# The world's biggest plothole, and other ridiculous scenes in movies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718 "2006-03-02T03:19:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/21 "2006-03-02T13:06:44Z")
Ah, [Die Hard 2](http://www.moviemistakes.com/film362), what a favourite for plotholes. 🙂 The one I want to mention is also featured in that link: the messing with the ILS bit. There’s no way to change the “altitude” of the ILS, as it is a fixed antenna. You could at best alter the glide angle a plane is supposed to fly. And even IF the ILS could be set at -200 meters or whatever, airplanes are chock full of gadgets that will inform the pilots something is amiss. Most notably the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), which works independently from any outside source), would have warned the pilots to pull up _way_ ahead of time. Still, I love that film. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/22 "2006-03-02T13:08:58Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > In _Rudy_, we’re supposed to believe that some short clumsy kid from Smokestack Indiana, who nearly flunked out of high school, managed to wait four years and then pursue his dream, after his best friend died, of getting into Notre Dame University, securing a position on their football team as a walk-on test dummy, and then being put into a game at the insistence of his teammates, where he got an actual quarterback sack in the last seconds of the last game of the season against one of the best offensive teams in the country. > > Get real. [Whoosh?](http://www.sportshollywood.com/askrudy.html)😕 😃 About Die Hard II. I can buy the plot (barely) but this movie did have one of the all time great continunity problems. John Mclain is in the Dulles airport right? The pay phone is from Pacific Bell. Wrong coast. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/23 "2006-03-02T13:10:29Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” They _had_ a bigger boat. Or at least a better boat. Hooper’s. In all fairness, I wouldn’t consider that a plot hole. There was no way Quint would have gone on some fancy city boy’s yaught to go hunting for sharks. They needed Quint and so were forced to go on the Orca by default. Hell, he didn’t want to take them along but was forced to if he wanted to collect the money. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/24 "2006-03-02T13:18:32Z")
I don’t know if this is a plot hole or a continuity problem. In **Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country** , Uhura suggests using the equipment they have on board to track gaseous anomalies to find the Klingon ship, since the thing’s “gotta have a tailpipe.” It was the _Excelsior_, not the Enterprise, that was tracking gaseous anomalies. It was coming back from that mission that Sulu realized Praxus had exploded. Basically, the equipment they wanted to use to find the Klingon ship wasn’t on board! ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/25 "2006-03-02T13:40:34Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > In all fairness, I wouldn’t consider that a plot hole. There was no way Quint would have gone on some fancy city boy’s yaught to go hunting for sharks. They needed Quint and so were forced to go on the Orca by default. Hell, he didn’t want to take them along but was forced to if he wanted to collect the money. Agreed, even though we all know now that Great White Sharks are inhuman killing machines, these three were just out on a fishing trip. Granted, a fishing trip for a real big fish, but who would expect to get killed by a fish? I mean, we’re in a BOAT, what is the little fishie going to do? Not to mention that Brody was a nervous nellie, with no shark fishing experience, I’d have ignored his comment too. I think the whole circle the boat, ram it until it sinks, then eat the fishermen thing was rather a surprise, instead of a typical day of shark fishing. My big plot hole is Armageddon, where digging one mile down, right… THERE, makes a big difference in destroying an asteroid hundreds of miles across. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/26 "2006-03-02T13:42:07Z")
I’ll have to agree with **Lord Mondegreen** about the storm thing, especially if they’re like here or Darwin where you’ve had warnings in the past that resulted in nothing. When Juan hit a couple years ago no one was all that ready, because in the past most hurricanes had either waned to tropical storms or veered off the coast. Juan was a fluke storm that no one expected, despite the warnings. Anyways, I was watching the second Cardcaptor Sakura movie not to long ago, and I’m not sure if this is a full-blown plot hole or a nitpick, but Sakura is told that the 53rd Clow card has a negative effect, since all the rest have positive effects, to balance things out. Uh, hello, the erase card? I don’t see how that can be considered to be a ‘positive’ effect. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/27 "2006-03-02T14:00:56Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > In all fairness, I wouldn’t consider that a plot hole. There was no way Quint would have gone on some fancy city boy’s yaught to go hunting for sharks. They needed Quint and so were forced to go on the Orca by default. Hell, he didn’t want to take them along but was forced to if he wanted to collect the money. That’s why they take both boats. If Quint doesn’t like it, too damn bad. It’s Brody’s call. I bet Quint wouldna been too proud to climb aboard Hooper’s boat if the alternative was sliding down a shark’s gullet. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/28 "2006-03-02T14:36:09Z")
M. Night Shyamalan’s **Signs** , which I enjoyed, has possibly the biggest plot holes I’ve ever seen in a decent movie. It’s pure nonsense filmed really well. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/29 "2006-03-02T14:44:27Z")
Last week I realized that there’s a plot hole in the premise of _Gilligan’s Island_. Okay, that’s a TV show, not movie, but it did have some sequel MFTV movies. As we know from the theme song, the _Minnow_ sets out on a three hour cruise. Allowing for reserves, the boat probably carries enough fuel for 6 - 8 hours of travel. I can’t imagine a small boat like that having a top speed over 25 knots, even in a storm. So that gives the boat an operating radius of 200 nautical miles in a straight line, and in the chaos of a storm, probably not much over 100 to 120 nm. The opening montage shows that the unnamed “tropic port” is a substantial concern. Therefore, it probably has an ample search & rescue fleet. And yet the _Minnow_ not only grounds on an uncharted island, but stays there without rescue for an extended period of time. With a movie star and a millionaire on the missing boat, there should have been an extensive SAR effort. I’d like to hear from some sailor types on how hard it may be to find such a boat in a 120 nm search radius after a storm. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/30 "2006-03-02T15:00:46Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > Last week I realized that there’s a plot hole in the premise of _Gilligan’s Island_. Okay, that’s a TV show, not movie, but it did have some sequel MFTV movies. [The truth about Gilligan](http://www.sff.net/people/adam-troy/Random/theories.htm) ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/31 "2006-03-02T15:04:37Z")
