# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/101 "2006-03-03T04:24:32Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > Oooh, finally a chance to post the single most annoying plothole I have come across: > > In **Mission Impossible** , Ethan Hunt never should have been able to solve the riddle of who Job was. In addition to the plot hole, M:I also has the WORST use of technology ever. Yes, Virginia, worse than using a Mac to plant a virus in an alien spacecraft! Not only does he search the Internet for “job” and get a smallish (fewer than 100, IIRC) set of listings… he then proceeds to email them his query. By retyping his email over and over for each one. Bear in mind that he’s witnessed his whole team being killed and he’s in danger himself, as the chance he will be found increases with every passing minute. Oh, the DRAMATIC TENSION!, Oh, the UTTER LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF BASIC COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY! Futher plotholishness: The whole movie rests on the idea that Phelps has this elaborate plot to get Hunt to steal something for him by setting him up… but M:I teams steal shit all the time, and Phelps could have just told him to steal it and then offed him, without setting up all the elaborate crap. Re: Die Hard 2… Recall that at the beginning of the movie, McClane gets paged by his wife and calls her on the phone in the seat in front of her. When the whole “we can’t reach the airplanes” thing starts happening, I wondered “gosh, when will he remember that he has her airphone number in his pocket?” ---
**Author:** ![OneCut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@OneCut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCut)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/102 "2006-03-03T04:31:48Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Just the fact that the Imperial soldiers on Endor have 1 job during the battle, a very simple job: Protect the shield bunker. > > So when the battle starts, what do they do? They run off into the woods to chase the teddy bears, and give the rebels a chance to blow up the shield bunker. Not really a plothole. They wouldn’t have had any reason to suspect the there was a coordinated rebel attack underway. I’m sure “protect the shield bunker” in the long run would include supressing local insurgents. A plothole might be that Vader didn’t warn them when he sensed Luke in the shuttle, but I figured it must be a jedi thang. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/103 "2006-03-03T05:22:53Z")
> [@OneCut](#): > > Not really a plothole. They wouldn’t have had any reason to suspect the there was a coordinated rebel attack underway. I’m sure “protect the shield bunker” in the long run would include supressing local insurgents. > > A plothole might be that Vader didn’t warn them when he sensed Luke in the shuttle, but I figured it must be a jedi thang. Huh? They captured a whole platoon of rebel troops and I’m sure they were told to expect something big soon. At least, they should have been, because the Emporer obviosuly knew about the upcoming rebel attack. And they knew the rebels were in the bunker to capture them, which implies they were tipped off. Hell, the fleet commander knew about the attack, so the ground commander should have been kept in the loop. Maybe a meme along the lines of “In case of contact with a rebel strike force on endor, bunker security is to go to full alert until further notice” But even if there are insurgents in the woods, how does that threaten the bunker? Let them run around in the woods. The bunker is the most valuable thing on the entire planet. I guess it annoys me because after analysing the battle, the empire had to make a number of big mistakes in order to lose, and they hit them on the nose. Hell, Just ordering the fleet to engage immediatly could have won the battle for the imperials. By the time the shield had dropped, there wouldn’t have been enough of the rebels left for it to matter much to them. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/104 "2006-03-03T07:17:53Z")
> [@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. There are bigger holes than that in Pearl Harbor. Battleships had no medical department? Cuba Gooding had to go ashore to get patched up after the boxing match on a battleship. The CGI planes bombing the airfield were carrying torpedos. What, the dreaded dry land torpedo? Compared to BA being in the Battle of Brittian, being lost at sea, showing up at Pearl Harbor just before the attack, shooting down the bad guys in his P 40, and being on the Doolittle raid, taking a train to London is the most believeable part of the damn movie. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/105 "2006-03-03T09:02:14Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Then there were the magic submachine guns that could fire real bullets and then, with no change in equipment, fire blanks They definitely swapped magazines. They had some with different color tape. (Or are you saying that guns have to be actually physically modified to shoot blanks? Because if so, I’ll give that a pass, as it’s a QUITE obscure piece of information.) > [@](#): > > (and these were magic blanks with no wadding, proven when Bruce Willis shot at the cops with them to prove they were blanks, and none of the cops did a Jon Eric Hexum or Brandon Lee imitation). Yeah, I love the idea that some guy walks into a cop’s office, starts (apparently) unloading a submachine gun at the police chief, and everyone just stands there long enough to process the scene and realize that he’s shooting blanks before they, I dunno, shoot him. > [@](#): > > No, my friend. It was NOT a pretty good movie at all. I enjoyed many parts of it. The plot twist with the special forces was an excellent one, and Bruce Willis as John McClane is always good times. It just kept pushing thing way too far, and the entire plot was built on one big implausibility. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/106 "2006-03-03T09:09:51Z")
