Top 30 MAJOR Movie Plot Holes

#30: Whats up With the Glass Slippers?

Cinderella (1950)

This is an all-time classic fairytale, but not everything about Disneys animated adaptation holds up. The glass slippers are a good example of this. In the movie, the slippers are part of Cinderellas magical glow-up. However, her fairy godmother warns that her new wardrobe will only last until midnight. Sure enough, once the clock hits twelve her dress turns back into her normal clothes, but her slippers actually stay. Shouldnt they have been swapped out at the end too? Its clearly part of her ensemble, and the horse-drawn carriage she had disappeared too! Sure the slippers were important to the plot later but by the movies rules they shouldve disappeared. The only logical conclusion is that the fairy godmothers magic is super wonky.

#29: Why Doesnt Darth Vader Recognize C-3PO?

Star Wars franchise (1977-)

The original trilogy immortalized Darth Vader as one of the greatest villains in pop culture history. However, the prequel trilogy had the unfortunate consequence of making Anakin Skywalker well kind of dumb. Seriously, why doesnt Vader notice that the shiny gold android from the Rebel Alliance is actually his own creation? The lava on Mustafar melted most of his body, and it seems like it also melted some of Darth Vaders brain too. C-3PO wasnt just some random school project he made as a kid, he was a key part of Anakins life. He was even at his super-secret wedding for crying out loud! And yet in the original trilogy Vader doesnt pay him any attention. Darth Vader and being a deadbeat dad, name a better duo!

#28: Why Didnt Glinda Immediately Tell Dorothy That Her Shoes Could Take Her Home?

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Old cinema classics sure had a thing for shoes. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothys ruby slippers are revealed to be the tool to get her back home all along. Considering how important getting home was to Dorothy, its weird that Glinda wouldnt tell her the truth immediately. Instead she sends Dorothy on a dangerous journey across Oz thats essentially pointless. We needed the journey for there to be a movie, sure, but Dorothy didnt actually need to go through with it. Glinda argued that it was a necessary trip for her to discover her inner strength, but thats weak sauce, sorry. It feels like Glinda was a manipulator who wanted to mess around and waste time. Geez, and shes supposed to be the good witch?!

#27: Do the Curses Actually Work?

Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (2003-)

Pirates and magic dont normally mix, and maybe that's a good thing, because when magic was introduced to this franchise, it was wildly inconsistent. In the first movie, Captain Barbossa and his men are cursed to live forever as undead creatures no longer capable of feeling anything. But the thing is, we actually see them experiencing quite a lot of pain. Several of these magical pirates get stabbed and they absolutely have a response to that feeling. And in a later movie, the trident of Poseidon is used to break all magical curses. It's a big deal, except a post-credit scene teases Davy Jones return, and the glimpse we get suggests hes still cursed. Safe to say that these magical ailments arent as they seem!

#26: How Are Mike & Sully Childhood Friends if They Didnt Meet Until College?

Monsters, Inc. (2001) & Monsters University (2013)

When were introduced to Mike and Sully in Monsters, Inc., we discover that these two have been best friends ever since they were just tiny creepy crawlies. And while there was no reason to ever doubt that, a certain prequel came out that finally put their friendship into question. In Monsters University, Mike and Sully meet each other for the first time in college. College can definitely be an important time in a young monsters life. However, calling it a part of childhood is a stretch. So with that in mind, Mike and Sully couldnt have known each other since elementary school as the timeline just doesnt line up. Maybe the most scary thing about this franchise isnt the monsters, its the lack of cohesion!

#25: When Did Michael Myers Learn How to Drive?

Halloween (1978)

Michael is one of the most demented serial killers in cinema, a character who is nothing but pure evil. We can wrap our brains around that pretty easily, but what we cant understand is how Michael knows how to drive. In the first Halloween his murdering spree starts with him breaking out of Smiths Grove Sanitarium and driving into his old town. But Michael was locked in that mental institution as a kid after murdering his sister. So how could he have gotten the time to learn how to drive cars? Did the sanitarium operate right beside a DMV or something? Did they give out learners permits to inmates for good behavior? Imagine the poor instructor having to ride with young Michael Myers in Drivers Ed!

