Goofs for
Independence Day (1996) More at IMDbPro »

• Factual errors: In the opening shots, the Earth is shown in the background of the alien mother ship. The rotation of the Earth is plainly visible, at about 2 or 3 degrees per second, giving an Earth day of about 2 or 3 minutes.
  
  
• Factual errors: The commemorative plaques left on the moon by the Apollo astronauts were attached to the front leg of the Lunar Module's Descent Stage; neither was placed on a pile of moon rocks.
  
  
• Factual errors: The opening scene in which the mothership passes the moon heading toward earth, the earth is shown with the southern hemisphere facing the sun - an indication of mid-winter in North America, not July.
  
  

• Errors in geography: The Empire State Building is shown in line with the center of a main street. It isn't.
  
  
• Continuity: The policeman on the horse turns it around twice.
  
  
• Continuity: The placing of Miguel's brother's arms when he's beating on the TV to get better reception.
  
  
• Factual errors: The map of Russia shown in "Sky News" (in Russian), shows the city of St. Petersburg as Petrograd, a name used only from 1914 until 1924 (when it became Leningrad; the original name St. Petersburg was restored in 1991).
  
  
• Factual errors: The same TV map that labels St Petersburg "Petrograd" has Novosibirsk spelled "Novosyoyrsk" in Russian.
  
  
• Factual errors: At the bottom of the same map it says "cloud phenomenon" in Russian, and "phenomenon" is misspelled again, only worse - it says "fznamenon" instead of the correct "fenomen".
  
  
• Continuity: Levinson's father's cigar during the chess game.
  
  
• Continuity: During the chess match, actor Jeff Goldblum's left middle fingernail is severely bruised. In all other scenes (including one that takes place only moments later), the injury is suddenly gone.
  
  
• Continuity: Supposedly set in July, a weather map in the "USA Today" paper shows a mid-winter thermograph.
  
  
• Continuity: The position of Abraham Lincoln's head on the table when President Whitmore is looking out the window of the Oval Office.
  
  
• Continuity: The left epaulet on Hiller's uniform as he talks to his girlfriend outside his house.
  
  
• Continuity: The title of the countdown clock window on Levinson's PowerBook changes from "Remain Time" to "Time Remaining."
  
  
• Continuity: The clouds in the sky disappear suddenly when Hiller is dragging the alien.
  
  
• Continuity: Levinson's laptop opens itself just before he shuts it.
  
  
• Continuity: The landscape supposedly surrounding El Toro shows a desert. El Toro Marine Base is located in a hilly section of Orange County.
  
  
• Factual errors: The collar devices worn by the Commander of the USS Georgia are the size used on the Garrison Cap, not on the collar. Collar devices are much smaller.
  
  
• Continuity: The Commanding Officer of the Black Knight Squadron is shown wearing Lieutenant Colonel oak leaf clusters during the initial brief, later during the attack of the base he is wearing Captain's Bars.
  
  
• Continuity: In Area 51 a bottle of Bushmills Whiskey beside the fridge is square on to the camera, a few seconds later it has rotated 45 degrees.
  
  
• Continuity: During the scene in Area 51 where Levinson argues with Connie, the shelves in the fridge door are empty at times, full at others.
  
  
• Factual errors: US Space Command is headquartered at NORAD, is an Air Force posting, and is run by the commander of NORAD.
  
  
• Continuity: The launcher for the nuclear missile is missing from the bottom of the alien spacecraft piloted by Hiller and Levinson when it flies into the mother ship.
  
  
• Factual errors: The message purporting to be Morse code was gibberish. Additionally, the Morse code keys used to send the message were so far out of adjustment as to be nearly unusable.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: During the alien bombing raid on El Toro Marine base, not a single jet is destroyed or even hit by alien fire.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As a man jumps out of an F-18 during the alien raid of El Toro, we see the jet wobble, indicating that it is in fact a wooden mock-up.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: The scientist's mouth never opens when he orders to "open the launch tunnel".
  
  
• Continuity: During the LA counter-attack, the Marine aviators are supposed to be firing AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles from the under wing pylon . In external shots of the aircraft, Harpoon anti-ship missiles are shown on inboard pylons instead.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: It is thought that most "Force Fields" only block fast moving objects, not slow ones. Because Levinson's hand was not moving at the speed of sound, it is likely that the field didn't stop him. Besides, the field may not have been on when he placed the can on the ship. We didn't see what he was typing so he could've turned it on afterwards.
  
  
• Factual errors: Air Force One takes off from Dulles Airport just as the blast wave hits the airport. Air Force One is actually stationed at Andrews AFB. Dulles is also 25 miles west of Washington DC, and it is impossible anyway for the blast to have reached that far that fast after detonation over the White House.
  
