Most Obvious Plot Holes (spoilers ahoy!)

[KwaggaDan]

You do remember the scene where Lambert's plan was revealed, right? Where the whole thing turned out to be an elaborate sham to keep Sam from being blackmailed? Pardon me (again), but I thought the entire thing was rather solid.

I do. All I'm saying is it was pretty far-fetched, and it kinda ruined the story for me...

 

[ZombieGenesis]

As much as I enjoyed the movie, Donnie Darko.
I know most people who haven't seen this film won't have a clue what I'm reffering to, but basically my problem is thus;
We understand that Donnie is chosen to close the alternate dimension to save the real one, which is acceptable. The bunny man Frank tells him of this and leads him, which is okay. Then we find out to close the dimension Donnie had to kill Frank- okay, why? Well Frank is actually the futuristic, post-killed version of the real Frank who is Donnie's sisters boyfriend. Now the reason he is the target is because he was the one Donnie kills in the latenrate dimension which he was done because...he...
Okay, what? Aside from a giant circkle emerging here I just have to ask: why is this Frank guy so bloody important? He has no real story importance (the live one) and he's in the story for about six seconds before being shot in the skull. I don't get it.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

There's this one plot hole in Assasins Creed II that really bugs me:

Spoiler

So, after Ezio stops Rodrigo Borgia from getting the Piece of Eden, we fast-foreward a few years in the Animus. Our faithful (if a bit douchy) British friend then suddenly realises that Borgio was a pope. So the expert historian just now realised that the main evil guy and head conspirator was once a POPE? I knew he was a pope from my 10th grade history class!

Not everyone gets taught about religious leaders. I for once, cant dont even know what the last pope was named... Was it Benedict?... Or is that, that new guy who looks somewhat like The Emporer from Starwars?

True, but a HISTORIAN FROM THE FUTURE to not know is a bit far fetched.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

There's this one plot hole in Assasins Creed II that really bugs me:

Spoiler

So, after Ezio stops Rodrigo Borgia from getting the Piece of Eden, we fast-foreward a few years in the Animus. Our faithful (if a bit douchy) British friend then suddenly realises that Borgio was a pope. So the expert historian just now realised that the main evil guy and head conspirator was once a POPE? I knew he was a pope from my 10th grade history class!

Not everyone gets taught about religious leaders. I for once, cant dont even know what the last pope was named... Was it Benedict?... Or is that, that new guy who looks somewhat like The Emporer from Starwars?

Current Pope looks like the Emperor. That's Benedict.

The last pope was awesome - Pope John Paul II.

 

[DazBurger]

There's this one plot hole in Assasins Creed II that really bugs me:

Spoiler

So, after Ezio stops Rodrigo Borgia from getting the Piece of Eden, we fast-foreward a few years in the Animus. Our faithful (if a bit douchy) British friend then suddenly realises that Borgio was a pope. So the expert historian just now realised that the main evil guy and head conspirator was once a POPE? I knew he was a pope from my 10th grade history class!

Not everyone gets taught about religious leaders. I for once, cant dont even know what the last pope was named... Was it Benedict?... Or is that, that new guy who looks somewhat like The Emporer from Starwars?

True, but a HISTORIAN FROM THE FUTURE to not know is a bit far fetched.

Not really, depends what he studied.

He could have a major in nordic legends?

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Did Adam and Eve produce daughters?

Nope, just good old Cane and Able came from their offspring. Two males.
So yeah, there must have been some serious in-blood business going on in the old country.

 

[Doitpow]

Another silly thing in the Dark Knight is that instead of simply telling or signalling to the SWAT team that the "clowns are hostages" during that big building fight scene, he dangles them all over the edge of a building. He could have just walked up to one of the ones standing at the window and unmasked him, and the snipers would have seen it and everything would have been good.

Because he's the goddamn batman.

 

[HT_Black]

Splinter Cell: Conviction has two massive holes:

Spoiler: Open at your peril

Firstly, Reed had to know that Grim was a mole, because the game wouldn't have happened otherwise. Sam is in Valetta looking for his daughter's killer, although he doesn't have a name for his target. Grim is the one who alerts him to the mercenary presence in the town, and from there he learns who Kobin is. But the thing is, Sam had no idea who he was looking for, and Kobin would've had no idea he was there unless Reed (who had surveillance one Sam) told him. And the only reasons he would do that, instead of allowing Sam to go his merry way, are clinical retardation or knowledge that Grim was working against the third Eschelon.