#24: Couldnt Superman Just Turn Back Time to Stop Every Problem?

Superman (1978)

Even if you love the man of steel you cant deny that sometimes he can be pretty overpowered. For example, in Superman: The Movie, he solves his problems by flying around the Earth and reversing its orbit, effectively travelling back in time. When the Flash messes with time, everything screws up, but when Superman does it here, everything is fine! So considering he pulled this off, why doesnt he just do this same move for every problem? Obviously, we know that if he did then there wouldnt be any other Superman movies. But introducing this power was going to raise questions like this anyways. Its just harder to get invested when youre wondering if Supermans going to time-travel his way out of his issues.

#23: Why Does Buzz Freeze if He Thinks Hes Real?

Toy Story (1995)

In the first Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear makes it very clear that he thinks hes the real Buzz. Part of his journey then is discovering and coming to terms with the reality that hes actually a toy. While thats great, its confusing how Buzz starts acting like a toy even before he discovers the truth. When hes in the presence of the humans he immediately freezes up like all the other toys do. Isnt that an odd behavior for someone who thinks theyre a real person? If he really believed he was a space ranger wouldnt he talk to Andy and find a way to get things back on track? Yeah, theres definitely something sketchy going on with Buzz.

#22: Shouldnt the Family Live Near Waterfalls?

A Quiet Place (2018)

In a world where even the slightest sounds a person can make will get them killed by horrible monsters, it takes a lot of resourcefulness in order to survive. But even though people can barely afford to speak, there are some ways of getting around this. The waterfall that our main family visits is a great example of one of these loopholes. Since the sound of the water masks their voices, they can speak normally. Considering how much of an advantage this is, why wouldnt they just relocate near the waterfall? Theres no guarantee theyll be safe forever, sure, but the waterfall is a pretty clear gamechanger. If it can give them even the slightest sense of normalcy and safety, shouldnt they move there more permanently?

#21: Could an Alien Civilization Really Be Defeated by a Computer Virus?

Independence Day (1996)

When a wave of technologically-advanced aliens called Harvesters invade our world, the threat looms large. Considering how dangerous these invaders are, the way to beat them must be something incredibly epic, right? Well, not really. The Harvesters are ultimately toppled by a computer virus. Thats right, something that could infect your average PC is also capable of eradicating an entire extraterrestrial armada. But how can a human-made virus affect alien technology? Its even weirder considering the virus is deployed by hooking up an Apple Powerbook to an alien spaceship. We cant even charge smartphones without making sure we have a compatible charger, so how can hooking up the computer work? Were not computer scientists but we can confidently say that this doesnt make any sense!

#20: Electro Doesnt Know Peter Is Spider-Man

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

The storytelling of the MCU got increasingly complex as it progressed, eventually incorporating the likes of time travel and multiverses. Unfortunately, as is often the case with time-hoppy stories, this opened up a slew of questions and potential plot holes. No Way Home has great fun with its manipulation of dimensions, but it also has a wicked plot hole concerning Jamie Foxxs Electro. Doctor Strange informs us that only the villains who know Spider Mans identity were pulled through the multiverse. But Electro never knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, and he says as much during the climax. So why is he here? Probably just so we could see Jamie Foxx again. We cant be too mad about that.

#19: The Unrecognizable Teenager

17 Again (2009)

As the title suggests, this movie sees a fully-grown man named Mike O'Donnell turning back into his 17-year-old self with the help of some magic. Its established at the beginning of the film that Mike and his high school sweetheart Scarlet eventually wed and had kids. Yet when Scarlet meets the younger version of Mike, she barely reacts. Yes, she notices theres a similarity between the two, but she just kind of shrugs it off. We know its been two decades, but surely she would have instantly recognized the teenage version of her own husband. She was even dating him at the time that he looked exactly like this. Heck, one look at the yearbook would prove that its more than a strong resemblance!

