30 Slightly Annoying Movie Plot Holes You Can't Unsee
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Are you one of those people who spends the whole movie pointing out all of the little mistakes and continuity errors? There's no shame in admitting it - we're all guilty of doing that in the past. In fact, today we have a collection of movie plot holes that you'll be able to annoy your friends with the next time you're having a movie night.
People are pointing out all sorts of annoying little plot holes in famous movies and once you realize them, they become impossible to unsee. Check them out in the gallery below but be warned - there might be spoilers! And if you want more movie plot holes, see our previous post here!
Image source: Touchstone Pictures
It would be easier to train astronauts how to drill than train drillers to become astronauts. When Ben Affleck pointed this out, Michael Bay told him to shut up.
Image source: Warner Bros.
"The way the Marauders' Map works...wouldn't Fred and George have SEEN Peter Pettigrew sleeping in bed with Ron every night on the map?"
Image source: Walt Disney Pictures
In literally every single Christmas movie, none of the parents believe in Santa, yet every year there are several unexpected presents under the tree and no one questions it.
Image source: The Kennedy/Marshall Company
"Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix find out that water is toxic to the aliens...yet the aliens have been fine walking around with all the natural humidity in the air on a planet made up of MOSTLY water."
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
In Tangled, everything revolved around Rapunzel seeing the lights on her birthday, but Mother Gothel could have just lied about which day she was born.
Image source: Centropolis Entertainment
"Oh, this human-made computer virus magically works on their alien technology, too, because that's how computers work."
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
Hades (James Woods), king of the underworld, wants Hercules (Tate Donovan) dead. He puts his best henchmen, Pain and Panic (Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer), on the job. They tell him he’s dead. And Hades believes them, for quite some time!
But, as we know, they’re dead wrong.
Hercules may be super strong. But Hades is, without exaggeration, the king of the underworld. Why didn’t he double check that Hercules was actually dead? Just by, like, looking around? He lives and works in the place where dead people go. Wouldn’t Hercules have shown up?
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
She wants to be where the people are. So Ariel, The Little Mermaid herself, makes a deal to gain legs and lose her voice, just so she can go above the sea and fall in love with Prince Eric. Complications, often involving charades, ensue.
But why didn’t she write on a piece of paper to Eric about what was going on? After all, we see her write in English earlier when she signs her name for the deal.
Fans asked animators this question at an event. The animators just smiled and said, “Next question.”
Image source: Pixar
In Toy Story, if Buzz was so convinced he was a real space ranger, why did he adhere to all of the standard toy rules, like "playing dead" when a person was in the room?
Image source: Pixar
In Monsters University, Mike and Sully didn't meet until their first year of college, but in Monster's, Inc. they claimed to be friends since elementary school.
Image source: Eidos Interactive
Lara’s whole goal in the film is to destroy the triangle so the Illuminati can’t use it’s evil power, however, after successfully getting the first half at the first tomb, she spends the entire third act trying to acquire the second half in order to destroy them both. The problem is that she has one piece already and one half can not work without joining it with the other, so why doesn’t she just destroy the one she has, rendering the second piece useless?
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast was actually a prince, which meant he would have been highly educated, so why did Belle have to teach him how to read?
Image source: Sunday Night Productions and Platinum Dunes
In A Quiet Place, instead of making shelter near the waterfall (i.e. the only place where the killer monsters couldn't hear them), they lived on a noisy farm.
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
We know — most of the Nicolas Cage adventure flick is renowned for its calm, patient accuracy. But there’s something seriously off about the famous moment when Cage’s Benjamin Franklin Gates steals the Declaration of Independence.
Other than the sheer lunacy of those words put together in that order.
When Ben reads the Declaration later, we see it starts with “We the people”. But that’s the opening to the Constitution, not the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration begins with “When in the course of human events”. Either Ben made a serious miscalculation, or that’s a huge filmmaking error!
Image source: Lucasfilm
In the Star Wars series, the lack of air and differences in gravitational pull should have affected everyone on each new planet, especially since they're different sizes and don't have the same atmospheric pressures.
Image source: Columbia Pictures
In Men in Black, Earth was literally going to be blown up in an hour, but only two agents (one of whom was a newbie) were sent to save the world.