  
• Continuity: The two helicopters would not have made it to Dulles in time for Air Force One to take off, based on the clock on Levinson's computer.
  
  
• Continuity: The President's plane has four missiles. It fires five, however: two to test the aliens' shields, one at the large spacecraft, one at an enemy fighter and one at the city buster laser.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Levinson is kicking stuff around in Area 51, one of the trash cans is marked "ART DEPT" on the bottom. Area 51 would not seem to have an art dept. Suggestions that ART is a military acronym or abbreviation are amusing, but don't stand as mitigation.
  
  
• Factual errors: The United States flag placed on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin is no longer standing. It was knocked over by Armstrong's and Aldrin's take off in the Lunar Module. Furthermore, if the flag was still standing, it would be all-white and not depicting the red, white and blue colors, since there is no atmosphere on the Moon, the Sun would've easily burnt off the colors.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: At SETI in New Mexico, after the guy discovers the alien signal, the woman at the keyboard is not typing anything; her fingers are just moving over the keys.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As Air Force One taxis down the runway, its front wheel briefly lifts above the surface and comes back down, revealing that the jet is actually a model being pulled by a string.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: Miguel tells his younger brother to "Pack up, we're leaving," without moving his mouth.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: After the president's entourage fires at the alien through the glass, wires can be seen pulling the creature by its shoulders.
  
  
• Plot holes: When the First Lady is at the hotel and on her cell phone you can see bright sunlight pouring into the lobby through the windows. This would be impossible with the giant spaceship hovering above, blocking the sun. The scenes at the White House after the aliens' arrival show the same goof.
  
  
• Continuity: In the second sequence of the film, a man is sitting on a counter and continues a conversation on the phone. He is then off-screen for a second or two, and when he returns to view, he is suddenly off the phone and in a chair.
  
  
• Continuity: Various mistakes regarding the correct time of day: The sun is rising in Washington DC after a scene in which it is shown rising in New Mexico. Then, it's said to be 2:45 a.m. in LA, which would make it 3:45 in NM, after the sun has risen there. Also, in the final celebration, it's broad daylight in Las Vegas, sunrise or sunset in Egypt, and at least partially light in Australia, all at the same time.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Marty (David's boss) honks his car horn while trying to escape, the "honk honk" does not match the image of his hand pressing the horn.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When the ship is first seen lumbering above the White House, we see people (probably unaware that they're being filmed) not reacting at all to the ship. (This cannot be seen on the wide-screen version)
  
  
• Errors in geography: The unique bright white deserts shown just outside of Area 51 in the movie are in fact the Bonneville Salt Flats - which are in Utah, not Nevada, where Area 51 is supposed to be located in the film.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When the helicopter is sending the welcome message, the aliens destroy it with a laser blast. The helicopter blows up before the laser blast hits it.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When news of the newly-appeared spacecraft from around the world is shown towards the beginning of the film, the broadcast from Russia is labeled "Soviet News", despite the USSR's having collapsed five years before the release of this film, and only months after the end of the Persian Gulf War, in which the President had supposedly fought.
  
  
• Continuity: After successfully defeating the alien craft above Area 51, President Whitmore is greeted back to the base. In this sequence, President Whitmore's hair changes four times. When he first lands, his hair messy and in his face. In the next shot, his hair is gelled back. His hairstyle switches two more times before settling on the slicked-back look.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: At Area 51, the soldier shoots the alien at point blank range, and two shots are fired. The second shot is heard before he pulls the trigger.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the brief shot of Sydney near the end of the film, there are people celebrating on the carriageway of the Harbour Bridge. They are (by inference) the same height as a double-decker passenger train.
  
  
• Continuity: At both El Toro and Area 51, the "Restricted Area" signs are placed on the inside of the fence, facing inwards into the base.
  
  
• Errors in geography: When the spaceship is arriving at Novosibirsk, the announcer says "It is clearing the mountains". There are no mountains near Novosibirsk.
  
  
• Continuity: The same blond man runs from exploding buildings in New York and Los Angeles (in mitigation, one viewer suggests that they might be twins).
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When David rings Connie for the second time when he's in D.C. as she walks towards the window, a man is clearly visible crawling along the ground (he is wearing a white t-shirt).
  
  
• Factual errors: The Laser reflector seen next to Eagle's Descent stage on the Moon at the start of the movie is in the wrong place and facing the wrong direction. It was placed much further away from the craft, and pointed towards the Earth. The Earth itself is much higher in the sky from where Eagle sits, not near the horizon as the movie suggests.
  
  
• Continuity: When Connie and David argue, David opens the refrigerator door, and we see several items (a milk carton and a few bottles) on the shelves inside the door. When Connie opens the refrigerator a moment later, those shelves are empty.
  
