Best fantasy movie plot holes of all time

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Encino Man picture

Plot hole: At the climax of the movie, the bully reveals Link to be a caveman by among other things, breaking into the High School and stealing his student registration papers, containing among other refuse, the vaccination license of a dog. Problem is, wouldn't the school staff have already checked those at the start of Link's time as a student?

dizzyd

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The Frighteners picture

Plot hole: There is no way that Dammers could know that Frank and Lucy were in the old hospital trying to get the Johnnie's ashes in the chapel.

ozwal13

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Bayonetta: Bloody Fate picture

Plot hole: Luka sneaks into Bayonetta's hotel room and plants a hidden microphone. While sneaking out, he is caught. That's when he is astonished to find a child with Bayonetta who calls her "mummy." He does eventually escape the room and sits in corner with his radio, surprised that they both went to bed and he receives nothing. The problem is: One must be an idiot to plant a mic in a lone woman's hotel room in the dead of the night, unless he truly enjoys listening to her snoring! Planting the mic in her apartment or office, or on her mobile phone makes a lot more sense.

FleetCommand

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Exorcist II: The Heretic picture

Plot hole: Dr. Tuskin warns that if Regan were to remember the events of her possession it could be so traumatic for her it could lead to suicide, even though Regan's therapy seems to be based almost entirely on what she can remember about the events of her possession.

TonyPH

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Watchmen picture

Plot hole: Although this film is a virtual jigsaw puzzle of flashbacks, the dynamic between Dan, Laurie and Rorschach pretty much defines the movie's continuity in the present. However, when Rorschach is framed for murder and arrested, he goes directly to a maximum-security prison, apparently without trial, conviction or sentencing (all of which would require months of due-process, at least). Even if this lapse of time is some sort of artistic device to rapidly advance Rorschach's story, there is no corresponding lapse of months in the relationship between Dan and Laurie, which runs parallel with Rorschach's story. Either there is no due process for Rorschach in this story, or there is a glaring plot hole.

Charles Austin Miller

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Suggested correction: Rorschach was a famous and dangerous outlaw. We are talking about an alternate 80's here with Nixon as president and a nation-wide ban on masks (the Keene Act). Rorschach probably faced the death penalty for his long list of crimes, besides the murder he was finally captured for (not to mention to handful of cops he seriously injured whilst trying to evade capture). I don't think it's strange that his trial was quick or not fully by the book. They made sure he was locked away fast and quietly. The justice system probably works a lot faster in a world of masked vigilantes.

lionhead

Yes, Rorschach was a vigilante; but, before masked superheroes were outlawed, Rorschach was also responsible for sending dozens (if not scores) of far worse criminals to prison, thus benefitting society. This much is stated in the film. His contributions to justice would certainly carry weight, and testimony in his favor would have to be considered in any legal proceedings against him. Also, after his capture, authorities were still trying to assess his mental state, which implies that some sort of due-process was still in place. Rorschach should have received a months-long trial, at the very least.

Charles Austin Miller

To be fair, the original, Hugo Award-winning "Watchmen" graphic novel makes the same continuity leap when it comes to Rorschach's fate. Rorschach keeps a secret diary that dates everything, but it egregiously skips over his trial and sentencing, even though the relationship between Dan and Laurie remains consistent. So, we can say that the movie is faithful to the novel, but the novel itself is flawed with a gaping plot hole.

Charles Austin Miller

The cops of that city don't care about his past deeds, which includes dropping the body of a criminal in front of the police station with the message "Never." They don't like him. Not even his colleagues liked him. That was a long time ago too, he's been the sole masked vigilante for a long time and I bet the cops just started disliking him more and more for his antics. Thus, a quick trial.

lionhead

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III picture

Plot hole: April and Kenshin switch place in time as they were - by some extraordinary coincidence - holding the scepter "at the same time" (if the concept makes any sense) in the exact same pose, with a switch that takes several second of intense lightning storms and 'tornado weather' as one of the Turtles put it. Here there is the assumption that 4 priests would be around the scepter exactly at the same time, and when the Turtles do switch with Norinaga's elite soldiers instead they certainly were in completely different poses, far away enough to ride horses, who did not get spooked one bit by the lightnings and sudden winds but rode as if nothing happened.

Sammo

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Oz the Great and Powerful picture

Plot hole: When Evanora runs off at the end, Oz loudly shouts "We got one!" to Knuck and the tinker. But the machine projecting his face is still activated. The people of Oz should have heard him and realised something was up since as far as they were concerned he wasn't talking to anyone.

