Fans Explain These Popular Movie Plotholes
Close your eyes and think of your favorite movie. Now think of that one part that just makes a little bit less sense than everything else. It doesn’t matter what genre it is, every film has one or two plot holes that we just glaze over. Some seem to be a bit bigger than others. But more often than not there’s an explanation out there, even if it doesn’t seem obvious. One person’s plot hole is another’s easily explained phenomenon. mAll you gotta do is really pay attention. Once you do, you’ll find some of these famous moments are a lot more plausible than we all initially thought!
Grab the popcorn, because movie fans are filling in these so-called plotholes!
Titanic: Why Didn’t Rose Share The Door?
Titanic is a heartwarming, then freezing, romantic story about Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet falling in love on the world’s most famous boat. Then it runs into an iceberg because someone wasn’t paying attention. How does it end? One of them dies because the other refuses to share the one remaining flotation device. Tons of tears. Eleven Oscars. Would the film be ruined if Jack made it out alive? There was PLENTY of space on that door for both of them!
That’s a pretty popular belief. However, there was no way Jack was surviving that night. Earlier in the scene, he actually tries to get on the door with Rose. However, it doesn’t work so he opts to just hang onto the side until he freezes to death.
A New Hope: Why Didn’t Vader Know That Leia Was His Daughter?
For all of its massive lore, expansive stories, and an assortment of characters, the Star Wars universe is rife with a lot of confusing moments. We don’t really get why people question this sci-fi space opera, but apparently some things just don’t make sense. The very first film, A New Hope, is full of bizarre choices and scenes. Sometimes a Jedi knows a bit more than we expect.
Even Darth Vader somehow knew who Luke was without a paternity test! Expect no, he didn’t. He was told who Skywalker was by somebody else! Since he didn’t realize who Luke was until he was told, that explains why he had no clue his daughter was a princess. He still shouldn’t have blown up her home planet, though. Rude.
The Dark Knight Rises: How Did Batman Get Back Into Gotham?
The Dark Knight Rises was a great final film in the Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy. After Bane has taken over Gotham, he turns it into a giant hostage situation and locks the city down. Chaos ensues and Batman’s nowhere to be seen. That’s because he was shipped off to prison…and had his back broken. Something as minimal as permanent spine damage won’t stop the world’s greatest bat-themed detective!
He can pass right through those barricades, police, and broken bridges. If any of that was read as sarcasm please read it again. As ridiculous as it sounds, that’s kind of the world Batman is based in. Plus, the guy’s whole schtick is about stealth and moving in the shadows. There’s no way he doesn’t have a million secret ways in and out of his hometown.
Raiders of the Lost Ark: Indiana Didn’t Need To Be There.
Sometimes a person is a hero for doing absolutely nothing at all. Of course, nobody has ever explained this to Indiana Jones. This archeologist has had some of the wildest adventures of Harrison Ford’s career! One of the best is when Indy gets involved in stopping Nazis from stealing the Ark of the Covenant. The description alone sounds like a great story. Towards the end of the movie our hero ends up captured.
After trying to convince the bad guys not to, they go and literally open the Ark and their faces melt off. The thing is, that was going to happen anyway. So why was Indy hanging around if he knew the bad guys would be toast? To get the Ark back safely, of course!
The Return of the King: Why Didn’t They Have The EaglesFly Them To Mordor?
In the book version of The Lord of the Rings, it took Frodo seventeen years to go from leaving The Shire to destroying the One Ring. That’s a pretty long hike, even if it was 1,800 miles. The movie, despite its epic run-time, shortens the journey to about six months. That’s still a long time. Why didn’t everyone just hop on the back of Gandalf’s Great Eagle friends? They’re big enough to carry everyone!
Here’s the thing with that plan, it was never going to work. Part of the reason things took so long was that Sauron could feel the ring and see just about anything it wanted! You have to be a bit stealthier than flying in on a screeching freedom bird.
Cinderella: How Did The Shoe Fall Off If It Was Made For Her?