Secondly, why would all the Splinter Cells suddenly go psycho like they did? it's established canon that all agents of 3E have to have been special forces operatives at one time or another, for an extended duration, yet they all attack the white house without remorse. Attacking Sam I can understand (he was a rogue agent), but why would they do something like that?

Spoiler: You have to make it more mainstream somehow.

Attacking the White House with your old organisation is the best way to go if you want to appeal to players who like guns and have no patience.

It would've been a better plot if Reed had been in the games previously, because really him and his men seemed like they'd been randomly inserted in for a plot. I can't think of any previous Third Echelon character that could've fit the bill as a future traitor. Grim's role completely and insanely changes, it would never be Lambert's style (I miss Lambert), William Redding was a techie, Frances Coen wasn't that mean-spirited, and Vernon Wilkes Jr. died. And yet still, even if there had been a random mention of someone in Third Echelon, it could've been used, like with Abrahim Zerkhezi's being mentioned in Pandora Tomorrow (although the first three games did pretty well at interweaving plothooks with each other - the ISDF, Black Wednesday, the committee on the Masse Kernels etc.).

Games that use characters from previous games as traitors instantly gain more emotional connection from me. Reed was a "mole", but I never met him before then, so why would I even care? All I know is he was a bad guy, that was it. Even Assistant Director Williams from the last-gen versions would've increased emotional links, even if it didn't suit him.

Here's my favourite example of a betrayal done well: Chaos Theory is one of my favourite video games ever, mainly for the plot, and especially the character of Douglas Shetland, who was in Pandora Tomorrow. You rescue him, establish an emotional link, and this is strengthened by his assistance in the Kuantung camp operation. It also proves he has combat experience and isn't just some flabby CEO. It fits his later role on Chaos Theory.

Now I know just putting in random people as traitors can seem like the ultimate of ass-pulls but Shetland's future role is actually slightly alluded to during Pandora Tomorrow, which actually seems to be setting up the shady dealings of Displace International and the ISDF (I do hope you've played the other games, otherwise I'm ruining things for you), and you don't notice it at the time. Shetland's betrayal at the hands of the US government, Displace's seemingly innocuous involvement with the Smallpox containers, the Kuantung Pilot's mention of the ISDF, which you dismiss as paranoia - it adds up and complements Chaos Theory, and really helps it, along with the better gameplay mechanics, to be my favourite Splinter Cell game.

To summarise: Reed was a nobody. It annoys me.

It's a shame you whacked you-know-who at the end of Chaos Theory; it would've been really cool if, say, he'd pulled some strings and been installed as 3E's leader while Sam was away. That would also explain why Grim was working against the agency, albeit at the price of leaving an equally huge hole that needs filling...

Of course, I still have no idea why Reed set his thugs on Sam to begin with; like I said, he'd have to know Grim was a double, or else he would've just let him go on by without so much as a peep-- or at absolute most just let him kill Kobin.

 

[Phoenix1213]

I hate going into movie discussions in a game thread, but I can't really think of any that haven't already been mentioned, so I'm gonna talk about a movie.

Memento. Now, I love this movie to death, but there is one big fat hole that I just don't really get. Don't worry this isn't much of a spoiler. If the last thing that Leonard remembers is his wife dying, then how does he remember that he has short-term memory loss? Seriously, he keeps yapping about his condition all the time, yet the last thing that came to his mind before being skull-fucked by his wife's murderer was having been slammed into a mirror. It doesn't make any sense to me though. Still love the movie though, despite that one inconsistency.

Isn't that what the: "Remember Sammy Jankis." tattoo is for?

EDIT: ooops already answered, I really wish there was a "view replies to this post" button.

 

[DazBurger]

I still have two plotholes from the Halo trilogy that need explaining.

