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All the way back in 2005, the late critic Roger Ebert wrote in his review for the French horror film High Tension: "Clever viewers will be able to see for themselves that the movie's plot has a hole that is not only large enough to drive a truck through, but in fact does have a truck driven right through it."

A week ago, reddit user Naweezy decided to tribute Ebert and his poetic phrase. So they posted a question to r/AskReddit, "What are some plot holes so big you can drive a truck through?" Immediately, screen detectives started revealing their insights. From Star Wars to The Simpsons, it's crazy to think producers didn't notice these humongous craters in their stories and let them through.

#1

30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" In the Mummy with Brendan Frasier, Imhotep steals body parts from the looters to put himself back together. At one point he takes the eyes from a person wearing glasses, so for the rest of the movie Imhotep should really be squinting at everyone.

_Corinthian_ , Universal Studios Report

Or did they? In Patrick McGilligan's book "Backstory 1: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age," for example, screenwriter Richard Maibaum recalls working with Alfred Hitchcock on Foreign Correspondent (1940). "I was writer number thirty ... primarily I rewrote the ... part of the old statesman who was kidnapped. (Hitchcock) said to me, 'Did you read what we've got?' Which was half a screenplay. I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'What do you think about it?' I replied, 'It's not very logical.' He grimaced and said, 'Oh, dear boy, don't be dull. I'm not interested in logic, I'm interested in effect. If the audience ever thinks about logic, it's on their way home after the show, and by that time, you see, they've paid for their tickets.'"

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    #2

    Thanos killed half of all living things because he thought resources weren't sufficient for everyone.

    With his godlike powers he could have just doubled those resources

    Professor_Dr_Dr Report

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    Being a movie enthusiast, Naweezy said they asked the question simply out of curiosity. "I just love reading posts on movies and people's thoughts and opinions on them," they told Bored Panda, adding that even though they definitely are a fan of the late Roger Ebert, they haven't seen that review and came up with the angle for question themselves.

    Clearly, a movie or TV show can have a plot hole and still be popular. But can it still be good? Naweezy said it depends. "Movies with plot holes can still be good but the plot holes need to be small and not affect the main storyline. It's not a good thing when a plot hole is the first thing you think of when remembering a movie or show."

    #3

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" If all Cinderella’s magically transfigured stuff goes back to normal at midnight (carriage back into a pumpkin, dress back to being all dirty and old) then why the prince walking around with a glass slipper for weeks afterward? Shouldn’t it have changed back into a normal dirty old shoe?

    AntebellumMidway Report

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    Experts agree with that thought. They say that if a plot hole is so glaring that it takes the viewer out of the story, breaking the suspension of disbelief and causing harm to the enjoyment of the narrative, it matters. However, if it's just a minor discrepancy in the plot and doesn't break the experience, it's probably no big deal and can still be pleasant to the average audience member. So it's probably the size of the hole that determines whether or not it destroys the movie.

    #4

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" The aliens in the movie Signs melted when exposed to water. Why would you try to take over a planet that is covered in 75% water and where it rains on land regularly?

    phily1984 , Buena Vista Pictures Report

    #5

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Madagascar. They give Alex the Lion hell for eating animals. In the end, they give him sashimi as a substitute.

    What, in a world of talking animals, fish aren't considered animals too?

    Otto_Lili_Emmenthal , DreamWorks Pictures Report

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    #6

    Every musical ever when people start singing spontaneously, and everyone's cool with it.

    Start singing in my face at 9am on my way to work and I'll call the police.