Cinderella is a beautiful tale about true love, fairy godmothers, and the most uncomfortable shoes in history. No matter how beloved this tale is, there’s no way you can convince us a glass slipper could stay on her foot without an ankle strap. It doesn’t matter if they were magic, she was DESTINED to lose those shoes the minute they were bippity-boppity-booped onto her feet.
It’s a romantic notion to think it led her to her prince, but it also makes sense. Sure, the shoes COULD be magicked into her size, but they’re still glass. That stuff doesn’t stick well to skin. She must have been slipping and sliding in those all night!
Signs: Why Did The Aliens Go To Earth If They Can Be Killed By Water?
People love to joke about M. Night Shyamalan movies. His weird stories, odd casting choices, and all-around method just rub some people the wrong way. It’s a shame that they can’t see Signs for the brilliant horror/sci-fi that it is. One of the main reasons people dump on this film is because the bad guys chose to doom themselves. Why would they travel to Earth if they could be defeated with water?
Well, what if that’s the whole point? An alien race may not even know what water is! How much do we really know about the beings in the movie? Aside from cloaking technology and aquaphobia, they’re mysteries! Sometimes the audience needs to accept that we don’t have the whole story.
Independence Day: How Did They Take Down Advanced Aliens With A Computer Virus?
This epic Will Smith & Jeff Goldblum space blaster of a flick is a CLASSIC! The massive effects, the witty one-liners, the aliens being brought down by a computer virus made on Windows 95, this movie has it all. Wait, what was that last part? These hyper-advanced creatures were brought down by a computer virus made by a human. That can’t be possible, right?
However, if you really think about it, why not? These baddies had no idea what our technology was like, just that it was inferior. They weren’t prepared for the sexiest man alive to write a virus that could destroy their defense systems!
Back to the Future: Why Didn’t Marty’s Parents Remember Him?
Any movie involving time travel is already in questionable plot territory. Anything that doesn’t fit in the story can be written off with a time travel conundrum. Many fans claim that the first film in this franchise has a HUGE plothole: how can Marty’s parents not remember their son from their high school days? He literally went back in time to make sure they’d get together!
But this isn’t a plot hole at all. If any of you readers out there are around his parent’s age, try and think back to a random week in high school. Do you remember EVERYONE you talked to and met with from the past?
The Hunger Games: Why Didn’t Katniss And Peeta Look Starved?
The Hunger Games are a dystopian look at what happens if the Roman Coliseum survived in somewhat modern times. Toss in a dash of child mutilation and obscene government corruption and you have a winning YA book series and multi-million dollar movie deal. One of the prevailing themes in the stories is that kids will volunteer to fight to the death because the winner doesn’t have to worry about starving ever again.
But when we meet the two main characters in the film they look pretty well fed. What kind of Hollywood nonsense is that? None at all. Sure, the actors aren’t on the brink of starvation. That’d be cruel. Their characters are actually kind of fortunate given the circumstances. Peeta’s family run a bakery and Katniss was trained to (illegally) hunt to survive!
Pulp Fiction: Why Didn’t Vincent Hear Butch In The Apartment?
Pulp Fiction is one of those movies that takes a couple watches to really understand. The vignettes aren’t just loosely-connected tales about terrible people. They’re also about greed, survival, great dialogue, AND terrible people. While there are a lot of weird moments, one of the most surprising takes place towards the end of the film. How in the world did trained bodyguard/assassin/chaperone Vincent not hear Bruce Willis creeping around the house while he was in the bathroom? The walls in that apartment aren’t very thick.
However, like most Tarantino films, this is a living, breathing, world. Some stuff is implied or happening right outside the shot. Vincent’s boss, Marcellus Wallace, was probably nearby. It’s pretty normal to assume that Vincent just thought he was hearing his boss walking around.
Citizen Kane: How Did They Hear Kane Say “Rosebud”?