IMHO, the biggest plothole in \*Mission: Impossible \* is Jim Phelps turning out to be a traitor. ---
**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 3, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/107 "2006-03-03T10:23:26Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Uh, so they don’t die? Why would they think, even for an instant, that a big game fishing trip in calm summer waters would be dangerous? Sure, _swimmers_ are in danger, these guys are in a fairly sizable boat, with an experienced shark fisherman. They had a whole marina full of yahoos in rowboats out there trying to get this fish, and not one of them was munched. Note also, how Quint reacted to Brody calling for help on the radio, after the boat was disabled, no less. I doubt he would have agreed to go out with college boy Hooper and his fancy ass boat as his safety net. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/108 "2006-03-03T12:25:23Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > They definitely swapped magazines. They had some with different color tape. (Or are you saying that guns have to be actually physically modified to shoot blanks? Because if so, I’ll give that a pass, as it’s a QUITE obscure piece of information.) Not obscure to anyone who’s ever served in the military. You have to use a blank adapter on M16s to make them cycle with blanks—it partially blocks off the barrel to allow the rifle to work with the reduced pressure of a blank round. In the movies, they use guns with the barrels permanently partially blocked off to avoid tell-tale blank adapters screwed to the end of the barrel. But it’s a definite physical impossibility for any semiautomatic or automatic firearm with no adapter mounted to cycle blanks AND live rounds. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/109 "2006-03-03T12:45:21Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I enjoyed many parts of it. The plot twist with the special forces was an excellent one, and Bruce Willis as John McClane is always good times. I agree with you here. Unfortunately, that was about the only clever part of the movie. Maybe the magazine-swapping scene could have included them removing blank adapters too? Most of the audience wouldn’t know enough about guns to figure out what was going on, and gun enthusiasts would be able to figure out the twist on their own. ---
**Author:** ![archmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@archmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/archmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/110 "2006-03-03T12:50:33Z")
**Chronicles of Riddick** was on last night. I liked Pitch Black, but for some reason they chose to have the movie take place in a different universe. In Pitch Black you had people traveling on ugly utilitarian sub-light transports which are so flimsy they can be put into peril by micro-meteorites. In Chronicles, they suddenly have very ornately decorated FTL ships, Necromonger super powers and psionics. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/111 "2006-03-03T13:55:22Z")
> [@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. > > 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. I’ve always wondered why they all had luggage for the 3 hour tour. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/112 "2006-03-03T16:14:55Z")
> [@jali](#): > > I’ve always wondered why they all had luggage for the 3 hour tour. And where did they put it? The minnow wasn’t that big? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/113 "2006-03-03T16:16:19Z")
> [@archmichael](#): > > I couldn’t disagree more. The Bible, and all so called ‘Word of God’ books are messages. They are effective only when they are disseminated. Messages have to be spread. > > This is way some evangelical Christians are trying so hard to get Bible translations into mainland China. That is why the Mormons are so keen on sending you a free book of Mormon. That’s why the Jehovah’s Witnesses want you to read the Watchtower. > > In your hypothetical you might have perverted it, but if no one else reads it, it fails as a message. It’s like holding an Anti-Bush protest inside your bedroom alone, with no press. You might have made a stand, but it has done nothing to counter the pro-Bush message. > > So a perverted Corinthians thet no one really knows much about doesn’t do anything to counter the Bible. If only the denizens of Hell are reading it, then ironically it’s preaching to the choir. You say at the beginning you’re going to be disagreeing with me, but you then go on to say nothing at all which I disagree with. 🙂 -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/114 "2006-03-03T16:45:30Z")