    oB1bdoobe Report

    #7

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" One of my favourite movies but Interstellar. There's the one planet where the surface is water with huge waves and time moves much slower, so like 5 minutes on that planet is 2 years on earth (or something like that). Before going down, the scientists discuss how risky this is, as even if they go down to get the earlier astronaut and check the planet out for habitability, years will pass on earth while they're down there, and earth is running out of time. They are experts in this and they fully understand the time distortion on this planet caused by the black hole it orbits. HOWEVER, they decide to go anyways because the astronaut that went there to check it out has been sending positive signals about he environment and habitability of the planet for something like 12 years. So OMG we have to go if it's so good that she's been there that long and everything is good. Their only concern is about the amount of time that will pass on earth... After they land, they have this massive realization that it's just a bunch of shallow water with massive tidal waves every hour or so, and the astronaut they sent there 12 years ago actually just landed like 30 mins ago in her time because of the time distortion, and is dead. Then they are like "oh doh we've been getting positive signals for 12 years because for her it's only been 30 mins and she hadn't been hit by a wave and killed yet - this planet is bad". The entire rest of the plot is completely dependent on the fact that they get f**ked by this stop as the ship now has low fuel from orbiting the planet for like 15 years while the others were down there. So the entire movie rests on the idea that a group of the world's best physicists who had already identified and discussed the time distortion of the planet didn't connect that to the fact that the "12 years of good signals" actually means less than an hour of good signals because of that very time dilation.

    Aurelianshitlist , Paramount Pictures Report

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    #8

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" In every war movie a shell goes off 10 feet away from a soldier, he ducks and keeps running. In reality he'd be dead from the blast and shrapnel.

    Armchairengineer1960 , Dreamworks Pictures Report

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    #9

    Obi Wan wants to hide Luke Skywalker from his father... so he gives him to his uncle and aunt, in their home planet, without changing his name, and he himself lives near the kid while not changing his own surname.

    nothing_in_my_mind Report

    #10

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" In Liar, Liar, Jennifer Tilly's character gets her way in the divorce despite cheating because she lied about her age, therefore making the prenup null and void. However, this would also nullify the entire marriage, entitling her to nothing.

    megsam213 , Universal Pictures Report

    #11

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" That track would have been absolutely [screwed] with no maintenance in minus degrees. The rail companies in England can't even manage to run a full service when there's a wet leaf somewhere on the track.

    bermobaron , The Weinstein Company Report

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    #12

    [Any film where someone dresses up in a work uniform to go undercover in a place of work.]

    Does nobody notice a totally new guy wandering around doing things they shouldn't be doing? Do you not recognise the people who you work with every single day?

    And does nobody think "hey, wasn't bob supposed to be in today? He's 2 hours late and nobody has let us know if his shift is being covered"

    QuietLittleVoice Report

    #13

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Peter takes a small sample of the symbiote to one of his college professors so he can get a better idea of what it is. The professor looks at it under a microscope and says "It's definitely alien. I wouldn't let any of this stuff touch you.". That's it? Proof of alien life brought to you by one of your students and your only takeaway is "Don't touch it"? That's f***ing insane.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/jeoeyr/what_are_some_plot_holes_so_big_you_can_drive_a/g9g53lv/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 , Sony Pictures Releasing Report

    #14

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Every Christmas movie where no one believes in Santa but then it turns out Santa does exist. Like, who did they think was putting presents under the Christmas tree? If Santa is real then it wasn’t them.

    Trevor-On-Reddit , Buena Vista Pictures Report

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    #15

    Jurassic World

    They see scratches on the wall and heat detection cameras don't pick it up so they just jump to the conclusion it escaped and enter the paddock before exploring all other avenues to check if it has escaped

    Are we really supposed to believe 1 minimum wage security guard is responsible for keeping watch on the paddock? A multi million dollar genetically engineered dinosaur and all they have they have is 1 security guard........cmon

    Let's say it has escaped, its bigger than a T-Rex, your telling me that thing jumped off a 60ft wall and there was literally not one single person in the area to notice

    Skipjack666 Report

    #16

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Shrek 2 - How does a donkey [make love to] a dragon?

    holyhalloweenbattman , DreamWorks Animation Report

    #17

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" In Black Panther, when he falls into the water, he gets pulled out by a fisherman from the northern tribe, later on the movie, the leader of the tribe says that they are all vegetarians. They are also completely isolated, and don't trade. Why do they have a fisherman?

    IchigoMainSSF2 , Marvel Studios Report

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    #18

    I dont understand the science behind zombies.

    Sure i can go along with the dead waking up eating others for sustenance.

    But why don't they dry out? Why don't the characters move to the artic where the dead would freeze or the desert where they would dry out.

    Why can't they out run them ? Why do they always twist their ankle while running away ?

