# Minority Report continuity error

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 29, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303 "2003-10-29T20:18:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/1 "2003-10-29T20:18:19Z")

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I’m so proud of myself. I never spot continuity errors; usually my suspension of disbelief is all too willing.

But I finally noticed one: in \*\*Minority Report \*\* (which incidentally was about forty times better than I expected), our hero drops his eyeballs and chases them down a sloping hallway, where he just manages to snag the second one before it follows its brother down a grating. (Wonderful black humor moment)

But later in the movie, his ex-wife produces a baggie with two eyeballs in it!

Gather around, commend my sharp-sightedness!

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/2 "2003-10-29T21:10:08Z")

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Cool.

The continuity error I noticed is that in the balcony scene, after the climactic moment, tons of people immediately stream on to the balcony from the immediately adjacent banquet hall. However, there’s no banquet hall anywhere in that building, certainly nowhere near the balcony. I happen to know this because I am sitting in the building right now.

–Cliffy

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**Author:** ![gaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaba)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/3 "2003-10-29T22:52:30Z")

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Cool!

But well, that’s location “continuity” failure rather than an actual blimp on the face of the movie, isn’t it?  
There are countless movie sequences shot on two different streets in two different cities that pretend to be one place glued together.

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/4 "2003-10-29T22:57:32Z")

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I thought this would be about the full glass of water that Mrs. Anderton drank and then chucked at the wall.

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**Author:** ![gaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaba)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/5 "2003-10-29T22:59:28Z")

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Well, I guess if you’re faced with something written by Philip K. your own brain’s continuity goes right out the window at some point…

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**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/6 "2003-10-30T03:09:56Z")

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The whole storyline of that movie is flawed. There’s a hell of a lot more weirdness going on than disappearing water or extra eyeballs.

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**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/7 "2003-10-30T04:41:41Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jimmy Chitwood \*  
> \*\*The whole storyline of that movie is flawed. There’s a hell of a lot more weirdness going on than disappearing water or extra eyeballs. \*\*

It’s called **Science-Fiction** for a reason. Now watch as I tear apart Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers with its nonsensical walking trees.

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**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/8 "2003-10-30T06:23:13Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> It’s called Science-Fiction for a reason. Now watch as I tear apart Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers with its nonsensical walking trees.

Thanks for the heads-up. I was seriously just wondering, is Minority Report called science fiction for a reason? Now I know.

I didn’t say you can’t have impossible situations in a movie. I said Minority Report doesn’t have a cohesive plot. You’ll notice I didn’t specify what weirdness I was talking about, because I really didn’t think anyone cared. Apparently, I was wrong- I’ve offended you greatly. Apparently, I shouldn’t criticize a plot that circles back on itself without any explanation, because it’s **Science-Fiction.**

The flaw I was referring to is the fact that in Minority Report, the whole storyline revolves around Tom Cruise’s character going to that hotel room to shoot the molester guy. Why did he go to the hotel? Because he saw himself in the future going to the hotel. But why did he see himself in the future going to the hotel? Because his future self had seen his future future self going to the hotel. And on and on and on. There’s no explanation given for how Burgess could have made the precogs show Cruise in the hotel committing that murder. Basically, Burgess sets up a murder just by wanting it to happen.

That’s a little bit different than criticizing fantasy stories just for being fantasy stories. After all, it’s called **A-Freakin-Movie,** and not just random sequences strung together, for a reason. It’s supposed to tell a story. This thread is about continuity errors, and so I added that I think there are major continuity problems with the plot.

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**Author:** ![gaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaba)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/9 "2003-10-30T08:41:43Z")

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Jimmy Chitwood, I think the irritating time curvatures and absolutely **no** logical cause-and-effect patterns are all over Philip K. Dick’s storylines. It’s his gig. One either loves it or hates it. I don’t think the movie has anything to do with it. He just loved to f\*\*k with our heads, sick ole bugger ;-). [and he did more than a fair share of chemicals enhancing that sort of plot-shredder. oooh, California.]

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**Author:** ![gaba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@gaba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaba)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minority-report-continuity-error/210303/10 "2003-10-30T08:41:43Z")

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Jimmy Chitwood, I think the irritating time curvatures and absolutely **no** logical cause-and-effect patterns are all over Philip K. Dick’s storylines. It’s his gig. One either loves it or hates it. I don’t think the movie has anything to do with it. He just loved to f\*\*k with our heads, sick ole bugger ;-). [and he did more than a fair share of chemicals enhancing that sort of plot-shredder. oooh, California.]
