Best sci-fi movie mistakes of all time

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

Ant-Man picture

Factual error: Twice in the film it is made clear that the Pym particle works by reducing the space between atoms in order to shrink an object, and by increasing it to enlarge them. This means that the object will weigh the same, whether shrunk or enlarged - it cannot be otherwise. A 90kg man the size of an ant would punch a hole through any surface upon which he stood (and couldn't ride ants), Doctor Pym has been walking about with a 60 tonne tank in his pocket, Darren Cross lifts a full grown sheep between finger and thumb, and the supersized Thomas The Tank Engine would be far too light to crush the police car (in fact it would float harmlessly away as it would probably weigh less than the air it displaced).

PEDAUNT

More Ant-Man mistakes
Independence Day picture Independence Day mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Dr. Okun is about to unlock "the vault", and says, "The freak show," a crewmember wearing a black and white striped shirt is hiding under the vault's floor, right behind Okun. (Only visible on fullscreen DVD.)

Super Grover

More Independence Day mistakes
Hollow Man picture

Plot hole: Why on earth would the military be interested in a soldier (sailor, aviator, whatever) who has to go into combat naked and unarmed, and who is detectable by an enemy equipped with a pair of cheap, mass-produced goggles? How would you treat them if they were injured? They would be utterly useless in any form of military operation, even espionage.

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

Suggested correction: Presumably the military are interested because Sebastian's research could lead to advanced forms of invisibility technology, such as the ability to turn materials and weapons invisible for use in combat.

You cannot second guess the film like that. Sebastian is making no effort to make non-living items invisible and throughout the film we see that is not possible (why else would Sebastian have to walk about naked?). His research is on animals (and later humans) not "materials and weapons" and is based on their physiology, anatomy and metabolism. How would you inject a rifle or a tank with a serum? They don't have a bloodstream. The military wouldn't see any value at all in this research - maybe they would be interested in invisibility, but not if it was restricted to living creatures as we see here.

You know how easy it would be for an invisible person to infiltrate an enemy's compound undetected and take out powerful leaders or dictators? Especially if no-one knew the technology existed.

Easy? Impossible. First, they would be naked and unarmed. Too bad if you are trying to knock off Vladimir Putin - a taekwondo black belt - with your bare hands during a Moscow winter! Being invisible doesn't mean you can avoid making a sound or triggering a pressure plate or an infrared detector and so on and so on. Final answer - a naked, unarmed combatant would be about as useful as a chocolate teapot in any form of operation, covert or otherwise.

More Hollow Man mistakes
Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein picture

Continuity mistake: If you look carefully at the monster (Frankenstein) you will see that his face is different in the ending scenes. The reason is, during the movie you see the monster take the woman doctor and throw her out the laboratory window. You then see the monster kind of stumble, which he really did and broke his ankle. So in the final scenes they replaced Lon Chaney Jr. as wolfman with a stuntman, and Lon Chaney Jr. finished the movie as the monster.

More Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein mistakes
The Thing picture

Character mistake: The last time Doc tries the defibrillator on Norris, he uses it on the abdomen instead of on the chest. He also positions the pads incorrectly. They should be placed diagonal, with the heart in the middle, not horizontal.

MaZtR HaXoR

More The Thing mistakes
2001: A Space Odyssey picture

Other mistake: There is something drastically wrong with the design of the spherical 'Aries' moon shuttle. Some seats and many fixtures are 'upside down' relative to the up-down orientation of the shuttle itself, and we see loose food trays and equipment about the place as if this is routine. But - the shuttle is designed to land on the moon. What happens then? The moon has gravity, remember? There are going to be quite a few very disgruntled people dangling upside down like spiders, and there will be loose gear (and perhaps a stewardess or two) bouncing about all over the place. It is not a matter of stowing loose gear or lying flat on landing - some parts of the shuttle are upside down relative to others, which is why the stewardess has to do that famous 180 degree upside down walk. Whichever way you look at it the shuttle is going to encounter serious problems when it reaches a gravity well, which will occur whenever the engines are fired up, never mind landing on the moon.