#18: Whistlers Resurrection

Blade II (2002)

This might be an example of a sequel bringing back a fan favorite character, even if it doesnt make a lick of sense within the context of the story. In the first Blade, Abraham Whistler is infected and takes his own life with a special vampire-killing bullet. We even see Whistlers hand dropping, indicating that he is dead. Yet Blade II opens with the titular hero saving his mentor from confinement in Prague. Apparently Whistler was too late with the gunshot, as he had already started transforming. But that doesnt add up, because the bullets in that gun are explicitly designed to kill vampires and turn them into ash. Why was Whistler immune to it? And why was he still intact?

#17: Time-Proof Jets

Battlefield Earth (2000)

This is not a film to be taken very seriously - despite what the filmmakers intentions might have been. Its widely considered one of the worst movies ever made, and the story is riddled with plot holes. The most glaring has to be the issue with the jets. The movie takes place in the year 3000, with humans subservient to a gold-mining race of aliens. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler starts a revolution against the oppressors and steals some Harrier jets. Not only do the revolutionaries become expert jet flyers after just one week of simulation training, but the jets also retain their ability to function after 1,000 years of stagnation. Were not jet experts or anything, but we dont think Harriers would still operate after sitting underground for a millennium.

#16: The Facehugger

Alien 3 (1992)

Its never a good sign when a director disowns their own movie. David Fincher is not a fan of Alien 3, and some fans consider the opening sequence a travesty of the canon. The story begins in somber fashion, with Newt and Hicks dying in a pod crash. The escape pod was jettisoned from the Sulaco owing to the presence of a Facehugger, which emerged from an egg that the Alien Queen had somehow planted in the previous movie. But did she? She didnt bring any eggs from the nest, and even if she did, she didnt appear to have any time to emerge from the dropship and plant one aboard the Sulaco. Theres simply no logical way that that egg ended up on the spaceship.

#15: Cypher Plugs Himself In

The Matrix (1999)

This movie is about as close to sci-fi perfection as you can get, but alas, there appears to be a glaring issue. Cypher meets with Agent Smith inside whats presumably the Matrix to discuss his betrayal of Morpheus and Zion. However, Cypher wouldve theoretically needed someone to plug him and take him back out again. Therefore, his betrayal wouldve been revealed to whoevers monitoring him. Cyphers usually in charge of operating, so maybe he constructed some kind of function allowing him to enter and exit without help, which is why hes so startled when Neo interrupts him. But thats pure speculation and isnt made clear - and what about getting to broadcast depth without a captains order or knowledge? Maybe he was actually in a Construct and working with the Machines and the agents? Who knows?

#14: The Princes Age

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Even Disneys masterpiece isnt without mistakes. Its made clear in the prologue that the Beast had until his 21st year to find true love as the petals of an enchanted rose would begin to fall once he turned that age. Later, Lumiere mentions that they have been stuck inside the castle without guests for a decade, seemingly placing the Beast around 10 or 11 when the curse was set. There appears to be a few problems with this though. One: what is with that Enchantress putting a curse on a pre-teen? Rebelliousness is normal at that age, and certainly not worth a wicked curse - admittedly, social norms towards kids were different back in the 18th century, but still! And two: the Beast rips apart a portrait of himself, and that portrait shows a man much older than 10 or 11. Yeah, people seemed to age faster back in the 1700s, but not that fast!

#13: What Happened to the Crew?

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

While this sequel fails to measure up to its iconic predecessor, it nevertheless contains a riveting climax. A T-Rex is brought back to the mainland and wreaks havoc through the streets of San Diego. Thats not the problem. The problem is how it got there. When the ship arrives at port, the entire crew is dead. Theres no damage to the ship, and the T-Rex is still confined in the hold. So just what the heck happened to everybody? The answer reportedly lies in a deleted scene. The idea was to have velociraptors infiltrate the ship and kill everyone, but this scene was abandoned. However, other sources claim this is incorrect, and that storyboards sent to auction demonstrate instead that the T-rex somehow got loose and unleashed the destruction. Neither scenario is shown or referenced though, meaning that the inclusion of the aftermath of a removed attack resulted in a plot hole.

