Broken Arrow (1996)
Goofs
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Anachronisms (1) |
Character error (3) |
Continuity (36) |
Crew or equipment visible (1) |
Errors in geography (2) |
Factual errors (29) |
Miscellaneous (2) |
Incorrectly regarded as goofs (3) |
Plot holes (4) |
Revealing mistakes (10) |
Spoilers (1)
Anachronisms
Master Sergeant Kelly's nuclear weapon retrieval team wears the six-color Desert Battle Dress Uniform, in the "Chocolate Chip" pattern. At the time of the film's release, these had been replaced years ago by the three-color Desert Combat Uniform, the "Coffee Stain" pattern.
Character error
Hale remarks after the nuclear bomb detonates that they are safe because no radiation escaped. That is false. The detonation of the bomb in the mine produced a visible fireball, which means that the blast was not contained. The fireball/dust cloud is laced with plenty of fresh radioactive substances. They are safe as long as they are upwind from the mine, not because "no radiation escaped".
Deakins makes two errors regarding reconnaissance satellites: 1) They can't "change orbit" - once they are set on their orbital path by the rocket that launched them, that's where they stay indefinitely, or until they de-orbit; 2) He says the next satellite is two hours away - Low Earth Orbit spacecraft (like recon satellites) orbit the earth every 90 minutes.
During the opening fight, Deakins tells Hale he just hit him with a left, left, right. Except, he didn't. His punches were left, right, left, right.
Continuity
When the park ranger is handcuffing Hale, her gun is drawn. When he kicks her over his head and pins her, he draws her already drawn gun from her holster.
Hale shoots Deakins in the arm from the helicopter. During the helicopter explosion sequence and the boxing match, there is no bullet wound on his arm.
The first bomb countdown changes from 23 minutes to 26:33.
During the fight on the train, the shadows cast by the sun keep switching from one side of the train to the other.
Before the flight, Hale states that the airspeed will be .7 Mach which is approx. 540 mph. But during the flight, he states to Deakins that their airspeed is 800 mph.
In the B3's cockpit, the graphic showing the position of the weapons loader has the nukes one slot apart; in cuts to the cargo bay, they are physically positioned right next to each other on the rotating rack.
When the bomb goes off underground, the ground above it subsides into a crater, but no shock wave radiates from the site. However, we then see a shock wave breaking up the surface some distance away.
When Hale loads Terry's gun, he places four bullets into a six-shot cylinder. When he slams the cylinder closed, the second shell would be in the firing position. The first time he pulls the trigger, the third shell would be moved into position. Pulling the trigger to fire all four bullets would then end up being Live-Live-Blank-Blank-Live-Live. But, we hear Live-Live-Live-Live (and then an extra live shot like has been previously reported).
When Terry gives Hale her remaining ammunition when fighting the helicopter, he inserts five rounds into the revolver and uses all of them to shoot the chopper. But later when fighting the trucks, and in the mine, Hale has more bullets.
Hale shoots at the pilot in the gunship and the bullet penetrates and breaks the lower glass window and kills the pilot. Later on the gunship's window is unbroken as it crashes.
The helicopter shoots at the truck from the side, yet bullet holes can be seen later that enter the front and leave the back.
When Terry first confronts Hale she is supposed to be standing in his shadow facing the rising sun, but there is no outline of a shadow on her face or body and her hair seems to be backlit.
Grenades are dropped into the elevator shaft about 3 seconds after the top of the slow-moving elevator has passed floor level, but when we look down the shaft they have 50 feet or more to fall, and when they actually reach the elevator it's already arriving at the bottom.
On the train, Deakins starts the bomb counting down from 30:00, but when he clears it again there are more than 30 minutes left; the time appears to be 35:43.
The helicopter shown on the train is facing towards the engine when the cover is taken off, and later is shown facing the caboose of the train.
During the dialog after the early boxing match between Deak and Hale, the camera changes angles several times. Each time it changes, the $20 bill is folded differently.
When you see the character Giles' Lear jet from the outside, it is a model with the bigger picture windows. When you see it from an interior shot, the interior is from an older model with the smaller regular sized windows.
