Continuity mistake: We see Mike and his wife in bed at the start and the wife doesn't have a blanket over her lower body. Angle changes and she does. Her body is constantly changing position between shots too. (00:03:10)
Continuity mistake: When walking to the chopper at the start, Mike is wearing a baseball cap and carrying a bag in each hand. He shouldn't be wearing a cap anyway, as all caps or hats are required to be placed in your baggage before you ever step out on the tarmac. Camera cuts and the hat has disappeared. (00:13:00)
Continuity mistake: When Mike arrives on the Deepwater, he adjusts his earplug, the camera changes and he raises his hand to adjust his earplug again. (00:13:50)
Continuity mistake: When Don is explaining about the pressure problem there is a close up of Mike and in the background Don is writing on the board. Camera cuts to a different angle and now Don is facing away from the board. (00:38:20)
Continuity mistake: The diagram Don draws on the whiteboard keeps changing between shots. Note the number of dots he puts on there. (00:41:00)
Continuity mistake: Just as the well kicks for the first time, the drill shack gets covered in mud. The camera changes to a wide shot outside the shack and it's no longer covered in mud. (00:48:50)
Continuity mistake: The mud patterns on Vidrine's hard hat are constantly changing towards the end of the film. This is after the mud has stopped flowing. (01:17:10)
Continuity mistake: When Felicia Williams goes to see Mike at the hotel after the accident, her nails change. During the accident, they are a pink color, but after and in the hotel, they are unpainted. It's unlikely she would have her nails done during and after the accident.
Answer: The disaster started as a gas blow-out followed by a massive explosion on the oil rig, visible from 40 miles away. Eleven people were killed. Two days later, the burning rig collapsed into the sea, which severed the wellhead at a depth of over 4000 feet. If anything, the movie underplayed the disaster.
Charles Austin Miller
Actually, according to history vs Hollywood the real life explosion was equally as bad as what's shown in the movie.