I absolutely love watching movies, especially feel-good ones. There’s something incredibly captivating about being transported to different worlds and experiencing diverse stories. However, what really frustrates me are films that contain significant plot holes. Sometimes, I can look past them with some suspension of disbelief. However, there are instances where the plot holes are so glaring that they completely undermine the narrative. When a film’s logic fails to hold up, it takes me out of the experience and leaves me questioning the intentions of the filmmakers.
Over the years, numerous films have been released that have had significant plot holes. Many of these fall squarely in the science fiction and fantasy film genres. Among these, several feature time travel as a major plot point. Here’s a look at some of the biggest films with plot holes, and whether they still hold up overall. Some of these may surprise you.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
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There have been five hugely successful Indiana Jones movies starring Harrison Ford as the chief protagonist. The first one, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, had the biggest plot hole in the entire series.
In the movie, set in the 1930s, Jones, a fictional American archaeologist and college professor, is tasked with finding the lost Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. The Ark is said to have magical powers that Adolf Hitler believes will make his German army invincible.
By the end of the film, the Nazis find the Ark first. However, instead of helping Hitler, the open Ark unleashes terrifying spirits and apparitions that upend the Nazis, killing many of them. Therefore, the biggest plot hole is that Jones’ quest ultimately meant nothing. In fact, had he found the Ark first, the Nazis wouldn’t have been destroyed. In other words, his actions have no bearing on the outcome.
Given that four Indiana Jones films followed between 1984 and 2023, this hole didn’t destroy the series. And yet, once you realize it occurred, it makes the first film much less powerful and less likely to be one you want to watch again.
Frozen (2013)
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My daughter was seven years old when Frozen was first released, which meant I had to rush to the theater three times to watch it. Overall, I did enjoy the film, especially the music. And yet, I immediately noticed a rather large plot hole that ruined the movie for me on subsequent viewings.
In the film, Anna is struck in the heart by Elsa’s ice powers, which makes her freeze. There’s a nearby fire that has absolutely no effect on her condition. We’re told that the only way she can be unfrozen is through an act of love, which seems flimsy, given that there’s a fire in the scene.
Surely, there were a few kids who noticed this plot hole, and the film became one of Disney’s most popular of all time despite it. And yet, if Disney had not included a fire in the scene, you wouldn’t be reading about it here.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
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I’ll admit, when I saw The Dark Knight Rises in theaters, I didn’t recognize its modest plot hole. In fact, it was only after doing research for this article that I recognized it. Midway through the film, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is defeated by Bane, has his back broken, and is sent to an underground prison far away from Gotham City. Bane specifically selected this prison for Wayne because it was one of the most impossible to escape.
But escape Wayne did, despite his physical problems and his lack of connections with the outside world. The escape is presented dramatically, but it’s completely implausible. Once you see it on a second viewing, it’s undeniable and temporarily takes away from the rest of the otherwise excellent film.
Gremlins (1984)
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For those of us of a certain age, Gremlins is remembered as either one of the best films of our childhood or the scariest. The film has a somewhat simple premise: there are these adorable little creatures called Mogwai that you can’t help but want to take home and cuddle. Unfortunately, if you feed them after midnight, which they really want you to do, they turn into nasty gremlins who wreak havoc and kill people.
So here’s the plot hole: Isn’t it always after midnight? At what point in the day can you feed them again without risking your life?
Armageddon (1998)
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One of the most popular films of the 1990s, Armageddon, also has one of the biggest plot holes in movie history. The science fiction disaster movie is about a hazardous asteroid headed for Earth in just 18 days. NASA’s Dan Truman (played by Billy Bob Thornton) comes up with an interesting idea: teach a team of deep-core oil drillers to become astronauts, fly and land on an asteroid, then drill into it, leaving a nuclear bomb inside to split it into two.
This is undoubtedly a far-fetched movie plot, and that’s fine, especially when well-known actors like Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck play the drillers. And yet, the big plot hole is why Truman didn’t simply use existing astronauts to complete the task? Wouldn’t it have been easier to teach folks who have already been in space to drill, as opposed to teaching a group of blue-collar drillers how to be astronauts in just 18 days?
Back to the Future (1985)
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One of my favorite films of all time is Back to the Future. Unfortunately, that movie, along with its two sequels, has significant plot holes that you need to overlook immediately, or you won’t enjoy the rest of the story. At issue is Marty McFly’s (Michael J. Fox) face, which is apparently not remembered by his parents when he travels from 1985 to 1955. Never mind that in 1955, a younger version of his mother fell in love with him, at least temporarily, and his younger father spent at least a week with him.
Given that a considerable part of the storyline in Back to the Future is about time travel, which no one has proven to be true in real life, this hole is really not a big deal once you accept it. But it’s a hole, nonetheless.
Toy Story (1995)
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In all the Toy Story movies, when a human character appears, the toys suddenly freeze because they don’t want them to see them move. This makes sense, except for one problem. In the first Toy Story film, Buzz Lightyear doesn’t believe he’s a toy; instead, he believes he’s a real space ranger. And yet, when he sees a human, he also freezes.
No doubt, this is a minor inconsistency and one that is quickly forgotten because Buzz eventually accepts that he is a toy. In Toy Story 2, one of the best movie sequels, and all the others, the toys freeze every time a person appears.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
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Good vs. evil is a central theme in every one of the many Star Wars films. In the first, the evil Galactic Empire is represented by a Death Star, a moon-sized space station and super-weapon designed to destroy everything in its wake.
Interestingly, this dangerous object has one fatal design flaw: to destroy it, you need to hit a single, two-meter-wide exhaust port, which Luke Skywalker does indeed hit at the end of the film.
This is the evil empire we’re talking about, folks. Wouldn’t it make sense that they would have protected this design flaw, or else risk it being exposed? Apparently not, but we continue to love the movie, nearly 50 years since it was first released.
Plot holes don’t always mean the film is a disaster
These are just a few of the movies with plot holes. As you can see, many of these are still good films despite the holes, since they don’t take away from the overall movie. Happy watching.