Image source: Universal Pictures
"You can just...leave the country beforehand. Also, why does no one ever try to do fraud during those hours? What a waste of potential."
Image source: Marvel
The MCU got a fun jolt of unorthodox humor with 2015’s Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd. Rudd’s superhero can shrink down to the size of an ant and back. But there’s a rule that he’s told often: His mass doesn’t change. He weighs the same tiny as he did normal.
If taken seriously, this would render essential moments, like ants picking a tiny Ant-Man up, impossible. It would also mean he couldn’t sneak around vents — his weight would collapse them instantly. And in Captain America: Civil War, his growing bigger wouldn’t give him super strength.
Image source: Rogue Pictures
In Limitless, Bradley Cooper becomes the world’s smartest man thanks to a new wonder drug. It’s actually quite an enjoyable and entertaining film (until the silly ending). However, it’s let down by one of those plot contrivances that once read, destroys the film. If he’s so smart, why does he think it’s a good idea to borrow money from a mobster? I’m an idiot and I know not to do that.
Image source: Hughes Entertainment
In Home Alone, Kevin's mom wasn't able to call him from Paris because the phone lines were down, yet Kevin was somehow able to call and order himself a pizza.
Image source: Marvel
In X-Men: The Last Stand’s finale, Phoenix Jean Grey is literally tearing reality apart and ripping people into nothingness. Wolverine battles his way to his unrequited love, skin ripping from his adamantium frame. His life is being destroyed. But,weirdly, not his pants. They seem to be made from something even stronger than adamantium. No peek of a Wolver-willy for us then.
Image source: Warner Bros
In Gravity, Matt was floating away and ordered Ryan to let go of the tethered rope, but since there's no gravity in space all Ryan had to do was gently pull the rope toward her to bring Matt back.
Image source: Universal Pictures
"How did Marty’s dad not recognize that his son grew up to be the person that helped him get the girl he wanted? Like, he didn't even think he looked remotely familiar later in life."
Image source: Warner Bros
Gremlins has three rules for dealing with the title creatures: Don’t put them in sunlight. Don’t put them in water. And don’t feed them after midnight. If you do any of these, you’ll risk turning the cuties into destructive, bloodthirsty creatures.
Simple enough, right? Let’s look closer…
“Don’t feed them after midnight.” Technically speaking, it’s… always after midnight. And, simultaneously, before midnight. 12:01am is both one minute after midnight and 23 hours and 59 minutes before the next midnight. Is midnight the only time you’re allowed to feed them?
Our brain hurts!
Image source: Marvel
In Ant-Man and the Wasp, no one noticed Hank's giant lab that would mysteriously appear and then disappear at random parts of the city, even though he was trying to be discreet while hiding from the FBI.
Image source: Marvel Studios Films
In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America traveled back in time to return the Infinity Stones, which would have changed the current timeline, yet he somehow managed to reappear in the present to give Falcon his shield. Captain America reappearing in the same timeline he left goes against all of the time travel rules Bruce Banner originally laid out. Also, how the heck did Captain America return the Stones that were on different galaxies?!
Image source: Warner Bros
In The Dark Knight Rises, every single member of the Gotham police force was sent underground and got trapped, but then they magically emerged MONTHS later, all clean-shaven and well-dressed.
Image source: Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, EDITH was so advanced and even had facial recognition technology, but for some reason she couldn't identify Beck as an ex-Stark employee or that everything in the bar was an illusion.
Image source: Lucasfilm
"The line: 'Somehow, Palpatine has returned' about sums it all up."
Image source: Warner Bros.
"When I saw this in theaters, the whole movie was ruined for me when his dad turned out to be Ryan Reynolds. You’re telling me this kid didn't AUTOMATICALLY recognize his dad’s voice the minute Pikachu started talking? Are you kidding me? I’m even willing to suspend my belief and say MAYBE he didn’t think about it immediately because of the shock of a talking Pikachu...but he doesn’t figure it out until the end of the movie."
#1 Armageddon (1998)
Image source: Touchstone Pictures
It would be easier to train astronauts how to drill than train drillers to become astronauts. When Ben Affleck pointed this out, Michael Bay told him to shut up.
