# Biggest Plotholes in Blockbuster Movies (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449 "2004-02-04T06:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/41 "2004-02-05T03:37:53Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > Not to worry. That’s an IBM XT with a green-screen monitor. The power switch is in the back but Dreyfuss is only shown using a front-mounted switch and only the monitor would have a switch there. That might be what Rob Reiner was going for but from what we were shown, it couldn’t have happened. Trust me, I was in the computer retail industry at around the time the movie came out. Well, there’s what would actually happen, and what was meant to happen. Obviously, the filmmakers weren’t expecting the audience to see the scene and think, “Hmm. That’s an IBM XT. The power switch for that is on the back. I guess he’s just concerned about screen burn.” The obvious message is, “Screen goes black=computer is off.” The location of the power switch is a continuity error, like a Roman soldier wearing a wristwatch, not a plot hole. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/42 "2004-02-05T03:44:10Z")
[QUOTE=DookuComputers in major Hollywood movies have always amused me. One of my favorites was this exchange between Tom Cruise and the his search engine in _Mission: Impossible_: Tom Cruise: Search “Job” Internet: “Job” not found. (Huh. I get 94,500,000 hits).[/QUOTE] One of my favorites was from a Richard Pryor movie from the 80’s. He’s a computer programmer for Evil Corporation and he’s going to bring them down. He tries to get some computer files and gets a screen saying that these files are protected. At the prompt he types “Override security” and viola, he’s can access everything on the network. How about books? _Rainbow Six_ by Tom Clancy. Bioterrorists are going to cause a worldwide pandemic to kill all of the people. They’re going to spread a virus at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The delivery system is going to be through a series of special water misters that are all over the Olympics complex. These misters were specially designed to combat the excessive heat that they always have in Sydney during the summer. Right? Uh, no. You see it’s wintertime in Sydney during the summer Olympics. No need for a multi-million dollar cooling system. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/43 "2004-02-05T03:45:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, there’s what would actually happen, and what was meant to happen. Obviously, the filmmakers weren’t expecting the audience to see the scene and think, “Hmm. That’s an IBM XT. The power switch for that is on the back. I guess he’s just concerned about screen burn.” The obvious message is, “Screen goes black=computer is off.” OTOH, mabye they wanted the individual viewer to make up their own mind. > [@](#): > > _The location of the power switch is a continuity error, like a Roman soldier wearing a wristwatch, not a plot hole._ Of course, creating the impression that the work is lost isn’t really a plot hole either. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/44 "2004-02-05T05:38:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Uh, no. You see it’s wintertime in Sydney during the summer Olympics. No need for a multi-million dollar cooling system. Huh? The Sydney Olympics were held in September, which is early Autumn in the southern hemisphere, and still quite warm. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/45 "2004-02-05T06:57:05Z")
> [@Erroneous](#): > > Huh? The Sydney Olympics were held in September, which is early Autumn in the southern hemisphere, and still quite warm. Try again. That is early Spring in Australia, early Autumn in the northern hemisphere. And it can be quite warm there at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/46 "2004-02-05T07:01:36Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > OTOH, mabye they wanted the individual viewer to make up their own mind. Well, sure, there’s no reason you can’t read it like that. I’m just saying that the fact that the actor only turned off the monitor doesn’t mean that the character didn’t turn off the power. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/47 "2004-02-05T07:27:58Z")
Another ID4 thing…they’d actually _tried_ nuking the aliens, which didn’t work because of the force fields, right? So…why not launch _more_ nukes _after_ the virus has disabled the shields? You know, instead of attacking the city-sized ships with _Air to Air Missiles and cannons?_ For that matter, in Godzilla, if they know the monster is hiding in the sewers…why not just _dump nerve gas_ into the underground? The city’s already been evacuated. Or, when they lured him to the surface with the fish, and then tried to shoot him—mostly with small arms fire? Why not just put a _bomb_ under the fish? Or, better yet, _poison the fish?_ ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/48 "2004-02-05T07:34:51Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Or, when they lured him to the surface with the fish, and then tried to shoot him—mostly with small arms fire? Why not just put a _bomb_ under the fish? Or, better yet, _poison the fish?_ I dunno about the other suggestions you have, but poisoning would be an extremely risky way to deal with the thing. It’s a new life form; we have no idea how it’ll react to substances we think of as poisons. And look at how big it is; how long would it take for the poison to work its way through its bodily systems? How would we know that we put in enough poison to take down something that big? Something that huge might require gallons of the stuff, which would be hazardous to handle and quite possibly patently obvious to the 'Zilla’s olfactory senses. Not to detract from your point that the climax of the plan to get the thing to stand still in a designated spot for a little while didn’t have enough follow-through, but I really don’t think that poison, the plan you seem to believe has the most merit, is as reasonable and risk-free as you think. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/49 "2004-02-05T07:39:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Try again. That is early Spring in Australia, early Autumn in the northern hemisphere. And it can be quite warm there at that time. Heh… I love it when people think there’s a “hole”, but it just happens to be a misconception of their own. Usually, I ignore the plot holes and assume that there’s _some_ mechanism at work that causes the supposed hole. Usually works… ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/50 "2004-02-05T07:44:52Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The Rock - > Why did Sean Connery have to remember the timing of the crushing flaming things when he escaped since apparently, the door unlocks from the INSIDE? Hate to break it to you, but this is not a plot hole. Connery had to go back and forth between his cell and the escape hole several nights to get it large enough. The only way to get back to his cell through a door that locks from the inside is under the flaming things. ---
