Filmmakers and people who watch movies have an unspoken agreement. Filmmakers want people to know that movies are made up and that they have to suspend some disbelief in order to get lost in the movie world. Experienced viewers accept these rules so they can fit into the world the filmmakers have made. But there are some rules about that deal. Even though people are willing to accept things like a little boy who sees ghosts or a teenager who can travel to the future in a DeLorean through a wormhole when it goes 88 mph, that doesn’t mean they are willing to ignore parts of the plot that don’t make sense. Here are the movies nominated for an Oscar that have plot holes you can’t ignore.
Yes, even movies that are up for an Academy Award have plot holes. The Matrix is one of the most original science fiction movies ever made. It won four Academy Awards for its bullet time technology and mind-bending plot, but it’s not perfect.
The idea of a dystopian future where machines control people’s bodies while their minds are in a simulated reality or dream world called the Matrix is easy to believe. But we can’t ignore the huge plot hole that happens when Cypher goes into the Matrix without an operator or someone to plug him in. It goes against the story rules that have been set up for the audience, so it’s a plot hole that at the very least needs to be brought up for discussion. There are theories that try to explain this plot hole, but none of them really fit all the rules that the movie has already set up.
The Matrix is just one Oscar-winning movie with a lot of plot holes. Check out these other plot holes in good movies and vote up the ones that bother you the most.
The Quiet Place
The John Krasinski-directed horror movie was nominated for a Golden Reel for sound editing. Its simple premise was that noise-hating aliens invade Earth and kill anyone who dares to eat a bag of chips. But it also made a weird hole in the story.
In the movie, a loud, big waterfall is used as a safe place to talk because the aliens don’t pay attention to the noise. So why not live close to it? Why not live in the safe zone? Especially if a noisy baby is going to join the group soon?
Face/Off
In 1998, the sci-fi thriller Face/Off by John Woo was up for an Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing. In order to stop an extortion plan, an FBI agent (John Travolta) gets a face transplant to make him look like a terrorist (Nic Cage). The bad guy then puts on the face of the FBI agent, and a classic switcheroo happens. The big problem with the story is that the two men only switched faces and not their bodies. It’s hard to believe that the agent’s wife doesn’t know that her husband has a completely different body.
In the movie, of course, the actors play each other’s roles and make it look like they switch bodies by magic. In 2021, it was said that the movie would have a “direct sequel” that would be directed by Adam Wingard. Wingard said that the plot hole would be fixed in the new movie.
Armageddon
Yes, Armageddon was nominated for an Oscar. In fact, it was nominated four times. Ben Affleck himself pointed out a major plot hole that makes the whole movie pretty much pointless. Affleck asked Michael Bay,
Wouldn’t it be easier to train astronauts to drill than to teach drillers how to be astronauts?
Bay’s response to the actor?
Shut the f*ck up.
The Karate Kid
In 1985, Pat Morita was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Mr. Myagi in The Karate Kid. But did you know that the “crane kick” that Daniel (Ralph Macchio) used to beat his rival and arch-enemy Johnny (William Zabka) was illegal? During the whole karate tournament, officials tell us that kicking someone in the face is against the rules. Daniel shouldn’t have won the tournament because he used the crane kick, but he did.
Interstellar
People have talked a lot about the plot holes in Christopher Nolan’s 2014 movie, which was nominated for five Oscars and won one for Best Visual Effects. Here’s a big one that the whole story is based on: people are losing the ability to grow crops because of a plague called Blight, which is supposed to mean that the world is doomed. But it’s been shown that food can grow just fine on space stations. So why can’t people just grow their food in a controlled greenhouse with the same conditions as the space station? That seems like it would be much easier than figuring out how to live on another planet.
Toy Story
In 1995, Disney/Toy Pixar’s Story was up for best writing, best song for “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman, and best score. But even with all the praise, the story still has a big problem, and it has to do with Buzz Lightyear.
In Toy Story, it is clear that the toys will stop moving if someone is around to watch them. It’s a rule of being a toy. But Buzz doesn’t think he’s a toy, so why does he follow these rules? Are there the same rules for space rangers?
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
In 1998, the second movie in the Jurassic Park series was nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects. When a boat gets to San Diego, the crew has all been killed. The problem is that when the boat docks, the T. rex is still locked up in the cargo hold. So what the heck happened to make the crew die so soon?
Gone Girl
Rosamund Pike was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in 2015 for her role as one of the most dishonest, psychopathic, and manipulative people in film history. Amy frames Desi (Neil Patrick Harris) for kidnapping by putting on a show for his security cameras to make it look like he did it. Amy spends weeks at Desi’s house, where she lives quite well, which is a huge plot hole. What’s up with that video? Wouldn’t that go against her story about being taken?
