Film Buff's Worst Nightmare
Even the best movies can stumble over their own stories. These fan-favorite films might have Oscars, memes, and cult followings—but they’ve also got plot holes big enough to sail the Titanic through (yes, that door could’ve fit two people).
They're Gonna Know
Have you ever caught a discrepancy in a movie you were watching? It could be a small point that doesn't add up, or it could be a massive mistake that undoes the film. Here's a list of the most talked-about plot holes in Hollywood.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) -
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption has made its name as one of the best movies ever made, and it is a must-watch. For this same reason, it has garnered a lot of attention, which brought to light some minor plot holes in the movie. Any guesses?
The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Castle Rock Entertainment
Poster Plot Hole
If you haven't thought of it already, it has to do with the "Scorsese-esque" reveal in the movie finale, where we see Warden Norton peeling back the poster in Andy's room to discover the newly dug hole through which he made his escape.
Castle Rock, The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
A Matter Of Dexterity
How did Andy manage to reposition the poster so perfectly upon entering the tunnel that it did not arouse suspicion? The matter is of light consequence, not largely impacting the rest of the film, but it's still one of the most talked about plot holes in cinema.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Castle Rock
The Karate Kid
No, not the one with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan—we’re crane-kicking it back to 1984. This isn’t exactly a plot hole, but more of a long-debated controversy that’s been driving fans crazy for decades. The moment is so pivotal that whether it’s legit or not could actually change how the whole story ends.
Columbia, The Karate Kid (1984)
The Crane Kick Controversy
The final tournament in which Daniel LaRusso is victorious over his opponent, Johnny, with a crane kick to his head is a pivotal moment in the franchise. But was it even legal? Fans have broken down the tournament rules in the movie and real life to find out.
The Karate Kid (1984) - Daniel Vs Johnny Scene (5/5) | MovieTimeTV by MovieTimeTV
Taken Like A Champ
In the movie, the referee lists kicks to the head as banned, but the debate is still on as to whether LaRusso rightfully won. Ralph Maccio and the creators of Cobra Kai have been sports about it, referencing it in later episodes.
The Karate Kid (1984) - Daniel Vs Johnny Scene (5/5) | MovieTimeTV by MovieTimeTV
Citizen Kane
Here's another plot hole lying smack in the middle of the acclaimed movie's storyline. Citizen Kane critics do seem to enjoy going to town on the film's supposed plot hole regarding how anyone even heard Kane murmuring his dying word, "Rosebud."
Consequences Of Careless Whispers
The prevailing idea surrounding the scene is that nobody could have heard newspaper mogul Kane whisper the word. Hence, there would be no investigation into it and, consequently, no movie. However, the film explicitly establishes the presence of another individual in the scene.
Citizen Kane - Rosebud Scene (10/10) | Movieclips by Movieclips
You Heard The Man
Butler Bernstein later tells the press he was present for Mr. Kane’s final moments—but fans aren’t buying it. Since he’s never actually seen in the room when Kane dies, many believe his account doesn’t hold water, leaving the mystery of “Rosebud” even murkier.
Not A Reality Show
Another seemingly destructive plot hole has to do with characters like Jedediah Leland giving second-hand accounts of events from Kane's life that he did not personally witness. This could be chalked down to narrative inconsistency or seen as a realistic storytelling element. Tsk tsk, much ado about nothing.
Citizen Kane, 1941, Mercury Theatre
The Dark Knight Rises
Directed by the one and only Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises is definitely one of the less impressive films under his belt. The storyline is scattered with plot holes, which, despite being a fictional superhero movie, blatantly stares you right in the eye.
The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. Pictures
Stretching Superpowers
We can push aside many questionable incidents citing narrative liberties, such as Bruce's rapid recovery from a broken back and his survival of a nuclear blast. All things considered, there are still overlooked elements in the movie finale, which everybody but the creators have picked up on.
#WokeUpLikeThis
The Gotham City Police officers emerge from being trapped underground for three months with spotless uniforms, clean-shaven faces, and not a hair out of place. Unless they happened to have an officer training unit perched below the city, this could not have been possible, even by a stretch.
The Dark Knight Rises - Police vs. Bane's Army Charge (HD) IMAX by JokDon
Gravity
For a movie literally called Gravity, the science sure took a day off. The film wowed audiences with its visuals, but the big plot hole everyone can’t stop floating back to is the scene where Kowalski sacrifices himself—telling Stone to let him go, even though, well…that’s not how zero gravity works.
