Factual error: When Rambo plays possum then suddenly takes out the Russian officer's Hind Helicopter he uses an M72A2 light anti-tank weapon (LAW). When fired, the M72A2 has a back blast that can kill out to 100 feet, which means he would have either blown up his own helicopter or killed all the MIA's he had rescued...
Continuity mistake: When Rambo fires the rocket launcher at the Russian Hind helicopter, he is clearly seen aiming a LAW rocket launcher. The LAW is fired by pressing a lever on the top. But when Rambo fires, a quick edit from a previous shot (on the patrol boat) shows him pulling a trigger from the Russian RPG launcher he used to dispatch the Vietnamese patrolboat earlier in the film. The film returns to show him holding the LAW rocket launcher again.
Continuity mistake: In the end of the film after Rambo blows up the Russian helicopter, there is a hole in the front window through which Rambo shoots the rocket. In the next few scenes we see Rambo's helicopter and the hole in the window is gone, then it's back again, then it's gone, then it's back again when he lands.
Continuity mistake: When Rambo has rescued his first POW and running to escape to meet his check point, he is followed by the Vietnamese soldiers who chase him knee deep through a muddy swamp. The film scene then shows Rambo, seconds later, still running with the POW, but then returns to the Vietnamese soldiers who now have wet but very clean trousers.
Revealing mistake: In a scene towards the end, we see a crowd of Vietnamese on a riverbank firing their machine guns into the trees...one soldier clearly walks directly in front of another soldier who continues firing away without hitting him.
Factual error: The big red "trigger" switch that Rambo uses to fire the rockets on the Huey is the radio/intercom switch.
Character mistake: In the showdown scene between the Vietnamese officer and Rambo, the Vietnamese officer empties an entire magazine at Rambo from only about 20 metres away but only manages to hit the ground around Rambo's feet. What was he doing, aiming at his feet? He deserved to get blown up to bits for that effort.
Continuity mistake: When the Russian is shooting from the helicopter at Rambo in the water, the rocket pods are missing from the helicopter, but after Rambo gets in the helicopter and takes over, they are back.
Factual error: Near the beginning of the film, the airplane that will fly Rambo into the jungle is being refueled and prepared for takeoff. Ericson shines his flashlight into one of the jet exhaust ports to inspect it, an impossible task since the jet engines have already been started. Not even Rambo would be able to stand behind a jet exhaust without getting blown over or burnt to a crisp. (00:10:15)
Factual error: When the close up of the engine for the plane to drop Rambo off is shown starting up, in the next shot a voice can be heard saying "APU start". The APU starts the engine, so the engine couldn't have been started first.
Revealing mistake: While Rambo is flying the helicopter with the POW's you can clearly see the smoke shooting from a small metal thing below the gun.
Continuity mistake: During the helicopter chase scene, the mini-gun and the manual m-60 on Rambo's chopper change sides.
Factual error: The Russian Hind helicopter is in fact a French-built Aerospatiale Super Puma with attached wings.
Continuity mistake: When Rambo leaves the village after blowing stuff up with the explosive arrows, he has about 15-20 arrows in his quiver, but when he kills the Vietnamese soldier, he only has one.
Continuity mistake: When Rambo is introduced to Murdoch, Murdoch asks for a drink and the man gets 1 from the drink machine, no other can drops down and no other shelves are full. Yet he brings 2 cans over.
Continuity mistake: When Rambo is attacking the POW camp, the Gatling gun on his helicopter is firing (spinning) in one shot, not in the next, then back and forth, yet it never stops making firing sounds or killing people.
Continuity mistake: After Rambo lands with the POW's and Ericson says "Glad you made it", Ericson has his hands on his hips. In the next shot his hands are on his side and back to his hips in the 3rd shot.
Other mistake: During a scene shot on the bridge, you see two vehicles pull up - later you see that another vehicle has arrived with reinforcements in an aerial shot. At this time, you see a man firing a automatic weapon, and then one of his fellow soldiers crossing directly into his line of fire, but the man is not hit.
Continuity mistake: In the POW camp, Co Bao is discovered by a guard who points a handgun at her. Rambo shoots an arrow into the guard's forehead, who then falls back against a tree with his cap down low over his eyes. In the next shot his cap is much higher on his head, and the arrow is pointing at a different angle. How could his cap have moved up that far with the arrow holding it to his forehead? For that matter, how could the arrow have moved when it was firmly embedded in the guard's skull? (00:33:25)
Suggested correction: The arrow was able to move because upon piercing the skull, the arrow penetrated the brain, a soft matter that would not hold the arrow in place. The brain matter is much softer than flesh. Imagine shooting an arrow into a watermelon. It is not fixed, but moveable.
But the point of the arrow is sticking in the tree. If it wasn't the guard would have fallen to the ground. So it shouldn't have moved.
Continuity mistake: When Rambo is escaping with the POWs in the helicopter, one of the POWs clearly machine guns the Russian helicopter and one of its rocket pods falls off and into a tree near a house, yet in the next scene it's back on.
