Continuity mistake: In the scene where Rico is getting ready to go to the end of school party, he puts on his black jacket and for a brief moment, we can see the collar is turned up at the back. During the following conversation with his parents he never adjusts his collar, yet when he turns his back, the collar is neatly in place. (00:12:35)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Rico is first in boot camp and Dizz says she is being transferred to the unit, she gets ready to fight the drill sergeant. She drops her papers, her jacket, and her bag. It cuts away for a few seconds, then goes back to the drill sergeant and Dizz in fighting stance. The piece of paper is farther back than before, this can be overlooked because of wind, perhaps. But the jacket and bag are both gone. (00:25:55)
Continuity mistake: Rico is running up the ramp to capture the red flag and drops his gun; it lands with the strap towards the top of the ramp. In the subsequent wide shot, the strap is towards the bottom of the ramp. (00:37:15)
Continuity mistake: In the first battle with the Roughnecks, Rico, Diz, Ace, and the other guy are confronted by a bug and they shoot at it. If you look at where they are aiming they are shooting above it, but the bullets hit it in the middle. (01:14:20)
Continuity mistake: In the first mission with the roughnecks Rico defeats the acid spraying tanker bug but when he's thrown from it and lands on his back his helmet chin strap breaks free and lands behind him. Next scene it's back on. (01:17:35)
Continuity mistake: At the scene where they get trapped at the fortress, you can see they are not shooting in the direction of the bugs. (01:31:25)
Continuity mistake: As the Roger Young is breaking up, the ship's captain is running from the bridge and falls down with the large door descending and striking her midriff. As it hits, she spews blood from her mouth against the side of the door in a arching/sweeping motion. When Carmen returns to help free her, the blood is not displayed in the same pattern, more concentrated to one area as opposed to swept. (01:44:10)
Continuity mistake: Toward the end, Carmen Ibanez gets stabbed through the shoulder when she is brought before the big master alien thing. If you were to sustain such an injury, there would be so much swelling, not to mention just destroyed tissue, that you wouldn't be able to move that arm for weeks. Yet a few minutes later, she is seen hefting around a very large assault rifle, and seems to have no difficulty. I guess it's a pretty standard action movie "heroes can temporarily ignore injury in order to save the day" kind of oversight, but it just seems exaggerated in this case, considering how severe the shoulder trauma looked. (01:48:15 - 01:53:40)
Continuity mistake: When Rico is defending the fort, he takes off his helmet to make a radio call and his hair is all weird. However, before placing the helmet back on, he is seen again with perfect hair.
Continuity mistake: When Rico is typing on the computer to find out his math score, the close up shot of him typing on the keyboard shows a black long sleeve which changes back to a rolled up green button up shirt after he's done typing.
Continuity mistake: Regarding Lt. Rasczak - in the scene where he is teaching his students, you can see his left arm where it was previously amputated, and how close it is to the elbow joint. But later in the movie, when he is introduced to Diz, Rico, and Ace in the Roughnecks, you can see that his arm is much longer than where the amputation from the previous scene would have been, even with the "implant" hand that he now has.
Continuity mistake: During the defense of Whiskey Outpost, as the Roughnecks fall back into the compound, one trooper is struck in the back by a bug. To his left there is only one trooper on the platform, but as he is hit, two troopers jump down.
Continuity mistake: When Ace jumps the line at the M.I cafeteria and is confronted by Rico, Zim moves in from behind for a closer look but arrives at the same position twice.
Continuity mistake: When Dizzy fights with the sergeant, the position of the soldiers in the background changes between shots.
Continuity mistake: In the scene when Dizzy says she is being transferred to the unit and she gets ready to fight the drill sergeant, the sun changes between shots.
Answer: When Rico, Diz and Ace report to the Roughnecks, they find out that Lt. Rasczak saved him. He was listed as dead, because Carmen checked just hours after the battle. With the MI's huge personnel losses, all the dead and wounded hadn't been confirmed yet. He was listed as dead because he didn't return with his unit.
Grumpy Scot