Halo 2:
When the Prophet of Regret retreats from Earth with In Amber Clad in hot pursuit he stumbles upon another Halo. Granted we now all know that he came to Earth in search of the Ark or at least the Portal which was clearly the main thing the Covenant had been seeking up until this point but if he was aware that there was a Halo ring then why didn't he just go for that in the first place?
Oh wait, he jumped the gun so the ring was 'plan B'... never mind I think I may have just answered my own question.

Halo 3:

The Gravemind pursuing them onto the Ark which was beyond the rim of the Milky Way galaxy. Cortana mentioned the solution on the other side of the portal that could stop the flood, however that solution ended up being a Halo Ring which would in turn if activated kill all sentient life in the galaxy hence the only way that plan of hers could work would be if the Gravemind went in there in the first place. So my only remaining solution was that she was hoping the Gravemind would read the message and follow and luckily this plan succeeded but still.... you'd think a highly intelligent AI wouldn't put so many high stakes up to chance.

Halo 2: The Covenant dident know about Earth at all. He only came because he found out where the Ark was, which just happened to be Earth.
When he found out what he had stumbled opon he buggered back to the ring.

Halo 3: She did spend some time, being a part of The Gravemind. So she did have insights in his way of thought.
Besides that, even in Halo 1 she started to show signs of insanity, her "sister" AIs are long gone, most of them due to just that, and being with The Gravemind wouldnt have helped on her mental issues
So maybe destroying all sentient life in the universe WAS the plan?
You know, Chief is known to be a lucky SOB. ^^

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Actually I do have one related to gaming, but it's a bit nutty.
At the end of Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver you face trainer Red (from the original games) on top of a mountain. When you beat him, he suddenly vanishes. Now this wouldn't be too odd, except for the following logical points:
1) You are standing at the only exit point from the place he is standing.
2) He has no pokemon capable of using Fly, Teleport or Dig.
3) Since you are outside an Escape Rope is impossible.

How did he just up and vanish I ask? It made sense in the originals because he was in a deep cave, but here he was pinned on the edge of a cliff. By in-game logic my only conclusion is that Red is so distraught by losing that he jumps off the cliff to his death.

I consider that the cannon ending to the Heart/Soul generation.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Dead Space had a pretty unforgivable one.

Spoiler

If Isaac possessed any intelligence at all he could have just looked at the first letter of every chatper to see that "NICOLE IS DEAD" instead of being surprised by it later.

Fool.

Ummm...
The chapter titles were for the player's benefit, not Isaac's.
All Isaac was seeing on those screens was "medical ward" or "engineering" or whatever.
What ship would actually put up chapter titles?

Anyway... the worst plot hole I've encountered?
Sorry, I don't know how to use the spoiler code, so just stop reading here.

After you finish the main quest in Oblivion, you literally leave the entire place without an Emperor, or any heirs to speak of. This wouldn't be much of a problem, except that up to that point, the game keeps selling you on the idea that the royal blood line is needed to preserve the magical barriers between Tamriel and Oblivion. Well, by the end of the game, Martin, the last remnant of the royal bloodline sacrifices himself to kill Mehrunes Dagon. Trouble is... now that the bloodline is gone forever, what's to stop the Daedra from launching another invasion?

 

[Indecipherable]

Not technically a plot hole, so much as a "wait . . . what?" moment in Mass Effect 2

Spoiler

Why would the Reapers build a human-form Reaper. Seriously. There's just no logical reason why they would do that. I could imagine that the missing colonists would be needed to provide raw genetic material. I could get that the Reapers are not purely machine, but an amalgam of mechanical and organic material. I could even accept that they would use humans because, as Mordin says, they have the mose genetic diversity of the other main races. But I simply cannot understand why they would make the Reaper as a 20 meter tall homanoid.

There are many advantages to a humanoid frame when you're 5-6 feet tall and live on a temperate planet, but not when your cousins are quite happy as gigantic space-faring squid. It makes no sense.

Spoiler

My present thought is this:

Reavers destroy the world every 50,000 years to reproduce in their own way. They take a particular species that fits their calculations and proceed to basically wipe out everything and then harvest that species. They use whatever genetic material or resources they acquire from this species to reproduce - they build more reapers. This is why they keep coming back every 50,000 years, it is part of their lifecycle, like a salmon returning to a spawning pool.