When Hale loads Carmichael's gun when they are trapped on the bluff, he loads four bullets into the empty chambers. When he fires, he shoots five shots, clearly audible.
During the truck chase after using the remainder of Terry's ammunition in the fight with the helicopter, Hale somehow re-loads his 5-chamber revolver. Then he fires SIX shots at the pursuing truck.
When Hale and Carmichael steal the boat, binoculars disappear then reappear on the boat.
When Deakins punches out, he didn't have his helmet on, the next shot of his chair escaping the bomber has the helmet intact.
Slater and Mathis look at the timer on the activated bomb and it shows 23 minutes. Seconds later john Travolta looks at it and it shows 26 minutes.
In many of the fight scenes, particularly the last, Christian Slater is beaten up but then in the next shot the blood and sweat has disappeared.
Deakins' facial and shoulder wounds as he fights with Hale.
When ejecting Deakins says "I'm punching out!" However the official Air Force transcript records the line as "I have to punch out!"
Slater and Travolta fight over a missile A camera shot shows them side by side but a monitor camera shows that they have a space between them.
Terry (Samantha Mathis) is seen wearing a white tank top with a green shirt tied round her waist then seconds later she's wearing the shirt.
When the truck carrying Deakins tries to push the other truck off the road, the mudguard and headlight on the right side get damaged, yet are merely burnt in later scenes.
The state of deterioration of the antenna in the top of the train.
Boxes on the train car are shown engulfed in flames and burning, then are undamaged as soon as the fire dies down.
The hills disappear once the train has passed through the tunnel.
When Hale and Terry trying to steal the boat and Terry falls on the floor, there is a pair of binoculars on the boat's gunwale. When Deakin's men load the nuke into the boat the binoculars are gone.
When the fake Park Ranger first appears at the campsite the sun is setting in the sky but when the camera pans to the camper and back to the fake Park Ranger it's completely dark out.
The white antenna on the train gets shot multiple times but the visible damage progresses and recedes constantly. For instance, in some shots the left corner gets shot off and in the next shot, it's intact with some other parts of the antenna riddled with bullet holes.
After loading the nuke onto the boat, Deakins and crew are in full sunlight then in shade then in full sun again.
Terri puts handcuffs on Riley's right hand but when he breaks free and puts her in a headlock they're on the left hand.
Crew or equipment visible
When Terry swings from the train compartment handle a harness cable is visible.
Errors in geography
Train was supposed to be going east, train appears to be heading west. Shadows on wrong side of train (unless Denver has moved to the southern hemisphere).
In the course of a single day the characters somehow cross nearly the entire length of Utah despite numerous delays and being limited to using only backroads.
Factual errors
Military pilots aren't allowed to box due to the risk of head injury. Any loss of consciousness will DNIF (Duty Not Including Flying) a pilot and require a medical review. Especially the fact that Deakens and Hale are boxing without wearing protective headgear.
The UH-1H (Huey) helicopter that shoots at Hale and Terry is designed not to explode if it crashes. The tail rotors would not have sparked when bouncing off the rocks, they would have shattered.
A nuclear explosion could not be passed off by the government as an earthquake. Non-government seismographs around the world would be able to tell the difference between a natural earthquake and a nuclear explosion.
The engineer leaves the engine to fire a weapon. All modern engines have a dead-man's-switch which requires the engineer to be present at all times, or the engine begins braking.
Almost all aircraft are designed to fly without electrical power (except some advanced fighters), the EMP would merely disable the helicopters avionics, but would have no effect on its engine or performance.
The cars on the train are wooden stock cars.
- Stock cars were constructed of metal from the middle of the twentieth century on, and all the older cars were retired long before the setting of this movie.
- The use of stock cars on trains ended during the 1970s.
Grenades have a three second delay after the arming lever snaps free, not enough time for them bounce dramatically at the bottom of the elevator shaft.
An underground nuclear detonation does not cause an EMP.
On the train Hale unfastens the helicopters metal fuel line with his fingers.