#12: The Issue with Time

Gremlins (1984)

Time can be a pain in the neck, what with the different zones and Daylight Savings and whatnot. But does it bother the mogwai? These little creatures come with three important rules, one of which is to never feed them after midnight. OK, thats fine in theory, but what exactly constitutes midnight? What happens when Daylight savings begins and the clocks go forward an hour? Does the mogwais conception of midnight become the new 12:00, or does it stay at the old 11:00? Furthermore, what happens if someone enters a new time zone with their mogwai? Does the rule take on the boundaries of the new zone? Does midnight suddenly become 5 AM in England? The questions are endless!

#11: The Conservation of Mass

Ant-Man (2015)

The problem with superhero movies is that they often fly in the face of logic. We dont typically mind, but Ant-Man falls into a lot of traps when it comes to physics. The biggest offender is that the movie seemingly ignores its own rules about the conservation of mass. Despite having the weight of a fully grown man, Scott in his Ant-Man suit is able to ride ants and jump on guns without causing the wielder to buckle. Heck, he even carries a shrunken tank as a keychain, even though it should weigh thousands of pounds. Ant-Man is a fun movie and a technical marvel, but theres a ton of holes when it comes to the abilities of its central character.

#10: Nothing About the Plan Makes Sense

Batman Begins (2005)

The big plan of Batman Begins is to spike the citys water with a hallucinogen and vaporize it with a microwave. The water will go airborne, people will breathe in vapor LSD, and sheer madness will ensue! Only, this horrible plan is riddled with holes. The water inside the metal supply lines probably wouldnt be vaporized. What about the citizens presumably taking showers and boiling water, thereby inhaling the vapor, then going crazy too early, and completely foiling the plan? Furthermore, wouldnt all humans in the immediate vicinity just sort of blow up once the microwave was activated? Then again, this film series is seemingly full of magic, as it appears that Batman teleports from the prison to Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises.

#9: Minerva McGonagalls Lifespan

The Fantastic Beasts franchise (2016-)

Plot holes arent new to the Harry Potter franchise. For example, the very concept of time-turners opens up a slew of problems that arent really addressed. But what bugs us the most is the inclusion of McGonagall in the Fantastic Beasts series. The timeline just doesnt add up at all. McGonagalls age is never explicitly mentioned in the movies, but Maggie Smith was almost 67 when the first movie was released, so we can assume McGonagall is around that. Yet in The Crimes of Grindelwald, shes teaching at Hogwarts in 1927, and shes already in her 30s. That means she was born in the late 1800s, which would make her much older than 67 by the time Harry Potter strolled into Hogwarts.

#8: Doc Tries to Kill Peter

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Sometimes, logic is sacrificed for a cool visual. Spider-Man 2 is pretty darned perfect, but it contains a baffling decision on the part of Doc Ock. Octavius meets with Harry, who agrees to give him tritium in exchange for Spider-Man. Harry tells him to seek out Peter owing to his association with Spider-Man, and he very clearly tells Octavius not to hurt him. Yet the next time we see Octavius, hes throwing an entire car directly at Peter and Mary Jane. This makes for a fun scene, as we know that Peter is Spider-Man and that hed be able to dodge the car. But Octavius doesnt know that. So why did he throw a car at someone he wanted to interrogate?

#7: Leia Remembers Her Mother

The Star Wars franchise (1977-)

The Harry Potter canon isnt the only one that was negatively impacted by prequels. Long before the Fantastic Beasts series, the Star Wars prequels opened up some major plot holes in regards to the original storyline. In Return of the Jedi, Leia tells Luke that she remembers a little bit about her mother, specifically images and feelings. She gets a bit more specific, explicitly mentioning her mothers beauty and personality. Yet in Revenge of the Sith, Padme clearly dies right after childbirth. Newborn Leia couldnt remember anything about her mother, let alone that she was beautiful and sad. We mean, shes right, Padme was those things, but theres simply no way Leia knows that.

