Factual error: When XXX is first driving his GTO, looking for the cop, he lines up the blood splatter dart so it is in the barrel, the hammer is not cocked back. The next shot should be the bullet after the dart, not the dart as it is in the movie. (00:49:20)
Continuity mistake: After the Prague cop shoots at Vin Diesel and Yorgi, when they are in the garage, they chase him in the GTO. You see Diesel skid the car to a stop to shoot the cop, but when the camera pulls away, you see the car skid another couple of inches after it had clearly stopped before. (00:49:35)
Continuity mistake: Xander just shot the cop, who goes face first into a glass panel. Close-up on the car wheel, then the whole car is in frame. Xander has his hands on the wheel, or at least, he's not still pointing the gun. But he is a second later. (00:49:45)
Continuity mistake: When XXX arrives at Yorgi's mansion, there are girls in the water fountain out front. If you watch Yorgi's large bodyguard, the one that sports 5 or so earrings and a large beard, you will notice that he takes a girl out of the fountain. A split second later the shot changes onto XXX and in the background the large bodyguard is seen taking the same girl out of the fountain again. (00:54:55)
Continuity mistake: When Xander stops Viktor to inquire about Kiril's coat-sniffing habits, a bowling ball appears literally out of nowhere between Jan Filipenský's hands between shots. (00:56:00)
Continuity mistake: The position of the Kodak camera Yelena is using with her laptop are inconsistent between shots, in particular when we see the 'transmitting' message; the camera looks perfectly aligned with the laptop and further back. (00:59:00)
Continuity mistake: In the wide shot with Asia Argento and Vin Diesel standing in the hall of the villa once he caught her tampering with the floor safe, the shadows are entirely different from a moment before, when she was on the floor operating the computer. (00:59:10 - 00:59:40)
Continuity mistake: Xander just told Yelena that he's taking her to lunch. Cut to Yorgi's bed, with a random blonde asleep in it. Her hair is off her right shoulder, but in the following shot she's visible in the background, with hair covering that shoulder and part of her chest. (01:00:30)
Other mistake: During lunch, Yelena learns about Kirili waiting outside in sniper mode. As she speaks with Xander, his wristwatch says it's 12:35, but the restaurant's clock says it's 5 past noon. (01:03:15)
Visible crew/equipment: When Xander and Yelena are in the restaurant and they are shown through the window from outside you can see the reflection of a film crew member in the window. (01:04:35)
Other mistake: Kirili shoots the first time in the crowded square, people walk about as if nothing happened, give out leaflets and all that, nobody is even curious about the noise. (01:05:30)
Character mistake: In the theater, Gibbons tells Xander that the scientists Anarchy99 have on their payroll are "specialized in biological weapons." But Silent Night, as it turns out, is not a virus or toxin, but it's chemical based, so their old Soviet creation they are specialized in is not a 'biological weapon' at all. (01:08:15)
Factual error: Xander puts a load of those sticky bombs on a line of motorbikes outside the bad guy's house. These bombs had a detonator switch, which Xander has. When he eventually sets them off, the motorbikes blow up in the order that he put the bombs on. These bombs didn't have timers or anything on them, so why would they blow up one by one and not all at the same time? (01:09:50 - 01:20:30)
Continuity mistake: Xander puts the first explosive on a bike. The backing of the bandage falls on top of the box he dropped on the ground, forming a curve. In the next shot the backing is gone. (01:09:50)
Continuity mistake: Yorgi turns towards Yelena when it's time to admit her for the first time inside the secret basement and starts talking; At "Through this door..." his arms are down, but in the next shot when he finishes the sentence he's leaning on it with his left arm completely raised. (01:10:40)
Plot hole: When Xander Cage is just about to try and get into the basement, two scientists walk out. One of the scientists says 'We are finished now - what about you?' The other scientist replies 'We will be done tomorrow' - yet just a few scenes later Yorgi uses the rocket to gas the whole room of scientists. How were they supposed to finish off their job? (01:12:55)
Continuity mistake: When Xander whips out the binoculars to look at the bad guys dressing up the submarine, his fingers are positioned differently on the device between shots. (01:13:10)
Factual error: When Xander is seeing through the binoculars what is happening in the basement, he is looking through a brick wall. He would not be able to hear them. (01:13:20)
Factual error: Not only Xander is able to see perfectly through the wall with his X-ray binoculars; he even takes pictures, of a computer screen. That's some serious techno (il) logical miracle. Even better: he snaps these x-ray pictures also using a flash. (01:13:50)
Plot hole: You are locked in a room. On one end of the room, a thick vault door of solid steel. On the other end, a security glass double door with your evil boss cackling maniacally, the remote for the deadly chemical bomb in his hand. You have automatic weapons at your disposal. Which door are you gonna shoot in your desperate attempt to save your skin? Apparently, ALL the literal rocket scientists in this movie decided that shooting at some inches of stainless steel is a better option than trying and dent a couple mm of plexiglass, which would have stopped their traitorous employer from releasing the gas or killed him too. No human being would be this stupid. (01:15:15)
Answer: Vin Diesel chose to reject the sequel as he was being offered three different franchises, based on XXX, The Fast and the Furious concept and the character of Riddick (from Pitch Black) - he presumably felt that he couldn't commit to them all. In the end, he chose to go with the Riddick films and reject the others. The sequel is called XXX for the simple reason that the character is still present - they've just recast the role.
Tailkinker ★