A hammer thrown by hand at someone's head does not carry enough momentum to throw him backwards with his entire body lifting well off the floor.
When Terry uncouples the train cars behind the flat car and the locomotive, this would pull the train's air brake line apart, causing the train to automatically "dump" all the air pressure, activating all the brakes as a safety feature, and both sections of the train would stop. (Because the Engineer is portrayed as a villain, he may have intentionally drained all the air to keep the train from stopping.)
The scene where the traitor pretends to be incapacitated by radiation from an "exposed core" of the weapons, and the ones listening seemingly believe that, is implausible. Weapon grade plutonium has fairly little radioactivity, and that is alpha-radiation, which is easily stopped by plain clothes and the skin before it does any damage. Furthermore, radiation poisoning does not kick in that fast. And last, suspending belief in these facts and assuming cracked weapons could kill, the teams would not go in without radiation meters to warn them off to prevent this exact scenario. So no one would be fooled by the fake radio transmission, especially if an investigation team was sent to find the bodies and discover that their causes of death were bullet wounds and not radiation poisoning.
When Riley is ejected off the railroad trestle, he falls straight down. His body should have fallen at an angle, maintaining the momentum from the forward motion of the train.
In the end credits, Vondie Curtis-Hall's character is credited as "Lt. Col. Sam Rhodes". However, his uniform and how he is addressed throughout show him to be a Chief Master Sergeant.
During the flight, Hale states to Deakins that their airspeed is 800 mph. If the jet were traveling at 800 MPH, there would have been a sonic boom in the park.
Turning off electrical equipment does not protect it from an EMP.
The Secretary of Defense on the phone tells Giles there's been a "Broken Arrow," then explains it's the code phrase used to describe a lost nuke. As Giles is on a cell phone (one unlikely to work on the jet, anyway), the SecDef's explanation over such easily monitored form of communication is a gross violation of standard security protocol. Later, Giles is again talking on his magic cell phone that works in jet aircraft, and discusses the leaking core, and even the entire theft and ransom plot.
The shock wave is much too slow, moving at only a few miles per hour.
The Air Force nuclear weapon retrieval team has a Chief Master Sergeant (E-9 with eight chevrons, equivalent to an Army Command Sergeant Major) performing basic technical work as part of a small squad. A CMSgt is the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force, and they perform command & staff duties. They don't run around and perform jobs of lower ranked personnel.
Safety regulations for railroad boxcars on North American rail systems have required there be no roof walks for several decades. The boxcars portrayed have roof walks but they are nothing like any manufacturer's roof walk.
When Kelly is sitting in the helicopter falsely reporting the nuke core is exposed, he identifies himself as Airman Kelly. He's wearing the rank of a U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant who would identify themselves as Sergeant or Master Sergeant.
Obvious physics problems with the momentum of the bomb that impales Deakins.
Deakins didn't hit Pritchett with enough force with the flashlight to crush Pritchett's throat, so there would be no way for Pritchett to choke to death, his throat may be sore for a while, but he wouldn't choke to death.
When the weapons are loaded into the aircraft they are attached in adjacent rack positions. When Travolta's character is rotating them to drop over Utah, and during the fight with Slater's character, the cockpit display indicates that there is an empty rack between the two weapons.
Hale falls off the back of the leading truck, picks himself up and runs after it, whilst the second truck attempts to run him down.
The trucks are clearly moving at a speed greater than 30 mph, yet Hale manages to catch up with the leading truck, despite starting off many yards behind it.
Usain Bolt - the fastest sprinter on Earth - achieved a maximum of 27.8 mph.
The cockpit of the stealth bomber in reality isn't big enough for two reclining seats.
Deakin sets of one of the bombs simply with a code timer and Hale later tries to disarm it. All this is fictional. Nuclear Weapons release in the US rest solely with the President of the United States. If a weapon is missing or stolen, it cannot be simply armed as the US has a two-man rule whereby two authorized individuals must verify codes broadcast to them before deploying the weapon, stolen or not. Second, nuclear bombs cannot simply detonate with a simple timer attached - there are complex mechanisms before it can detonate. Therefore, when Deakin warns his henchman not to shot at the thermonuclear weapons, he should know better as shooting at a nuclear bomb does not detonate it, well most likely.
