Factual error: Throughout the film, the helmet plates worn by the London Policemen are the 1930's pattern with the George V cypher in the centre. In 1912/13 they would have repeated the officer's collar number in the centre. The helmets themselves are also British military pattern blue cloth helmets with Police fittings added, rather than the correct Police pattern ones.
Factual error: The delivery van bringing gear for the walk has a 718 area code on it. That area code did not exist until 1984.
Factual error: Although this 2015 Norwegian disaster film is far superior to the many American disaster movies that it emulates, "The Wave" still suffers the most common error found in tsunami-themed disaster flicks: Crystal-clear flood waters. Of course, tsunami flood waters in particular are always inky-black with churning sediment and debris.
Continuity mistake: After the shooting at the concert, Lysistrata is in the bathroom downing the pill with some Don Julio tequila. The bottle lid is to the left of the bottle in the wide angles, to the right in close-up. (00:10:00)
Continuity mistake: When the party goers are escaping, Ben begins tying the door closed, but in the next shot, there are still people running up the stairs escaping. (01:19:30)
Continuity mistake: Théo shows up in class unannounced. The teacher tells him to sit next to "that girl", mistaking Daniel for one. The classmates of course have a cackle at that; the girl at the desk behind Daniel's laughs holding a pen in her left hand at first, right hand at the cut. (00:08:50)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the movie when Joy is in her airline's company uniform and getting ready to go to work, the knot on her scarf changes from loose to tight several times in the different shots.
Factual error: At the beginning of the movie when Danny Glover is sitting at the chessboard, the pieces are lined up wrong on both sides of the board. If Danny has the white pieces, the king should be on his right. The black king should be on the opponent's left.
Revealing mistake: At the cocktail party in his honor, Rita Richards introduces herself. Joaquin Phoenix's scotch is in a transparent plastic cup, and you notice what happens in most movies, here with particular clarity; when he brings it to his mouth, he does not take even a sip, but just pretends. (00:06:05)
Continuity mistake: The drawing of the church Kelly shows is different than the one she started to draw, even if she erased lines. The whole thing is shifted over to the right and both top lines go from angling towards the horizon to one being straight.
Other mistake: When Tilly confronts the teacher Buelah in the classroom, thr letter R is missing from the alphabet across the top of the chalkboard. (01:10:00)
Factual error: The timeline is completely wrong. The film begins in 1902, at which point Gertrude Bell has just left Oxford and is about to go to Persia. In fact, Bell was 34 in 1902 and went to Persia ten years earlier, in 1892. By 1902 she had already been travelling for a decade.
Continuity mistake: At the very start of the movie as the 2 guys walk down the alley way, the one in the black jacket lifts his arm up as he passes the rubbish bin. In the next shot from the front both his arms are in his pockets and the rubbish bins completely disappear. (01:00:00 - 01:01:00)
Continuity mistake: Lotte is in her room looking at the checklist for the parade. The size and angle of the quill pen change every time there's a cut. (00:14:40)
Continuity mistake: Ilya is standing across from and about midway between Chris and Alicia. He spears the shovel into the ground, but it unintentionally falls over to his right (mostly off-screen). The next view of the shovel shows it has fallen to Ilya's left. (The entire shovel is to the right of Chris, which would be too far regardless of which direction the shovel's handle fell.) In the next view, the shovel's blade is opposite Chris' left foot and later the angle is different. (00:36:30)
Continuity mistake: SPOILER: The boy, Roger, finds a glove in a secret drawer in Mr. Holmes' room. The glove is lying perfectly flat in the drawer. It had supposedly been there for years unknown to Mr. Holmes. Later, in a flashback scene, it shows Dr. Watson putting the glove in the drawer. When he puts the glove in the secret drawer, it is not laid flat in the drawer - it has an obvious upward bend in the glove. Since the glove had been in the drawer, untouched, for years, it should have still had that upward bend.
Suggested correction: Although we are only shown Watson putting the glove in the drawer once there is no reason to suggest he may not have looked at it again before he left for good. More compellingly, Watson placed the glove in the drawer whilst the bureau was in place in Holmes' quarters in London, and it was not discovered until a quarter of a century later having been moved at some point to Holmes' house in Sussex. This journey could also easily have displaced the gloves position to some degree. The weight of papers contained in the drawer above may have also aided in flattening the glove out over the years.
Continuity mistake: Dr. Robert Laing is in front of the car where Munrow died. In the close-up, there's a much bigger pool of blood in front of it compared to the wider angle. (01:01:35)
Continuity mistake: The belt around the dude's head changes position as he's tied down on the table. (00:39:45 - 00:40:45)
Continuity mistake: First meeting with Lazarus; the pastor sits down, his wife is just about to, and Verdean's assistant has placed her bag on the table. Next shot, pastor and wife seated, but Miss Jensen is still just only then approaching the chair and putting the bag down. (00:08:25)
Factual error: A library assistant is showing his cellphone to a Fed. The Fed pulls out his gun and shoots the assistant from about 8 inches away into his left temple. Another Fed, standing to the immediate right of the assistant is shown after the shot. But there is no blood or material spray on him at all. His white shirt is immaculate. In fact, there is no blood anywhere.