Best drama movie plot holes of 1986

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

The Fly picture

Plot hole: The whole problem with the teleporter occurs when fly DNA is mixed in with Seth Brundle's DNA, starting his transformation into the Brundlefly. Brundle is on a hiding to nothing from the word go, and the fly is irrelevant. Humans are a walking talking mass of foreign DNA - we are host to one trillion bacteria all of which has a complete complement of DNA, as do various tiny mites that live in our hair follicles and all sorts of single cell organisms in our gut. If the transporter serves to mix the DNA of all living creatures which are in the transporter pod at the time Brundle would turn into a half-man, half-bacteria. Incidentally, DNA from a bacteria, an amoeba or a hair follicle mite would be just as 'compatible' with human DNA as that from an insect. It's quite a simple chemical, really.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Being as how the bacteria and mites and such were IN or ON Seth, the machine was able to organize those symbiotic relationships accordingly as teleporting one would teleport all. The fly was separate, not touching. The machine was not programmed to anticipate two separated entities and so combined them into one on the other side.

Phixius

We leave behind a vapour trail of bacteria and viruses (among other things) as we walk, in our breath and emanations from pores in our skin, and Brundle isn't trapping any in his clothes as he isn't wearing any. Brundle has an invisible cloud of DNA floating around him in that teleportation chamber and as far as the machine is concerned their DNA has exactly the same status as that of the fly.

We don't know enough about how the machine works to determine how it might differentiate different DNA types. Unexplained science means it's somehow able to do it. Willing suspension of disbelief for the win.

More The Fly plot holes
Children of a Lesser God picture

Plot hole: Sarah breaks a mirror in frustration by throwing something against it. Then she buries her face in her arms and sobs. It remains a mystery how she managed to cut her hand so bad that it needed to be fixed with five stitches, as she isn't even seen picking up the pieces. (00:59:15)

NancyFelix

More Children of a Lesser God plot holes
Down by Law picture

Plot hole: Where did Bob find a knife to skin and clean the rabbit? And why did he leave the ears and front paws? (01:19:45)

NancyFelix

More Down by Law plot holes
A Zed and Two Noughts picture

Plot hole: At the end of the movie, snails collect on the apparatus on which Oliver and Oswald have set up a time-lapse camera to photograph their decaying bodies, eventually short-circuiting the camera and wrecking their experiment. As they had previously (01:34:18) set up similar apparatuses in the same area (Alba's country estate) photographing other decaying organisms, why didn't the snails collect on them? (Pleasant film, huh?) (01:52:45 - 01:53:50)

CC

More A Zed and Two Noughts plot holes
Top Gun picture

Plot hole: In the debrief in Viper's office following Maverick and Goose's first flight at Top Gun (in which they defeat Jester), Viper states that "Commander Heatherly lost sight of you and called no joy." However, during the actual flight scene, you never hear Jester call "no joy." I've always assumed that this part of the scene was accidentally left in the editing room.

More Top Gun plot holes
Murphy's Law picture

Plot hole: Why Det Murphy stays handcuffed to Arabelle when they escape, considering he's got the keys, is never explained.

Rob245

More Murphy's Law plot holes
Vendetta picture

Plot hole: No way would any prison let so many deaths of a gang go without conducting an investigation as they fail to do so here.

Rob245

More Vendetta plot holes
Ferris Bueller's Day Off picture

Plot hole: When Jeannie encounters Mr. Rooney at her house, she attacks him and calls the police. Later, the police pick her up for filing a false report. Why? Surely they would've seen signs of an intruder such as a dropped wallet on the floor and footprints in the mud right next to the house.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Without knowledge of what happened when the police visited, it's impossible to call this a plot hole. It might be that the police knocked on the door, Jeannie answered and explained that by the time they got there the intruder had gone. She could have got angry at them like she did on the phone. Maybe they arrested her there and then, without entering the house or searching the grounds (for someone they'd just be told was no longer there). Who knows? Unlikely sure, but not impossible.

More Ferris Bueller's Day Off plot holes
No Retreat, No Surrender picture

Plot hole: Kelly is a friend of Jason's from LA and they have been seeing each other since he transferred to Seattle (he mentions 'the other day' she saw something at the pet store). Basically the one passion in life Jason has, is karate. Her brother is the US karate champion, and yet Jason didn't know that or even that he was from Seattle. That's absurd on several levels, since it implies that he wouldn't know her last name (then how did they stay in touch?) and they never ever talked about anything personal, because it's fairly obvious it would come up really easily.

Sammo

More No Retreat, No Surrender plot holes
Deadly Friend picture

Plot hole: It seems unlikely Paul could've just taken Sam's body out of the hospital with ease and not run into security.

Rob245

More Deadly Friend plot holes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.