Factual error: When the bridges are blown up, some of the bridges are suspension bridges, but the bridge only fails at the point of the explosion. The main horizontal supports are severed, but large portions of the bridge remain magically aloft. The nature of suspension bridges means the remaining vertical cables and road deck would fail as well, resulting in the loss of the bridge between the two main pillar supports.
Factual error: When the boys get off the cranium shaker about ten people follow them out of the exit gate The ride only seats four.
Factual error: Semi-automatic guns don't just click empty, like they do in a lot of movies. The slide would lock back until you manually cock the gun. Yet in the corridor of light scene, this is exactly what happens: Alice's gun just clicks when it's empty.
Factual error: The pirates' map shows a drawing of Tower Bridge, which Pirate Captain sees through the telescope moments later. Construction of Tower Bridge started in 1886, and it was completed in 1894. Queen Victoria was 73 when Tower Bridge was completed, whereas she is in her late twenties or mid thirties here. The sign setting the film in 1837 also makes no sense given this timeline. (00:25:20)
Factual error: The film starts at Christmas in 1985, and we see various kids opening their toys, including one child who gleefully unwraps an NES Action Set. While the NES was out in the US in 1985, the Action Set wasn't released until 1988.
Factual error: When the agent searches for Abu Ahmed in Peshawar, Pakistan, in one scene he gets out of his car, and a shop named Bhatia sons appear in the background, a company based in Delhi, India. In the next scene he is walking down a market, where a sign board of Jaggi sweets, (existing in Punjab, India) is seen, with words written in Hindi (only to be found in India).
Factual error: In the movie the graphics shown include geographical positions, with the latitude and longitude. Every one is wrong except the one in Somalia.
Factual error: Detective Sebastian fires a total of 7 rounds at the Antigen van in the parking garage - three at the driver, two at the front-left tire, one right before the van nearly runs him over and then one after it passes him - without reloading, yet the Taurus Judge revolver he is using is designed to only hold 5 rounds in its cylinder. Later, after Sebastian has reloaded the revolver, he fires 8 rounds at Dr. Lane, again without reloading.
Factual error: When Sherrie and Drew are in Tower Records, the background song is I Remember You by Skid Row. But that album wasn't released until 1989, and the movie is set in 1987.
Suggested correction: The movie also says that Drew wrote "Don't Stop Believin" when the song came out in 1981. They also sing Heaven and More than words which didn't come out until 1989 and 1990 respectively. It's a musical that's full of 80's music, so they pulled all sorts of 80's music. It's not a mistake to have songs show up in a year, in a completely made up timeline.
Factual error: Bryan tells Kim to go to the US Embassy if he doesn't return in 5 minutes, and enters "US Embassy" into the GPS. Later there is a chase scene that ends at a building with "United States Embassy" on the signage. This is impossible unless they drove about 6 hours to Ankara, the capital city. Istanbul has only a US Consulate (albeit a very impressive one).
Factual error: There is a scene in midtown Manhattan toward the middle of the film outside a NYC subway station, which according to the sign on the subway entrance is at 6th Avenue and 39th Street. There is no such subway station on those streets.
Factual error: After Captain Dubois escapes from jail, she looks up missing lion on a computer and finds a news page with Alex on saying "FAMOUS CENTRAL PARK ZOO LION MISSING" and hits the Print Screen button on the computer and the news page prints. However, pushing the Print Screen button wouldn't print a document. It would just take a copy of the screen. No matter how much you push the Print Screen button, the page wouldn't print off. (00:40:20)
Factual error: On the Amtrak train, "Vicki" sees a sign advertising downhill skiing trips to Victoria, BC. There are no downhill ski areas in Victoria, or close by, and Amtrak doesn't travel to Victoria.
Factual error: In the scene where Dave is playing cards with soldiers, some of the paper money being gambled is a design of U.S. money not introduced until about 30 years later.
Factual error: When Reacher sees Sandy's body being loaded into the coroner's van, he's able to see her face. In reality, a dead body is zipped into a leak proof body bag for transport. And that body is put in the bag and zipped up WHERE THEY DIED, not in the van or somewhere else. Specifically, this was a murder scene and any evidence and DNA would have been secured on the body by the body bag.
Factual error: Lee gasses up his car on the Garden State Parkway while driving Imogene to NYC. Never has there ever been self-serve gasoline in the state of New Jersey.
Factual error: When the main character goes into the church, she looks at a picture from 1989 labeled "annual picnic". In the picture a boy (next to the main character's mother) wears a hat with a DC (DC Shoes) logo on it. DC Shoes was established in 1993. (01:00:00)
Factual error: At the beginning of the film, Pat's Mother picks him up in Baltimore to return to Philly. In the scene from the car as they pass the Linc, the stadium is on the right, indicating that they are in fact traveling South on 95 towards Baltimore. Additionally, the previous scene of the city from the car could not have been shot from 95.
Factual error: Before Harland arrests Will, he gets out of the cop car with a block of cash. Later in the movie you learn he burned it. There was a burn barrel next to the car with a low fire in it as he gets out of the car. It cuts to the cops yelling at him with a mega phone and then back to Will walking away from the barrel. Now the fire is roaring high up. It grew much too fast and high for such a short time. Money is not that flammable. (00:19:40)
Factual error: The rifle Aaron Cross is shooting is a bolt action rifle, but it's shot semi-automatically. (00:33:46)