Best crime movie mistakes of all time

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Home Alone picture

Continuity mistake: When Kevin goes to the grocery, he buys Tide detergent. While walking home, the two bags break, but no Tide detergent falls out.

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Suggested correction: Maybe he returned it.

No chance, we see him buy it and then use it in a later scene.

Ssiscool

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The Gentlemen picture The Gentlemen mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Pierce's wife is walking in her auto shop they pan down to show her red Louboutin heels, then they cut to her walking in her office, and when they show her shoes again they have a tan sole.

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Blue Thunder picture

Other mistake: Murphy lands the helicopter on a railway line so an oncoming train will destroy it completely, and this happens exactly on cue with huge, dramatic explosions and flying debris. Apparently the train driver doesn't think this is important enough to interrupt his busy schedule - he doesn't stop the train. We do not hear brakes being applied - the wheels would make a noise like the sky coming down - and the train doesn't slow down at all - it just keeps on going.

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The Irishman picture

Factual error: While handling the ignition coil cable to the distributor cap, Joe Pesci tells De Niro that the timing chain needs adjustment in his truck. A truck of that year with an inline Chevy motor would not have a timing chain at all, instead this truck would be equipped with a direct drive timing gear. Even if it had a timing chain, it would be behind the water pump and a cover. It would have been a several hour job to replace, not possible to adjust it.

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Con Air picture

Factual error: The whole basis of the trial and conviction of Cameron Poe is a crock. The judge can not arbitrarily mete out a sentence that is harsher based on the ability of someone to defend him/herself. In justifying the harsher sentence because of Poe's military skills, the judge effectively says that Poe is more guilty than an average person due to his honorable and decorated service in uniform to his country. In my entire time in law school, I never read one out of the literally hundreds of cases I was assigned in which a judge issued a harsher sentence because of someone's innate or learned abilities to defend themselves. But since this was a movie court room proceeding, the fact that Poe had a witness to the fight (his wife), the fact that he was injured in the fight, and the fact that his uniform was torn and otherwise ruined as a result of the fight are never examined. A D.A. wouldn't have taken this to a grand jury on a bet, because they would have never returned an indictment or "true bill."

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The Usual Suspects picture The Usual Suspects mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Right before they rob the police car, a Boeing 747 (four engines) is seen in shots of the plane coming into land. When the plane is shown from behind, it is a Boeing 767, with only two engines and fewer main landing gears. (00:30:10)

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Suggested correction: It's for effect to show they were hanging out around the airport for more than a bit.

There's no evidence this was meant to be a montage scene of various planes. The cuts they did have in the first angle were of the same plane getting closer to build suspense. Same for the other angle. Plus, there's no scenes or shots of "them" waiting.

Bishop73

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An Innocent Man picture

Factual error: At the end of the film Rainwood has established his innocence of the drug charges and is happily back at work as a senior mechanic for a large airline. However, part of the sentencing and plea bargain protocols at his arraignment is his previous conviction on a lesser drug charge years before. It goes without saying that he did not advise his employers of this when he started work for them - no airline in the world (even pre 9/11) would hire someone with a drug conviction on their record! Now this is out in the open the airline knows that Rainwood is a convicted drug user (on the lesser, legitimate charge) and that he lied on his original job application. They wouldn't hire him again to sweep the floors.

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Suggested correction: Even today in 2023 felony convictions might not show up on a background check. Not all information has been uploaded to the internet yet. It was extremely easy in the 1980's for a conviction to be missed by a background check especially if there was no prison time served or it occurred in a rural county or town.

He just got out of prison and establishing his innocence involved the violent deaths of at least two people. Do you not think that his employers just might have followed his story? He'd be all over the news media. The idea that not one person would have followed up on his criminal history is beyond absurd - we are talking about a safety critical job that involves the safety of hundreds of people.

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Red Dragon picture Red Dragon mistake picture

Factual error: In the scene when Will is opening the drawer of films from the Leeds home, there is clearly a copy of Mrs. Doubtfire in the left column of tapes. How can that be? Red Dragon is clearly set "several years" after 1980, as the caption says, but before the 1991 Silence of the Lambs, but "Mrs. Doubtfire" came out in 1993.

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Minority Report picture

Continuity mistake: In the beginning, when Anderton arrests the jealous husband, he notes that he is being arrested on April 22 - that day - for the future murder of his wife and her lover. Later, while Anderton is jogging, we see billboards advocating a "Yes" vote on pre-crime on April 22. The next day, Anderton's boss Lamar notes that the vote is in a week, which would make it April 15, making the day that the jealous husband was arrested April 14, not April 22. (00:13:05 - 00:15:15)

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Motherless Brooklyn picture Motherless Brooklyn mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Lionel returns to the jazz bar and discovers Billy Rose has been killed (framed as a suicide), you can see two people standing in the shadows to the left of Lionel as he enters the main room where the stage is located. A man is hunched over, whilst a woman is standing still wearing what looks like a dust mask. (01:32:27)

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Murder on the Orient Express picture

Factual error: Both the Yugoslav police officers Poirot is speaking to at the end are black. The chances of a black person serving in the Yugoslav police in the 1930s were zero.

Necrothesp

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Daredevil picture Daredevil mistake picture

Factual error: When we see the burning 'DD' in Joe Pantoliano's glasses it is not a reflection. The DD should be backwards in his glasses. (00:26:55)

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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York picture

Continuity mistake: In the first film, it is mentioned several times that Kevin is 8 years old. However, in this film it is stated that he is 10. When his parents are in the Miami airport security office, they say that he was left alone last Christmas. That would make him 9. Both films take place the same days, from about three days before Christmas until Christmas morning, so even if Kevin is born around Christmas time this is still a mistake.

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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back picture

Revealing mistake: When the leading hitman jumps from the balcony you see him land on a rubber mat.

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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery picture

Revealing mistake: When Austin enters the bathroom at the casino, keep your eyes on the door during the scene - it opens by itself before closing. (00:31:10)

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Spider-Man picture Spider-Man mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Norman is getting ready to test himself, he lies down on the bed, fastens himself in and the doctor goes to the computer. However, when it shows him being brought in to the chamber he has several electrodes connected to his chest and head. (00:15:20)

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Suggested correction: At first the electrodes are beside Norman's head. While the doctor is fixing him in place, at one point camera focuses on his face. Later when he's stepping back for the PC, the electrodes can actually be seen stuck on his body. You can see them if you have an HD copy. So the camera focusing on his face is indicating that the doctor's doing whatever necessary for the process.

MissedTake

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The Italian Job picture

Factual error: While Bridger is watching the film of the Mafia boss following Beckerman he signals for the film to be stopped so he can look at the close up shot of the man. He is watching a 16mm film shown through a bog standard projector - stop a film like that for more than two seconds without closing down the projector shutter (this doesn't happen - if it did the screen would darken instantly) and it will melt and catch fire. This doesn't happen.

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The Equalizer 2 picture

Visible crew/equipment: After burning the car, when Dave takes the trash out there is a camera operator at the end of his driveway. (01:11:00)

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City by the Sea picture

Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the movie, when Joey Nova is trying to get out of town, he sells his football ring to the drug dealer, but in the final scene he is clearly shown wearing the ring when he points the gun at his father.

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