> [@Airman Doors](#): > > I was watching _Karate Kid Part II_ tonight for the umpteenth time, and I finally noticed how truly ridiculous the leadup to the end really is, the part with the storm. > > On the night that Miyagi was to fight Sato, the town is destroyed (more or less) by what to all appearances is a typhoon. When a typhoon, cyclone, or hurricane is expected, is it normal to plan to catch a flight out of town that day, or make tea in an abandoned cannery… I hear you! Danial-san was just about to get his groove on with Kumiko, and no hard-up, uber-horny American teen with a bad case of the “[fever](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yellow+fever)” would allow a little typhoon to stop him from closing the deal on the horizontal tea dance of love… ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/32 "2006-03-02T15:41:09Z")
I never analyzed Gilligan’s Island before. But you’re right. I’ve taken “three hour tours”. They’re usually to “that island you can see over there in the distance”. Boats are slow. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/33 "2006-03-02T15:57:03Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > The opening montage shows that the unnamed “tropic port” is a substantial concern. Therefore, it probably has an ample search & rescue fleet. > . I can’t remember where I heard it but apparently the Minnow was based in Hawaii…and last I checked, there aren’t a lot of islands nearby after you leave the archpeligo. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/34 "2006-03-02T15:58:05Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I don’t know if this is a plot hole or a continuity problem. > > In **Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country** , Uhura suggests using the equipment they have on board to track gaseous anomalies to find the Klingon ship, since the thing’s “gotta have a tailpipe.” > > It was the _Excelsior_, not the Enterprise, that was tracking gaseous anomalies. It was coming back from that mission that Sulu realized Praxus had exploded. Basically, the equipment they wanted to use to find the Klingon ship wasn’t on board! I don’t think that qualifies. The Enterprise was nominally an exploration vessel (it was also a heavily armed warship, but I digress…), and so could be expected to have the capability of tracking gaseous anomalies as a matter of course. And if it didn’t, Scotty could rig something up. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/35 "2006-03-02T15:59:24Z")
One of my all-time favorites just got a mate! In _Pearl Harbor_ directed by The Great Satan Michael Bay (see also _Armageddeon_), Ben Affleck decides to go fly for the RAF in England. He is seen departing New York City on a train. To go to London. On a train. From New York City. I recently reviewed Dame Judy Dench in _Mrs. Henderson Presents_, which is probably the most boring movie ever to prominently feature naked female breasts (with the possible exception of _Showgirls_, a movie which is best not to even mention on the SDMB). In it, Mrs. Henderson, a native of London, has her driver take her to a military cemetary–in France. Presumably, the touring car she took was actually Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/36 "2006-03-02T16:04:13Z")
Not a major hole, but an annoyance nonetheless. _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_ So, this probe goes out among the stars (FTL or not?) and gets waylaid by the Machine Planet People (Borg? Ix?) And the Machine Planet People decide to help the probe, I mean REALLY help it. Okay, so far, my suspension of belief isn’t too hurt. It’s Trek, after all, not hard Sci-Fi. Trek-Fi, as I’ve often called it before on these here boards. But, “Veejer” ??? Yeah, it’s because of the wear and tear on the probe wiping oort certain letters and all (does anyone not know by now what Veejer was?)Voyager, the oya was worn away, leaving V\_\_\_GER. But, how would the Machine Planet People know the pronunciation of those four symbols? Some audio track buried in the probe’s programming? Another Carl Sagan Pioneer record? Bleah. Besides, Nomad had already done it, and better at that. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/37 "2006-03-02T16:15:46Z")
Martin Riggs. Would ANY police force actually let such such a disturbed and deranged person stay on active street duty? Recall, he was diagnosed by the department’s own shrink. Forced paid leave, followed by unarmed desk duty would be more likely, wouldn’t it? Because it’s not presented as some sudden break with reality, but rather as a long term, very noticable psychosis. The first _Lethal Weapon_ for those not catching up quick enough. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/38 "2006-03-02T16:31:55Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > One of my all-time favorites just got a mate! In _Pearl Harbor_ directed by The Great Satan Michael Bay (see also _Armageddeon_), Ben Affleck decides to go fly for the RAF in England. He is seen departing New York City on a train. To go to London. On a train. From New York City. I’ve never seen the movie, but can’t we just assume he was taking a train to an airport? ---
**Author:** ![usar\_jag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@usar\_jag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usar_jag)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/39 "2006-03-02T16:39:20Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > _Independence Day_…Mac-using aliens Who else would use a Mac? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/40 "2006-03-02T16:40:56Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’ve never seen the movie, but can’t we just assume he was taking a train to an airport? Perhaps taking a train as the first leg of a trip to Halifax where many convoys (of ships) originated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718.md?page=3)