Continuity: When the tripod tosses the pickup truck, with Ray in it, it lands upside down and the windshield shatters. The size, shape, and characteristics of the hole and breakage greatly differ between shots.

Continuity: As Mary Ann's house shakes during the alien attack, when Ray shouts, "Where do we go? Robbie, this is your house. Where do we go?" Robbie is hugging Rachel. In this shot Rachel's hair is extremely curly, whereas in previous and following shots it's barely even wavy. (Most likely she's the body double.)

Continuity: When they leave Mary Ann's house in the minivan, Ray has Rachel in his arms, and the pink cord on Rachel's sweater disappears between shots. It's hanging on her arm, under Ray's chin, the first time he tells his son to get in the van, but it's not there the second time, and it's back on the third.

Continuity: In the scene when the intersection is rotating, the camera is aimed up towards the church and starts to pan down. Tom Cruise runs into the scene and gets behind a car. The movement of the church shows the intersection is turning counter-clockwise but as it pans to the ground, the intersection is turning clockwise.

Continuity: Ray and Rachel are about to walk down into the basement at Harlan's house, the door on the right of the bulkhead is open and the door on the left is closed. In the view from the basement you will notice that the door on the left is open and the door on the right is closed.

Continuity: When we see the Hudson-Athens ferry boat captain from outside of his bridge, the video screens in each window above his head are positioned well below the tops of each window. In the next shot they're higher and we barely see them.

Continuity: Right after the Hudson-Athens ferry boat captain guns the engines you can see there are no ropes between the boat and the pier. In the next shot there are as the pilings are ripped off into the water.

Factual error: The burning train scene in Athens NY is a classic, but not accurate. New York Central Railroad's West Shore Line tracks have been abandoned for years and are not usable.

Visible crew/equipment: After the plane has crashed Ray walks out of the house and towards the aircraft engine, as he walks behind the engine and before he comes from behind the engine, look at the right and to the rear of the engine, you will see a crew member move out of shot.

Factual error: The burning train scene as Tom Cruise leads the children towards the Athens NY ferry is fantastic. The only problem is route 385 does lead them to the center of town but it doesn't intersect a rail line.

Continuity: When Ray runs behind his house to have a better view of the sky we can see from behind that his hood is blowing in the wind. When it cuts to a shot in front of him his hood is still.

Continuity: Ray leaves Ogilvy’s house to search for Rachel and soon runs into the pickup truck, just before the tripod’s tentacle lifts it. The massive red roots growing all over the pickup are very different in the next shot, as it’s lifted in the air.

Continuity: In Boston, when Mary Ann lifts Rachel, she holds her daughter then turns to face Ray and says, “Thank you.” Behind them, up the stairs, the left front door is already wide open, yet in the next shot both doors are closed until her parents dramatically open them.

Audio problem: At the beginning when Robbie runs up to tell Ray what happened with the car, and they're standing in the middle of the street, when Robbie says, "It opened up this hole or something," his lips aren't in sync with the words.

Continuity: When Ray reaches the red church at the beginning of the film, the sun changes positions three or four times behind the tower of the church.