Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the film, when the soldier carries a wounded soldier across his shoulder, he gets to the bottom of a grassy hill. In the overhead shot, the soldier is down on the ground, and in the close-up shot, he is just putting him down on the ground, also now there is no hill from where they just came down from. (00:04:55)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the film when Osborne is interviewing Dunbar, the first shot of the interview room shows a pen and pad on the metal table. The pen on the pad moves from being along the width of the pad to being along the length of the pad. (00:05:15)
Continuity mistake: Just before Hardy enters the room where Dunbar is sitting, he is telling Osborne what to say when the time is right. In the first shot she is leaning against the door frame on her right arm, the shot changes and she is leaning with her left arm, then back to her right. (00:13:35)
Continuity mistake: Close to the beginning when Samuel L Jackson is on top of the hill, and is talking to Pike, when it cuts to close views of Pike, you can see that Samuel is kneeling very close to him because you can see his rain coat, and his hands, yet when it cuts to Samuel he is standing up. (00:21:35)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the film when Pike is on the edge of the cliff with West talking to him. Pike throws his pack to West with his right arm in West's direction, but in a shot from below, it shows Pike throwing the pack in the opposite direction from where West is. (00:22:55)
Continuity mistake: When John Travolta and Connie Nielson are arriving at the hospital to visit Giovanni Ribisi, John Travolta puts his jacket down on the seat, yet when they enter the hospital, he has his jacket on. (00:26:15)
Continuity mistake: When Hardy and Osborne go to visit Kendall in the hospital, before Osborne says, "Should we go and see Kendall now..." Doc has his arms crossed in front of him, but in the following shot his arms are down at his sides. (00:26:45)
Revealing mistake: During one of the flashbacks, Dunbar goes to shoot Mueller in the head, but Mueller wakes up suddenly and pulls the gun away from his head causing the gun to go off and shoot a guy in the back. Now in this shot just before we see the blood, look closely at the guys back, and you can see the device/squib in his back simulating being shot in the back. (00:40:30)
Continuity mistake: When Hardy and Osborne are talking to Dunbar again, just before Dunbar jumps on Hardy, Dunbar says, "I didn't shoot West," and Hardy's right hand is on the table palm down, but in the following shot his fingers are pointing at Dunbar. (00:43:50)
Continuity mistake: After Hardy storms out of the interrogation room he goes outside. Osborne and Hardy begin to talk under a wooden shelter and Hardy lights up a cigarette then looks briefly at Osborne, but in the following shot his back is to Hardy and is facing the camera. (00:45:40)
Continuity mistake: When Hardy and Osborne argue about their beliefs and motives, at some point Osborne tells Hardy her phone number. Hardy's arms are hanging down, but when the camera angle changes he is holding on to a beam above his head. (00:46:10)
Continuity mistake: When Hardy and Osborne are questioning Dr. Vilmer in the hospital, Osborne grabs a book with her left hand, but in the following shot, both hands are on the book. (00:59:10)
Continuity mistake: In the flashback scene where Sgt. West enters the bunker and grabs Castro, Nunez, Kendall and the real (black) Dunbar aim at West. Castro then says something like: "Gun down, PIKE.". Though the real Pike stands besides not holding a gun. At this point of the movie, it's already revealed that Pike took Dunbar's dogtag. (01:13:10)
Continuity mistake: When Osborne shoots Col. Styles through the door window she aims upwards even though Styles is sitting at his desk. (01:20:20)
Continuity mistake: After Col. Styles has been shot and Osborne has been interrogated while she is already sitting in the Humvee Hardy comes over and talks to her. When the camera is on him the rain maker does a pretty bad job by either pouring a lot of water over him or hardly anything at all, alternately. (01:21:20)
Factual error: In the scene after Capt. Osborne shoots Col Styles, a couple of Army personnel ask her three questions then she is allowed to leave. This would never happen. First, she would be interviewed for quite some time and this would be documented (i.e.She would have to complete a written statement). She would have to surrender her weapon for testing and evidence. Mental Health personnel from a military hospital would interview her. Lastly she would be relieved of duty for at least three days. (01:24:10)
Factual error: When the Ranger trainees first meet Samuel L. Jackson, he's wearing the rank of a Specialist on his collars even though he's a Master Sergeant. Title 18, Chapter 33 of the US code prevents the unauthorized wear of a military uniform (among other things), however this does not automatically correct the mistake since a common misconception is that one slight alteration is sufficient to make the uniform legal. Having the wrong rank on is too obvious of an alteration, especially for anybody who has spent more than a day in or around the Army and would still be punishable by law, if he was dressed in an attempt to fool your average citizen outside of a movie.
Other mistake: When Connie Nielsen is driving the Hummer (with John as the passenger), the steering wheel doesn't move, but her hands do.
Factual error: What's up with Nunez? A female soldier is not permitted to be a Ranger in the US Army, let alone take part in a combat FTX.
Other mistake: In John Travolta's scenes with the HUMVEE, all external shots are of a hard-door version, but the interior shots are of one with soft doors and zip down windows.
Answer: It added to the plan of section 8, in that they were successfully able to stage two contradicting stories and source further incriminating evidence about the doctor and Colonel. By having Kapler there, they were able to see who would make an attempt on his life, the Colonel, and completely shut down the drug smuggling operation.