#2 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
Image source: Warner Bros.
"The way the Marauders' Map works...wouldn't Fred and George have SEEN Peter Pettigrew sleeping in bed with Ron every night on the map?"
#3 Every Single Christmas Movie
Image source: Walt Disney Pictures
In literally every single Christmas movie, none of the parents believe in Santa, yet every year there are several unexpected presents under the tree and no one questions it.
#4 Signs (2002)
Image source: The Kennedy/Marshall Company
"Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix find out that water is toxic to the aliens...yet the aliens have been fine walking around with all the natural humidity in the air on a planet made up of MOSTLY water."
#5 Tangled (2010)
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
In Tangled, everything revolved around Rapunzel seeing the lights on her birthday, but Mother Gothel could have just lied about which day she was born.
#6 Independence Day (1996)
Image source: Centropolis Entertainment
"Oh, this human-made computer virus magically works on their alien technology, too, because that's how computers work."
#7 Hercules (1997)
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
Hades (James Woods), king of the underworld, wants Hercules (Tate Donovan) dead. He puts his best henchmen, Pain and Panic (Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer), on the job. They tell him he’s dead. And Hades believes them, for quite some time!
But, as we know, they’re dead wrong.
Hercules may be super strong. But Hades is, without exaggeration, the king of the underworld. Why didn’t he double check that Hercules was actually dead? Just by, like, looking around? He lives and works in the place where dead people go. Wouldn’t Hercules have shown up?
#8 The Little Mermaid (1989)
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
She wants to be where the people are. So Ariel, The Little Mermaid herself, makes a deal to gain legs and lose her voice, just so she can go above the sea and fall in love with Prince Eric. Complications, often involving charades, ensue.
But why didn’t she write on a piece of paper to Eric about what was going on? After all, we see her write in English earlier when she signs her name for the deal.
Fans asked animators this question at an event. The animators just smiled and said, “Next question.”
#9 Toy Story (1995)
Image source: Pixar
In Toy Story, if Buzz was so convinced he was a real space ranger, why did he adhere to all of the standard toy rules, like "playing dead" when a person was in the room?
#10 Monsters University (2013)
Image source: Pixar
In Monsters University, Mike and Sully didn't meet until their first year of college, but in Monster's, Inc. they claimed to be friends since elementary school.
#11 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
Image source: Eidos Interactive
Lara’s whole goal in the film is to destroy the triangle so the Illuminati can’t use it’s evil power, however, after successfully getting the first half at the first tomb, she spends the entire third act trying to acquire the second half in order to destroy them both. The problem is that she has one piece already and one half can not work without joining it with the other, so why doesn’t she just destroy the one she has, rendering the second piece useless?
#12 Beauty And The Beast (1991)
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast was actually a prince, which meant he would have been highly educated, so why did Belle have to teach him how to read?
#13 A Quiet Place (2018)
Image source: Sunday Night Productions and Platinum Dunes
In A Quiet Place, instead of making shelter near the waterfall (i.e. the only place where the killer monsters couldn't hear them), they lived on a noisy farm.
#14 National Treasure (2004)
Image source: Walt Disney Studios
We know — most of the Nicolas Cage adventure flick is renowned for its calm, patient accuracy. But there’s something seriously off about the famous moment when Cage’s Benjamin Franklin Gates steals the Declaration of Independence.
Other than the sheer lunacy of those words put together in that order.
When Ben reads the Declaration later, we see it starts with “We the people”. But that’s the opening to the Constitution, not the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration begins with “When in the course of human events”. Either Ben made a serious miscalculation, or that’s a huge filmmaking error!
#15 Star Wars Series
Image source: Lucasfilm
In the Star Wars series, the lack of air and differences in gravitational pull should have affected everyone on each new planet, especially since they're different sizes and don't have the same atmospheric pressures.
#16 Men In Black (1997)
Image source: Columbia Pictures
In Men in Black, Earth was literally going to be blown up in an hour, but only two agents (one of whom was a newbie) were sent to save the world.
#17 The Purge (2013)
Image source: Universal Pictures
"You can just...leave the country beforehand. Also, why does no one ever try to do fraud during those hours? What a waste of potential."
