CATEGORIES Movie News
When you spend years working on a movie -- from writing the script, to filming scene after scene, to sitting for hours in an editing suite trying to perfect the final product -- it's inevitable that some things will get overlooked. In the past, we've pointed this out through our series of movie mistakes. However, sometimes directors forget about more than just a misplaced prop. Sometimes, it's a huge, gaping plot hole that slips through the cracks.This weekend, the superhero epic "The Avengers" hits theaters nationwide. While the movie more than lives up to the hype, there are, as with any film, a few minor plot holes. For instance, when (SPOILER ALERT) Thor and Iron Man are fighting in the woods, bad guy Loki is just off in the distance. So why doesn't he run away while the two heroes are busy arguing? (Yes, Loki is trying to get caught to make sure Bruce Banner/Hulk causes havoc on the Hellicarrier, but how does he know that Bruce is even going to be there in the first place?)
That said, let's take a look at some of the Biggest Plot Holes in Movie History.
Gallery | Biggest Plot Holes in Movies
-
'Citizen Kane'
Reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland) spends the entire movie trying to discover the meaning behind media mogul Charles Foster Kane's last words before he died (Rosebud). However, as you can see from this clip (we can't embed it, so you'll have to watch it over on YouTube), no one was around to hear Kane say them. So how does anyone know about it? (Since then, arguments have been made that Jerry Thompson represented the audience in the film, meaning he didn't have to hear it if we did.) -
'The Dark Knight'
During a fundraiser hosted by Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), the Joker (Heath Ledger) crashes the party in search of District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Eventually, he throws Dark Knight love interest, Rachel, (Maggie Gyllenhaal) out the window, forcing Batman to jump out and save her. However, what director Christopher Nolan never addresses is that the Joker has now been left alone in a room full of Gotham billionaires. So ... the criminal mastermind just got back on the elevator and called it an evening, right? He may not have been interested in money, but he certainly wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to cause further chaos among the city's elite. -
'Ocean's 11'
Part of Danny Ocean's (George Clooney) casino-robbing plan is to trick owner Tony Benedict (Andy Garcia) into carrying out half the money from the vault under threat of the rest being blown to bits. However, Benedict soon discovers that he's been duped, and the bags are filled with flyers. But where did the flyers come from? Ocean and his crew would have had to take them down with them to the vault, which wouldn't have been possible considering they scaled down an elevator shaft just to get there. As for the fake SWAT team that came in, they only had small backpacks on -- not nearly enough room to carry the several duffel bags-worth of stacked paper. -
'The Lost World: Jurassic Park'
During the sequel to the 1994 blockbuster, the crew -- on a ship carrying only a tyrannosaurus rex -- has been found eaten. However, since the T-rex was being held inside a massive cargo hold the whole time, how did it get out and kill everybody? -
'Superman'
At the end of the movie, Superman (Christopher Reeve) races to save a small town from being destroyed by a dam, preventing him from stopping Lois Lane from dying in a car accident. The Man of Steel then flies around the earth, making the planet rotate in the opposite direction, thereby reversing time and giving him the opportunity to save Lois. What's never addressed is the fact that Superman never went back to save the small town from the crashing dam. (Not as super as you thought he was, eh?) -
'Reservoir Dogs'
The iconic shootout scene at the end of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film ends in a bloody mess. Joe is pointing a gun at Mr. Orange, Mr. White is pointing a gun at Joe, and Nice Guy Eddie is pointing a gun at Mr. White. By the end, they [SPOILER] all end up dead. But who shot Nice Guy Eddie if no one was aiming a gun at him? (You can look for yourself in the NSFW clip here. If you watch closely, you can see Mr. White fires his gun twice, but it's almost impossible to tell if he turns the second bullet toward Eddie.) -
'The Shawshank Redemption'
In "Shawshank," prisoner Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) makes a daring escape by tunneling out of his own cell. The problem? When the warden and guards find him missing in the morning, a poster has been refastened over the hole. How did Andy do that from the other side of the wall? You could make the case that the poster was only fastened from the top and hanging over the hole, so we'll let you be the judge. -
'The Matrix'
As Wired pointed out in this 2010 column, why is the simulated world (a.k.a. the Matrix) filled with computers? Wouldn't the machines have taken all the computers out at the risk of Neo -- or anyone else for that matter -- discovering that they were being controlled? -
'Edward Scissorhands'
At the end of the film, Edward (Johnny Depp) is seen carving a giant ice sculpture in the attic of his mansion. But how did he get the blocks of ice up there? It's not like he had hands to carry them.