> [@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) As a Star Wars nerd, I’m pretty certain that Jabba CAN speak Basic. He just doesn’t. Just like I don’t go meet with El Capo and say, “Look, lasagne eater, talk English already!”. If he feels like speaking Italian, well, I don’t think I’ll complain. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/115 "2006-03-03T17:06:46Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Yes. From [here:](http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/ferries.htm) Thank you! I withdraw my objection to _Mrs. Henderson Presents_. She was a rich widow and could have easily afforded the ferry toll, which I’m sure was more expensive then than it is now. Well, I don’t actually withdraw all of my objections to _Mrs. Henderson Presents_, because Oscar nomination or no, it just wasn’t a very good movie. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/116 "2006-03-03T17:13:14Z")
_Kate and Leopold_ (horrid movie, btw)–if I followed the plot correctly (and that’s a big if, Meg Ryan’s hair was a complete distraction to me–made me cross her off my list of actor’s to see), she basically became her own husband’s grandmother. Very odd, time travel and all that. Plus the portal was silly. The whole movie was silly. There’s a hole at the end of Casablanca, but I can’t recall it offhand just now. (Louie makes an unneccessary phone call, IMS). ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/117 "2006-03-03T17:20:55Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > _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. I think it says something in the book where Lecter showed respect to Barney and not Chilton because Barney knew how dangerous Lecter could be and that Lecter could turn on anybody at anytime. Chilton and the cops, on the other hand, thought they were better than him. So they ended up letting their guard down and, well, there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/118 "2006-03-03T17:40:10Z")
That damn movie **Flightplan** that I finally caught last night. I tired to figure out just how many things this Air Marshall had to pull off to get his plan to work. -Kill Jodi Foster’s husband and get away with it. -Make sure that the coroner she use’s is the one he’s being helped with. -Make sure he get’s assigned to the same flight as she does. -Make sure no one sees the daughter board the plane. -Make sure no one sees the daughter on the plane. -Somehow get the daughter off the manifest. -Get the boarding pass away from Jodi without her noticing. -Hope to god Jodi falls asleep and doesn’t wake up while he takes the daughter. -Hope no one notices him taking the daughter. -Hope the daughter doesn’t make a scene while she’s being taken. -Hope no one on the crew besides his stewardess helper don’t look in the nose of the plane. -Hope Jodi goes nuts enough to seek out and unlock the coffin so he can get his explosives out. -Get some people on the ground to agree to the hijackers demands of wiring money. -Hope there’s no swat team at the airport to deal with. And probably a whole lot of other points I missed. Just waaay to far fetched to even attempt. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/119 "2006-03-03T17:57:03Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > _Kate and Leopold_ (horrid movie, btw)–if I followed the plot correctly (and that’s a big if, Meg Ryan’s hair was a complete distraction to me–made me cross her off my list of actor’s to see), she basically became her own husband’s grandmother. > Very odd, time travel and all that. Plus the portal was silly. The whole movie was silly. In the original cut, which I saw at a free sneak preview, she became her ex-lover’s (Liev Schreiber’s) great-grandmother. When reviewers started pointing out the wacky incest angle that the filmmakers apparently never noticed, they re-edited the movie to delete any references to Schreiber’s character being a descendant of Jackman’s. And yeah, the movie sucked anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718/120 "2006-03-03T18:03:37Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > That damn movie **Flightplan** that I finally caught last night. > I tired to figure out just how many things this Air Marshall had to pull off to get his plan to work. > > [spoiler] > -Kill Jodi Foster’s husband and get away with it. > -Make sure that the coroner she use’s is the one he’s being helped with. > -Make sure he get’s assigned to the same flight as she does. > -Make sure no one sees the daughter board the plane. > -Make sure no one sees the daughter on the plane. > -Somehow get the daughter off the manifest. > -Get the boarding pass away from Jodi without her noticing. > -Hope to god Jodi falls asleep and doesn’t wake up while he takes the daughter. > -Hope no one notices him taking the daughter. > -Hope the daughter doesn’t make a scene while she’s being taken. > -Hope no one on the crew besides his stewardess helper don’t look in the nose of the plane. > -Hope Jodi goes nuts enough to seek out and unlock the coffin so he can get his explosives out. > -Get some people on the ground to agree to the hijackers demands of wiring money. > -Hope there’s no swat team at the airport to deal with. > > And probably a whole lot of other points I missed. Just waaay to far fetched to even attempt.[/spoiler] Yeah. Of course, he could always have just told the Captain there was a terrorist on board demanding money and that it needed to be wired to Account X. Then he could later get his money out of the account, assuming he’d use whatever menthod in the original plan… None of the other wackiness was even necessary. At all. Because one can just tell the Captain that there’s a bomb and he’ll call up Corporate and have them put $50M into a random account… -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-biggest-plothole-and-other-ridiculous-scenes-in-movies/346718.md?page=7)