Best crime movie mistakes of all time

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

The Jackal picture

Factual error: Just before Declan and the Jackal start shooting at each other in the subway tunnel, one of the trains starts coming from the opposite direction and begins passing Declan. This train continues to pass him at full speed for a full 35-40 seconds while they shoot it out. Subway trains are not nearly long enough for that. Also, during this time another train comes from behind him and he has to get between them and hold onto the light for a few seconds while they pass. But the second train then passes first while the first one passes fully about 2 seconds after the second one came... and it got there first, by about 15-20 seconds. Subway lines are about the same length as each other as well. But the first one was way longer and way wrong. (01:49:30 - 01:50:05)

Quantom X

More The Jackal mistakes
Pride and Glory picture

Continuity mistake: In an early part of the movie, Francis Tierney, Sr. is standing in front of a paper towel dispenser in a restroom with his son, Ray Tierney. The dispenser, which is visible over Francis Tierney's right shoulder, is at first full of paper towels, then empty, then full again. The paper towels are at first sticking out of the bottom of the dispenser, then they vanish.

More Pride and Glory mistakes
More A Clockwork Orange mistakes
More Sister Act mistakes
The Lincoln Lawyer picture

Plot hole: Despite being obvious witnesses neither the prosecution nor the defense calls the gay couple (the ones that immobilized Roulet) to testify about their involvement (who called them, what they saw, etc).

mauslyon

More The Lincoln Lawyer mistakes
Die Hard: With a Vengeance picture

Factual error: When McClane and Zeus take the little hatchback from the bank location, they run up the ramp by the Brooklyn Bridge and McClane looks to see the dump trucks aren't on the bridge. Zeus then spots them on FDR Drive and they speed off down the ramp to FDR Drive. The ramp they were on doesn't connect to the ramp they took to give chase. It only heads towards City Hall or over the bridge. They'd have to take the Civic Center ramp, do a u-turn under the Brooklyn Bridge approach then head back up the ramp to FDR Drive.

Markyharley

More Die Hard: With a Vengeance mistakes
Sweeney Todd picture

Other mistake: Based on the location of the barber's chair with the picture window in Todd's barber shop and the layout of the exterior of the building, there is no possible way that the chute behind the chair would be able to dump the bodies directly into the basement without going through the center of Ms. Lovett's shop.

More Sweeney Todd mistakes
Basic picture

Factual error: When the Ranger trainees first meet Samuel L. Jackson, he's wearing the rank of a Specialist on his collars even though he's a Master Sergeant. Title 18, Chapter 33 of the US code prevents the unauthorized wear of a military uniform (among other things), however this does not automatically correct the mistake since a common misconception is that one slight alteration is sufficient to make the uniform legal. Having the wrong rank on is too obvious of an alteration, especially for anybody who has spent more than a day in or around the Army and would still be punishable by law, if he was dressed in an attempt to fool your average citizen outside of a movie.

More Basic mistakes
Kill Bill: Volume 1 picture

Continuity mistake: When The Bride is slashed on the upper back by O-Ren in their fight scene she collapses and lands on her back in the snow. After she gets up and the fight continues, there is no blood spot on the snow where she was lying. (01:29:55 - 01:31:10)

More Kill Bill: Volume 1 mistakes
Be Cool picture

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Vince Vaughn is complaining to Harvey Keitel in Harvey's office about the hitman he hates his gold necklace is either tucked into his shirt and red tracksuit or hanging out. This alternates throughout shots but during the same conversation.

More Be Cool mistakes
Passenger 57 picture

Revealing mistake: When the terrorists drop the dead body out the aircraft door, look closely at the aeroplane just beneath the door, you can see the reflection of the mat the stuntman lands on, as well as the spotters around it.

More Passenger 57 mistakes
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood picture

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie when Ashtray is knocking at his father's door, his father answers the door with a chocolate bar that already has a bite taken out of it. When his father lets him and closes the door, the chocolate bar is still wrapped.

More Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood mistakes
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate picture

Visible crew/equipment: Brandi drives over to Darnell's place and throws a brick through his windshield. When the two of them are arguing and Brandi pulls off, you can see a reflection of a crew member holding a camera.

Kevin Brown

More A Thin Line Between Love and Hate mistakes
Ronin picture

Factual error: When Gregor shoots the guy in the car after nearly killing the little girl, blood sprays over the window, but there's no bullet hole. If the bullet exited his head, hence spraying blood, it should have gone through the window too. (00:55:00)

Jon Sandys

More Ronin mistakes
48 Hrs. picture

Continuity mistake: In one scene, Nick Nolte is driving Eddie Murphy around in a convertible. First you see Murphy in handcuffs, then no cuffs, he's got one arm on the back of the seat, and then back with the handcuffs on.

More 48 Hrs. mistakes
Pulp Fiction picture

Deliberate mistake: Both in the first scene and last scene of the movie, we see Yolanda and Ringo starting the robbery by jumping from their seat and start threatening the costumers. In the first scene, Yolanda says "And I'll execute every motherfucking last one of you." But in the last scene the line changes to "and I'll execute every one of you motherfuckers". (00:04:40 - 02:18:00)

Amitai Assido

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Tarantino has explained that this is not an error, rather, he did this on purpose. When we first examine the scene, we are seeing Ringo and Yolanda's conversation from their perspective. Obviously, because this is their conversation, what we hear first is probably what was actually said. However, at the end of the film, what is said is different because we are no longer viewing the situation from Ringo and Yolanda's perspective, but rather everyone else in the diner, most specifically Jules.

Sounds like a typical Tarantino excuse for a stupid blunder.

Charles Austin Miller

More Pulp Fiction mistakes
Now You See Me picture

Plot hole: Each of the four magicians are given a tarot card that has a date (March 29), a time (4:44pm), an address (45 East Evan St), and a city (NY). When they enter the building on that date, they know which apartment to go to. The problem with this is that it was never stated on any of the cards which apartment to go to once they reached 45 East Evan Street. (00:08:40 - 00:10:05)

Casual Person

More Now You See Me mistakes
Live Free or Die Hard picture

Plot hole: Since they took down the telephone network, it would have been impossible for Justin Long to even be speaking to the emergency response woman for the car, much less send a signal to start the car up.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Is it possible this is a satellite phone call akin to Onstar?

manthabeat

No, the BMW system requires a cell signal to work, which was taken down earlier in the movie.

BaconIsMyBFF

More Live Free or Die Hard mistakes
Black Dog picture Black Dog mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Toward the end when Crews runs in with Red he first knocks his right headlight out, later it is back in, then it's out again. (01:21:40)

More Black Dog mistakes
The Bling Ring picture

Character mistake: In the scene where Nicki is being interviewed by Vanity Fair, she refers to her younger sister, "Gabby." Nicki is the character based upon Alexis Neiers. In the movie, her younger sister's name is supposed to be Emily. Gabby is the real life name of Alexis' younger sister.

More The Bling Ring mistakes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.