Continuity mistake: After the truck hits the car with the cocaine inside it, the truck gets dust all over it which disappears moments later.
Factual error: Throughout the film, the helmet plates worn by the London Policemen are the 1930's pattern with the George V cypher in the centre. In 1912/13 they would have repeated the officer's collar number in the centre. The helmets themselves are also British military pattern blue cloth helmets with Police fittings added, rather than the correct Police pattern ones.
Factual error: Michael's wife meets with Longo in prison, and she has an iPhone. The trial was in 2003, 4 years before the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.
Factual error: The movie is set in the late 90s but in the parking lot scenes, the pair are surrounded by cars as new as 2012.
Continuity mistake: When the young boy loads his bow and arrow while talking to his older brother, he does this twice without firing it. (00:53:55)
Factual error: Tina's striptease dance is mentioned several times as a notable scene in the fictional 1986 movie 'Camp Bloodbath'. When that scene plays out, the song Tina dances to is Warrant's 'Cherry Pie', which wasn't released until 1990.
Factual error: The military policemen wear plain black armbands. Their armbands actually had 'MP' in red letters.
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the movie when Joy is in her airline's company uniform and getting ready to go to work, the knot on her scarf changes from loose to tight several times in the different shots.
Factual error: The delivery van bringing gear for the walk has a 718 area code on it. That area code did not exist until 1984.
Factual error: Although this 2015 Norwegian disaster film is far superior to the many American disaster movies that it emulates, "The Wave" still suffers the most common error found in tsunami-themed disaster flicks: Crystal-clear flood waters. Of course, tsunami flood waters in particular are always inky-black with churning sediment and debris.
Continuity mistake: Spoiler alert: About halfway through the movie, we see Emma Roberts coming out of the shower, and the camera focuses on the gunshot wound on her shoulder, with the round scar of the entry wound on her back, and the much rougher, ragged scar of the exit wound on her front. Then at the end of the movie, where it's revealed that Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts were actually playing the same character, just nine years apart, Kiernan Shipka gets shot by the police officer when he finds her in the room with the severed heads. Problem is: she was facing the officer. The scars on Emma Roberts are the wrong way around. (00:31:05 - 01:15:35)
Other mistake: When Otto Preminger calls Trumbo from his car to announce that Trumbo's real name would be credited for Exodus, Preminger tells him to look at the front page of the New York Times. The problem is that Trumbo has already picked up the paper from his counter and is reading before Preminger even tells him which newspaper features the article.
Continuity mistake: At the very start of the movie as the 2 guys walk down the alley way, the one in the black jacket lifts his arm up as he passes the rubbish bin. In the next shot from the front both his arms are in his pockets and the rubbish bins completely disappear. (01:00:00 - 01:01:00)
Factual error: At the beginning of the movie when Danny Glover is sitting at the chessboard, the pieces are lined up wrong on both sides of the board. If Danny has the white pieces, the king should be on his right. The black king should be on the opponent's left.
Revealing mistake: At the cocktail party in his honor, Rita Richards introduces herself. Joaquin Phoenix's scotch is in a transparent plastic cup, and you notice what happens in most movies, here with particular clarity; when he brings it to his mouth, he does not take even a sip, but just pretends. (00:06:05)
Continuity mistake: After the shooting at the concert, Lysistrata is in the bathroom downing the pill with some Don Julio tequila. The bottle lid is to the left of the bottle in the wide angles, to the right in close-up. (00:10:00)
Continuity mistake: After Liz and Bev tell Bill that they can't cancel the show, they are helping him put his suit jacket on. Dimitri behind him is using a sticky roller thing to get hairs off the jacket and is down on his back. After Bev mentions the weather issues the camera angle changes and suddenly Dimitri has the roller up on his shoulder.
Continuity mistake: When a nonplussed Cage and his wife drop by to talk with a drug addict, the candle on the table is at first whole, then in close-up the top is molten out of shape at the top. (00:47:00)
Continuity mistake: First meeting with Lazarus; the pastor sits down, his wife is just about to, and Verdean's assistant has placed her bag on the table. Next shot, pastor and wife seated, but Miss Jensen is still just only then approaching the chair and putting the bag down. (00:08:25)