Plot hole: During Riggs' last fight with Adolph, Adolph holds the knife in his own hand as Riggs forces him to stab himself very slowly. At any point, Adolph could simply have let the knife fall or just tilt down before that happened. Nothing Riggs is doing is making such impossible. "Locking" his wrist does not prevent him from letting go of the knife. It only prevents him flexing his wrist. And this guy is a trained killer, fighting for his life. Better to battle for control of the knife than just let it kill you.
Plot hole: The hitman in the tow truck leans into the rear/left corner of the cab as the surfboard approaches. The board hits the glass at the very top, dead center. Hence, it definitely misses him completely, yet the hitman is killed. Windshields don't break into "shards" (which is another mistake made listed here, and as it can't exist, it can't be the cause of death) and the roof is not damaged. He is the driver, and he stops the truck by braking. There is no vehicle collision. It is clear to all viewers that the makers intended the surfboard to be the cause of death - nobody watching the film thought otherwise.
Plot hole: Riggs and Murtagh send the car flying out of the container, pushing the money out as it goes. Ignoring that the car couldn't possibly force the sealed container doors open, even without having the obstacle of pallets loaded with money in the way, the car actually explodes in mid air for no reason. (Director's Cut.) (01:44:35)
Plot hole: In the opening chase scenes, the bad guys are using hand-held radios to communicate, and several shots show that all the police are hearing them. These professional criminals would not be broadcasting their criminal activities on a police frequency, nor are the police and their dispatchers monitoring scanners to pick up the criminals' frequency. So neither side should be hearing the other. (00:01:50)
Chosen answer: 'Mandrake the Magician' was a comic strip that was popular (at least in Australia) in the 1970s. It featured the title character that was able to perform very elaborate magic tricks (including disappearing acts).
david barlow