#18 Ant-Man (2015)
Image source: Marvel
The MCU got a fun jolt of unorthodox humor with 2015’s Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd. Rudd’s superhero can shrink down to the size of an ant and back. But there’s a rule that he’s told often: His mass doesn’t change. He weighs the same tiny as he did normal.
If taken seriously, this would render essential moments, like ants picking a tiny Ant-Man up, impossible. It would also mean he couldn’t sneak around vents — his weight would collapse them instantly. And in Captain America: Civil War, his growing bigger wouldn’t give him super strength.
#19 Limitless (2011)
Image source: Rogue Pictures
In Limitless, Bradley Cooper becomes the world’s smartest man thanks to a new wonder drug. It’s actually quite an enjoyable and entertaining film (until the silly ending). However, it’s let down by one of those plot contrivances that once read, destroys the film. If he’s so smart, why does he think it’s a good idea to borrow money from a mobster? I’m an idiot and I know not to do that.
#20 Home Alone (1990)
Image source: Hughes Entertainment
In Home Alone, Kevin's mom wasn't able to call him from Paris because the phone lines were down, yet Kevin was somehow able to call and order himself a pizza.
#21 X-Men III: Wolverine (2006)
Image source: Marvel
In X-Men: The Last Stand’s finale, Phoenix Jean Grey is literally tearing reality apart and ripping people into nothingness. Wolverine battles his way to his unrequited love, skin ripping from his adamantium frame. His life is being destroyed. But,weirdly, not his pants. They seem to be made from something even stronger than adamantium. No peek of a Wolver-willy for us then.
#22 Gravity (2013)
Image source: Warner Bros
In Gravity, Matt was floating away and ordered Ryan to let go of the tethered rope, but since there's no gravity in space all Ryan had to do was gently pull the rope toward her to bring Matt back.
#23 Back To The Future (1985)
Image source: Universal Pictures
"How did Marty’s dad not recognize that his son grew up to be the person that helped him get the girl he wanted? Like, he didn't even think he looked remotely familiar later in life."
#24 Gremlins (1984)
Image source: Warner Bros
Gremlins has three rules for dealing with the title creatures: Don’t put them in sunlight. Don’t put them in water. And don’t feed them after midnight. If you do any of these, you’ll risk turning the cuties into destructive, bloodthirsty creatures.
Simple enough, right? Let’s look closer…
“Don’t feed them after midnight.” Technically speaking, it’s… always after midnight. And, simultaneously, before midnight. 12:01am is both one minute after midnight and 23 hours and 59 minutes before the next midnight. Is midnight the only time you’re allowed to feed them?
Our brain hurts!
#25 Ant-Man (2015)
Image source: Marvel
In Ant-Man and the Wasp, no one noticed Hank's giant lab that would mysteriously appear and then disappear at random parts of the city, even though he was trying to be discreet while hiding from the FBI.
#26 Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Image source: Marvel Studios Films
In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America traveled back in time to return the Infinity Stones, which would have changed the current timeline, yet he somehow managed to reappear in the present to give Falcon his shield. Captain America reappearing in the same timeline he left goes against all of the time travel rules Bruce Banner originally laid out. Also, how the heck did Captain America return the Stones that were on different galaxies?!
#27 The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Image source: Warner Bros
In The Dark Knight Rises, every single member of the Gotham police force was sent underground and got trapped, but then they magically emerged MONTHS later, all clean-shaven and well-dressed.
#28 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Image source: Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, EDITH was so advanced and even had facial recognition technology, but for some reason she couldn't identify Beck as an ex-Stark employee or that everything in the bar was an illusion.
#29 Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)
Image source: Lucasfilm
"The line: 'Somehow, Palpatine has returned' about sums it all up."
#30 Detective Pikachu (2019)
Image source: Warner Bros.
"When I saw this in theaters, the whole movie was ruined for me when his dad turned out to be Ryan Reynolds. You’re telling me this kid didn't AUTOMATICALLY recognize his dad’s voice the minute Pikachu started talking? Are you kidding me? I’m even willing to suspend my belief and say MAYBE he didn’t think about it immediately because of the shock of a talking Pikachu...but he doesn’t figure it out until the end of the movie."DE
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