  
• Factual errors: The Roswell incident is repeatedly referred to throughout the film as having taken place during the 1950s. The alleged crash landing of an alien spaceship is Roswell, NM actually occurred in 1947.
  
  
• Continuity: The alien destroyer that hovers over New York City positions itself so that its center (which holds the city-destroying weapon) is fixed above the Empire State Building. However, in some wider shots of the city and the ship, you can clearly see that the center of the ship is not above the Empire State Building, as it's supposed to be.
  
  
• Continuity: In the special edition, David uses a CD-ROM with all the phone numbers in America to look up Connie's phone number. When he types in "Levinson, Constance", the computer goes searching through the numbers. The computer says her number begins with 556 when it is going through the numbers, but when it comes up with the search results it now starts with 555.
  
  
• Continuity: As Air Force One is taking off from Washington, D.C., the runway marker lights are still functional, despite the control tower (and everything else behind Air Force One) being obliterated by the aliens' weapon.
  
  
• Factual errors: The address on the letter Steve receives from NASA reads "El Toro, CA 50055" The 50055 ZIP code is actually for Collins, Iowa. The appropriate ZIP Code for El Toro Base (prior to its closing in 1999) is 92609.
  
  
• Continuity: When David and his father are inside Air Force One, they run to their seats on the starboard side of the plane. In the next shot, they are on the port side.
  
  
• Continuity: When we first see the giant dock at the core of the mothership it is surrounded by flying transport ships. A second later all the ships are gone.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The doors to the Area 51 lab open before Major Mitchell finishes entering the code on the keypad.
  
  
• Continuity: When Steve gives David the cigar his fingers change from being held together to spread apart between shots.
  
  
• Continuity: The height of the fireball changes between shots.
  
  
• Continuity: After the US Bank Tower Explosion the amount of debris changes in between shots.
  
  
• Errors in geography: The US Bank Tower's position with the Mellon Bank and the Citigroup Center is incorrect.
  
  
• Continuity: During the L.A. office building explosion a car can be seen hitting a traffic light twice.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When President Whitmore is being updated on the situation with the alien craft, which has broken off into "three dozen other pieces". After the Secretary of Defense asks "Where are they heading?" the man responds "They should be entering our atmosphere within the next 25 minutes," but his mouth is out of sync.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the first battle with the alien fighters, Will Smith destroys one by deploying his braking parachute to block the alien pilot's field of vision and causing it to crash into a cliff wall. But the F-18 which he is flying doesn't actually have a braking chute.
  
  
• Continuity: When the first plane fires the first nuclear bomb, you see the pilot is steering his plane away to the left after firing. But, on the radar at the headquarters where the president is looking at, you see the plane making a turn to the right.
  
  
• Plot holes: They only had 30 seconds to not only escape the mothership, but also to reach a minimum safe distance to clear the multi-megaton blast that was about to occur. It took 90 seconds just to get out of the mothership.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Russell is sitting in the fighter jet he pushes a button and you hear "missile launch." It is impossible to launch missiles while a fighter is on the ground due to the Weight On Wheels Interlock. It is possible to disable this function in some jets, but this is a highly unusual procedure, and the Marines/Navy would almost definitely not do this.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the shots of the moon at the very beginning, one can clearly see dust blowing above the surface. In reality, since there is no atmosphere on the moon, dust particles would not float, but would fall straight to the surface (and at the same rate as large objects). Of course, dust would not leave the surface in the first place due to the lack of air.
  
  
• Factual errors: When the mother ship passes over the Apollo 11 site, the ground vibrates because of the sound. In fact, the moon has no atmosphere to transmit the sound to the surface.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: At the first nuclear attack against the spaceship in Houston, the city lights are still lit despite the city being totally deserted.
  
  
• Factual errors: When David and Marty are discussing David's discovery that the signal is a countdown to attack, a news reporter in the background states that ships "have just arrived over the capitals of India, England, and Germany." A few seconds later, the TV graphic David points out shows a ship over Bombay. The capital of India is New Delhi, not Bombay. This same graphic also depicts the capital of Germany as "Germany", rather than Berlin. (London, Rome, and Moscow are all correctly identified.)
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Pilots use specialized suits to keep the G-Force from making them go unconscious. After Russell Case destroys the primary alien weapon, in one second you see the suit on the President in his plane. In a second shot, again for a second, you can see him turn to look behind him, and you will notice he is not wearing the suit
  
  
• Miscellaneous: When the alien gliders first appear, the Air Force is taken by surprise, yet the tactical display at the base already displays them as neat iconic abstractions. It needs a qualified person to design concise 2D icons from complex 3D shapes though, and of course, knowledge of this shape to begin with.
  
