Revealing mistake: When the Enterprise is leaving space dock, look at the right (starboard) side of the ship. You can see the shape of the mounting arm the model was mounted on, even though it was blacked out to look like space, and it also blocked out the bottom of the dock. The footage was reused from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Revealing mistake: Near the end when Khan says "For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee", if you look near the bridge of his nose you can see the prosthetic of his "wounds" is coming loose.
Revealing mistake: When Chekhov and Terrell see the Ceti Eels moving around in the tank for the first time, it's obvious that it's not sand in the tank. As the creatures move underneath, all the 'grains' move in unison, and not a single grain of sand is disturbed nor do they tumble over one another.
Revealing mistake: On the Regula station, when Kirk, Saavik and McCoy set phasers to stun, McCoy is squeezing the trigger on his as the emitter light is lit. He is still holding it down as he turns to walk off.
Revealing mistake: When Chekov and Terrell are walking on Ceti Alpha V watch as they get to the ridge overlooking the Botany Bay. Each of them cast two very distinct shadows, indicating two separate light sources. The planet only has one sun. (00:15:05)
Revealing mistake: After crippling the Enterprise, the Reliant comes around again. As it does, the star field behind it can be seen through the black area of the inside of the nacelle.
Chosen answer: According to the novelisation of the film the Genesis project was initially designed to be capable of creating an entire solar system. While the focus of the project eventually narrowed down to altering an individual planet, the sub-routines necessary to create a star were still in place and were activated when the device detonated within the nebula.
Tailkinker ★