Factual error: Even though this film is set in 1965, Burlington Northern locomotives can be seen. The railroad was formed in 1970. Also, an EMD GP40-2 can be seen at the beginning of the film, but the first ones were built in 1972.
Factual error: The film takes place in a private boarding school the 1950's, however one of the students is studying from a 1980's chemistry textbook. The obvious giveaway is that the spine of one book shows HBJ as the publisher. Jovanovich was not added to Harcourt Brace until the 1970s.
Factual error: Joe Jackson batted left-handed in real life, not right-handed as Ray Liotta portrayed. He also threw right-handed and not left-handed like it shows when Kevin Costner is hitting him fly balls to left field.
Factual error: In the scene where Vince returns to his dorm room and finds Dennis Franks has moved in, Franks informs him that Coach Vermil is mixing the veterans with the rookies. In 1976, Dennis Franks and Vince Papale were both rookies.
Factual error: When Suzanna and Lisa are at Daisy's house, Daisy lays out money for Lisa so that she can get pancakes, and the bill she laid down is one of the new bills. This movie is set in the 60s so of course they wouldn't have the new bills, considering they didn't start making them until 1998.
Factual error: We are told at some point that Nicole Kidman has dual nationality because she was born in the US. In the final scene, when she is talking with Sean Penn about her future steps, she says she has been deported and given one day to leave the country. She was a US citizen, so it is impossible that she would be "deported".
Factual error: Throughout the movie, all sorts of messages are passed over the 1MC (ship's intercom) when the boat is supposed to be stealthy. They've set "Ultra Quiet" to avoid the enemy sub but no-one was any quieter, and everyone was still using the 1MC. Worse, people are shouting commands and status updates, both in person, and over the intercom! No wonder that Akula found them. The only thing protecting this ship was plot armor! In real life, messages would be passed quietly using sound powered phones (which we also see), rather than blasting the info loudly to the entire crew, because sonar will literally pick up the sounds of loudspeakers and people shouting. Let's not even mention classified target data being passed to the entire ship's crew on the 1MC. (00:49:00)
Factual error: After the birth of the baby, James Stewart and "Doc" Witherspoon are discussing the course of the war. "Doc" relates that he has always lived in Virginia and that his son died at Gettysburg at Little Round Top. No Virginia regiments fought at Little Round Top - only Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and Arkansas regiments.
Factual error: In the last battle scene when you see shots of the German destroyer through the periscope the last one shot before it's blown up is really bad angling. The ship is far away but in the scope it's very close and the periscope (in order to get that camera angle) is 100 ft in the air.
Factual error: We see a caption saying "Leeds 0 Luton 1." In reality, that match was a tie game.
Factual error: Near the beginning of the film before James McAvoy heads up to the house for the evening meal, he is seen looking up through a skylight when a Lancaster bomber slowly flies overhead. At the time it was was supposed to be 1935. The Lancaster bomber did not fly until the beginning of 1941. Can't be an Avro Manchester either, they only had two engines and first flew in 1939.
Factual error: The Map of Europe used for plotting their route displays the Netherlands incorrectly, showing its two major central polders (low-lying reclaimed landmasses surrounded by dikes) which weren't drained and finally completed until 1968.
Factual error: Scenes of the CGI Airbus A320 do not show the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) deployed. When the A320 loses power in both engines, the RAT automatically deploys to provide minimal electrical power to the plane. (01:20:05)
Factual error: In the scene when the police are heading to Clyde's house to arrest him, this tactic is highly unrealistic. In real life, when a person is simply a suspect in an investigation, the police do not all drive to the suspect location with lights and sirens going. This loses the element of surprise. They didn't even know if he was home, anyway.
Factual error: If Owen Wilson is under a dead body, how could any thermal radiation leak through the cold dead body covering him so the satellite (plus the Admiral and aides) could see him the whole time? (00:54:10)
Factual error: During most of the basketball games, you can see an American flag in the background. This is not the problem, the problem is that it is hung wrong, the stars should always be on the top LEFT not RIGHT.
Factual error: When the Ranger trainees first meet Samuel L. Jackson, he's wearing the rank of a Specialist on his collars even though he's a Master Sergeant. Title 18, Chapter 33 of the US code prevents the unauthorized wear of a military uniform (among other things), however this does not automatically correct the mistake since a common misconception is that one slight alteration is sufficient to make the uniform legal. Having the wrong rank on is too obvious of an alteration, especially for anybody who has spent more than a day in or around the Army and would still be punishable by law, if he was dressed in an attempt to fool your average citizen outside of a movie.
Factual error: Dr Schultz pays with 12 $1000 bills, but $1000 bills were not created until 1861, after the time period of this movie.
Factual error: Billy Bob Thorton wore a uniform with a Louisiana state patch on it. All of the cars have Georgia license plates.
Factual error: When they are chasing Annie's fake parents into Liberty State park, the park is not located near the George Washington Bridge, as shown immediately before they entered the park, and NYPD would not give chase into the park, since Liberty State Park is located in New Jersey.