**Author:** ![Erroneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71c47a/32.png) [@Erroneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erroneous)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/51 "2004-02-05T10:48:52Z")
Spring! Yes. That’s what I meant. Anyway, my point was that it’s sufficiently warm down here at that time of the year. Heck, you could probably justify an extensive cooling system in Sydney even if the Games were held during winter. Not that it’s _that_ warm at that time of year, of course, but it never gets too cold, either (none of this insane -40 stuff I’ve been hearing about from the USA recently). ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/52 "2004-02-05T12:13:52Z")
> [@Earl of the CC](#): > > Uh… For the Speed complaint, there was no one in that plane. It was being towed by a ground vehicle, indicating there wasn’t even a pilot to taxi it. The tower is seen getting away. They didn’t trade 30 casualties for 300. They traded 30 for 0. Maybe for 1. I don’t know about commercial aviation, but when Navy aircraft are towed, there is always a brake rider sitting in the cockpit. Safety and all that. Yeah, sub-minor nitpick… ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/53 "2004-02-05T12:20:17Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Maybe for 1. I don’t know about commercial aviation, but when Navy aircraft are towed, there is always a brake rider sitting in the cockpit. Safety and all that. > > Yeah, sub-minor nitpick… I would also say that there is no way you could be sure of this, and Keanu in the film would have had no idea. What if the plane was fully loaded, and taxied to the runway for take off, and then suffered from engine failure? Wouldn’t they have to tow it back to the apron full of passengers? I know it would be fairly unlikely, but it would be possible. It would be more likely than a bus managing to jump that gap. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/54 "2004-02-05T12:59:37Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Why Dreyfuss wrote the story in the first place if he had no intention of saving it is unclear. I see two possible reasons: The first is that Dreyfuss intended to try and sell the story, but upon finishing it, realized that he still felt the way he did when he was a child, and decided not to keep it. The second, which I prefer, is that he wrote the story just for himself, as a way to relive the experience and cement the fading recollection of events in his mind. I think he didn’t save it so he could rewrite it at a later date in order to relive the experience. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/55 "2004-02-05T16:47:04Z")
In _Kindergarten Cop_, Cullen drops Dominic after being bitten by Kimble’s pet ferret. Question is, where’d Kimble (a cop from LA) get the ferret? Certainly not in [California](http://www.ferretsanon.com/). ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/56 "2004-02-05T16:59:57Z")
Why the hell were all those guys in Con Air in federal prison? When they were describing their crimes, I don’t think one would have been a federal crime. Nicholas Cage’s sure wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/57 "2004-02-05T17:50:10Z")
Not so much a plot hole as a tragic lack of basic physics that led to a stupid plot development: In _ **Mission to Mars** _, Tim Robbins’ character, along with Generic Hottie character (forget which actress played this role), are using little jetpacks to scoot around in outer space. Every so often, they’d each give a little spurt of fuel to move along. Eventually, Tim Robbins “realizes” that he won’t have enough fuel for the return trip, and so floats away to die, leaving his tearful woman behind. Thus, a noble sacrifice on his part. Except for the fact that THERE’S NO FRICTION IN SPACE. Jeebus. One squirt of fuel to go one way forever, and another squirt or two to turn around and go back the way they came. And voila! No one dies. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/58 "2004-02-05T17:56:55Z")
> [@Cyrokk](#): > > the idea that true love brought back Keannu in a story about weird, high tech, alternate reality completely ruined the entire movie for me. However, I may be wrong on this, since I only sat through it once long ago and it was edited for TV. Am I correct on this? Or is there something in the plot that I completely missed? No one ever said that Neo lived because Trinity loved him. Trinity knew that he wouldn’t die because she now knew he was The One since the Oracle told her that she would fall in love with The One when she met him. She loved Neo, thus Neo must be The One, thus he wouldn’t die since he hadn’t fulfilled the prohecy yet. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/59 "2004-02-05T18:58:13Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Why the hell were all those guys in Con Air in federal prison? When they were describing their crimes, I don’t think one would have been a federal crime. Nicholas Cage’s sure wasn’t. How about the most obvious plot hole of Nicholas Cage being sent to prison for 10? years for accidently killing one of 5 drunk guys attempting to kill him and rape his wife? I’m a little fuzzy on the law but I’m pretty sure that pretty much any court on the planet would consider that self defense. Justin\_Bailey - The point is not that he had to remember the timing of the flame things (why Alcatraz has a flame tunnel and a Haunted Coal Mine ride I don’t know). The point is when he went back with the SEALS, he opened it from the INSIDE!. Even if he went back and forth a bunch of times, why couldn’t he just prop it open from the INSIDE, do his thing and then close it from the INSIDE before he went back to his cell? > [@Ranchoth](#): > > Another ID4 thing…they’d actually tried nuking the aliens, which didn’t work because of the force fields, right? > > So…why not launch more nukes after the virus has disabled the shields? You know, instead of attacking the city-sized ships with Air to Air Missiles and cannons? Cause Goldblum was all gay over using nukes at all. Like it would matter to the former residents of the cities that were destroyed by the aliens beam weapon. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449/60 "2004-02-05T19:14:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > How about the most obvious plot hole of Nicholas Cage being sent to prison for 10? years for accidently killing one of 5 drunk guys attempting to kill him and rape his wife? I’m a little fuzzy on the law but I’m pretty sure that pretty much any court on the planet would consider that self defense. Yes, but if IRC he pleaded guilty to get probation; the judge didn’t go along with the plea bargain and sentenced him to prison instead. That’s a plot hole too, though, because in most jurisdictions (including federal district court, which it would have had to have been although I don’t think it was in the movie) the judge has to warn you if he’s not accepting the plea agreement and allow you to change your plea, so Cage’s character wouldn’t have been blindsided like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-plotholes-in-blockbuster-movies-spoilers/227449.md?page=4)