seems unbelievable. Even more unbelievable? That’s not the plot hole.
When the escape tunnel was discovered by Warden Norton, we are treated to a Scorsese-esque reveal, watching through the hole as the poster over it was removed. The issue? How did Andy crawl through the opening and reattach the poster from the outside?
20 RoboCop’s Failed Logic Does Not Compute
RoboCop is one of the best films ever made by Paul Verhoeven, but it’s far from perfect. While there’s not much to pick on here, there’s a big failing in Murphy’s logic after he realizes Dick Jones, a bigwig in OCP, is behind criminal enforcer Laurence Boddicker. He has Boddicker on record admitting to being the hired muscle of the executive, which would have been enough for any regular police officer to place him under arrest had anyone seen the footage, which Murphy can show on any device using the plugin connection in his right hand.
Murphy’s failed logic drives him to arrest Jones without any backup. As expected, directive 4th activates, and he can’t arrest the high-ranking executive. Lucky this doesn’t interfere with his other functions as Jones freely admits to killing Bob Morton in front of him with Murphy recording the event, which leads him to face Jones again at the end of the film and finally get rid of him with the help of the old man, who fired him on the spot.
19 Indiana Jones and Time Travel Don’t Mix
Where do we begin with this one? Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is a flawed film in many ways, but the plot revolving around the McGuffin that drives the story doesn’t make much sense. Jürgen Voller wants the dial to travel back to Nazi Germany and get rid of Hitler to ensure a Nazi victory. He somehow manages to reunite the artifact and opens a wormhole, but this will only take him to the precise moment when Archimedes created the device.
This single sequence brings so many questions. Was Archimedes working on the dial at the precise moment when the Romans attacked? How did he know in the future that the dial would be found? Did he plant the dial with the sole intention of saving himself? Do these time vortexes open any other moment in history or only when two sets of users coincidentally activate them simultaneously in different periods? If you dig past that, there’s also the colossal plot hole about how Helena managed to bring back Indy after knocking him out, but that would require a separate entry.
18 The Terrorist’s Big Plan in Die Hard is to Bring Heat on Themselves
Die Hard is one of the most beloved action films of the 80s and one that people revisit at a particular time of the year, even though Bruce Willis stated it’s not a Christmas movie. While there are a few pressing plot points that can be easily overseen, one regarding the logistics of the terrorist doesn’t make a lick of sense. From the very start, we are led to believe the takeover of the Nakatomi Building is a hostage crisis, but the actual plan of the bad guys is to cut off the power in the building to open a vault and steal a lot of bonds.
The criminals seem unfazed after the FBI are made aware of their presence and decides to cut off the power grid in the building, thus enabling them to carry out their ploy. There’s one little problem, though. Hans Gruber and his henchmen didn’t make this hit unprepared, and it’s clearly stated they have access to explosives. Why not make a planned heist within a limited time stamp where they take out the power in the building themselves? There wouldn’t even need to create the hostage crisis, to begin with, and it would have eased their operation a lot!
17 Why is Supergirl Weak in The Flash?
The Flash is another film taking a beating at the box office right now. It’s been hinted at multiple times in the DCEU that Kryptonians are vulnerable to Kryptonite and very little else. Blocking their access to the sun does not diminish their powers. We must highlight the final fight between Superman and Doomsday in Batman V Superman to point out how the Man of Steel held his own against the monster at night.
When Barry and Bruce find Kara Zor-El locked up in Russia, she’s on her last legs, but there’s nothing to contain her natural powers. Not a speck of Kryptonite or a red light dampening her powers (as happened in the comic storyline with Kal-El), nothing at all. This shouldn’t have been possible. Sunlight does indeed power up Earth-bound Kryptonians, but negating them sunlight barely diminishes their abilities as something more would be required to contain them, such as Kryptonite or red sunlight.
16 The Karate Kid’s Illegal Crane Kick
It is one of the most famous plot holes in history. In The Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso wins the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament by kicking Johnny in the face. Essentially, the hero of Hill Valley breaks the only rule in the entire tournament. That’s it. Yet, he wins.
It’s been a source of snarky observation since the movie’s release in the 1980s. Referenced in pop culture and the Cobra Kai Netflix continuation, Daniel’s kick has been explained by a myriad of excuses. None, however, do it justice. The Karate Kid cheated. That’s why Johnny got his own series.
