10 Most Obvious Movie Mistakes They Should Have Caught Before Releasing The Films

No one can deny that even the most talented director, showrunners, and actors make the most obvious movie mistakes. Because no one can guarantee that everything we have done will always be perfect. And when it comes to massive projects which take even more than a year to finish such as filmmaking, it seems mistakes are unavoidable. From shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things to well-known films such as Pulp Fiction and Star Wars, plenty of errors have slipped through editing, and these are some of the most unbelievable.
Another factor that contributes to a large number of flaws in the film is that many films are released each year. There were 403 movies released in the US and Canada last year (less than usual because of the pandemic), so it’s no surprise that some movies have glaringly obvious mistakes. From wardrobe malfunctions and insufficient extras to continuity mistakes in the story or editing, some elements could go wrong during the shooting. No movie is safe, regardless of budget or casting. Today, we have compiled a list of 10 obvious movie mistakes that might become an eyesore to viewers. Let’s check them out!

#1 Quantum of Solace: The Bizarre Background Extra

Source: Imdb

Quantum of Solace is considered to have an uninteresting story in comparison to its more successful predecessor. Corny action aside, there's one scene in which viewers couldn’t help but raise a brow.
When bringing about surveillance at a harbor, one of the extras behind Craig is supposed to sweep the dock. But, the extra was sweeping about a foot above the ground. Here came an explanation that the sweeping caused a noisy sound during the shooting, but he should have swept closer to the ground.

#2 North By Northwest: The Problem With Young Extras

Source: Imdb

Cary Grant is widely known for his appearance in North By Northwest. Throughout the movie, Grant’s character Roger Thornhill, an ad-man from New York, started to be involved in a conspiracy involving thugs and spies in a tale of mistaken identity. Premiered in 1959, North By Northwest has its fair share of problems. Numerous extras weren’t professional actors at that time. They should have offered a small fee to fill the background.
A young extra eventually covered his ears right before the gunshot from a scene where Grant was threatened with a pistol, spoiling the suspense for any eagle-eyed viewers.

#3 Fast & Furious 6: Dwayne Johnson's Disappearing Goatee

Source: Universal Pictures

Fast & Furious 6 is one of the most unforgivable and noticeable bloopers. In the movie, Dwayne Johnson’s character Luke Hobbs went from sporting a thick black goatee to no facial hair at all, then in the next scene sporting the goatee once more.
The error is certainly the result of re-shoots making their way into the final cut and the lack of a continuity supervisor in the edit suite. Still, the mistake did not negatively affect the film, which grossed $788 million at the box office.

#4 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Stormtrooper Mishaps

Source: Imdb

We can say that the original Star Wars trilogy is the founding father of modern sci-fi movies, bringing science fiction to the masses and indoctrinating many young die-hard fans into the cult of Star Wars. It doesn’t mean the movies are perfect because there are some mishaps during the shooting of the trilogy. They're errors or background extras, unsure of what to do with themselves.
And, the funniest and most famous error occured in Episode IV: one of the background troopers bonked his head on the automated door when entering a control room. The mistake truly make people laugh out loud.

#5 The Karate Kid (1984): Illegal Tournament Head Kicks

Source: Imdb

There’s one example during the movie which is truly hilarious and, even to those uninitiated in karate, makes no sense whatsoever. The scene in question is the last round of the tournament, where Daniel LaRusso fought with the antagonist Johny. Being injured in the leg, LaRusso resorted to taking a crane kick to win the tournament.
The point is that a kick to Johnny's head will result in disqualification for an illegal move.

#6 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Visible Cameraman

Source: Imdb

One of the most obvious mistakes happened in the second Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. During the scene in which Draco and Harry duel, there was very obviously a cameraman in the crowd of students, manning a camera and picking up another angle of Draco.
Having the same height as the children, it's clear that the cameraman was attempting to blend into the crowd, but the bulky film camera gave his position away. If there had been children behind him, he might have gone unnoticed, but, interestingly, he wasn't edited out in the post-production process.

#7 Doctor Strange: The Maskless Neurosurgeon

Source: Imdb

Doctor Strange may have been one of the hottest MCU characters recently, but his origin is not without its flaws. While these mistakes are under control, one glaring error became an eyesore to viewers. In one of the very first scenes, Strange was seen operating on a patient. He began with his mask on but soon took it off, as did his nurse, contributing to the obvious movie mistakes list.
This, certainly, was a decision made by the filmmakers to have the character revealed. Still, it made no sense whatsoever for a seemingly world-class neurosurgeon to take his mask off when the surgery was incomplete and wounds could be effortlessly infected. It was just as wrong as operating without gloves and scrubs.

#8 She's All That: Continuity And Disappearing Tattoos

Source: Imdb

There's a peculiar blunder in the 1999 rom-com She's All That, starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Rachael Leigh Cook. The movie revolves around Prinze's Zack, who vows to turn the awkward Laney (Cook) into their high school's prom queen. Like any teen movie, it's by no means perfect, but this adds to its charm. One major mistake is in the continuity, however.
During the movie, Laney decided to get a rose tattoo on the back of her shoulder. Later on at the prom, she was seen wearing an open-back dress, but the tattoo is nowhere to be seen. Considering the tattoo was worth an entire scene, it's strange that the filmmakers somehow managed to miss it later on.

#9 Pretty Woman: Shapeshifting Croissants Or Just Food-Loving?

Source: Imdb

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts starred in Pretty Woman, which revolved around a rich entrepreneur after he employed an escort to join events with him. The rom-com explored their relationship, as they tried and came to terms with one another’s wildly different lives. Gere’s character, Edward Lewis, spoiled Roberts’ Vivian, taking her shopping and eating out at expensive restaurants.
In one scene though, Vivian was having breakfast in their hotel room. During the shooting, she was seen munching on a croissant, but in the next scene, she was eating a pancake instead. Both food items had a bite each taken out of them, suggesting it might be a continuity error. Still, it could be argued that during the scene, Vivian was so hungry that she was eating numerous items.

#10 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): Teleporting Golden Tickets

Source: Imdb

The last obvious movie mistake appeared in Johnny Deep's movie. He is known for starring in the 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A remake of the 1971 movie based on the book by Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory followed the titular Charlie as he tried to win a competition at Willy Wonka’s factory by outsmarting the other chosen children.
Towards the beginning of the movie, Charlie handled to find a chocolate bar with a Golden Ticket inside, taking it from the front side of the bar. Still, an earlier scene showed viewers that Wonka placed the tickets in the wrappers himself, but he placed them on the back side of the bars.