# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/61 "2006-03-02T19:05:38Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > An airport in 1941? How about a train to the docks to catch a ship. Bah, read the whole thread before you reply jackass! ---
**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:** [March 2, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/62 "2006-03-02T19:08:10Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > 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. Presumably they put the car on a ferry. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/63 "2006-03-02T19:16:37Z")
Max Keeble’s Big Move: The Evil Principal locks Max into the gym’s storage cage, like it’s a jail cell. Excuse me, but aren’t those designed to keep thieves _out_, rather than keep prisoners _in_? ---
**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, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/64 "2006-03-02T19:22:12Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Presumably they put the car on a ferry. Did they have auto ferries across the channel in 1938/9? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/65 "2006-03-02T19:22:34Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > My favorite plothole: > > Umbrella Nukes Racoon City. Their cover story is: A nuclear plant melted down. > > Yeah, I’m sure that’ll fool anyone who has the slightest idea what the functional difference is between a nuclear bomb and a nuclear reactor, like say the NRC(Nuclear Regulatory Commission). Or anyone close to enough to see the blast. And let’s not forget that Umbrella previously managed to build a gigantic multistory underground laboratory facility and move people and supplies in and out constantly with no one the wiser… right under the town. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/66 "2006-03-02T19:26:09Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > That’s why they take both boats. If Quint doesn’t like it, too damn bad. It’s Brody’s call. Why would three men take two boats? That’s just stupid. It’s pretty clearly established that Brody really has no idea what he’s doing. They could not possibly have anticipated that the shark would be near-supernatural. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/67 "2006-03-02T19:27:49Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > Return of the Jedi: C3PO becomes the translator bot for Jabba the Hut. The bounty hunter shows up with Chewbacca in chains. The bounty hunter speaks his native buzzing language to C3PO. C3PO tells Jabba what the bounty hunter said in English. Jabba responds in his native slug language. C3PO tells the bounty hunter what Jabba said in English. And so on. > > If both parties can understand English, why do they need a translator bot? Just speak English to each other. You can still make your snide remarks in your native language. > > Yes, I understand the possibility that Lucas had C3PO there for audience members who couldn’t read the subtitles, but I’m talking real-world context here. No blackmarket negotiator worth his weight in slug drippings is going to let it be known that he understands the bridge language. There’s a very plausible explanation for this… Jabba and fake-bounty-hunter are both non-human. Maybe their mouths (or other talky bits) just can’t produce the sounds necessary to speak English (ie, Galactic Standard, or whatever it is) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/68 "2006-03-02T19:43:37Z")
_Silence of the Lambs_–Even if Hannibal could get his handcuffs off with a paper cilp/ink pen improvised gimzo, when he attacked the first cop, they second cop would have shot him dead in about 5 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/69 "2006-03-02T19:45:17Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > There’s a very plausible explanation for this… Jabba and fake-bounty-hunter are both non-human. Maybe their mouths (or other talky bits) just can’t produce the sounds necessary to speak English (ie, Galactic Standard, or whatever it is) Basic, it’s called. And considering fake-bounty-hunter is (although actually human) buzzy-noise-making, it’s fair to consider whatever species she was pretending to be can’t vocalise like humans. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/70 "2006-03-02T19:45:45Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > 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?). The recent _Planet of the Apes_ had a similar issue with “Ca-li-ma.” I don’t recall it being a major plot hole in that case; it was just silly. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/71 "2006-03-02T19:48:45Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > There’s a very plausible explanation for this… Jabba and fake-bounty-hunter are both non-human. Maybe their mouths (or other talky bits) just can’t produce the sounds necessary to speak English (ie, Galactic Standard, or whatever it is) The explanation I seem to recall reading somewhere was that Jabba refused to speak anything but Huttese, even though he understood other languages. Racial pride, or something. > [@archmichael](#): > > Peyton Wells: We find the building with the thickest walls and strongest doors and we barricade ourselfs in, sit tight, wait for help. > Alice: There won’t be any help. According to Ashford, Umbrella know they can’t contain the infection. So at sunrise this morning, Raccoon City will be completely sanitized. > Terri Morales: What do you mean by “sanitized”? > Alice: A precision tactical nuclear device. > Jill Valentine: What yield? > Alice: Five kilotons. > Jill Valentine: [scoffs] Fuck me. > > When you or I are about to get hit with a nuclear weapon, we don’t really worry about yield, but not Jill Valentine! > > Makes you wonder what she would have said if it was only say… 2 kilotons? And five kilotons is a pretty freakin’ small nuke, frankly. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in the area of 20 kilotons apiece, and they didn’t manage to completely wipe out cities that were mostly made of _wood_. Five does qualify for a “precision” device, but that’s way too small to “sanitize” an entire city. Not to mention, as others have said, that in order to maximize the punch of a nuclear bomb, they’re normally detonated _well above_ ground level (as in 1000 feet or so), which kinda puts the kibosh on that whole “nuclear plant accident” story. Detonating that little nuke at ground level would have limited the area of effect drastically. ---