    The zombies at the very least should dry out and reanimate when it rains and surely due to evolution the only people left would have really robust ankles that don't easily sprain as they would be more likely to survive ?

    Ugly_Whore Report

    #19

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Thanos destroying the stones in Endgame makes ZERO sense, because his logic was that "he did it so that his 50/50 snap can't be undone by anyone", but the universe's population will normalize to the previous amount in just a century or so (which is NOTHING to Thanos, considering he is over 1500 years old).

    Fun fact: Earth's population in 1920 was 1.9bil. Today (100 years later), it's over 7bil. So snapping earth's population to 50% would normalize back to over 7bil in less than 50years.

    LFP_Gaming_Official , Marvel Studios Report

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    #20

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Lily and James could have been their own secret keepers. Thus removing the need to use Wormtail and give away their position to Voldemort Most likely saving the potters lives.

    Peter Pettigrew was also around for a few years while the Weasley twins had the Marauder's map. He should have been visible. Ron was sleeping with a man every night and Fred and George were silent about it.

    Veritas Serum exists. Should have been extremely useful in discovering who the death eaters were after the first fall of Voldemort.

    Unbreakable vows and time turners are also universe breaking magics.

    Daftpunksluggage , Warner Bros Report

    #21

    R2-D2. This droid is like 50 years old by the time we get to the end of the Skywalker saga, and yet at no point has he become obsolete or incompatible with anything he runs into.

    We can see the development of technology throughout the series and across several vastly different civilizations and cultures. Doesn't matter, R2 and his Magic Hacker Wand can get through any locked door or security protocol.

    YouKnowWhatSnowBears Report

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    #22

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" The parents deciding to each take one twin to raise on different continents and never talk to each other again.

    lizardlibrary , Walt Disney Pictures Report

    #23

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" If Buzz-Lightyear thinks he's real and not a toy, then why is he motionless and pretending to not be alive, like all the other toys, when Andy plays with him? Wouldn't he think Andy is some sort of giant alien monster? Woody might have explained to him they they need to remain still or something, but we never get an explanation

    Half_Smashed_Face , Pixar Report

    #24

    That in a galaxy, far far away, a long time ago, various spacefaring, technologically advanced races can't secure anything.

    You pretty much stroll into an enemy base, your droid just plugs in to any port and can download anything. No access control, no alarms, CCTV only when it's useful to the plot. Once you've got what you want, stroll out and take an enemy ship. Again, no access control, locking doors, anything.

    Stooby2 Report

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    #25

    House elves are insanely powerful magical beings... when they join the Battle of Hogwarts they use knives.

    Psyloturc Report

    #26

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" Daenerys Targaryen forgetting about the Iron Fleet. I’ll never understand the rush to finish that season.

    A_Ahai , HBO Report

    #27

    30 People Respond To "What Are Some Plot Holes So Big You Can Drive A Truck Through?" In Supernatural, it’s mentioned that demons react negatively to the word Christo, but the word is never mentioned again after that episode.

    Raridan , Warner Bros Report

    #28

    So in The Ring (original or remake) you sort of subvert the curse by making a copy of the tape. What happens when VHS tapes are no longer viable? Does Sadako make the jump to digital at some point and start sending out DVDs? Even then not everyone has a DVD burner so that doesn’t seem very smart. Did the curse migrate to Limewire downloads in the early 2000s and now you get freed from it by adding a new torrent seed? Was there an awkward period sometime in the early 90s where there were cursed laser discs floating around?

    AbortRetryImplode Report

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    #29

    Voldemort went through so much trouble to get Harry into the Wizarding World Cup or whatever. Helped him win. Killed other students. All so Harry could touch a port key at the end of the final event.

    Why didn’t he just like, turn his pillow into a port key?

    KnockKnockPizzasHere Report

    #30

    How in Harry Potter, the wizards are so clueless about the Muggle world when they literally lived in it.

    Also, how this is a magical world where there must be thousands if not millions of spells, yet in the Battle for Hogwarts, the students only knew how to use Expelliarmus... When this is one of the first spells that they learned, revealing that Hogwarts does not prepare the students well.

    Magic can only be done with a wand...

    _zugunruhe_ Report

    Note: this post originally had 73 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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