The Air Force nuclear retrieval team's uniforms feature Army-style shoulder patches. In 1996, the Air Force would put unit insignia on the breast pockets.
When the soldiers go to open the bomb bay doors, the entire plane has dirt on it except for the door that the soldiers pry open.
Miscellaneous
The load weight of a B83 Thermonuclear bomb is 2408lb. Even with the outer "skin" removed, they'd be far too heavy for any character or an old-fashioned service elevator to carry.
When the helicopter shoots at the Park Ranger vehicle it is attacking from the vehicles left, drivers side, but when it flips over from the explosion the hood shows bullet holes going from back to front, not side to side.
Incorrectly regarded as goofs
An EMP would not have affected Deakins' electronic wristwatch. This was specifically addressed in a 2010 technical report written for the US government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where it says "A watch is much too small for HEMP to affect it."
The phrase "PINNACLE - BROKEN ARROW" is not actually used to refer to the
theft, loss or seizure of nuclear weapons or components from the U.S.; that's known as a "PINNACLE - EMPTY QUIVER". A "PINNACLE - BROKEN ARROW" is the situation when a warhead has been accidentally detonated or jettisoned (not risking nuclear war). Although at the time the phrase was used in the film, it was assumed that the nuclear warheads were jettisoned and the crash was due to pilot error, and the weapons were not stolen.
Terry's wet clothes and hair get dry because it's a sunny day in the desert. You can see her hair looking progressively better from one scene to the next.
Plot holes
Parachuting out of a disabled plane is not a crime, even if you do land in a national park.
When Hale's attempt to disarm the bombs by entering the wrong codes three times, Deakins tells him that it won't work because he used "uncoded circuit boards". But the Permissive Action Links of the B83 cannot be disabled like so; by just yanking out some circuit boards and putting in new one. Tampering with the PAL this way would on its own disable the weapon. Also the B83 requires additional input to arm the weapon. In short: the scenario is nonsense because it was anticipated a long time ago.
Deacon's plan seems rather pointless, since he revealed himself as the one who stole the nukes. How does he plan to spend that money if they already know it's him.
Deakins escape helicopter can only carry one or two men, and it's obvious. The rest of his crew would be stuck on the train.
Revealing mistakes
Carmichael tells Hale that the mine shaft is 2000 ft deep. There are various related errors, such as how long the elevator takes to get up and down, but the most egregious error is that from the bottom of the shaft, they catch an underground river which flows them "up" to the river outside.
When the helicopter shoots the park ranger's truck, an implausible explosion erupts from under the front of the vehicle. The gas tank is at the rear of the truck.
Hale would not have been fooled by Terry's claim that her pistol was not loaded. First, a trained serviceman would recognize the difference in heft that an unloaded weapon had in his hands. Second, since the gun was a revolver, Hale would have very easily been able to see while holding the gun whether or not the gun's cylinder had shells in the chambers.
At the start of the final fight scene, Hale cocks the shotgun two times with out ever firing.
When Hale and Carmichael enter the underground river they are supposedly 2,000 feet below the surface. But the river is shown to be lit by direct sunlight.
The bullet holes in the train antenna reveal that it's actually made of particle board, painted white.
When the nuke hits Deakins and blows him out of the train car, there is a very quick shot of a dummy switched out for the actor before impact.
There are railroads into both Salt Lake City and Denver from various directions, but the map that Hale and Wilkins examine shows only the one that Deakins is planning to use.
The stunt performer for 'Capt. Riley Hale' is rather obvious when Hale and 'Terry Carmichael' jump off the ledge together during the helicopter pursuit.
After Deakins resets the timer on the active nuclear weapon, he smashes the buttons on the circuit board however, a couple of the buttons are already broken before he hits them.
Spoilers
Factual errors
When the fake Park Ranger shoots the campers, the bullet holes get splattered by blood. Actually the other side of the tent would get splattered with blood.
