Continuity mistake: At the beginning, De Niro wakes up and is offered a cigarette from Jean Reno. The cigarette changes hands as the shot changes. (00:09:40)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning, when the group are discussing the plans for the ambush and the driver says, "I'm gonna need an Audi S8," Gregor looks up and stops writing, but in the following shot his head is down and he is still writing. (00:12:05)
Audio problem: Near the beginning, when the group are discussing the plans for the ambush, Sam asks, "Can you get me a simulator?" When Gregor eventually says, "Quite diverting" his lips fail to move as he speaks. (00:13:40)
Continuity mistake: Just before they head out to make the deal with the arms dealers, De Niro and Skarsgård are talking at a table, if you look on the table there is a flask and a cup. In the first shot, the cup is on the left of the flask, but on the overhead shot it's on the right of the flask, then it's back on the left. (00:14:00)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning, when the group are talking over the ambush to steal the case, Sam walks to the table where Deidre is and Gregor follows. When Sam accidentally knocks the cup off the table, Gregor's hand changes position on the cup between when he catches it and the following shot. (00:14:30)
Continuity mistake: Just before the group goes out to collect the weapons from the buyers at the beginning of the film, the group are gearing up to go out, and Sam is talking to Deidre about the arms people. When Deidre burns the piece of paper and walks away her hair is obviously going down her back, but in the following shot there is now no hair on her back. (00:15:50)
Continuity mistake: During the arms deal scene at the beginning, when Vincent and Spence go underneath the tunnel approaching the arms dealers boss, one of them shouts, "Stop!" He raises his right arm when shouting, but in the following close-up he has actually raised his left arm. Zoom in required. (00:21:45)
Continuity mistake: Just before the Nice chase scene when Deidre gets off the train, she walks to an elevator. If you look to the left of the screen you can see Seamus with a black hat or french beret on, but in the following shot, the hat has disappeared. (00:25:20)
Continuity mistake: When Spence draws the sniper ambush scenario on the whiteboard and gets stopped, the cup of coffee is set down on a small table. When Spence backs away into the cup, its handle has turned itself around. (00:27:30 - 00:28:20)
Continuity mistake: When the group are discussing the plan for the ambush, the top line and words on the whiteboard changes, and the arrow changes from being pointed at the bottom of one of the photos to pointing at the top photo. (00:27:35)
Continuity mistake: In their initial hideout discussing the ambush, De Niro repeats several times to Sean Bean "Draw it again" then they have argument and De Niro apprehends Sean Bean. In the shot where De Niro pulls gun out of the back of Sean Bean's trousers, Sean Bean is definitely turned with his back to De Niro, where in the previous and following shot he is facing De Niro. (00:29:30)
Continuity mistake: When the group is going over the Nice ambush, Sam gets up, closes the door and Deidre walks in from the kitchen and sits down. At the door, Larry is taking a sip of his drink, but in the following shot the cup is on its saucer and he is holding it with both hands. (00:31:15)
Factual error: Supposedly the holders of the mystery briefcase are holed up in Nice; but when De Niro and McElhone go to check out the bad guys security arrangements at their hotel, the hotel is in Cannes (believe me) and the Michelin Green Guide that De Niro is carrying is opened to a map of Cannes. (00:33:56)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the "Nice" scene, De Niro is standing under the big NICE sign with a gold post, but in the following shot he is about two feet away from it. (00:39:50)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the first chase scene in Nice, Jean Reno walks across the road to test the traffic lights device. There are concrete cones to the right of the screen, NOT by the grocery store, yet, on the overhead shot, when he is trying out the lights, three have appeared in front of him next to the grocery store. (00:41:55)
Factual error: During the chase in Nice, GPS coordinates in Germany and Hungary are shown on Gregor's screen. (00:42:40 - 00:49:15)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the Nice ambush for the silver case, the bad guys are shooting at Sam who is leaning against a grey car. He ducks behind it, but in the following wider shot Sam is still leaning against the grey car. (00:43:10)
Factual error: When Robert DeNiro fires the grenade launcher at the car, it would have destroyed the car and killed the passengers, not merely blown up the engine. Likewise, firing a LAW rocket at a sedan later in the chase would have completely dismantled the car, not merely blow up the back end. (00:44:35 - 00:46:20)
Revealing mistake: At the start of the chase, the Mercedes slides around a bit, and it is comically obvious that the tire smoke has been poorly painted onto the scene. (00:45:15)
Continuity mistake: At 50 minutes in, we have the silver case and paint transfer which DeNiro sees as to why the case he had was fake. But when DeNiro first takes and hands off the case, he has no silver transfer on his jacket front, nor on his sleeve. There's also no silver paint transfer to Gregor, who'd been holding the case before DeNiro took it from him. Once the shot moves to the alleyway, then the silver is seen on DeNiro's coat. (00:50:40)
Answer: There's no way of knowing what was in the case. It is a plot device called a "MacGuffin," a term coined by director Alfred Hitchcock. It doesn't actually matter what the object is but is just something that drives the story. It can be any type of object or device such as a "secret formula," "enemy war plans," a "nuclear weapon," a "treasure map," and so on that the characters are either searching for or protecting. There was never any intention to reveal what it was. Its purpose is to motivate the characters' actions and tell the story. Most likely it was intended to be a McGuffin just to keep the audience guessing and thinking about the movie long after it ends.
raywest ★