13 Mistakes in “Avatar” That Neither Humans Nor Aliens Could Forgive

James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar broke several records worldwide, making it one of the most influential films of all time. It is not only the highest-grossing film at the box office, but it is also the highest-grossing science fiction film and the most-watched original film (not sequel) in the world. Despite being an unsurpassed technical achievement, there are some details that the filmmakers overlooked and that the most observant fans have noticed over the years.

1. Golf balls

In one of the opening scenes, Giovanni Ribisi’s character plays golf in the control center. In the beginning, you can see that he has a couple of balls together behind him, but a second later, they change position, and after a moment, they are together again.

2. A helping hand

When Sully (Sam Worthington) jumps into the device to connect with his avatar, you see how Dr. Grace (Sigourney Weaver) is helping him to lie down. But a second later, you can see her running to help him, which shows that the scenes are reversed.

3. The number on the suit

Colonel Miles (Stephen Lang) meets with Sully to be his eyes and ears inside the Avatar project. As he is talking to him, he climbs into a robotic suit that, at first, has no numbers on one of the legs. However, a few seconds later, the number 11 appears on it, and the red flag that was there before disappears.

4. The disappearing arrow

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) finds Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) in the forest, where she saves him from the attack of a wild animal. When she decides to retreat, we can see that she has an arrow that she used earlier against a beast in her hand. But a few steps later, it magically disappears.

5. Hand on the shoulder

Jake Sully returns from his trip, and upon waking up, Dr. Grace asks him if he is all right while taking him by the arm. However, in the next scene, her hand appears on his shoulder, then in the next cut, it switches back to his arm.

6. Sully’s hands

Sully returns to the command center and, while talking to the bosses, puts his hands on the map of Pandora. However, in the next scene, he has them down, and in the following scene, they are up again. In the whole sequence, his hands change places about 4 times.

7. The magic mirror

At the movie’s end, the Colonel tries to defeat Jake Sully. As he is inside his robotic suit, you can first notice that he has no rearview mirror, but in a later shot, he does.

8. The changing suit

The colonel’s robotic suit changes throughout the film; sometimes, it is smooth on top, and sometimes it has metal grips. These modifications are most noticeable in close-up shots.

9. The twins?

As the doctor talks to Parker at the film’s beginning, you can see a girl pass behind him, but seconds later, the same girl passes behind him again. She even walks in the same direction. This was a mistake that the production let slip through.

10. The braid that moves

When Jake is taught to ride Pandora’s horses, in a scene where he is learning to distinguish between male and female, we see his braid magically change places from one second to the next.

11. Switching sides

In the scene where Jake and the crew are looking through the cameras, you can see that the character played by Michelle Rodriguez is behind him, but a second later, she appears on his left side.

12. He moved his leg!

When Jake arrives at Pandora and gets ready to descend from the ship, you can see how he slightly moves his legs when trying to get into his wheelchair. This may be a mistake since he is supposed to be a paraplegic.

13. The throat-microphone

All army members have a throat microphone around their necks, which allows them to be connected to headquarters at all times.

There’s a scene where you can see that Jake has his, but after jumping into the river to run away from an animal, he comes out of the water without it. Even though the loss of that throat microphone is essential to the plot, we never really see when the character loses it.

What was your first impression when you saw Avatar back in 2009? What were you doing then?