Mission: Impossible

Plot hole: In the air vent, we see a rat. Wouldn't rats in the vents set off the alarms on a regular basis, because the lasers were on the upper side of the vent?

Plot hole: There is no reason whatsoever for Jim to have brought the bible from the hotel with him. Max says that Job never quotes scripture in his messages, so he has no reason to bring the bible. The only biblical reference is job 3:14, and that is simply a phrase to remember: having the bible with you will not help you remember it in any way.

swordfish

Plot hole: Accessing the secure room through the duct work would be virtually impossible (pardon the pun). First is this an air supply duct, return air supply duct or an exhaust duct? If it was an air supply or a return air supply duct there would be a squirrel cage fan moving the air. Not the propeller fan you see in the frame. If it was an exhaust air duct again no propeller fan. The size of whatever duct it is for that size of a room is questionable. The room was small yet the duct was large enough for a man to crawl through. The last reason why this would be impossible is where are all the screws that ducts are assembled with? They would definitely stick through the ducts and catch clothing, scratch hands, heads etc.

Plot hole: There is absolutely no way Jim Phelps would have "died" when he got shot even if he was faking it. The first time we see his death he's pointing his gun right at the camera on his glasses which are on his head and not his chest. Later when we see the how he fakes his death he's not pointing the gun at himself anyway so he wouldn't be able to get the angle of the gunshot from his camera's point of view as we saw the first time.

jbrbbt

Plot hole: In the famous raid on the computer room raid, where Hunt is lowered from the ceiling, we see a close up of the screws to the vent being undone and caught in a holder so they don't fall on the floor. But the screws cannot be put back in their holes and done up once the vent is closed, and there is not enough time for Hunt to be pulled back up and the vent closed and screws replaced when the operator returns to the room, as Hunt was pulled back up with seconds to spare.

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Suggested correction: They would not have to use screws to reattach it. They could use tape, glue, or magnets.

LorgSkyegon

Plot hole: At the end of the tunnel, the helicopter has been attached to the train; Phelps knows it, the pilot knows it, and yet Phelps still climbs across to the helicopter like he's trying to escape, but there's nowhere to go. He's deliberately climbing into a potentially lethal situation he can't get out of for no reason except it makes it convenient to kill two bad guys with one explosion.

Jon Sandys

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

Suggested correction: Phelps detached the cable before he jumped to the helicopter. The problem was Krieger tried to kill Hunt first, before trying to escape.

David George

Factual error: The vents that Hunt and his sidekick crawl down at CIA Headquarters are standard galvanized steel box vents; they are very common in the building trade. Try walking or crawling down one - you'll make a noise like the sky is falling down. People will be able to hear you for miles. Every person in that building would know somebody crawling about in the vent system. (This error applies to dozens of films, not only this one).

More mistakes in Mission: Impossible

Jim Phelps: Of course he knew. Just when he knew is something of a mystery. You mind telling me, Ethan? Was it before or after I showed up in London?
Ethan Hunt: Before London. But after you took the Bible from the Drake Hotel in Chicago.
Jim Phelps: They stamped it, didn't they? Those damn Gideons.

More quotes from Mission: Impossible

Trivia: The last major Hollywood film to be released on the Betamax video-tape format.

More trivia for Mission: Impossible

Question: Did Ethan actually know it was a mole hunt to trap Jim, or was he oblivious until he worked it out at the train station?

Answer: Ethan never thought it was a mole hunt to trap Jim. He found out from Kittridge at the restaurant that it was a mole hunt, but Kittridge believes that Ethan is the mole (the money his parents mysteriously receive). At the station Ethan realises that Jim must be the mole since it is too convenient both he and his wife survived. However, the hunt to catch the mole was never directed at Jim - Kittridge never suspected him until at the end when he sees Jim alive.

swordfish

Actually had suspicions before Jim showed up. Ethan found the Bible that was stamped from the Drake Hotel. Where Jim had literally just come back from before the mission. It made no sense otherwise why that would be in Jim's possession.

More questions & answers from Mission: Impossible

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