Often considered one of the greatest movies ever made, Citizen Kane is a dramatic tale of jealousy, money, and opera. The entire premise revolves around the meaning behind a rich guy’s dying words, “Rosebud”. It’s a beautifully written and somewhat disturbing story. It’s also riddled with a massive case of something-doesn’t-make-sense-itis. We were all there in Xanadu watching the same scene in the beginning, right?
Charles Kane was alone in that room. How could anyone even HEAR “rosebud”? If that doesn’t make sense then you clearly missed the answer to that. The answer is simple: a guy as wealthy as Kane isn’t going to tend to that mansion alone. His butler was outside and heard what his boss said!
Prometheus: Why Did She Continue To Run In The Ship’s Path?
It doesn’t matter how you feel about Prometheus’ storytelling, lore, or writing. Everyone has a really passionate opinion about the series and we’re not opening that can of worms. However, there is one moment a ton of fans and critics all hone in on. Remember when Charlize Theron was squished by the spaceship? Why didn’t she just dive to the side or run in any other direction aside from straight ahead?
We could have all avoided the loss of her character if she had used common sense, right? Maybe. There’s something people seem to forget about this scene: she’s terrified. When you’re in a state of panic you may not always make the smartest decision! She was probably just trying to survive and she knew there was nothing straight ahead to block her way.
The Matrix: Humans Are Inefficient Batteries.
Blah, blah, blah, humans don’t make great batteries. Blah, blah, blah, The Matrix doesn’t use real science. Listen up, while those are both good points, there are some simple explanations for them. When Neo wakes up and sees the human battery fields, he, along with everyone in the theater, were horrified. Though as viewers we didn’t immediately understand the machines’ choices.
Surely there are better ways to get power, right? That’s very true, but that doesn’t mean this is a plot hole. It’s explained in the first film: the humans darkened the sky to prevent the machines from charging efficiently. Until the sky clears up, they need to find another way to stay operational!
Toy Story: Why Did Buzz Freeze Up If He Didn’t Think He Was A Toy?
The groundbreaking visuals aren’t the only thing that make this one of the best Pixar films ever. It’s the story and commitment that the voice cast delivered that puts it over the top. Plus, the idea of a toy not knowing it’s “alive” is unique and entertaining to watch unfold. The entire movie is golden.
The only real problem is that it’s never explained why Buzz freezes around people! Why does he act like a toy if he thinks he’s a human? Think about it from his perspective: if everyone around him freezes when giants appear, maybe he should, too. Especially if he’s supposed to be on what he thinks is an alien planet.
The Shawshank Redemption: How Did Andy Dufresne Cover His Escape Hole From The Inside?
One of the most memorable scenes from The Shawshank Redemption isn’t at the end of the sewer pipe. Whenever this movie comes up, people can’t help but argue over the poster in Andy’s room. How could he make sure it was sealed against the wall once he left? Someone else must have helped him! It would be possible, but the film leaves massive hints as to how this works.
Early on we see Andy fold the poster in a certain way to roll it down. Plus, there’s even a scene of him working on the tunnel behind the poster! There doesn’t need to be an explanation put in when we can see the solution with our own eyes.
The Little Mermaid: Why Would She Throw Away Her Life For A Man?
The Little Mermaid is an amazing movie that lives in the hearts of Disney fans around the world. Ariel finds her forever love in Prince Eric, though it seemed to have happened really fast. Some fans think that she kind of fell for the first human she could find. While it may be true, that’s not the reason she wanted to go onto the land in the first place.
Do these people not listen to the songs in the movie? “Part of Your World” is literally about being on land, not about love. She just wants to be able to be around people and the dry part of the world. Prince Eric just happened to be a bonus that she added to her life, not one she threw it away for.
A New Hope: Why Would The Death Star Have Such An Easy Target?
A New Hope is a pretty popular picture to pick apart for some reason. Despite most likely EVERYTHING being made up, some superfans have a big issue with the Death Star. It’s not the fact that it exists that bothers them, only that it’s built badly. According to a rather large group of people, it makes no sense to build a giant space station and leave its single way of being destroyed out in the open.
