Tears of the Sun

Continuity mistake: The two fighter aircraft that took off from the carrier were unarmed. Later shots showed the planes armed to the teeth. (01:33:25 - 01:38:10)

Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the film, Tom Skerritt is on the same aircraft carrier as the fighter jets, but right after the jets bomb the enemy soldiers, Tom Skerritt arrives in a helicopter. There is no way that a helicopter is just as fast as an F-18 fighter jet. (01:44:25)

Continuity mistake: In the overhead scene of the first village, after the rebels had slaughtered all the remaining people, all the people strewn across the street are completely clean, no gunshot wounds, no blood, no gore or anything. Also in the same scene, the people that stayed behind (exceptions being the two nuns and the priest) had been so severely injured that they were unable to walk, so how did they miraculously heal themselves after they were attacked? (00:36:00)

Continuity mistake: When Lt. Waters informs Capt. Rhodes that he is going to take the group through the jungle Rhodes' phone switches back and forth between his left and right ear in alternating shots. (00:41:50)

NancyFelix

Continuity mistake: When the group is resting at a riverside Capt. Rhodes calls them again. In the first shot the antenna of his phone is almost straight, but when the camera changes to a close-up it's bent as during the earlier calls. (01:19:00)

NancyFelix

Continuity mistake: At the end of the movie a very bloody Lt. Waters walks up to the Cameroonian border gate. The blood in his face has a different pattern in every single shot. (01:42:00)

NancyFelix

Continuity mistake: At the end of the movie, when Lt A.K. Waters and Dr Lena Hendricks are in the helicopter awaiting take off, he is sitting on her left and rests his head on her left shoulder. However, in the next shot as the helicopter takes off, he is sitting on her right side. (01:47:30)

Richard Holmes

Continuity mistake: When the refugees cross a river Dr. Kendricks is carrying a little child. The child is facing away from her, with its right arm around her neck. When the camera angle changes she is holding the child face-to-face, and now its left arm is around her neck. Then a soldier takes the child from her while it is facing away from him, but when the camera angle changes again the child is turned around and facing him. (00:18:40)

NancyFelix

Continuity mistake: During the rebels' first major attack on the fleeing party, there is a lull in the fighting where Lt. Waters runs to find out whether Lena Kendricks is okay. When he reaches her, he lifts her up and she places her right hand against her ear. However, during different shots in this scene as he is talking to her, her hand goes from being next to her ear to not being there, several times. (01:29:00)

Richard Holmes

Continuity mistake: If you watch the air support coming in to bomb the enemy troops from the time they take off to the time they leave, their load out varies a number of times. Watch as they approach for their bombing run - the weapons switch from white finned missiles to yellow-tipped green bombs and back before being fired.

Continuity mistake: At the end of the scene where Bruce Willis discovers the identity of the president's son and says to Dr. Kendricks .. "I wonder what it takes to earn your trust", Dr. Kendricks puts her right hand on the son's shoulder. In the next shot, it's her left hand. (01:16:50)

Continuity mistake: When the refugees cross a river there's a man with a crutch under his right arm. When a soldier reaches out to help him he takes the crutch in his left hand, but when the camera angle changes the crutch is back under his right arm. (00:19:25)

NancyFelix

Continuity mistake: When Bruce Willis is on the phone with Tom Skerritt, Skerritt is holding the phone with his right hand and the antenna pointing up. In his next shot we see him with the phone in his left hand and antenna pointing down. So he could have changed hands but it doesn't seem very likely.

Continuity mistake: When the team does the high altitude jump, the plane is shown from the left side. The next scene is a night vision shot from the perspective of a jumper and it is no longer the same aircraft, most apparent in the tail section.

Continuity mistake: During the village rescue scene, there are a group of villagers who are being tortured to dance and are going to be executed. Before they are, the American soldiers eliminate the enemy, but for some reason the villagers are dead regardless. (00:58:00 - 00:59:00)

Factual error: In the final fight scene, you hear members of the SEAL team yelling "Grenade!" before chucking a grenade. They are supposed to yell "Frag out!" as yelling out "grenade!" is a warning of incoming enemy grenades.

More mistakes in Tears of the Sun

Kelly Lake: The first name of the character of Johnny Messner, Kelly, means 'warrior' in Gaelic.

More quotes from Tears of the Sun

Trivia: In the beginning of the movie there are several clips including a clip with a black man wearing white shorts being shot. This is an actual clip of a man being killed in Sierra Leone. The clip of the black boy being beaten is also authentic. (00:01:25)

Mortug

More trivia for Tears of the Sun

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