Best action movie mistakes of all time

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

Salt picture

Plot hole: In the end, all they have to do is ask the President, when he's conscious (Liev didn't kill him; he just knocked him unconscious), who killed everyone in the control room and nearly killed him. He would know who the traitor is and it's not Salt - when they look back at the facts, they'll see how Salt only killed when she absolutely had to, and how she saved lives and stopped a 3rd world war.

kh1616

More Salt mistakes
The Hunt for Red October picture

Character mistake: Characters refer to the Dallas and the Red October as "ships," but anyone stationed aboard a submarine would know to call it a "boat."

Cubs Fan

More The Hunt for Red October mistakes
The Mask picture Video

Revealing mistake: When The Mask is dancing with Tina and he turns her into a human tornado while spinning her around, none of the onlookers in the crowd show the slightest bit of amazement at the impossible feat that just occurred in front of them, indicating that the extras were not directed to react to the special effects.

Phaneron

More The Mask mistakes
More Galaxy Quest mistakes
War of the Worlds picture

Continuity mistake: On the ferry, Rachel wears the purple/pink camouflage hoodie over her orange knit sweater with the colorful stripe sleeves, as usual. Now this is where things become strange. In the first shot as the trio come ashore, she is only wearing her orange sweater, she is not wearing the purple/pink hoodie - note the clear lack of fur hood. In the very next shot as they climb a bit more and then rest, Rachel is wearing the purple/pink hoodie - note the hood, but now it's on under her orange sweater. In the underwater shots she is also wearing it under the orange sweater. (This odd mistake has absolutely nothing to do with the very long wool cloak that Rachel wears in the next scene). (01:02:20 - 01:04:40)

Super Grover

More War of the Worlds mistakes
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter picture

Continuity mistake: It was briefly stated in the second film that the T-Virus was created by Dr. Ashford to cure his daughter Angela and that the Red and White Queens were based on her. This movie contradicts that by suggesting that Dr. Marcus created the T-Virus to cure his daughter Alicia, and that the Red/White Queens were modeled after her. While the rest of the movie stays true to the continuity of the previous films, this rather obvious ret-con is still a major continuity gaff.

More Resident Evil: The Final Chapter mistakes
Wonder Woman 1984 picture

Other mistake: Fireworks use heated metals to produce the various colors seen when they explode - Iron, Nickel, Cryolite, magnesium and copper filings. Flying a jet engine through exploding fireworks would cause serious damage to the engine.

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

Suggested correction: Diana had conjured an invisibility shield around the jet that would likely protect it from the fireworks.

raywest

Agreed, the spell does obviously do more than just make the plane invisible. When looking at the invisibility of Themyscira, the spell obviously filters out the atmosphere and only can't keep out solid objects like planes and ships.

lionhead

If the cloak of invisibility "filters out the atmosphere", how is the air needed to run the engines getting in?

It filters the atmosphere, not keep it away. So it keeps the atmosphere that comes in clean.

lionhead

More Wonder Woman 1984 mistakes
Spectre picture

Factual error: The 15 bus in London does not go over Westminster Bridge.

More Spectre mistakes
Spider-Man 3 picture Spider-Man 3 mistake picture

Factual error: During the fight scene with Sandman in the armored car, the Terminal Tower can be seen in the background, which is a landmark in Cleveland, Ohio (where the scene was shot), not in New York City.

ctown28

More Spider-Man 3 mistakes
Armageddon picture

Factual error: The idea of two spacecraft blasting off together so close to each other at the same time is a joke. One would put the other at great risk. Not only is there massive fire and heat, but the vibrations from the noise of the exhaust do great damage to the surroundings. And there is great inconsistency about just how close the two spacecraft really are. The first still shot taken in the dark has them at different towers about 150 yards apart. But, then all the men take an elevator up ONE tower and are split apart into the two groups at the top of the tower. Furthermore, the launch takes place at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39: the fixed and rotating service structures built for the Space Shuttle are visible. The pads at LC 39 are 8,700 feet apart (just over 1.5 miles). (01:00:00)

More Armageddon mistakes
Terminator 2: Judgment Day picture Terminator 2: Judgment Day mistake picture

Continuity mistake: The T-1000 punches his body through the window of a helicopter to get inside. An instant later, the hole in the windshield is gone. (01:56:35)

More Terminator 2: Judgment Day mistakes
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi picture

Revealing mistake: When Luke is being fed to the Rancor, in Jabba the Hutt's dungeon, there are black outlines around the beast's legs, from the composite's blue screen special effect. This was edited out in the special edition rerelease.

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

Suggested correction: This was not a "mistake". The outlines showing around the beast's leg were due to the limited CGI technology at the time the film was made. With advances in special effects in the following decades, the filmmakers were able to enhance the CGI quality in later releases.

raywest

But it is a mistake to show that the Rancor is not real, and the outlines show that. It's certainly not intentional.

lionhead

Not sure what you mean that the rancor is not real. Of course it's not real. The issue is, at that time, it was not technically possible to show the beastie without the lines showing. I classify a mistake as something that was not intentional. In this case, it was, due to the limitations of CGI in the 1980s.

raywest

More Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi mistakes
Hobbs & Shaw picture

Continuity mistake: The final battle starts around dawn, and it's very dark when the bad guys arrive, but between shots it suddenly gets much brighter. (01:38:50)

Jon Sandys

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

Suggested correction: When you see the helicopter start flying in after Brixton asking them to bring it in, you can see the sun in the distance, so perhaps some time passed by.

But the weapons are only disabled for 6 minutes and the 6 minutes end when they're hooked up to the chopper, which is way later.

More Hobbs & Shaw mistakes
The Peacemaker picture

Factual error: The Russians stopped using steam locomotives in the 1970's. So bringing one out of retirement in 1997 to haul nuclear warheads would mean that your highly secret nuclear train would be well known among rail enthusiasts for weeks before.

More The Peacemaker mistakes
Robocop picture

Continuity mistake: Dick Jones brags (admits?) to Robocop, "I had to kill Bob Morton because he made a mistake. Now, it's time to erase that mistake" while Robocop is crouched on the ground, not only looking away from him from across the room, but also Robocop's eyes are in a vertical position. In the playback, Jones is facing the camera as though it were videotaped or filmed in a studio. (01:10:50 - 01:35:10)

More Robocop mistakes
More Red Sonja mistakes
San Andreas picture

Continuity mistake: When they steal the truck at the mall they have to hot wire it to make it start. Later at the San Andreas fault scene where the road ends, in the same truck, he turns the truck off with the key.

More San Andreas mistakes
More The Wolverine mistakes
The Time Machine picture

Factual error: When Philby and Alexander are talking about Albert Einstein, Alexander mentions that Einstein is a patent clerk. The beginning of this movie takes place in the year 1899. Einstein was still in school and didn't become a patent clerk until 1902.

More The Time Machine mistakes
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull picture Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At the beginning when Indy is talking to Spalko, his hands keep alternating from being in his pockets to just resting at his sides between shots.

More Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull mistakes

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.