#6: Different Body Types

Face/Off (1997)

This futuristic John Woo action flick has an engrossing premise. Sean Archer and Castor Troy, respectively played by John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, change faces. Literally. Through a highly advanced procedure, Sean and Castor swap both faces and voices, successfully allowing them to imitate each other. But the face transplants in this movie dont alter things like body type, height or muscle mass. The differences in body type are sort of brushed off by Dr. Walsh, who explains that theyll be handled - very briefly and minimally, if at all. But what does that mean exactly and is that really enough? And not to get too graphic, but wouldnt Seans wife notice something different about her husband?

#5: Evans Hands

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

Evan Treborn uses his journal to time travel and change various things about the past. But once Evan alters the past, the new timeline will be the only one that people remember. For example, if Evan A goes back and changes something as Evan B, no one will know Evan A. Thats all thrown out the window with his prison cellmate. Evan proves that he can time travel by impaling his palms as a child, thereby giving himself scars. In the new timeline that he created with the impalement, Evan would have already had the scars and maybe wouldnt even be in prison. Yet the same cellmate from before reacts with complete shock when he sees Evans hands. He has knowledge of both Evan A and Evan B, which according to the way time travel works in this film, is impossible.

#4: Face Shot

The Karate Kid (1984)

In the iconic climax to this classic movie, Daniel LaRusso stands on one leg and delivers a winning kick to Johnnys face. But to this day, no one can agree on the legality of this move. Many people agree that the kick was legal, but many also argue that it shouldnt have counted. While its only in the third film of the series that its explicitly established that the head is forbidden, even Ralph Macchio, the actor who plays Daniel, agrees that the finishing move shouldnt have counted. If the Karate Kid himself thinks it was illegal, then thats good enough for us! This famous crane kick is referenced numerous times in the sequel series Cobra Kai. Maybe this is a clever bit of metacommentary, with the show referencing the never-ending debate.

#3: The Infinity Gauntlet

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-)

The MCU is well known for their post-credit sequences that introduce exciting new elements to the overarching story. Unfortunately, one of these sequences came back to bite them. At the end of Age of Ultron, Thanos is clearly seen taking the Infinity Gauntlet out of a vault. However, within the timeline of the MCU, this would have occurred years before Thanos actually acquired the gauntlet from Eitri. The writers of Infinity War, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, jokingly answered that the one seen in Age of Ultron was a practice gauntlet. Its a funny response, but it really doesnt do much to close the gaping plot hole.

#2: The Poster

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

One of the most famous escapes in movie history sees Andy Dufresne tunneling through his cell wall, traversing the sewage pipe, and emerging in a culvert outside the prison, where he basks in the rain. Its a wonderful sequence, but its marred by one major problem. When the guards examine Andys cell the next morning, they find the Raquel Welch poster hiding the hole in the wall. How on Earth did Andy manage to reattach the poster to the wall from the inside? Even if it was taped at the top, the bottom would have loudly flapped in the draft and made noise. Furthermore, a guard would almost certainly have lifted that poster during a routine cell check to look for contraband, thereby finding the hole. Or at least they should have, if they were doing their jobs properly.

#1: Water, Water Everywhere

Signs (2002)

A good 90% of Signs works exceptionally well. Its just too bad that everything falls apart with the ending. In a twist that no one would consider one of Shyamalans best, its revealed that the aliens are weak to water. And its not like a small allergic reaction. No, the water seems to act like acid and melts them to death. So why, pray tell, did these aliens invade a planet that is over 70% water? They could certainly tell that from space, what with the enormous expanses of blue and all. Sure, maybe they didnt know what water was or that it hurt them. But still, maybe next time, do a little preliminary research on the planet youre about to take over?

Are there any other puzzling movie plot holes we missed? Let us know in the comments!