Stupidity: Mr. Soneji's class is so advanced that they use encrypted files to pass each other notes and whatnot, but their assignment, which takes them a long time to complete, is to "find the official website of Charles Lindbergh." Even in 2001 with search engines not quite well developed as they are now, it wouldn't take them the minutes it is taking here, especially with the whole request being designed as a contest.
Sammo
23rd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
23rd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Plot hole: The kids in Soneji's class use an encrypted GIF algorithm to pass notes to each other and that "drives the teachers crazy", since they are unable to catch cheaters that way. But how do they do that? Easy, they have a message system in place installed on their workstations, that warns them with a big pop-up that they've got "A new message"! It would be easy to sanction and prevent the cheating by simply removing the chat application, no matter if they use it to chat directly or pass Michael Jordan photos as shown in the movie, which they have no business doing during an assignment anyway.
23rd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Factual error: During the movie, Senator Rose's daughter is protected by the US Secret Service. A plot point also sanctions that senator Rose is basically a nobody, he does not hold important roles, nor he was threatened in any way before the fact. His daughter would not be under Secret Service protection then, since it is reserved only to the highest elected officials of the nation, not every single relative of every single House member.
23rd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Revealing mistake: During the botched save of agent Fisher, the helicopter with the spotlight is well behind Cross and the others, and yet the light is projected on parts of the bridge who are facing away from that light and in fact blocked by the bridge structure, as if a strong light source was coming from the front of the rescuers. (00:04:40)
23rd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Stupidity: The sequence when Tracie is found out does not make sense in the way it happens; how does grabbing someone to solicit a blowjob involve sticking a finger in the ear of the opposite side? Also, the earplug is shaped and made to look like a hearing aid, so the trained agent that she is should really have that as an easy answer when she is found out, especially considering that her hair is short and styled in a way that makes it entirely possible he could have noticed it when he picked her up in a better lit place than the car (in fact she should have brought it up first to avoid suspicion). In fact, the 'sticking finger in ear' gesture makes sense only assuming he did not just find out but had spotted the earplug before. In that case, he could only have noticed before having her in the car, so he would have not picked her up to begin with. (00:04:00)
23rd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Revealing mistake: In the van at the beginning of the movie, Cross is checking out newspaper clippings about the serial killer. When they are shown in close-up for a couple seconds, the two leftmost clippings, that Cross took his time to pick and hang in the van, are obviously the same article with different titles (both in a single column strip, they even have the same layout and division in paragraphs, it's easy to spot even if you don't repeatedly watch or freeze-frame to actually read, and you just need to glance to see that they even have the same author listed). (00:02:50)
22nd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Character mistake: Amongst the material collected about Cross in Jezzie's computer, there's a big magazine article related to the case of the previous movie "Kiss the Girls." The article writes in a huge font the title "The CASSANOVA killer." Not a very good magazine, misspelling Casanova like that. Incidentally, her notes also get the word "Temperament" wrong, missing the 'a', and she has a folder called "Dimitiri", getting the name of the Russian kid wrong. (01:28:30)
22nd Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Character mistake: The computer technician sitting at Megan's desk is "scoping" (her software is in "scoping mode"!) the GIFs the kids have been using to exchange information. Telling Cross what the name means, she says it stands for "Graphics Interchange Formats", while it is Graphics Interchange Format, no S. She also talks about "billions of 0s and 1s" making each image, which would mean billions of bits, which would mean the kids are casually exchanging 100 MB gifs, which are not so likely nowadays, and even less in 2001. (00:31:55)
9th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: Cross found out that the picture missing is Charles Lindbergh's (like the blackboard says). He says then "Our Mr. Soneji has a sense of humor." The IT agent by him has her arms folded, hands visible at the elbows. Close-up on Morgan Freeman, and her hands are not on display anymore. (00:35:50)
9th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: Alex Cross is in front of a computer screen, checking out images of the class to spot the missing picture. From behind, Morgan Freeman is in pose with his finger on his temple, then lowers his hand and turns around. In the next shot, he's still holding his hand high as he is turning. (00:34:50)
8th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: At the press conference, McArthur is going full "no comment" about pretty much anything. A grim Alex Cross is standing there. Next to him are the senator's wife and the senator. At the cut the senator disappears, leaving just the wife and the FBI agent. (01:11:10)
5th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Character mistake: Cross knows (for some reason) by memory the last words of the Lindbergh kid kidnapper (and killer) and that Soneji/Mercusio referenced in a book he finds in amazingly oblique ways. He calls him "Richard Bruno Hauptmann", while his name was actually Bruno Richard Hauptmann. (00:42:30)
5th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: Cross begins his running game with the kidnapper. He says "I'm on my way to Sixth and Pennsylvania.", to which Jezzie goes "I'm left and behind ya, Alex." She is from behind using her right hand on the steering wheel, but she has the left on it in the following shot. (01:05:40)
5th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Revealing mistake: At Mercusio's place, Cross is checking out a variety of material the maniac collected on Cross himself. Which include newspaper clippings but they're all the same one, by "Lisa Francescato", same article repeated, just omitting the first short paragraph the second time. (00:39:20)
5th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: The principal is trying to open the door of Soneji's office, but she can't. She is lowering the hand with the key and turning as she is told to "Stand back", but when Jezzie pulls out of the gun she is still hunched over with her hand on the key in the keyhole. (00:11:20)
5th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: Cross is talking with Jezzie in her apartment, holding several sheets. The sheets are at the same height in a certain camera angle (when he says "You do what you are", and then "you were born with a gift"), despite the fact that meanwhile he moved those sheets around. (01:12:10)
4th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: Mercusio gets back to his boat after the embassy fiasco. His shirt is wet in the middle, down to the pockets on his chest, both sides. He grabs his gun and goes to Megan's cell, but his shirt, in the space of few steps, dried considerably up on his right side. (01:01:25)
4th Nov 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: Cross missed the phone call from the payphone at the station. In close-up, Morgan Freeman's hand is on top of the phone, fingertips on the horizontal side. New angle, and now he is leaning with the same arm, but the hand is relaxed, draped over the round corner. (01:07:50)
27th Oct 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Other mistake: The software the FBI agent is using to decrypt the "Stego-encrypted GIFs" says "ANOMALLIES FOUND; TRUE", with 2 Ls, and closes the report with a pretty worrisome "EXRTANEOUS POGRAM FOUND; TRUE." (00:32:30)
27th Oct 2019
Along Came a Spider (2001)
Continuity mistake: After Mercusio's home invasion, Jezzie's ice pack turns around in her hand between shots (you can make out of the way it is pointed in the first shot when the paramedic is still checking on her; some letters are visible at the end, and they are turned straight). (01:19:40)
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