  
• Miscellaneous: When David and Connie are talking in the room at Area 51, she states "Haven't you ever wanted to be part of something special?". At that point David slams the bottle down on the window sill which is supposed to be made from concrete (bearing in mind that is attached to a massive metal window frame), yet it sounds as if he slammed the bottle down on hollow wood.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the interior scene of the supposed AWACS, the flight engineer panel shown is that of a 135, not an E-3. The panel of the E-3 is streamlined with push buttons; also, the pan shot from the aft of the aircraft is showing the seating inside the aircraft incorrectly.
  
  
• Factual errors: When the ship floats over New York, it goes over the Empire State building, and the needle of the building is within yards from the ship. At that time, the World Trade Center was, in reality, much higher up, yet somehow the taller buildings are not damaged from colliding with the ship. Also to note in a later scene when they show the invasion ending at dawn, one of the towers is still standing and intact.
  
  
• Errors in geography: When the ship approaches New York, the shadow hits the World Trade Center and is curved, yet the ship is still inside a cloud which is not. As the ship moves, it changes direction, crossing the river, approaching the WTC, which was in Lower Manhattan, then moving in over the Empire State Building, which is far from both.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As an alien ship approaches Washington D.C. we see its shadow first encounter the Lincoln Memorial, then travels up the National Mall directly toward the U.S. Capitol. We also see the shadow go over the Washington Monument. This shadow is moving east. A couple of scenes later we see a shadow approach the White House directly from the front in a northbound direction. Since the White House is directly north of the Washington Monument, the White House should have already been in the shadow and the shadow should have approached it from the West Wing.
  
  
• Errors in geography: When Washington, D.C. is attacked, the space craft is positioned over the White House as it fires its destructive beam. During the following scenes of destruction, we see the explosion destroy the U.S. Capitol Building from the East Front. If the beam had been centered over the White House and spread outward, it would have hit the U.S. Capitol Building from the West Front first.
  
  
• Plot holes: When the ships enter Earth's atmosphere, one ship is seen entering above the Casse's trailer park in Southern California, even though the only ship in Southern California is the one headed towards Los Angeles. Furthermore, the very next shot is of the Los Angeles ship flying over its destination. There is no explanation as to what ship flew over the Casses; rather, the entire scene was likely meant for dramatic effect.
  
  
• Continuity: Right before Hiller and Levinson take the alien ship to the mother ship, hugs are exchanged between Hiller and Jasmine. Her right arm is above Hiller's shoulder and alternates to around his waist in subsequent shots.
  
  
• Factual errors: About 5 minutes into the movie, an Air Force Master Sergeant is shown with 6 stripes all down. In 1991 the MSGT rank changed to 5 down, 1 up.
  
  
• Continuity: After the B-2 Bomber fires the "Nuke" at the alien ship it banks to the left, in the very next scene the computer displays at Area-51 so the B-2 banking to the right.
  
  
• Factual errors: When the nuclear missile is launched from the B-2 bomber over Houston, the bomber is within sight of the spaceship. In reality, the missile would be fired from over the horizon, as the B-2 would not be able to escape the shock-wave caused by the detonation if it was within sight of the spaceship.
  
  
• Continuity: During the scene before the US counter-attack, the planes on the ground are F-14's, with the wings swept all the way back. However, the planes taking off and in the air are F-18s, which do not utilize a swept wing design.
  
  
• Continuity: When the cities are being destroyed, a shot shows a few buildings with a highway overpass behind them. There is a billboard on one of the buildings. The billboard blows over JUST before the explosion destroys them. A shot or two later, there's a close-up of a billboard on another building. The billboard does NOT blow over before the explosion reaches it, but instead stays in place, and is destroyed by the explosion.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Levinson mentions Area 51 aboard Air Force One, the president tells him that it does not exist, and is surprised when he is told that it does. In another scene, Hiller mentions the base to a mobile home driver who says that it isn't on the map. In reality, Area 51 is not a "secret" base and can be seen on maps and in public satellite images.
  
  
• Factual errors: As the Alien Destroyers enter the Earth's atmosphere, one scene cuts to a surfaced submarine in the Persian Gulf. It identifies the submarine as an SSBN in the Persian Gulf. This is an indicator of a Ballistic Missile Submarine. 1) SSBN's do not cruise on the surface in hostile waters, they are only on the surface when entering, tied up or leaving a friendly base. They submerge and disappear. 2) SSBN's operate in the safety of the deep. The Persian Gulf is not deep enough for an SSBN to safely operate
  
  
• Continuity: As David and his father are driving into Washington D.C. the door lock over David's right shoulder changes back and forth from locked to unlocked depending on the shot.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the beginning, the ship casts its shadow on the moon in a way that would place the sun directly above the ship. This is inconsistent with the way we see sunlight cast on the Earth.
  