**Author:** ![archmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/archmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/72 "2006-03-02T20:25:59Z")
I’m not very religious, but a couple of things bugged me about Constantine. Corinthians 17. Supposedly in the Hell Bible there is supposed to be an extra chapter that holds some prophetic language, but why would the Hell Bible have any version whatsoever of “Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians”? Midnite’s bar was supposed to be neutral ground for the forces of Good and Evil, but it’s a pretty scuzzy dive bar. Am I supposed to believe that archangels drop by off hours and have shots of Patron with hellspawn while talking shop? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/73 "2006-03-02T20:29:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > So, was he captured, did he ditch, make it to China or just fly the B-25 to Paris? 🙂 Have to admit, I never made it to the end of the movie. I’ve seen up to when they take off from the carrier. Surprised I made it that far. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/74 "2006-03-02T21:03:59Z")
> [@archmichael](#): > > **Resident Evil: Apocalypse**. Yeah, I know. Fertile ground for plotholes and ridiculous scenes. But there is one exchange that was really bad. > > Peyton Wells: We find the building with the thickest walls and strongest doors and we barricade ourselfs in, sit tight, wait for help. > Alice: There won’t be any help. According to Ashford, Umbrella know they can’t contain the infection. So at sunrise this morning, Raccoon City will be completely sanitized. > Terri Morales: What do you mean by “sanitized”? > Alice: A precision tactical nuclear device. > Jill Valentine: What yield? > Alice: Five kilotons. > Jill Valentine: [scoffs] Fuck me. > > When you or I are about to get hit with a nuclear weapon, we don’t really worry about yield, but not Jill Valentine! > > **Makes you wonder what she would have said if it was only say… 2 kilotons?** Jill Valentine: Two kilotons? Pffft… pussies. ---
**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, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/75 "2006-03-02T21:04:02Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > [The truth about Gilligan](http://www.sff.net/people/adam-troy/Random/theories.htm) That is awfully disturbing, **Homebrew**. It also explains quite a lot about the show. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/76 "2006-03-02T21:18:42Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > Yes, I understand the possibility that Lucas had C3PO there for audience members who couldn’t read the subtitles, but I’m talking real-world context here. To be fair, Lucas was probably looking for _something_ for C3PO to do. The protocol droid was completely useless in Episodes 5 and 6. ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/77 "2006-03-02T21:43:14Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > 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. I wondered about this myself, back in the sixties. Now, I think I know the answer, and it really wasn’t a plot hole. Rather, the early cancellation of the show prevented them from tying all this together for us. I think what happened, is on the OTHER side of the island, there was an arcan outpost staffed by a mad scientist and his followers, The Others. They had some kind of shield around the island which prevented it from being seen or ever discovered even though it was actually close to Hawaii. The final season would have had Gilligan and all discovering them and stealing their super-science to get back to civilization. Alas, the series ended before they could do that. What’s that? Why yes, this is the same place the folk on a certaiin Oceania flight wound up on. This is what clued me in to everything. That’s right: “Lost” is on GILLIGAN’S ISLAND! To avoid beingg a complete hack ont his thread, I will offer a real plot hole, one of my favorites. The movie “Krakatoa: East of Java.” Umm, _cough_ Krakatoa is WEST of Java. ---
**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, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/78 "2006-03-02T22:01:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > So, was he captured, did he ditch, make it to China or just fly the B-25 to Paris? 🙂 They crash land in China, somewhere near the coast, just like some of the real guys did. The dirty Japs come callin’ and one of those two guys dies. Can’t remember which one, sorry. > [@Marley23](#): > > The recent _Planet of the Apes_ had a similar issue with “Ca-li-ma.” I don’t recall it being a major plot hole in that case; it was just silly. I don’t remember that one. Huh. Was it like Leela’s Sevateem and Tesh? ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/79 "2006-03-02T22:05:36Z")
> [@LiveOnAPlane](#): > > To avoid beingg a complete hack ont his thread, I will offer a real plot hole, one of my favorites. The movie “Krakatoa: East of Java.” Umm, _cough_ Krakatoa is WEST of Java. BUT!.. If you keep on going East, for a long enough distance, you could still end up there. I mean, since we’re on a globe and all… Right? ---
**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, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/80 "2006-03-02T22:11:18Z")
> [@archmichael](#): > > I’m not very religious, but a couple of things bugged me about Constantine. > > Corinthians 17. Supposedly in the Hell Bible there is supposed to be an extra chapter that holds some prophetic language, but why would the Hell Bible have any version whatsoever of “Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians”? That’s a very good point. Thanks for pointing it out. At the time, I was thinking “Damn, I want a copy of the Hell Bible” and didn’t think about that. Unless they are trying to imply Paul went to hell and that’s where he was writing from? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718.md?page=5)