Best sci-fi movie factual errors of 2005

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

The Cave picture

Factual error: When they go into the water, they put mouthpieces in, but, a few times, they talk to each other, which is impossible with mouthpieces in.

kh1616

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

Suggested correction: Sorry to burst your bubble here but there is scuba equipment which allows for talking whilst using a regulator.

They're not wearing such equipment. In the movie they're just wearing regular mouthpieces.

In the DVD commentary the writers explain that the divers should have been wearing full face masks which allow for communication, but the director changed it for mouthpieces, but kept the talking in. They pointed out this mistake.

More The Cave factual errors
Stealth picture

Factual error: There would not be so many people standing around on the flight deck without some type of ear and eye protection and a float coat.

More Stealth factual errors
War of the Worlds picture

Factual error: When they're near the ferry, the fiery train zooms by. Passenger trains along the Hudson River run along the east bank of the Hudson, not the west bank, where the ferry was departing. (00:56:55)

More War of the Worlds factual errors
The Island picture

Factual error: When the first train wheel hits the ground in the close up, you can see that it isn't made of steel as it deforms as if it were foam. And there is also no damage to the concrete road whatsoever, since the wheels are made of steel there should have been quite a big hole. (01:17:50)

Ronnie Bischof

More The Island factual errors
Alien Express picture

Factual error: Throughout the movie, as the train speeds through the starry night, the constellation Orion is recognizable (presumably rising) on the horizon. Oddly, Orion never rises any higher as the night progresses. Also, at the latitude of the southern U.S., the constellation would not rise (or set) vertically as shown but would be tipped at a considerable angle.

More Alien Express factual errors
Supernova picture

Factual error: In the first scene at the Pentagon, the sergeant tells the other officer that all satellites are being put into geosynchronous orbit to "hide them behind the planet." But objects in geosynchronous orbit don't remain hidden behind the Earth relative to the sun; they orbit once a day, remaining over a particular longitude on earth. Therefore, they would be subjected to the magnetic storms every day, during daylight at that longitude.

DavidK93

More Supernova factual errors
Locusts picture

Factual error: In order to be electrocuted you need to connect a high voltage to a low voltage. Touching a power line does not get you electrocuted unless you make contact with the ground. So electrocuting the locusts by making them fly against a powerline can not work because they are not 'grounded'.

More Locusts factual errors
White Noise picture

Factual error: When looking at Anna's cell phone, you can see the logo for Telus, a Canadian communication company that only offers cell phone service in Canada.

More White Noise factual errors
Chicken Little picture Chicken Little mistake picture

Factual error: When Chicken Little is in his bedroom, after he scored during his baseball game, he looks into the spoon he is using as a microphone to see his reflection. He looks into the side that is curved away from you. When you look at that side of a spoon your reflection is upsidedown, but Chicken Little's was right side up.

More Chicken Little factual errors
V for Vendetta picture

Factual error: When Mr. Creedy is firing his revolver at V after his men have been killed, the camera, positioned presumably inside the revolver behind the cylinder, shows two empty chambers out of six total, but Creedy eventually fires 5 shots. During this same sequence one of the empty chambers lines up with the barrel, but Creedy's gun somehow fires. Also, if the camera is behind the cylinder, the chambers would still have loaded cartridges or shell casings in them, they wouldn't be empty. (02:12:00)

BocaDavie

More V for Vendetta factual errors
The Krone Experiment picture

Factual error: In the scene in which the scientists observe the emergence of the black hole out in the Lechuguilla desert, as it pokes out of the ground unexpectedly near to their base everything in the tent is shown powerfully accelerating roughly horizontally, toward the object as it whizzes skyward. But, given all the data in the movie(mass = 10^9 kg; it reaches max height of about 1,400 meters above the desert floor before coming back down; it emerges not less than 2 meters outside their tent), it ought to impart a gravitational acceleration of not more than 0.0167 m/s^2, which is only less than two thousandths the force provided by Earth. Given that the hole was also traveling away at about 117 m/s, the relative velocity would've been in excess of the hole's escape velocity(only about 0.25 m/s), so there would be no such dramatic effect. (01:04:40)

More The Krone Experiment factual errors
Serenity picture

Factual error: At the end of River's first fight scene, Simon says a phrase that renders River unconscious. The phrase is "Eta kuram na smekh" and means "This is laughter for chickens", or "This is absurd" in Russian according to Joss Whedon. However, the subtitles on the DVD for the phrase are "(SPEAKING CHINESE)", not "(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)" like they should be. In fact, shouldn't the subtitles just say "это курам на смех"? (00:35:45)

THGhost

More Serenity factual errors
Fantastic Four picture

Factual error: When Reed and Sue are testing the Human Torch's powers, they claim that a temperature as high as the Human Torch's (5000 K to 6000 K) will "ignite the atmosphere and destroy all life". This is incorrect. Many experiments in the lab and on the field have produced temperatures several orders of magnitude larger than the temperature of the Human Torch on a similar scale. Nuclear explosions can generate temperatures in excess of 8000000 K, and temperatures produced by the largest X-ray generator (the Z machine) have been as high as 3700000000 K. Such tests have not ignited the atmosphere.

More Fantastic Four factual errors
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children picture

Factual error: During the bike chase towards the end, as Cloud and Loz/Yazoo crash through the security gate, you can see that the lettering is misspelled: "Authorized Parsonnel Only." It should read "Authorized Personnel Only."

More Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children factual errors
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy picture

Factual error: If the Vorgon Destructor Ship was as massive as portrayed, then as Ford and Arthur look up at it, it should have been reflected in Ford's shades. Instead, all that is seen is the demolition equipment and open sky.

Movie Nut

More The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy factual errors
A Sound of Thunder picture

Factual error: The trip goes back 65 million years. This is the late Cretaceous period. The Allosaurus was a Jurassic period dinosaur, which became extinct before the beginning of the Cretaceous period. Granted, the Allosaurus was probably the most powerful predator of its time, the events in this movie take place long after the time of the Allosaurus.

Noman

More A Sound of Thunder factual errors
Mysterious Island picture

Factual error: Loosely based on the novel by Jules Verne, the entire story takes place on a remote Pacific island in the early 1860s. However, as pirates come under attack by a sea monster (in the second half of this two-part film), a modern fishing trawler or tugboat appears momentarily on the far right of the screen. (00:59:05)

Charles Austin Miller

More Mysterious Island factual errors

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.