  
• Factual errors: The F-18's in the picture does not have any mirrors in the top arch of their canopies. The real F-18 have three of these.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Russell is trying to fire the last missile (and it jams), he calls out "Fox Two". "Fox Two" means that he was firing a heat-seeker, specifically an AIM-9 Sidewinder. However, the missile shown on his plane is an AIM-120 AMRAAM, which would be designated "Fox Three".
  
  
• Factual errors: The submarine is listed as the U.S.S. Georgia, which is an Ohio class fleet ballistic nuclear missile submarine, or Boomer. The submarine shown in the movie is in fact a Los Angeles Class Attack submarine.
  
  
• Continuity: The interior of Russell's F-18 cockpit is depicted in two separate fashions when seen from his point of view. At times, his HUD is decorated with a photo of his three children. At others, the HUD is seen accompanied by a matchbook.
  
  
• Factual errors: Marine Corps officers wear metal pins on the lapels of their camouflage uniforms to depict their rank, as opposed to the sewn-on stars seen on General Grey's "cammies".
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: A sailor's mouth does not match the words he is saying when his face is reflected in a submarine's radar screen.
  
  
• Factual errors: In addition to the floating dust mistake, the lack of an atmosphere on the moon would prevent any vibrations or pressure waves from disturbing the foot prints on the moon as depicted in the opening scene.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The same group of pilots surrounding Russell in a 1971 photograph are later seen as another group of pilots, having not aged a bit in 25 years, entering Area 51 with the President during the film's finale (the same extras were used in both instances)
  
  
• Continuity: When piloting his F-18, Russell is shown without gloves at times, and with them in others.
  
  
• Continuity: Although it's supposed to be July 2, Steve's morning newspaper is clearly dated "August" in the top right corner.
  
  
• Continuity: The roads are relatively empty in an overhead helicopter shot of downtown Los Angeles, showing no signs of the hectic bumper-to-bumper traffic indicated by the same roads when seen from street-level.
  
  
• Factual errors: David's phone book program displays non-existent street addresses in Washington, D.C. (see trivia entry).
  
  
• Miscellaneous: Jasmine's older-model television is not connected to a cable and has a VHF dial turned to channel 3, yet is somehow showing the "channel 51" news. A similar goof occurs later when the marines in the locker room watch the "channel 11" news on a similar TV.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Jasmine is kicking at the maintenance door, she is holding an obvious dummy, not the child actor who plays her son.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As they run for their lives from the fiery destruction, a group of child extras can be seen laughing and smiling.
  
  
• Continuity: Jasmine opens her curtains to look at a spaceship from inside her house. We see the same window from outside her house and suddenly the curtains are closed and the blinds are almost all the way down.
  
  
• Factual errors: Major Mitchell is wearing the name tag which is worn on the Air Force short sleeve or long sleeve Blues shirt on his Dress Coat. This style name tag was worn on the Air Force's previous style Dress Coat, however, in 1996, no name tag was worn on the style of Dress Coat, which Major Mitchell is seen wearing.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Lt Col. Watson is giving Earth pilots the first pre-combat briefing he is wearing Lt Col. insignia. However, when the ground assault by Alien fighters begins, he is wearing Captain's insignia.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When David shows up at his father's house before they leave NYC his father answers the door holding a shotgun. But when he points the shotgun at David it makes the sound of a pump action shotgun, while he is clearly holding a double-barreled non pumping shotgun.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When David and their father are playing chess, most of the people in the scene are wearing sweaters or jackets, even though it is July 2 in New York City and the radio says the temperature is 95 degrees.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): General Grey refers to a single AWACS as an "AWAC". The “s” does not make it plural the s stands for System (Airborne Warning And Control System).
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Several of the shots of the underside of the spaceship arriving at Area 51 and about to deploy its main weapon are actually shots of the spaceship closing its main weapon and departing after destroying New York run in reverse. You can see the tops of the destroyed skyscrapers along the bottom of the screen.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the desert scene, there is an F/A-18 with IAF Stars of David. The Israeli Air Force does not fly F/A-18s and their combat aircraft are painted in their unique desert camouflage paint scheme.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the first "RAF" F-16 scene, the tail number on the airframe in the background, WS690, was actually assigned to a Canberra B Mk 2 bomber in the late 40s/early 50s. Current UK Military serials begin with the letter "Z". Current tail numbers are painted in 12" high white characters on the rear fuselage, not the tail fin. The national markings are also incorrect, if the RAF had operated the F-16 the aircraft would have carried low visibility (pink and light blue) tactical roundels and tail cockades together with squadron markings on the fin and either side of the fuselage roundels.
  