We weren’t aware there were so many spherical space station experts out there. As unbelievable as it may seem, the whole “exhaust port” issue isn’t really a problem. That’s not the only exhaust port on that hulking thing. Plus, you would probably need some to help move out hot air.
The Karate Kid: The Kick Was An Illegal Move.
It’s all come down to this. The fight has been exhausting, Daniel is a limping mess, how could he possibly turn it all around? Well, that’s easy. Despite getting slammed around the arena during the finale of The Karate Kid, Daniel still has some pep in his step. In the blink of an eye, he smacks his opponent’s forehead with his foot and sends him down! But wasn’t that an illegal move?
Fans have been debating the Karate Kid Crane Kick scene for years. A lot of people think Daniel would have been disqualified for using it. Maybe if the rules were different he could be. However, we don’t know all the rules of the tournament. Also, it’s been noted in the film that a strike above the belt counts as a hit. It’s totally fine and Daniel’s victory is still legit.
Captain America: Civil War: Tony Stark Couldn’t Have Known Spider-Man’s Identity.
You don’t have to be magical or even Iron Man to figure out who Spider-Man is. A lot of people actually know his identity (depending on the version of Spidey you’re following). But it feels kind of weird that Tony Stark knows who Parker is in Captain America: Civil War. It’s not like they ever worked together before. Does he have powers we don’t know about?
Aside from being a super genius and super billionaire? Nope, none at all. However, he does have something a lot of others don’t: security footage of Spidey. Tony’s a smart guy. It was probably pretty easy to figure out who was slinging webs all over the city.
Home Alone: Why Didn’t Kevin Just Call The Cops?
Home Alone is a Christmas classic about a young Macaulay Culkin being abandoned by his family and then stopping robbers from burglarizing his house. It’s also full of some of the most inventive home defense systems ever conceived. While Kevin does an excellent job of warding off Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, surely there were easier options available.
Why didn’t he just call the police? Instead, he orders a pizza! The movie could have been cut down to thirty minutes. That all makes sense, but don’t forget: the robbers were originally dressed as cops! Something like that is enough to stop our young hero from trusting that the police would help.
A Quiet Place: Why Did They Keep Having Kids?
This heartbreaking and terrifying film that tries to show us what the world would be like if nobody could speak or even make noise. It’s not a disease, they just don’t want to be killed by the ultrasonic-hearing aliens. The premise is equal parts original and horribly frightening. While it has a lot of fans screaming, some are kind of upset at the main characters…for starting a family.
After the alien apocalypse, the two main characters have lost their child and live in a vast wasteland of a collapsed society. Somehow, they also have another baby! Why would someone choose to bring a new life into THAT world? One suggestion is: maybe they didn’t have a choice. Remember, condoms and birth control are 99.9% effective, not a guarantee.
Superman (1978): That’s Not How Time Travel Works.
One of the most widely talked about plot holes in superhero cinema dates back to the original Superman film from 1978. In this flick, the Man of Steel famously flies around the planet so far it starts to spin in reverse! In movie logic, this means he’s turned back time! If anyone here isn’t a physicist, we’ll keep this simple (because we don’t get it either): that’s not how time travel works.
The only way to travel back in time is to move faster than the speed of light. Since the special effects in the seventies weren’t up to our standards today, they couldn’t show this too well. But Superman wasn’t spinning the Earth. He was flying faster than the speed of light, the spinning planet symbolized time travel!
A New Hope: Why Can’t The Stormtroopers Hit Anyone?
The Star Wars Stormtroopers get a bad rap. These seemingly mindless clones are only useful because there are so many of them. None of them can hit the broad side of a barn! Their notoriously bad aim has lived on in infamy across the fanbase. Here’s the dealio though: they aren’t all bad shots.
