Angels & Demons (2009) - 23 mistakes

Continuity: About 20 minutes into the movie Professor Langdon talks about the set of 5 brands used by the Illuminati, from which the first 4 represents the elements (earth, air, fire, water). When in the end reaching the Castle St. Angelo as the Church Of Illumination and discovering the set of brands in person he is surprised to discover there's a fifth brand.

Other: After Langdon saves the last of the Preferati by diving into the fountain, he heads off to St. Angelo with dry clothes. Since it is only ten or fifteen minutes later, the clothes should be soaked.

Factual error: In the scene where Vetra is taken to examine the body of the deceased pope, the corpse is exposed after the marble slab and the lid of the casket is removed. In reality, papal funerary protocol requires the body to be triple-sealed. It is first placed in a coffin of cypress wood (to symbolise humility), and is then hermetically sealed in a zinc coffin to slow down decomposition. Finally, the zinc coffin is then placed inside of an oak coffin before being interred beneath the marble slab.

Factual error: Contrary to what the movie states, priests can be elected Pope - they are simply elevated to the rank of Bishop before taking the office.

Revealing: All the TV crew vehicles on Saint Peter's Square are Ford E-Series vans, which is a US-only model. While some, those used by US networks, could have been exported, European networks would have no reason to do so.

Plot hole: Towards the end, Patrick takes the 5kt bomb into a helicopter and climbs it away to safety. The problem with that is that the helicopters have a rather low rate of climb - ~10 m/s for military helicopters, less than that for civilian ones. This is the rate of climb at low altitudes, and it is with altitude. He had less than 5 minutes to climb, which would put the bomb at most 3000 meters above the city, and more realistically, one tenth that - just about the optimum height for the bomb to inflict major damage on the Vatican city and the center of Rome.

Factual error: The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, where the fourth cardinal is taken to be executed, is nowhere near as deep as it's depicted in the film. In reality it's only little more than a foot deep.

Revealing: When Langdon first has an audience with the Camerlengo, you can quite easily see foundation on the Camerlengo's collar. This skin coloured compact is the base of any film makeup and often rubs off onto white collars if not checked.

Continuity: In the collider Dr. Vetra gains access to the antimatter storage area by resting her chin in the small metal "dish" that aligns her face with the optical scanner. When she removes her face there is a small blot of blood on the side of her chin from the scientist's eyeball that the assassin ripped out (to gain access earlier). However, when we see the metal dish there is a drop of blood on the side (that ends up on Vetra's face) AND a small puddle of blood in the chin rest that dripped from the avulsed eye. Despite Vetra resting her entire chin in the chinrest none of the blood from the puddle shows up on the front of her face.

Factual error: The text in the Archimedes document was in English, but it was modern English. I am also fairly certain that the font picked had Serifs that were not used until the 20th century (at least they picked a variety of Times ROMAN).

Continuity: When the Camerlengo parachutes onto the Vatican, the amount of blood on his nose changes from nothing to a lot between shots.

Factual error: Langdon says Air Water Fire and Earth are fundamental scientific elements. That's not true. The "five elements" are philosophic, not scientific.

Continuity: When Landon and the Vatican Police arrive at the Piazza del Popolo at 7:59pm when looking for the first victim, the overhead shot shows shadows cast by their car and tourists in the area are at a very shallow angle (shadows 3 - 4 times the length of the height of objects casting them), indicating that it's late in the day. However, the shots from ground level show shadows cast at much steeper angles (only about 1/2 - 3/4 of the length of the object height), indicating that it's much closer to noon.

Factual error: When Langdon arrives at piazza del Popolo and drives over the square, the church (Santa Maria del Popolo) is at his left side. But in real Rome, the church is at the right side.

Continuity: Galileo's Diagrama has a different title when Camerlengo Strauss gives it to Robert Langdon. In the Archives, it was titled Diagrama Veritatis. At the end of the film, it was titled Diagrama della Verita.

Continuity: When they are held up by tourists, while trying to get to the second church, there is a bus just behind them. Once the tourists move, the bus has gone.

Revealing: When the reporters say that the second black smoke is showing, an aerial panning shot of the Vatican is shown, yet the smoke remains fix as if it were a painting.

Revealing: When Langdon and Victoria walk towards the Pantheon, the first two angles show them walking alone with some stunt-women behind. But in the third angle, a couple of seconds later, a huge line of people appears, lining perfectly in the back, watching the camera. Obviously a group of real tourists standing behind a security line watching the shooting.

Continuity: When Langdon and the Swiss guard are out of oxygen and the guard slams a trolley against the glass, the amount of paper on the floor around it keeps changing between shots.

Factual error: Langdon states that after the death of the Pope but before his successor is chosen, the Camerlengo becomes head of Church. While the Camerlengo does in fact become acting head of state of Vatican City, leadership of the Church is taken up by the College of Cardinals.