Factual error: Mission control begins an auto-landing sequence for the shuttle, but mission control did not have an ability to remote pilot the shuttle when the movie was made and wouldn't get it until 2006.
Factual error: The marines' rifles are supposed to fire "standard armor-piercing rounds", which should have done way more damage than producing a few sparks on the frail sheet metal table in the med bay when Hudson shot the face-hugger threatening Newt. "Standard AP rounds" would have pulverized the table and created a huge hole in the wall behind it.
Factual error: In the scene where Tommy Lee Jones's character shoots down the helicopter. The helicopter has a Canadian aircraft serial number - C-GLCD. Since it's being used by the New York Police Department in New York's Central Park we should expect it to display an American registered serial. (00:53:30 - 00:54:30)
Factual error: After escaping from the back of a NYPD cruiser that apprehended her at the British Consulate, Terry runs into the NYC 57th Street N/R line subway station. In the very next shot, she is running past Cole's French Dip Restaurant on 6th Street.in Los Angeles. The restaurant sign even mentions its location.
Factual error: Charlie's 58 Impala is a sweet ride, but his license plates don't have the requisite year stickers. His car has the '56 series of plates, and each subsequent year would require that current year's sticker.
Factual error: When Number 5 is watching Saturday Night Fever, he is watching and grooving to the climactic dance-off scene in Saturday Night Fever on TV. Stephanie then enters and the scene on TV shifts to one much earlier in the movie he's supposedly watching. (00:57:15 - 00:59:30)
Factual error: Ted Bundy is trying to pick up a potential victim in front of a record store, where a poster of Stevie Nicks' album, Rock a Little, is displayed. This scene took place in the mid-1970's, but Nicks' album was released in 1985.
Factual error: Apparently, Ratigan had to cross the River Thames to reach Big Ben from Buckingham Palace as evidenced by him tossing Fidget into the river before taking reign of the blimp. However, the two landmarks are on the same side of the river.
Suggested correction: Ratigan changed direction multiple times during the chase because he was trying to get away from Basil. He may have flown away from that side of the river, but then after changing direction he flew across to the side he came from again.
Factual error: One scene shows the elephants bathing. During which you can see a car/van passing behind the trees in the background.
Factual error: The movie as the opening captions say, is set in Melbourne, Australia, 1978. However when Sam at the beginning of the movie drinks the milk and moves to the other room where the TV is, he passes by a poster (a communist party poster, the Italian communist party, strangely enough) that was designed only in 1981. (00:09:25)
Factual error: The brothers had a two-way mirror installed in the fitting room. Todd makes faces at his brother through the glass. If the mirror had really been two-way, the woman would have seen the reflection of Todd making the faces and would have known something was up. (00:19:28)
Factual error: Murphy shouldn't even be in charge of escorting Arabella to the bathroom and booking her. Female police officers are put in charge of female prisoners.
Factual error: Tuba pranks the store manager while he is reading adult magazines. One of them though (the one he is holding) is the August 1985 issue with Angela Nicholas on the cover. The previous scene took place at the Hong Kong Marathon of 1985, in January.
Factual error: There are profound problems with the geography of the U.K. In the beginning, Stimpson is at a train station. He wants the Norwich train, but instead gets on a train bound for Plymouth. There is no station where you could get a train to both. Plymouth is in the South West. To get there from London, you go out of Paddington. Norwich is in East Anglia and you get there from Liverpool Street.
Factual error: In the scene when Walter was in the den in the middle of the floor, Anna lifts up part of the blanket and he falls through to the first floor. However, in the next scene, he appears to be able to walk without any problem. The second floor was at least 20-30 feet above the first floor and was covered with all sorts of rubble and a wooden floor. If he had fallen that far, he would have been badly injured and would not have been able to just walk like he did.
Factual error: Spence says that Claudia is Italian, but the very efficient butler greets her with "Buenos dias", and according to Ellen she was a big Chilean film star. Nothing strange that Ted Danson would be wrong about her nationality like he often is wrong about names, but in the end credits we have a similar Spanish/Italian language mixup with an "Italian director" listed, when the person in the movie finale speaks Spanish. (01:25:00)