Yes, the ones on the Death Star were REALLY rough with their pistol aim. That doesn’t mean everyone else was. Some of those pilots took out a big chunk of the Rebels while flying around! Some people need to stop making sweeping generalizations in the fandom. Sometimes those bad shots are all part of the master plan.
Beauty and the Beast: Why Can’t The Villagers Remember Their Prince?
This explanation isn’t about the expertly created, timeless, and perfect animated original, rather, it’s about the live-action remake. Wasn’t it weird that the villagers seemed to forget all about the Prince and their loved ones who worked in the castle? As soon as the curse was placed on the grounds, the villagers just up and forgot they were peasants to a terribly selfish and cruel prince!
It doesn’t make any sense! Who forgets something like that? Well, they may have been magicked into it. Belle calls out the weirdness in her opening song. She sings about things being the same day after day. That might not be metaphorical. The villagers are stuck in a time loop, it was part of the curse cast by the enchantress!
James Bond: Why Does His Character Change With Every New Actor?
Who plays your favorite iteration of 007? Everyone has their favorite James Bond! Each actor that’s played the famous spy has brought their own charm and uniqueness to a timeless role. This has also kept the spy in the espionage game for a pretty long time. Whenever he gets tired of his look, a new actor comes in and his adventures continue! While it feels like a continuity problem it’s actually pretty plausible.
While 007 has changed faces over the years, he’s treated like the same person by everyone. How? It’s a great explanation for how so many different Bonds can exist in the same universe. These different agents just use the same codename!
Armageddon: Why Did Nasa Train Oil Drillers How To Be Astronauts And Not The Other Way Around?
Are you looking for a wild ride full of Bruce Willis and asteroids? Armageddon is like a space western with lots of yelling and unexplained hollering. The entire movie is a blast and a half., In the pantheon of confusing elements of this film, we wonder why they trained these scientists to become astronauts. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around? Most astronauts are already scientists.
Just teach them how to drill stuff! It’s actually not that simple. Anything involving cutting into the planet requires a lot of specific know-how. The people chosen for the mission were qualified in just the right way to make it a success. It was easier to train them how to go into space instead of the other way around!
The Force Awakens: How Did Rey Defeat Kylo Ren If He’s So Powerful?
The newer movies added to the Star Wars universe have received a lot of criticism since the first film was released. Everyone has an opinion on them, but as a whole, they’re great films! That hasn’t stopped some fans from coming for Kylo Ren and mocking him incessantly. People keep pointing out how easily he was defeated by someone as untrained as Rey.
Is it really that surprising though? This has nothing to do with the Force. Ren was put through the wringer leading up to that scene! It’s no wonder he lost, that guy was nearly dead already. That doesn’t make him any less of a cool villain.
The Prisoner of Azkaban: Why Didn’t They Use The Time Turner To Kill Voldemort?
Let’s talk about some good old-fashioned magic. Hermione Granger is one of the few students at Hogwarts to be given access to a Time Turner. This nifty tool allows her to go to multiple classes during the day just by playing with time. While she might’ve been young, her teachers obviously trusted her with something that had such powerful magic. But wait, if this thing was so powerful why didn’t they use it to take down Voldemort?
They could’ve gone back and done away with him while he was young and defenseless! However, vigilant viewers would know that going that far back would’ve been dangerous. And how do we know those things can even go that far back in time? It seems like a good plan but it wouldn’t have worked.
Interstellar: Wasn’t The Portal A Time Paradox?
If you’re able to wrap your head around the ending to Interstellar, congrats! You either understand multi-dimensional space travel or paid close attention. Despite its fascinating plot and gorgeous visuals, Interstellar is a pretty trippy flick. A lot of fans think the ending is a bit of a cop-out because of the aliens. They’ll even go so far as to say that they’re a glaringly large plot hole!
Wouldn’t time travel affect them as well? Possibly. Usually that is reserved for creatures in the same dimension. Since they’re from the fifth dimension, the laws of physics don’t necessarily apply to them the same way. Plothole solved.