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The 6th Man picture

Plot hole: In the waning seconds of the championship game, the Huskies are down by 2 and UMass has the ball. Not only do the Huskies not intentionally foul to stop the clock, but UMass attempts to run a play and set up a basket when they simply could have dribbled out the clock and won the game. Both these strategies go against what any basketball team would do in this situation, especially in a championship game.

Phaneron

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The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter picture

Plot hole: Towards the end of the film, when Bastian is down to his last 2 memories, he states the memories are of his mother and his father. If this were the case then he would have no memory of who or where he was, much less what his dilemma was.

S. Ha

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Three O'Clock High picture

Plot hole: The fact that Buddy placed the knife and note in the steering wheel of Jerry's car is unrealistic. Buddy first met Jerry in the bathroom after school started and Jerry hasn't gone outside of the school building to his car until this point later in the morning... so there's no way that Buddy could have known which car was Jerry's to pull this stunt.

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Nightmare Sisters picture

Plot hole: Marci, once changed back, seems to have clear vision despite having worn glasses before. Melody no longer has an overbite and Mickey isn't overweight. Why they stay this way isn't made clear.

Rob245

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Alice Through the Looking Glass picture

Plot hole: When adult Iracebeth uses the Chronosphere to take Mirana back to fell day, how do Alice and Hatter show up in this different timeline? They can't have acquired another Chronosphere as everything ended when she saw herself.

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Monsters University picture

Plot hole: During the final scare event, Mike gets a perfect score because Sully broke the simulator to allow the 6th scarer to get a perfect score no matter what. After the contest, the simulation resets and Mike pretends to scare the child in the simulator and it registers a perfect score on the scoreboard for the 6th scarer when it should really have registered a score for the 1st scarer, because the simulator had been reset.

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Ghostbusters 2 picture

Plot hole: The Ghostbusters go underground to search for the slime using a map. Even excusing their initial dumb decision to try to dig a hole in the middle of Manhattan when they could have taken that route to begin with, there's no excuse why after their acquittal they never went looking for that river of slime until Vigo burns their lab; they spent weeks studying small samples of the thing but never tried to reach again the source of the infestation to monitor it, which is absurd. (01:00:00)

Sammo

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Suggested correction: The Ghostbusters know from Ray's initial journey down the hole that the river of slime is in the old pneumatic transit system. They are busy re-opening their business and will eventually go back to the river, but that mission gained more urgency once they linked the river to Vigo. Also, they know that the river has been there for years if not decades, and therefore realise that returning to explore it can wait a few weeks.

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The Lost Empire picture

Plot hole: Given Dr. Sin Do is a sneaky and quite brilliant mastermind it seems unlikely he could've been fooled by a victim's sister, especially when they look alike.

Rob245

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The Santa Clause picture

Plot hole: Lots of police officers saw Santa flying at the end. This should've caused the world to accept Santa was real.

MikeH

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James and the Giant Peach picture

Plot hole: Why is that shark machine even there? The only reason it's there is to help the plot, and I don't see how it is of use to anyone in the corporate world. If the shark just ejects the fish it turns into fish heads out to sea, there is too much chance they will be ruined by carnivorous fish or weather before they are picked up. And fishing companies should know better.

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Arthur and the Invisibles picture

Plot hole: In the river scene, Betameche states that his pocket knife doesn't have rope, as it's only available on the smaller model. Yet, around 10 minutes later, Princess Selinia is pulling a retracting rope from the pocket knife, allowing them to abseil down. (00:45:00 - 01:00:00)

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Captain Nemo and the Underwater City picture

Plot hole: At the very beginning, as the passenger ship is foundering in a powerful storm, the little boy places his kitten in a box and tucks the box inside his shirt just moments before he is cast into the churning sea. Sinking into the depths, the boy and other passengers are presently rescued by Captain Nemo's team of divers, who supply the drowning passengers with oxygen until they board the submarine Nautilus. Once aboard, the little boy opens his hidden box to reveal a wet but very much alive kitten that could not possibly have survived submersion for that length of time in a box that was not waterproof.

Charles Austin Miller

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Underworld: Awakening picture

Plot hole: Selene has been kept in a cryogenic tank for 12 years. And for 12 years the scientists running experiments on her very conveniently kept her boots and skin tight suit in the lab. Not just that: they did not keep them in a locker or in a box, but scattered across different shelves of the glass cabinet where they also store test tubes and big bottles of chemicals. Directly in front of them, in fact. (00:10:00)

Sammo

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