  
• Factual errors: While being briefed about the nuclear weapon fitted onto the repaired alien spacecraft, Captain Hiller remarks that mechanism used to launch the device is "Just like the AMRAAM launch pad on a stealth". At the time the only known stealth aircraft in operation were the F-117A 'Nighthawk' Stealth Fighter (actually a light attack aircraft) and the B-2A 'Spirit' Stealth Bomber (a large strategic bomber). AMRAAM stands for 'Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile' and would never be outfitted on either the F-117 or the B-2 as neither aircraft was designed to carry air-to-air weapons or engage in aerial combat. Also, neither aircraft is equipped with the intercept radar that would normally be necessary to operate these missiles (such a radar would generate significant radar emissions and greatly diminish their stealthiness).
  
  
• Factual errors: In the El Toro scene and before the final battle, F/A-18's are shown with the sword and wreath symbol of the Air Force's Air Combat Command. The Air Force does not maintain F/A-18's in their inventory, it is a Navy Plane.
  
  
• Factual errors: While flying on Air Force One, a female Air Force Officer walks by the camera, she has the missiler functional badge on. First a missiler unless doing a special duty would never be on Air Force One, and secondly the Missile functional badge is worn on the pocket, NOT above the flap of the pocket like pilot wings and other functional badges.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the news report of Russell's arrest the reporter states that he was arrested as he papered town hall from the air. Assuming he was doing this using his crop duster, he was most likely arrested after he had landed.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When President Whitmore is on the phone with his wife (their daughter Patricia lies on the bed), telling her he wants her to leave LA, a Secret Service Agent appears at the doorway and the actor's mark is visible on the floor.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Dr. Okun leads President Whitmore, General Grey, David, and the rest to see (as he puts it) "The big tamale," the red actor's mark is visible at the top of the landing as they all walk up the ramp.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: At Area 51's main research facility, Dr. Okun walks up to greet President Whitmore and as his assistant, Dr. Isaacs walks up behind him, the green actor's mark is visible on the floor - he even glances down at it.
  
  
• Continuity: When Julius and David pull up beside the White House gate, David places the device on the Plymouth's hood to triangulate Connie's position inside. The device's position on the car's hood differs between the close-up and wide shot - note the car door.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Steven is about to leave for El Toro, just as he walks up to his red car, where Dylan plays, the actor's mark is visible on the ground before he steps up to it, and before Jasmine joins him beside the car.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: In the containment lab, when the alien awakens and begins its attack, the alien moves from right to left towards a doctor, who is backed up against a door. The crewmember who is wearing the alien costume has on a white shirt and black trousers, and the costume's straps attached to the pants are visible, as well as some wiring at the back.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: At the club, when Jasmine walks to the mirror in the dressing room her mark is visible on the floor.
  
  
• Continuity: When David shows up at his father's house, Julius opens the door pointing a gun at him. David grabs hold of the barrel, and in the shots facing Julius, David lets go, but in the shots facing David, the barrel is still pointing up and which David is still holding firmly.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When David introduces the idea of a virus, the first time Major Mitchell shoots at the Coke can the two actors' marks are visible on the floor in front of Julius and Connie, but are not in other shots.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When the alien is inflicting pain upon President Whitmore telepathically, in the shot from inside the lab facing the outer hall, through the glass, General Grey's mark is visible on the floor.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: After President Whitmore decides to go ahead with David's plan for the virus, he, Connie and Grey are walking when the President pushes Nimzicki up against a desk. Just before they reach that desk, the actor's mark is visible on the floor, precisely where the President stops before he fires Nimzicki.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: At the Area 51 lab, when President Whitmore is down on the ground in pain, in the shot from inside the lab facing the lab's outer hall, the alien costume only reaches just above the crewmember's waist - the costume straps attached to his pants are visible, as well as his arm.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: At the containment lab, just before Dr. Okun unlocks "the vault", three actors' marks are visible. One mark is at the top of the ramp and the other two are visible just past the ramp.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Dr. Okun is about to unlock "the vault", and says, "the freak show," a crewmember wearing a black and white striped shirt is hiding under the vault's floor, right behind Okun.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: After Dr. Okun unlocks "the vault" he explains the aliens' telepathic ability, and as David steps closer to the tanks the actors' marks are visible on the floor.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When the President walks up to "the big tamale", Dr. Okun rushes up the ramp to explain his excitement and as he passes Nimzicki, the actor's mark is visible on the ramp, directly in front of the Secretary of Defense.
  