15 Back to the Future Paradoxes
Fans love Back to the Future so much that they will recognize every single plot hole and still embrace it. This franchise is beloved for the fantastic story it tells and the nostalgia it evokes through several decades. It’s proof that “haters” can’t drag down a wonderful movie.
So, what plot holes are in Back to the Future? Well, how about the gasoline that was sitting in the second DeLorean in 1885 that could have been siphoned out in the third movie? Why didn’t Doc go to the Western Union and change his note to ask Marty to bring back gasoline? Didn’t Lorraine and George recognize their son as the boy who united them in high school? Did she freak out when her kid resembled the guy she was in love with in 12th grade?
There’s a lot to process in this one. Maybe it’s best to just sit back and enjoy it. Don’t ask why George hired the man who tried to violate his wife to wash his car and interact with his children. You ask too many questions.
14 Armageddon Trains the Wrong People
Picture it. You’re NASA. You know that an asteroid is coming to the Earth. You need to destroy it. Pick the scenario that seems easier. The first choice is to take established astronauts who have been vetted and trained in the elite space force for exploration and have a skilled team of deep-core drillers teach them how to drill. Then, send the drilling-trained astronauts to save the world. Case closed. Or…
Hire a bunch of deep-core drillers, many of whom seem mentally unstable and with addiction issues, to fly to the middle of outer space and do the job that they only do on Earth. After all, it’s easier to teach the Bad News Bears how to go into outer space than to teach geniuses how to drill. You can’t make an omelet without cracking some deep-core drillers.
It’s hard to unsee Armageddon‘s plot hole once it’s there. Even Ben Affleck, one of the film’s stars, questioned this decision in the DVD Commentary. As Ben quipped, ‘We can’t teach astronauts to drill in 8 months, but we’re going to teach our drillers to be astronauts in a week” (via Insider).
13 Gravity Falls
When you make a movie about astrophysics, you’re going to get some upturned eyebrows. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock know this firsthand. The 2013 movie Gravity, while a fun film, has been battered by science fans for over a decade. The most common critique? The damaged communication satellites should have been in orbits too high to be affected by the debris. According to those who know, the Russian missile strike would have sent most of the remnants up and down rather than remaining in orbit. It should not have been a threat to the telescope.
It is just one of a slew of physics issues in the film. According to astronaut Michael Massimo, the biggest problems were the smallest details, like the jetpacks. “To have the movie astronauts Matt Kowalski (Clooney) and Ryan Stone (Bullock) zip over to the space station would be like having a pirate tossed overboard in the Caribbean swim to London,” Massimo told Gizmodo.
12 A Quiet Place, Bad Neighborhood
A terrifying tale of monsters who stalk based on sound, A Quiet Place is the type of film you need to watch to understand. The family lives a life of near-silence as aliens without faces listen for their terror. It costs them family members and happiness.
While there have been small questions like how the family would place their sound traps around the perimeter of their home without making noise initially when putting them out, there is one even more glaring one that Reddit came together to make some noise about. Given that there’s a waterfall in the area — so loud that the family can freely talk while it roars near them — why didn’t they move there? Why build a home in the middle of the silent forest when you can literally live next to the only thing that muffles you? Bad move, Jim Halpert. Some families deserve to be eaten.
11 The Lonely Citizen Kane
It’s one of the most famous lines in any movie. “Rosebud,” the last words of the titular Citizen Kane, were debated and deconstructed by everyone in the film. It’s the entire point of the movie and the big hook that most remember. Without this call for his childhood memory, the movie has no purpose.
The biggest question for the characters in Citizen Kane should not be what it means. It should be how they even know he said it. Kane uttered the words all alone with no one around. Yet, through the magic of movies, it’s all they can talk about.
10 Beauty and the Beast A/S/L?
As each rose petal falls, the Beast in Beauty and the Beast heads one more year to his 21st birthday. It is then that he will forever remain hairy and scary. Yet, in the song “Be Our Guest,” his trusted candle sings about how it’s been “ten years” since the spell was cast. Do the math. He’s not 21, and he’s been a monster for ten years. That would make him a boy at the time of his curse.
Yet, there’s a painting in the castle of him as a grown man. How is that possible? On top of it, Teacup Chip is markedly younger than ten. Was he born a cup? How does that work? What is happening in this castle? No one use the silverware.
9 How Does Hawkman’s Ship Know About Sabaac?
Black Adam is filled with many plot holes, from how come nobody ever draws the comparison to Black Adam and Shazam! to why the Justice Society is working with Amanda Waller, and if she had them, why did she ever need to form the Suicide Squad? Yet one of the most baffling plot holes comes from the main villain, Sabbac.