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

Suggested correction: The shuttle lands "on its back" with legs extending beyond the engines. As in most traditional sci-fi, and ALL actual, space flights to date, the launch (and landing) orientation for humans is to be on one's back. This minimizes blood being sucked down to your feet if you were sitting upright at launch - you could pass out. So we see this when the shuttle lands on the moon - the cockpit (red window) faces up (pilots on their backs, facing out the window). When we presume that the passenger cabin was 180 degrees spun around from the cockpit seating, they're still on their backs. Any loose objects would have been stowed before landing - the airlines don't lock down your bags, newspapers and coffee cups, right? They're loose in the cabin during flight, but put away on takeoff and landing.

Airliners do not fly upside down. The Orion shuttle cannot possibly operate the way it does if it lands in a gravity environment - some rooms are upside down relative to others - why else would the stewardess do the 180 degree vertical walk? It is an idiotic design flaw, and the posting is 100% correct.

The Aries passengers sit and stand with their feet down towards the moon. The pilots sit with their back down to the moon, as conventional astronauts do on Earth. But the attendant's 180-degree walk is completely wrong to the orientation of the shuttle's interior: it should have been only 90° if you look at the Aries exterior. One assumes that Kubrick preferred a longer, more cinematic shot, over a technically accurate shot. But nobody was upside-down to the moon.

More 2001: A Space Odyssey mistakes
Avengers: Endgame picture

Continuity mistake: In the final battle, Wasp and Ant-Man are in the van trying to get the quantum tunnel operational. We cut back to the fight and we can see Ant-Man there too, fighting in his giant form. (02:22:20 - 02:23:00)

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

Suggested correction: He needed to hot-wire the van. It's quite possible he could have left the van for parts (he's seen slamming a Leviathan to the ground) or to protect it. It also could have been an illusion by one of Dr. Strange's people.

DetectiveGadget85

Sorry but the suggested correction makes no sense. For one Dr Strange's people have no idea what Ant-Man looks like, and secondly Ant-Man would have no idea where to get parts from in the middle of a battlefield, let alone know if alien technology would be compatible. Also the time frame given when the scene plays out allows no time for him to leave the van, this is a legitimate mistake.

Dr. Strange's people don't know what Ant-Man looks like? He entered the battle with them long before they went to the van. Earth has had access to the same Leviathan parts since the original Avengers. If Toomes can make wings out of it in Spider-man Homecoming, it's possible he can figure something out. Clint had passed the glove to Black Panther before Ant-Man is seen in the background. There was plenty of time. He also could have been defending the van while they brought the glove.

There is plenty of time for Ant-Man to have left the van and returned to it. As the scenes play out, Ant-Man and Wasp are in the front of the van trying to hot wire it. The film then cuts to the battle for several minutes, as we see the passing off the gauntlet, which includes the brief shot of Giant-Man in the background. A few minutes later the film cuts back to the van and we see Scott opening the rear door of the van. So there's plenty of time for him to have gotten out of the van, saw potential trouble with the Leviathan, turned into Giant-Man to stop it while letting Hope finish activating the tunnel, and then returning to check the final settings. Now, all this raises another question that has to do with the apparent ease Giant-Man has in traversing the battlefield, as in why not just give Scott the gauntlet, have him turn into Giant-Man, take a few steps over to the van, and then shrink back down to take the stones back in time?

Vader47000

More Avengers: Endgame mistakes
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith picture Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith mistake picture

Continuity mistake: On Utapau, when Obi-Wan faces off with Grievous, Grievous sends 4 MagnaGuards against Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Force-pulls something from the ceiling to crush the droids. But in the ensuing fight between Obi-Wan and Grievous, the ceiling thing and crushed droids are gone.

More Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith mistakes
The Matrix picture The Matrix mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Neo is going to open the door to enter the Oracle's house, you can clearly see a camera on the doorknob. There's a sheet over it painted to look like the wall behind it, with a representation of Morpheus' tie too, because he's blocked by the camera. (01:07:40)

More The Matrix mistakes
Predator 2 picture

Other mistake: In the slaughterhouse scene, after Harrigan has injured the Predator with his shotgun and Keyes reappears, the Predator throws its disc, and severs Keyes in half at the waist. We see his legs flop to the ground, and blood pour from above, but his upper half (torso, backpack and weaponry) mysteriously remain hovering out of sight. (According to the director, the MPAA made him cut the footage of the top half of his body hitting the ground because it was too gory, creating this odd error). (01:21:50)

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

Suggested correction: We don't actually know if the disc completely cuts Keyes in half (or just passes through him and leaves a gaping hole). You see the blood, but the movie is edited so that it cuts back to Harrigan looking on in horror for a split-second, then back to Keyes' body on the floor (mostly obscured by a cement pillar).

