Best action movie factual errors of 1989

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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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Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade picture

Factual error: In this film, and in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the German vehicles are marked with the DAK (Deutsches Afrikakorps) symbol (a swastika over a palm tree.) The DAK and its symbol were not created until 1941 when Hitler tried to rescue his Italian allies in North Africa. (00:56:15)

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Licence to Kill picture

Factual error: When the air hose on the truck is severed, the brakes release. In reality, on an air-braking system, if the air hose is severed, the brakes lock on as a safety measure.

wizard_of_gore

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Blue Steel picture

Factual error: After the first victim they claim to have found a shell with 'Megan Turner' on it. That's not possible as we see Ron Silver fire at the victim and immediatley run away. If it had been an automatic then the gun would eject the shell, but it's a revolver, which doesn't eject shells.

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Lethal Weapon 2 picture

Factual error: In the scene where Riggs drops the container, there were only two buttons on the control. I've never seen a hoist with a drop button, just an up and down and they are pretty slow. (01:39:25)

EMTurbo

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The Abyss picture

Factual error: [Special Edition] The Statue of Liberty is incorrectly shown to be facing the Narrows bridge.

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The Punisher picture

Factual error: After the scene where Frank Castle steals the bus to rescue the children, the mobsters are firing at the bus. Not one bullet pierces a hole in the bus. Who knew Public Transit was bullet proof?

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Road House picture

Factual error: When Bigfoot is about to drive through the car dealership it squeals tires with a high pitched squeal. IF it could spin those big meats it would be a deep hound dog like bark. (01:40:40)

EMTurbo

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Tango & Cash picture

Factual error: When Stallone pulls over the cocaine tanker, his first shot at the truck is impossibly accurate at about 300 yards with a two inch barrel revolver, which has a functional range of 25-50 yards. (00:05:00)

Bill McIntyre

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The Karate Kid III picture

Factual error: The storyline in Karate Kid 3, based on the happenings and reference points of the first two movies, is supposed to take place roughly about late 1984, or early 1985. However, if you look close at the beginning of the film when Terry Silver drops off John Kreese at the airport, there are several cars that are definitely later 80's models.

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Lean on Me picture

Factual error: In the scene where Joe Clark and the Vice Principal go to the project buildings to see the young girl's mother, they walk down a short ramp to an apartment. Those project buildings are in Paterson,N.J. (where the story takes place), but walking down that ramp takes you to the boiler room, not an apartment. None of those buildings have apartments like that.

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Back to the Future Part II picture

Factual error: Marty is pursuing Biff at the high school as the other Marty pulls up with Lorraine in Doc's car. In the parking lot, the car closest to Biff is a brown 1957 Chevrolet. The front grill and styling are distinct and unique to the 1957 model year. In November 1955, it would be plausible to see a 56 Chevy in the lot, but a '57 is a bit early. (01:16:42)

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Deepstar Six picture

Factual error: An animal that lives in the deep sea cannot live in the open air above the water.

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Dead Bang picture

Factual error: Three different characters (including two police officers) describe the car driven by the bad guys as being a maroon Ford wagon. Yet in the two scenes showing the car, it's a Pontiac.

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Batman picture

Factual error: The Bat signal at the end would not show up like it did in the film. In order to be as clear as it was, as well as visible, it would actually have to shine onto a surface, not just the clouds. They made this same mistake in Returns, but made it believable in the clouds (just not as sharp) in Forever.

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American Angels: Baptism of Blood picture

Factual error: No wrestling promotion films any match without an audience. Yet when Mimi wrestles Jean Kirkland they're doing it in an empty studio.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier picture

Factual error: When Kirk falls off El Capitan, he is shown falling all the way past the tops of the trees. I have been to Yosemite and the trees are tall, but not tall enough to give Spock enough time to slow then stop Kirk's fall.

briggs

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Suggested correction: This is a few hundred years in the future.

Quantom X

By the time Kirk reaches the top of the trees, he is traveling at terminal velocity (assuming Kirk was halfway up, about 2000 feet from the ground, and an initial fall rate of 32 feet per second, per second), approximately 120 mph, about 200 feet per second. If the trees were 1000 feet tall and Spock caught Kirk right at the top of the trees, that would give him 5 seconds to slow down and stop Kirk. Impossible. Fortunately, in the movie he was able to accomplish this feat, or it would have been a very short movie. :).

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Gleaming the Cube picture

Factual error: After the passenger door gets ripped off the Oldsmobile Toronado, a female voice is heard repeating that the "passenger door is ajar." While the Toronado was available with an optional Voice Alert system, the GM system used a male voice.

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