In the film’s climax, Sabbac is beginning his attack, and the Justice Society flies in to stop him. Hawkman’s ship is able to identify Sabbac and gives a bit of brief information regarding him like he is a Pokemon on a Pokedex. Now Sabbac has never walked the Earth before this moment, so how does the computer know any of this? How is able to identify him? If Hawkman is a tech-based hero, then why would his computer know any of this, and wouldn’t it have been easier for the magic user Doctor Fate to reveal this information? With plotholes like this, it is no wonder the DCEU is being rebooted into the DCU.
8 The Butterfly Effect Prison Proof
The Butterfly Effect is like Back to the Future with less love. People enjoy the story, but the plot holes get put through a bit more scrutiny. Like the Michael J. Fox time travel tale, Ashton Kutcher’s opens itself up for some questions given the paradoxical adventure it tells. There are a number of questionable moments, but there’s one that most fans caught a plot hole red-handed. After spending so much time illustrating how one small change in the past can drastically alter the future, they undo it all in one prison scene. In an attempt to prove his powers to a cellmate, Kutcher goes back in time and stabs his own hands as a child. He then returns to show the Doubting Thomas his scars.
Yet, nothing else was affected? Did he encounter no new people during his healing process? There were no activities or jobs he had done originally that he could no longer do because of his injury? Life went on as normal after stabbing himself, but a random sneeze in 1995 can change the planet?
7 Buzz Freezing In Toy Story
One question that has baffled fans since 1995 is why doe Buzz Lightyear freezes up when Andy comes into the room in Toy Story. Buzz doesn’t think he is a toy, so why does he behave like them? One could assume it is he is trying to act like the natives on what he perceives as an alien planet, and he is just that good of a space ranger, but the movie never quite makes it explicit.
6 The Hangover Rooftop Vacation
In Casino, Ace Rothstein illustrated Vegas culture to a tee. He pointed out all the people on the floor who were tasked with watching one another for cheating. According to Ace, the trump card was the video cameras. The eye in the sky, he said, was watching us all. This was set in 1975.
In 2009, however, a man can spend days on a Vegas hotel roof, and no one sees him. He just lives there. No cameras. No security. Nothing. Good to know if you’re low on cash in Las Vegas that you can live for free on the roof. Never mind that his friends never check the last location they remember being in before setting out on a Galifianakis adventure. It’s kind of a mess, but at least there’s a monkey in The Hangover.
5 Kate and Leopold Hot For Grandma
Did you see the 2001 movie where Meg Ryan has a romantic relationship with her own grandson? It was in theaters. They didn’t mention it on the poster, but that’s totally what it’s about.
The movie, Kate and Leopold, was not meant to be as salacious as it turns out. The time travel tale (yes, that again) provides one of the most unintentional shocks in movie history. Ryan leaves her boyfriend, Hugh Jackman, to fall for a man from the past. The man, as it turns out, is the ancestor of Jackman. Then, before the film ends, Meg is pregnant…which means that Jackman is her own grandson.
4 What Does Bruce Willis Do During the Rest of His Day in The Sixth Sense?
Spoiler alert. Bruce Willis is dead. The film, The Sixth Sense, is over 20 years old. You should have seen it by now. Get out there. Live life. That’s the point of the movie. When Willis’ ghostlike presence is revealed at the end, it flashed back through moments in the movie. You see how his dinner with his wife is not quiet and cold. He’s simply not there. The same can be said about his silent sitting with Haley Joel Osment’s mom when the boy enters the room.
The only question? How did he arrange these meetings? Why was his widowed wife sitting alone at a fancy restaurant before leaving disgustedly? Why was Toni Collete sitting in silence and creepily waiting for her son? How did Willis arrange his life with no one talking to him and not realize he wasn’t interacting with anyone? When the kid said, “I see dead people,” Willis should have said, “I know.”
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2 Cinderella’s Slipper Stays Glass
Cinderella was essentially a servant to her stepmother and sisters. When her fairy Godmother granted her a night of decadence until midnight, she made herself clear. When the clock strikes 12, all items transformed through magic will turn back to normal. That includes her carriage, dress, and glass slippers. Oh, wait…
If that’s the case, then how did the slipper left behind for the Prince to find remain a slipper? Shouldn’t he have found the slipper socks or whatever they were when the Godmother did her Bewitched gimmick on them? How did this one item, out of all of them, remain?