It is however, just a theory, as it isn't explained yet in the game.

I should also point out that the art book with the human reaper shows it fully complete, and it looks almost exactly like the other reapers you see. Seriously.

PS. If I'm right about the Reapers doing this to 'reproduce', I earn cookies.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Splinter Cell: Conviction has two massive holes:

Spoiler: Open at your peril

Firstly, Reed had to know that Grim was a mole, because the game wouldn't have happened otherwise. Sam is in Valetta looking for his daughter's killer, although he doesn't have a name for his target. Grim is the one who alerts him to the mercenary presence in the town, and from there he learns who Kobin is. But the thing is, Sam had no idea who he was looking for, and Kobin would've had no idea he was there unless Reed (who had surveillance one Sam) told him. And the only reasons he would do that, instead of allowing Sam to go his merry way, are clinical retardation or knowledge that Grim was working against the third Eschelon.

Secondly, why would all the Splinter Cells suddenly go psycho like they did? it's established canon that all agents of 3E have to have been special forces operatives at one time or another, for an extended duration, yet they all attack the white house without remorse. Attacking Sam I can understand (he was a rogue agent), but why would they do something like that?

Spoiler: You have to make it more mainstream somehow.

Attacking the White House with your old organisation is the best way to go if you want to appeal to players who like guns and have no patience.

It would've been a better plot if Reed had been in the games previously, because really him and his men seemed like they'd been randomly inserted in for a plot. I can't think of any previous Third Echelon character that could've fit the bill as a future traitor. Grim's role completely and insanely changes, it would never be Lambert's style (I miss Lambert), William Redding was a techie, Frances Coen wasn't that mean-spirited, and Vernon Wilkes Jr. died. And yet still, even if there had been a random mention of someone in Third Echelon, it could've been used, like with Abrahim Zerkhezi's being mentioned in Pandora Tomorrow (although the first three games did pretty well at interweaving plothooks with each other - the ISDF, Black Wednesday, the committee on the Masse Kernels etc.).

Games that use characters from previous games as traitors instantly gain more emotional connection from me. Reed was a "mole", but I never met him before then, so why would I even care? All I know is he was a bad guy, that was it. Even Assistant Director Williams from the last-gen versions would've increased emotional links, even if it didn't suit him.

Here's my favourite example of a betrayal done well: Chaos Theory is one of my favourite video games ever, mainly for the plot, and especially the character of Douglas Shetland, who was in Pandora Tomorrow. You rescue him, establish an emotional link, and this is strengthened by his assistance in the Kuantung camp operation. It also proves he has combat experience and isn't just some flabby CEO. It fits his later role on Chaos Theory.

Now I know just putting in random people as traitors can seem like the ultimate of ass-pulls but Shetland's future role is actually slightly alluded to during Pandora Tomorrow, which actually seems to be setting up the shady dealings of Displace International and the ISDF (I do hope you've played the other games, otherwise I'm ruining things for you), and you don't notice it at the time. Shetland's betrayal at the hands of the US government, Displace's seemingly innocuous involvement with the Smallpox containers, the Kuantung Pilot's mention of the ISDF, which you dismiss as paranoia - it adds up and complements Chaos Theory, and really helps it, along with the better gameplay mechanics, to be my favourite Splinter Cell game.

To summarise: Reed was a nobody. It annoys me.

It's a shame you whacked you-know-who at the end of Chaos Theory; it would've been really cool if, say, he'd pulled some strings and been installed as 3E's leader while Sam was away. That would also explain why Grim was working against the agency, albeit at the price of leaving an equally huge hole that needs filling...

Of course, I still have no idea why Reed set his thugs on Sam to begin with; like I said, he'd have to know Grim was a double, or else he would've just let him go on by without so much as a peep-- or at absolute most just let him kill Kobin.

Ah, but it would've been highly improbable of that happening (well, more improbable than some of the other events of Conviction).

If I was President Caldwell I'd have happily pulled the plug on Echelon. I mean, Reed himself didn't look very well-groomed. At least Lambert looks like someone you'd call "boss".

