Continuity mistake: When Spartan and Huxley go to Raymond Cockto's place, Spartan shoots all of the monitors with a silver gun, yet when Spartan points the gun at Cockto's head, which we see on the surviving monitor, it's a black gun. (01:18:25)
Continuity mistake: When Spartan and Phoenix are fighting in the sewers, Edgar Friendly shoots his gun at Phoenix and you see the catwalk that Phoenix was on tip to its side and Phoenix dropping down to the ground with the plank of the catwalk right below him. When Phoenix lands on the ground the plank is nowhere to be seen. It should have been right below him. (01:19:25 - 01:30:30)
Character mistake: In the scene where John Spartan goes into the sewers, he has a conversation with a Spanish-speaking woman. At the end of their conversation the woman says "Gracias" (correct Spanish) to which Spartan replies "Prego", which is Italian. Up until that point Spartan spoke perfect Spanish. (01:23:30)
Visible crew/equipment: This is during the firefight in the makeshift restaurant down in the sewer. When John Spartan grabs the table to use as a shield, you can see the cable going with the table that is used to set off the sparks for the bullet contacts. (01:28:45)
Continuity mistake: When Simon Phoenix gets out of the sewer system (after gunning it out with the rebels and John Spartan) his left eye has the brown contact and his right eye has the blue one after going the entire movie with those contacts in the opposite eyes. (01:30:25)
Continuity mistake: During the Oldsmobile dealership scene two robed citizens are shown to be looking at small scale model cars on the rear wall (blue car) and side wall (red car) in the showroom. When Huxley and Spartan bust through the floor in the elevator the two citizens are missing. (01:30:50)
Continuity mistake: When Spartan drives the car through the glass window, you see glass everywhere. The camera angle changes to a wide shot and you see the car driving away but no glass on the ground. (01:31:05)
Continuity mistake: After Spartan goes through the glass SAPD sign, the car flips over on its roof. But when they show the car up close its now right side up. (01:34:35)
Audio problem: After John Spartan crashes through the police station sign he says, "All I need is a needle and a thread." But when the camera is behind him and he says the line, "I really didn't say that, did I?" his mouth doesn't move when his face is in frame. (01:35:35)
Revealing mistake: When Cocteau's corpse is thrown into the fireplace, you can see that it is a dummy due to the fact the the hair is longer and shaggy. (01:38:05)
Continuity mistake: When Spartan and Huxley arrive at the cryogenics place to battle Phoenix and what remains of his gang, Phoenix sees them on the monitor walking into the building and you see Spartan on the left and Huxley on the right. The camera angle changes to an inside view and Spartan is now on the right. (01:38:35)
Continuity mistake: During the final fight scene, Spartan grabs Phoenix and they land on top of the ice block and roll off in front of a few metal jugs. The camera angle changes to a close up and the jugs are not there anymore as you see Spartan punching Phoenix. (01:46:35)
Continuity mistake: When Spartan slams the Cryogenic pill on the ground he is about 3 feet in front of Phoenix, but when you see him jump up to grab the claw, he is seen much farther away. (01:47:30)
Continuity mistake: When Spartan is hunting for Phoenix at the Cryogenics lab, the 2 scratches on his face appear and disappear throughout the scene.
Continuity mistake: When they are in the Cryogenics lab, the tear and blood spot on Spartan's shirt changes throughout the scene.
Continuity mistake: Several times during the movie, Simon Phoenix's shoulder pads (one side resembles an ATV tire) switch sides.
Factual error: In the scene where Wesley Snipes has supposedly poured gasoline all over the floor, he lights a torch and holds it inches from the floor threatening to light it if Sylvester Stallone comes any closer. Had it been actual gasoline, with that much of it the fumes would have exploded as soon as he lit the torch. It's the fumes that are explosive, not the liquid.
Revealing mistake: Towards the end of the movie, when Spartan goes after Phoenix in the cryolab, he fires several rounds at him with his Beretta 92 handgun and the slide locks back indicating he is out of rounds. The camera pans to a shot of a crane as he inserts a new magazine and is about to pull on the slide. However, when the camera returns to him, he pulls the slide back and a round can be seen ejecting out, indicating he hit the slide release before pulling the slide back.
Character mistake: When the alarms go off in the police station indicating the code 187 all the police officers are confused as to what is going on since they know nothing of MDKs. Zack Lamb should have already known what the code meant, yet he never says anything and just waits for everyone to figure it out.
Suggested correction: I took it as he went into almost shock that after so many years a murder had actually taken place. He says, "I don't believe it," indicating he knew what the code meant but then he kind of froze until Phoenix's name was mentioned.
Suggested correction: Zack Lamb is quite old and it's possible he simply forgot what the code meant. He was a pilot too, not a street cop.
When Stallone first meets Lamb after being thawed in the future, he tells Spartan he was "grounded" after the events in the opening scene so had not been a pilot for 36 years.
Suggested correction: Considering a building fell on the bodies it would be extremely hard to determine the actual cause of death. Phoenix also could have killed them in a way that doesn't easily show in an autopsy, like asphyxiation.
lionhead
True, but why would they take the word of a known murdering kingpin over a police officer that while may not do things by the book, has always been for the greater good? It just seems way too far fetched.
wb6vpm
The lack of soot and other ignition debris in the lungs and tracheas of the dead bodies would have immediately told the pathologists and coroners who examined the bodies that the hostages were dead before the building was destroyed by an explosion supposedly set off by John Spartan. It doesn't matter how badly mangled the bodies were - a tissue sample no bigger than your little finger would have told them everything they needed to know. John Spartan did not commit manslaughter.