Factual error: About 11 minutes into the film, Luthor's yacht is seen in heavy seas in the Arctic. The helo on the helo deck has its rotor blades extended. This would cause immediate damage to them so is never done, even on carriers - the helicopter wouldn't be able to fly properly. (00:11:20)
Deliberate mistake: When Lex tests the crystal fragment, it knocks out all the power on the airplane Lois is flying in, yet the flight attendant's amplified voice can still be heard over the speakers. (00:30:40)
Continuity mistake: In the scene when Lex is testing the kryptonite at the basement of the mansion, after the power outage, he is standing directly in front of a square yellow sign. Cut to a wider shot, and he has moved left and Kitty is now in front of the sign. Cut again and Lex is back in his first position. (00:32:15)
Revealing mistake: During the airplane mishap where Lois is pinned to the ceiling, notice how the force is strong enough to hold her there, but both her hair and ID badge still hang down. (00:38:25)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Superman is trying to prevent the plane from crashing he is holding the nose of the plane and bits of it start to crumble in and fall apart or away. Once the plane is safely on the ground within the ballpark the scene shows the plane from the side where there is no damage to the nose. (00:40:15)
Continuity mistake: After the plane has landed in the stadium and Superman is checking if the passengers are all okay, note the speaker's glasses. They alternate between being very crooked to being perfectly straight. (00:41:15)
Continuity mistake: During the robbery, the machine gun's ammunition belt is on the weapon's left side. In one brief shot, it's on the right. This shot is flipped. (00:55:35)
Other mistake: In the scene where Kitty's car (a 1966 Ford Mustang) goes out of control, the horn sounds when she presses the center of the steering wheel. The horn buttons on those cars were at 3, 6 & 9 o'clock at the edges of the steering wheel. (00:57:40)
Continuity mistake: When Superman picks Kitty up from the car to take her to the hospital, her white skirt is way above her knees, revealing the top of her stockings. Superman's hands are on her stockings. When he starts to fly up, the skirt now covers her knees, with his hands on the fabric. (01:00:10)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Lois Lane is holding her son as Lex Luthor is revealing his plan to her the ring on her left hand switches back and forth between her middle and ring fingers. (01:25:05)
Continuity mistake: The writings on the note Lois faxes to the Daily Planet (with the coordinates) change from when she writes it to when Jimmy sees it through his camera. For example, the 'N' is much smaller and the 'P' is fatter in the faxed version. (01:31:45)
Continuity mistake: When Superman grabs the falling sculpture-globe the aerial view shows the hood of the cab on the left is undamaged. From a ground level view, the hood is severely damaged. (01:44:35)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Richard finds Lois and the son on the yacht, he hugs the boy and you can see that one of the drawers is open. When he looks up at Lois, the drawer is now closed. (01:46:30)
Continuity mistake: Near the end of the film when Lois makes to leave the hospital room after visiting Superman, she takes hold of her son's left hand with her right - meaning he should walk out whilst at her right side, furthest away from the hospital bed. In the next shot, both Lois and her son have swapped positions. (02:00:00)
Visible crew/equipment: When Lois pulls up to the house where the blackout was traced to, she hears some music coming from the boat down at the dock. As the camera pans upwards over the car, as she steps out, the whole camera and a crew member are reflected in the side of the car.
Other mistake: The text of the German news is wrong. It is titled "Fensterputzer halten an ihrem Lebemfest" (Window cleaners hold on for their lives). It should be "Leben fest". Also "Newsdirek" is wrong, it should be "Newsdirekt" or better "News direkt."
Revealing mistake: Just before the end credits, as Superman is flying past Metropolis and into space, watch the car headlights in the background. The background shot is blatantly sped-up by a large amount, as all of the cars appear to be travelling at huge speeds, even in a traffic jam.
Continuity mistake: When Lois Lane and Lex Luthor are talking on the ship, the knot on his tie changes throughout the scene.
Continuity mistake: In the sequence with the kryptonite continent, Superman plunges under water, when he comes back up, his hair is soaked, then throughout the next few shots, it switches back and forth of being out of place and being "super" hair.
Factual error: Jimmy tells Clark that Luthor was freed from jail because Superman didn't appear when the Court of Appeals called him as a witness. Court of Appeals rulings are based on the facts in evidence from the previous trial, and nothing else. No new evidence or testimony is allowed.
Chosen answer: The chunks that fall off the "new" land are actually bits of the earth's crust. Superman had actually drilled himself way beneath the "new" land (under the bottom of the ocean floor) so that he was not in contact with the Kryptonite infected crystal land, so that he could lift it up and get rid of it. It is this earth crust that falls off slowly, revealing the kryptonite crystals beneath, and this is why his strength slowly gets taken away as he flies higher, until there is too much exposed and he loses all his strength.
mandy gasson