Gravity - Official Main Trailer [2K HD] by Warner Bros. Pictures
Deus Ex Machina
Turns out, it's another Jack and Rose situation. Since friction is absent in space, a simple tug from Stone would have been enough to propel Kowalski in her direction. Additionally, there were no external forces pulling Kowalski or Stone, so the ropes would have sufficed as brakes.
Gravity scene-Explorer gets hit by debris by Donguk Kim
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Although there are other plot holes involving laws of physics that have been defied in the movie, a simple yet noteworthy one is about the twinkling of stars. Since twinkling is caused by light passing through Earth's atmosphere, it would not occur in outer space. Bummer, huh?
Gravity scene-Explorer gets hit by debris by Donguk Kim
A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place has quite a number of logical loopholes in the decisions made by its characters. Given that it's all imaginary circumstances, nevertheless, one wonders what Lee and Evelyn Abbott must've been thinking when they decided to…
Aquaphobia?
Build a house on an eerily silent plain when there was a nearby source of running water. As seen in the movie, the Abbotts themselves use the waterfall as a guise to mask their voices when Lee and Marcus go hunting.
A Quiet Place (2018), Paramount Pictures
Bad Parenting
Once the movie reveals the Abbotts know about the waterfall’s sound-masking trick, one big question comes crashing down—why didn’t they just live there? It’s a baffling oversight that makes every quiet dinner scene feel a little sillier in hindsight.
A Quiet Place, 2018, Platinum Dunes
Armageddon
Armageddon has, undoubtedly, one of the most comically deepest plot holes ever overlooked. In fact, the plot hole is so gaping huge that actor Ben Affleck, who starred in the movie, actually brought it to the attention of director Michael Bay.
Armageddon, 1993, Touchstone Pictures
No Big Deal, Eh?
How, then, is there still a plot hole, you ask? Well, Bay was decidedly unimpressed by the questioning and did not take it into consideration. The result? A massive plot hole that even fans of the movie can't defend. Let us walk you through it.
Armageddon (1998) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
The Masterplan
The premise of Armageddon is that there is a giant asteroid hurtling towards the Earth, which needs to be destroyed through drilling. NASA, therefore, decided to train a bunch of deep-core drillers to become astronauts and send them to space to neutralize the threat.
Armageddon (1998) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
Not-So-Masterful Of A Plan
This seems rather unnecessary when you consider that they could have just as easily, or probably more easily, trained existing astronauts to drill and sent them off to save the world. Talk about going around the elbow to get to the thumb.
Armageddon (1998) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
Toy Story
Ever since 1995, fans have been scratching their heads over Buzz Lightyear’s biggest contradiction. If he truly doesn’t believe he’s a toy, then why does he freeze whenever Andy walks into the room? It’s a mystery that’s been breaking toy logic for decades.
Toy Story (1995) Woody & Buzz Meet For The First Time (Remastered 4K 60FPS) by Remastered by Ron
Knee-Jerk Reflex?
Several explanations have been given to account for this. One is that Lightyear is just adapting to the native customs on what he thinks is an alien planet. Another is that the freeze is a reflex built into all toys.
Toy Story (1995) Woody & Buzz Meet For The First Time (Remastered 4K 60FPS) by Remastered by Ron
Blending In With The Crowd
The latter theory has been debunked because the toys have been seen to creep around people in numerous instances in the movie and its sequels. Does that mean being an expert space ranger explains Lightyear's actions? Is that what Toy Story 5 will be about?
Toy Story (1995) Woody & Buzz Meet For The First Time (Remastered 4K 60FPS) by Remastered by Ron
Back To The Future
This sci-fi time travel movie is riddled with plot holes! Thanks to the multiple time jumps in the movie, the viewers have to deal with piecing together hard-to-follow bits of the story timeline as they go. Parallel universes are not for the inexperienced.
Universal, Back To The Future (1985)
Oh So Confusing
The story is set in 1985, with the characters Marty and Doc traveling to 1955, 2015, and 1885 throughout three films. This has inevitably caused some chinks in the movie's armor. The first and most talked about one is Marty's parents failing to recognize him.
Universal Pictures, Back To The Future Part 3 (1990)
Son, Is That You?