  
• Continuity: When Jasmine sees the approaching fireball she grabs Dylan from the car and begins to run. In the shot from behind, there are double-yellow lines on the road at her feet reaching into the distance, but in the shot facing her the lines have vanished, though she did not change lanes.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When he leaves his office, David says that there are roughly 6 hours until the countdown is finished. When he arrives at his father's, the roads are already packed. It takes about 4 hours to drive from New York to DC, in perfect traffic. In reality, they never would have made it out of New York in time.
  
  
• Plot holes: Even with the say-so of a member of the President's Cabinet, David and his father should not be able just to waltz into the White House and especially the Oval Office.
  
  
• Continuity: SETI technician #1 calls the SETI chief. In the next shot the SETI chief wakes up before his phone rings.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When the spacecraft are approaching their first target cities they are enveloped in roiling clouds and yet a sharp shadow is shown proceeding across the ground. The enveloping clouds would cast a diffuse edged not a sharp shadow.
  
  
• Continuity: During the original attack on the ships by the F-18s, they shoot missiles at it and are surprised by the fact that it has a forcefield, a technology which obviously surpasses ours. However, in the shot back at NORAD, where the President is watching on the computer, there is a line shown for the forcefield shown neutralizing the missiles. Something like that would not have been programmed in that system and it shouldn't have recognized the forcefield at all because of it.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The Roswell Crash Wreckage was taken to Wright Patterson Airforce Base, not Area 51, however, as any military historian and possibly almost all the UFO people know, the debris' trail is lost after Wright Patterson. This is, in fact, the very reason Area 51 became a hotbed of UFO conspiracies, many conspiracy theorists stating that, since it was so secluded, it was the most likely place where it ended up.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Dr. Okun tells everyone that the aliens do not have vocal cords. When they shoot the alien in the operating room it squeals. How can you squeal without vocal cords? The answer may lie in the fact that not all species make sounds the same way. Since we saw, earlier, that the bio-suit could make noise (when Will Smith opens the ship and knocks it out), could it not be that, since the inner alien was still inside the suit, the suit was making the noise?
  
  
• Factual errors: When Jasmine is running away from the fireball in the tunnel, she ducks inside a doorway. As the dog jumps through the doorway, fire can be seen moving toward the doorway. The fire would have rushed inside the area where Jasmine and her son are, incinerating them.
  
  
• Errors in geography: In the Israeli/Arab scene, the officer is heard talking about elements still present "in the Golan Straits". The Golan Heights is a set of hills between Israel and Lebanon, currently under Israeli control, and there are no water bodies anywhere nearby.
  
  
• Factual errors: On the side view of the AWACS crew, one can see part of the Flight Engineer panel with all the amber lights related to cross feed valve position, low pressure fuel pumps and fuel shutdown valves turned on. They shouldn't while in flight. Also the generators load indicators read zero, meaning along with the previous paragraph that the engines are not running.
  
  
• Factual errors: Captain Hiller and David smoke cigars in the spacecraft. They already stated that the aliens need oxygen and would have tanks on their ships. But how could they smoke in the oxygen rich environment?
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Hiller & Wilder are getting ready to go up the first time, Hiller (Smith) calls Wilder (Connick Jr.) "soldier." In the movie they are supposed to be Marines. Marines would never call another Marine "soldier" and they should never be addressed as soldiers. Soldiers are Army.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the beginning of the movie, an Air Force member is shown in full service dress. He has 6 stripes, all of which are pointing down. The 6th stripe should be on top of the insignia, not on the bottom.
  
  
• Errors in geography: MCAS El Toro is shown in the movie in the middle of the desert. MCAS El Toro, which has since been closed, was in Orange County next to Irvine, CA. It was surrounded by urban sprawl.
  
  
• Errors in geography: El Toro Air Station was depicted as being situated in the middle of a desert. In fact, El Toro is sandwiched between two very busy freeways (I5 and the 405) and surrounded by sprawling suburban cities of Irvine and Laguna Hills. Before it closed in 1999, it was possible to see F18s landing while driving down those freeways.
  
  
• Continuity: Earlier in the scene, Dr. Oken states that the aliens don't have vocal cords. But when the FBI agent shoots the alien in the head, the creature lets out an evil scream.
  
  
• Factual errors: On a flash shot from the air down on the Washington Monument. On a sunny day just before the 4th of July, the ring of 50 American flags would have been raised at the monument. They are not there.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the crash of Hillard's F/A-18, notice that the radome, canopy and cockpit are completely intact. Nice effect, but in reality, they would have been disintegrated since these components would have impacted first. Additionally, since he ejected, the canopy would not still be attached.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Will Smith's character first meets the President at Area 51, they shake hands; however, as the Commander in Chief of the US Military, Will Smith's character would have saluted the President and the President would return the salute. The only military personnel who do not salute the President are Medal of Honor recipients as they are saluted first by everyone, regardless of rank.
  
