Deliberate mistake: In the scene with the first demonstration of the digging laser, they dig/blast quite a hole in the mountain. Even assuming the laser can very easily shatter the rocks substance, still the debris would have to go somewhere, yet there appears to be none. And the amount of power needed to convert matter into energy is not practical.
The Core (2003)
1 deliberate mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Jon Amiel
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Aaron Eckhart, Bruce Greenwood, Richard Jenkins, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Tchéky Karyo, DJ Qualls
Factual error: The ship, VIRGIL, is diving straight down from the crust to the core. Although the interior of the ship pivots to make the cockpit perpendicular to the descent, the ship itself is "digging" straight down so when people move from compartment to compartment they should be climbing up and down rather than simply walking back and forth.
Dr. Josh Keyes: So what's this about then?
FBI Agent: We don't know. You have higher security clearance than us.
Dr. Josh Keyes: I have security clearance?
FBI Agent: Yes sir, we're just here to take you to your jet.
Dr. Josh Keyes: I have a jet?!
Trivia: If you look closely with time-frame advance during the pigeon scene you will see a fish "flying" into a window instead of a pigeon. (00:08:35)
Question: When Beck tries to dodge the huge diamonds, the ship gets a breach. Wouldn't that cause the outside material to spray into the ship's interior, given the intense temperature and pressure?
Answer: The inner-earth ship known as VIRGIL is comprised of multiple double-hull detachable sections. The outer hull can be breached, while the inner hull can maintain structural integrity just long enough to jettison the damaged compartment. When VIRGIL encounters the giant diamond field, the very last section (the weapons control compartment) suffers a hull breach, and it immediately begins automatic detachment. Dr. Serge Leveque, the nuclear weapons expert, sacrifices himself by saving vital weapons deployment information from that compartment just before it detaches and is destroyed.
Charles Austin Miller