 

[brunothepig]

I'm just going to point out the Eragon MOVIE.
The books are awesome. The movie fucked with everything, broke the original narrative, and tore plot holes in it. The biggest one I think is when they rescue Arya, who is conscious, then Brom is stabbed, while Arya is with them. Watching. One of the most powerful magic users in the land, could heal him in a second... Watching.

 

[hermes]

The ending in Watchmen.

Spoiler

How is it that the most powerful American weapon (and basically middle finger to the entire world for decades) going berseker and killing millions of people all over the world is supposed to make people come together in world peace instead of blaming America for unleashing a god upon them

 

[hermes]

Okay, so in the first movie Morpheus explains that the machines keep humans alive so they can harvest their body heat. Fair enough. But why use humans? Why not use sheep instead? They're less prone to rebellion. And if you really must use humans, why would you plug them all into a huge artificial reality? Why not just keep them sedated?
SNIP

On top of this, the whole 'negative return' thing. 'They liquefy the dead to feed to the living' (or whatever it is). Think about how much useable material there is on a human body, then think about how many adult humans you would have to consume just to reach adulthood yourself, nevermind if you live 80 years or so.

There is also the ending on the 3rd one, which was rather uneventful

Spoiler

(the matrix is still there, zion is still there, millions of people are still trapped oblivious to the matrix, thousands of people in zion are death, machines are still ruling the earth). They could have just said "...and everything ended up exactly as it was before the first movie. The End"

.
Also, the little girl that was going to be deported at the begining of the third one for being useless, is the one that makes a friggin sunrise at the end. Let me say that again: Someone in the Matrix, is considered useless, because her power is "just" to make the sun rise.

 

[ninjapenguin981]

Spoiler

The only one I can think of is The Dark Knight (I know, it's not really gaming, whatever.)
As much as I love that movie, it's just littered with inconsistencies.
Why would Joker give two different versions of how he got his scars?
When would he find time rig two entire boats?
How can he join a soldier parade without anybody noticing the big lip scars?
Why is Batman taking the heat for Two-Face?
And most importantly: Why is defeating ten henchmen single-handedly more difficult then a single person with a knife? Or a dog, for that matter?

I think everyone else has answered this one pretty well, I'd just like to point out on the last question is that Batman doesn't kill people. The only way he could defeat the joker would be to kill him as he seems pretty immune to pain. This is why the joker is so potent to batman.

He didn't kill the joker, he left him hanging there by his feet, so the cops could get him,

I know, but that doesn't exactly phase the joker though. He still hasn't actually defeated him.

 

[Riobux]

The only one I can think is in Heavy Rain.

Spoiler

In the game, Ethan Mars has to go to a locker with a box in it that the Origami Killer had left for him. Just before the locker room is a Metal Detector. Ethan finds the locker and inside the box is a Gun. How did the gun get through the Metal detector without the detector going off?

Dress up like a cop, and carrying a gun is normal.

 

[kickyourass]

Equilibrium,

Spoiler: spoilers go here

He's the very, very best yet he can't go ONE DAY without his proseum? Also, why didn't anyone ever question his obvious emotional reactions (His partner was shot for reading a book, and the Preston character is on the verge of an emotional breakdown for half the movie). Or how did the not find his fingerprints on the guns he used to kill several soldiers without wearing gloves while he used them? Not to mention the obvious 1984 themes, but that's a different discussion al together.

I've really no clue as to why people stand that movie.

"the obvious 1984 themes"?

Where do you think the inspiration for Equilibrium came from?

It's just that it was so blatant, I mean the Matrix used some themes from the Terminator movies but they didn't use almost the entire premise.

Even leaving that aside, the plot holes were so enormous that I'm shocked that people are actually holding it up to the standard of stuff like Alien.

Yeah, I never thought too much on the plot, to me that film is just fun action scene after fun action scene. I didn't know anyone actually took it seriously. That'd be bananas...

I'm not talking about "The character's left handed, but the stunt man uses his right in that one scene," I'm talking basic plot elements, when you leave gaping holes in basic plot points, you've made a shit movie. In terms of sci-fi story telling (Story telling, not action scenes) this is failure, and barely deserves to be in the same sentence as something like Alien, much less get a comparison