  
• Factual errors: The Capt. Hiller character is an F-18 pilot. Yet in the scene after the alien attacks have begun and Air Force One has landed in Area 51, Capt. Hiller is shown commandeering a helicopter and flying it to El Toro to search for and rescue Jasmine. While military pilots begin flight school with the same basic flight training, later in flight school they later specialize, and it is highly doubtful that Capt. Hiller would have received both F-18 and helicopter flight training, especially since one is fixed wing and the other is not.
  
  
• Factual errors: The scene with the U.S.S. Georgia takes place in the Persian Gulf. The captain lifts a phone and says to "get Atlantic Command on the line." The Persian Gulf falls into the theater of Central Command, not the Atlantic.
  
  
• Errors in geography: The big electronic map which shows where the alien ships are has one circle over the south suburbs of Chicago. With the Sears Tower, it would be hard to miss Chicago.
  
  
• Continuity: On earth, when Hiller tries to fly the alien fighter the first time, he pushes the stick forward and the ship flies backward into the back stop. This teaches him that pulling back on the stick moves the ship forward and pushing it forward moves the ship back. When the fighter is docked on the alien mother ship, Hiller pulls the stick back to back away from the dock. As he should have learned by now, he needed to move the stick forward to move the fighter backwards.
  
  
• Factual errors: Any Air Force aircraft transporting the President is called "Air Force One", any Marines aircraft transporting the President is called "Marine One", thus the F-18 piloted by the President should be called "Navy One".
  
  
• Continuity: At the very end, Vivica A. Fox gets out of the jeep and goes running to Will Smith. Margaret Colin is still struggling to get out of the jeep, and yet they arrive at almost the same time, she even gets to Jeff Goldblum first.
  
  
• Continuity: When the fighter aircraft make their final assault on the alien destroyer over area 51, all of the planes shown are F/A-18s but once they have landed at least one F-5 and F-16 can be seen and a lot less F/A-18s.
  
  
• Factual errors: The RAF do not operate F-16s and also the RAF's aircraft would not have the old style red white and blue roundel and symbols, they would instead have a smaller red and blue roundel and also appear in a desert camouflage.
  
  
• Continuity: When Major Mitchell is asked to shoot the Coke can from the alien aircraft, he has a bunch of papers in his hand. He continues to hold the papers until he actually aims at the can with a gun and then the papers are gone. He might have just dropped them on the floor but it seems more likely he would put them some place safe (e.g. table).
  
  
• Continuity: When the Alien Ship is approaching the Area 51 base, an airman clearly says the alien ship is centering over the base (and about to attack). Yet when the ship is destroyed, it does not fall on them but instead falls miles away.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When the large ships hover over a city, they cast a shadow of a certain darkness. However, these ships are 15 miles wide and so low that what should happen is that the shadow gets darker and darker and darker as the ship continues to move over the fixed viewpoint. The shadow in the film does not.
  
  
• Continuity: Will Smith never wears a sun glass when he takes the alien ship, but wears one when he lands back the alien ship in the desert.
  
  

• Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: In a scene at the end, Hiller and Levinson are seen walking away from the crash of their alien spacecraft. When Constance and Jasmine jump out of the military vehicle to greet them, several sets of parallel tracks are visible on the ground. These tracks are perpendicular to the path traveled by the actors and the military vehicle and could not reasonably constitute part of the scene. They were likely caused by production team vehicles.
  
  
• Factual errors: SPOILER: The F-18 hornets in the last battle scene are shown to be launching sidewinder missiles against the mothership. Sidewinder missiles are designed to catch up quickly and destroy small fast moving aircraft and a large mothership the size depicted in the movie, would be impervious to the relatively small explosive force of a sidewinder missile. A more effective solution would be to use mark 84 bombs as the mothership isn't a fast moving object. It is interesting the Marines/Navy in the movie wouldn't realize this.
  
  
• Factual errors: SPOILER: Just before Jimmy's F-18 plane is shot down by the alien fighters, the air speed readout shows it traveling at speeds just over Mach 2.5. This is impossible with an F-18 fighter plane, since it only has a maximum top speed of Mach 1.8.
  
  
• Plot holes: SPOILER: When Whitmore first arrives at Area 51, Dr. Okun tells him the alien fighter was inert until just before the ships arrived over the world's cities, at which time it powered up again - implying the craft is remotely powered by the mother ship. Yet the fighter has power to land back on Earth again AFTER Hiller and Levinson nuke the mother ship. The fighter should have gone dead when the mother ship did.
  
  

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