They blatantly show his legs hitting the ground without the top half! I can only assume you watched an edited-for-TV version or something. It's VERY clear in the movie that he was cut in half. (In actuality, the scene was the victim of the MPAA according to the director... they had to cut the bit where the top half of his body hit the ground because it was too gory... creating this odd movie mistake).

TedStixon

More Predator 2 mistakes
Spider-Man: Homecoming picture

Factual error: When the bus is shown entering Washington, DC for the competition, the shot shows the bus traveling over the Arlington Memorial Bridge with the Lincoln Memorial in the background. That bridge is on the southwest side of the city. Since NYC is to the northeast of DC, this means that to get to that bridge and enter DC that way, the bus had to drive all the way around the city and then come back in from the opposite direction. Even if the bus driver made a mistake and missed the most direct route into the city from the north, there are dozens of other ways to get to the heart of the city without adding a good 45 minutes to an hour to the trip.

Guy

More Spider-Man: Homecoming mistakes
Superman picture

Factual error: When Clark speaks to Jor-El for the first time in the Fortress, Jor-El says "I will have been dead for many thousands of your years..." Fine in theory - Baby Kal-El travelled to Earth at above light speed so time passed differently for him. However, as such, wouldn't Jor-El have seen Earth as it was thousands of years ago? Which also makes there a problem with all the things Kal-El was taught during his voyage to Earth, as Jor-El references Einstein by name, for instance, and he would not have existed at the point when Jor-El sent him to Earth.

More Superman mistakes
The Final Countdown picture

Factual error: Listening to a radio broadcast, live, since no other indication is given, Joe Louis is completing the 12th round of a fight. This is December 6, 1941. Joe's last fight of 1941 occurred in September, his next fight was January 1942. (00:00:10)

More The Final Countdown 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
Capricorn One picture

Plot hole: Further to the comments about the Lunar Lander being useless as a Mars Lander - who is going to believe that three men spent eighteen months crammed into a tiny Lunar Command Module? Not only would they go out of their minds, where would they store the tonnes of water and food they would need in that tiny capsule? How could the Service Module carry enough oxygen or have enough battery power to make the trip?

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

Suggested correction: You're assuming they travelled from Earth to Mars in the lander alone. The astronauts didn't do this when they went to the moon. The Lunar Lander was attached to the command module during the 3-day journey. When the astronauts reached the moon, they detached the lander from the command module and landed on the surface. It is reasonable to believe the astronauts for Capricorn One did the same thing, except on a much bigger ship for a journey that lasted over a year. We just never saw it.

Mike Lynch

The posting did not refer to the Lunar Lander, it referred to the tiny Lunar Command Module, the only part of the Saturn V that returned to Earth. From 44:00 to 48:08 of the film we see a live broadcast, supposedly from Martian orbit, showing all three astronauts crammed into a Lunar Command Module. The posting is absolutely correct.

This is another Deus ex Machina explanation for a blatant film mistake. The astronauts launched into orbit in a standard Saturn V rocket which could not possibly carry anything like a spacecraft large enough to make the trip to Mars. There is nothing in the film to suggest that there was a "much bigger ship" involved.

They are also shown seated in the tiny Apollo command module, supposedly transmitting messages from orbit around Mars. The posting is absolutely correct.

You're assuming the astronauts were launched in a standard Saturn V rocket, but with all the resources needed for a journey to Mars that took 18 months round trip, NASA would have to send them on a larger rocket to accommodate the required oxygen, water, food, spare parts, supplies, etc. needed to bring them back safely.

Mike Lynch

Did you watch the film? From 1:54 to 2:25 we see an establishing shot of a perfectly ordinary Saturn V rocket on the launch pad. From 6:05 to 6:43 we see all three astronauts strapped into the tiny, Lunar Command Module. As has already been pointed out from 44:00 to 48:08 we see a live broadcast, supposedly from Martian orbit, showing all three astronauts crammed into a Lunar Command Module. There is absolutely no mention of a larger spacecraft and none is ever shown.

More Capricorn One 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
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

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.