Sure, George and Lorraine might not have been besties with “Calvin Klein,” Marty’s 1955 alter ego—but come on. You’d think they’d notice that their teenage son looks exactly like the mysterious kid who set them up. Even screenwriter Bob Gale has chimed in on this long-running Back to the Future debate.
Back to the Future (1985), Universal Pictures
A Sensible Fix
He stated that while the couple did interact with Calvin Klein, it was not to the point where they'd remember his features more than 20 years later. They only knew him for around six days, and most of those days, he wasn't even physically with them. Problem solved.
4K HDR • Calvin visits his mom (Back To The Future) by 4K Clips And Trailers
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is directed by M Night Shyamalan, who meticulously thought out and planned it, with every scene, expression, and dialogue having a symbolic meaning. It either works as a hint to the final plot twist or serves to set the ground rules governing the recurring paranormal phenomena.
The Sixth Sense (1999), Hollywood Pictures
No Rest For The Dead
Beginning with the basics, there seem to be universal laws that apply to the ghostly dimension. The first being that the ghosts are not aware that they are, in fact, dead. The second is that ghosts can indeed interact with worldly objects in the physical realm. Simple, right?
The Sixth Sense, Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Doctor Dense
Here's where it gets complicated. If the ghosts are unaware that they are dead, like that of Dr. Crowe, how is it that he never questioned the puzzling interactions he would have had with people? How did he spend his time apart from treating Cole?
The Sixth Sense, Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Playing Dead
Take the restaurant scene. Dr. Crowe sits across from his wife on their anniversary, the whole thing playing like a tense, silent dinner. As she gets up to leave, Anna offers an anniversary wish—so if she couldn’t see him, who exactly was she talking to? That tiny moment turns the twist into a head-scratcher.
The Sixth Sense/Best scene/M. Night Shyamalan/Bruce Willis/Olivia Williams by Eli D
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
It's pretty evident by now that any movie involving time travel is more likely than not to have some confounding plot holes in its storyline. That's exactly what happened when the legendary Indiana Jones had to go through a time-traveling adventure.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | Official Trailer by Entertainment Tonight
Calamitous Continental Drift
In James Mangold’s Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, we see the villainous Dr. Voller and Jones travel back in time to what should have been World War 2-era Sicily but end up being transported way back to 213 BC. The explanation given? Continental Drift.
Indiana Jones Dial Of Destiny / Voller and Klaber Death Scene by ravendodger
Archimedes, How Could You?
If you're cracking your head open over how geographical coordinates managed to mess up time coordinates, you are not alone. This element left fans mystified, with some finding a semblance of an explanation when Archimedes confesses that the dial was made to always open a portal to his time.
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023): Meeting Archimedes (4K) by Seenful
The Grandfather Effect
This revelation, however, creates more problems than it solves. A confused Redditor notes that Archimedes was working on his dial when the Romans attacked. During the attack, a Nazi plane came out of the sky and murdered the enemy. BUT!
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023): Meeting Archimedes (4K) by Seenful
The Chaos Continues
If Archimedes supposedly designed the dial to be discovered centuries later, how on earth did he manage to make it open a wormhole to that exact moment in time? As one character puts it, “I don’t understand it”. Good news—neither does anyone else.
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny (2023): Meeting Archimedes (4K) by Seenful
Titanic
Ah, the age-old dilemma. Could Jack have fit on the door? Popular culture says yes, but later theories insist that it would not have been possible. Starting with the size of the door, the general consensus is that it was big enough to fit both Jack and Rose.
Twentieth Century Fox, Titanic (1997)
Archimedes' Principle
But there are other factors that would have come into play, such as buoyancy. The major reasoning given behind why Jack had to die is that if both characters were to share the door, it would not be buoyant enough to float on the surface of the water.
The Plot Hole Goes On
The director, Cameron, later commented on the theory, stating that there was a slim possibility of survival, which was unlikely. This subject of debate had even made its way to the science television series Mythbusters, where hosts Savage and Hyneman tested out whether the duo could have survived.
Chivalry Vs. Catastrophe
They found out that if the pair had been smart enough to tie Rose's lifejacket to the bottom of the door, it would have increased its buoyancy enough to support both of them. Then again, it's not very chivalrous to ask a lady for her lifejacket, is it, Jack?
