The Sum of All Fears (2002) - 35 mistakes

Factual error: A force of Russian Tu-22 Backfire bombers attacks the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)by sneaking in under the ship's radar. This is all well and good except that carriers usually don't use their own radar, they have Airborne Early Warning aircraft (E-2 Hawkeye's) that can see much further and not give away the carrier's position (let alone the F-14s which would be patrolling too). The whole point is, the US Navy practiced and planned for such a "carrier versus Backfire" battle for years. I guess in the interest of furthering the plot Hollywood has to ignore the immense measures the USN takes to protect those multi-billion dollar assets, not to mention the 5000+ sailors that man them.

Continuity: In the aircraft scenes after the blast in Baltimore, watch the clocks closely. The times go forward, backward, and everything in between.

Factual error: When Dressler's 'secretary' speaks 'German' it doesn't sound German or Austrian at all. In fact I am Austrian and If there weren't English subtitles I wouldn't have understood at all what he's talking about. Yes, there were German words, and maybe even the grammar was more or less correct but the pronunciation was that bad that the whole audience started laughing when they heard him talking in 'our' language.

Revealing: In the scene where Jack Ryan uses the radio after the helicopter crash, the film is reversed - the word frequency appears as a mirror image.

Factual error: In the scene where the dock worker receives the e-mail stating 'the day has arrived', the e-mail is dated Mon, 19 Nov 2002. However, November 19 2002 was a Tuesday.

Continuity: When Ryan is called from bedside to his first big meeting, he is wearing a severely rumpled blue oxford. When he leaves the meeting (with the borrowed tie and jacket) his blue oxford is pressed and starched.

Continuity: In the scene on Air Force One where the plane begins to shake, everything on the conference table, including books, maps, charts, etc., is moving, with the exception of a clear cup of what is supposed to be soda. Not only does the cup not move, but the liquid in the cup (which is most definitely not liquid but plastic) does not move either. It's glued to the table.

Other: In the scene where the bomb was detonated, and Jack Ryan's helicopter is blown to bits, the laws of plutonium dictate that if Ryan was as close to the blast as he was, he would have been dead from radiation poisoning within a couple of hours.

Factual error: The nuclear blast blows in the windows at the hospital where Cathy works and all the medical staff is showered with the broken bits. At the end of the movie Cathy doesn't have a mark on her. Even if it is safety glass, the small pieces would still leave nicks, scrapes and small cuts on exposed skin.

Continuity: Shortly before the nuclear bomb secreted in the bowels of Ravens stadium explodes, an aerial shot of Ravens stadium & the surrounding area is shown. The football game is in progress, but the aerial shot shows the stadium to be completely empty.

Factual error: The Israeli A-bomb was dropped "at the Golan", yet, the landscape where it is found looks like a sandy desert, and as time flies the bomb is completely covered with a sand dune. The Golan has everything but sands or dunes. The terrain over there is magmatic, rocky and mostly black, as the Golan was an active volcanic area. Had a bomb fallen from the sky, it would most likely remain on the ground, smashed.

Plot hole: When Ryan and Clark are flying to Russia to look for those missing scientists, Clark shows Ryan some satellite pictures of the remote area where they suspect the scientists to be located. The day old photo shows activity in the area but the most recent one doesn't. They then discover that the bomb is headed for the U.S. and Ryan phones the CIA to warn them, But the bomb is already there! How did the bad guys manage to get the bomb from that remote location in Russia to a freighter and sail it to the U.S. in one DAY! This is something that should have taken weeks, which would have given Ryan plenty of time to get home and prevent the attack.

Visible crew/equipment: When Ryan finishes talking with Spinnaker before he goes to the docks, he leaves the car he borrows and heads out through the flames. In the background, you can see a stunt coordinator waiting to guide him through the flames. He waits, then follows him off the screen.

Factual error: Why is the President's motorcade so small? There were only a few cars there to protect the most powerful man on the face of the Earth. The President ALWAYS travels with over a dozen Secret Service vehicles, to protect him. Even if when he left the Superbowl was an emergency, all of the motorcade would have left with him also, ruling out the possibility that only some of the cars left with him.

Plot hole: When the President of the United States attends a public gathering (such as the SuperBowl) the level of security is extremely high. So why wasn't Mason's delivery on the day of the game checked for explosive devices?

Factual error: When the aircraft carrier is attacked by the Russian aircraft, the carrier is sailing alone. This is not normal as carriers always sail in carrier battle groups, with several smaller ships (cruisers, destroyers) to protect them.

Continuity: In the scene where Clark and Ryan come ashore by Zodiac, they are soaked just before they beach the boat, but as they drag it up the beach their clothing (especially Ryan's woolen hat) is bone dry.

Other: At one point during the sub-titled Russian scenes, the word Annihilation is used. However, it was mis-spelled as Anihilation.

Factual error: B2's never leave the middle of the United States unless they are in the air and are on their way to bomb something. The B2's would never have been stationed in Italy and could never have attacked Russia that quickly, as they would have to travel halfway around the world.

Plot hole: The bomb is found by Bedouin in the Golan (north of Israel). However, it was dropped in the Negev desert (south of Israel). How the bomb managed to move itself 500km is not clear. And Bedouin don't live in the Golan.