Other mistake: The steamship shown in Patriot games is actually a shot from John Wayne's 1955 Sea Chase.
Patriot Games (1992)
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Harrison Ford, Sean Bean, Richard Harris, James Earl Jones, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin
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Suggested correction: The use of stock footage in movies is a common practice. More context would be needed to explain why this is a mistake.
Continuity mistake: When the terrorists attack the van at the bridge, shortly after the explosion, you see the terrorists crossing the water in a boat. In the background you can see the van on the bridge with its doors open, shortly after this the terrorists are at the van doors demanding that the police open the van doors!
Continuity mistake: In the final fight scene with Harrison Ford, the bad guy's hair grows longer then shorter then longer from shot to shot.
Trivia: While the movie's events take place after "The Hunt for Red October," the events of the "Games" novel take place before "October."
Trivia: As Harrison Ford leaves the naval academy he hesitates and stares across at his would-be assassin, who is hanging around suspiciously on the opposite side of the street. The street name sign under which the man is standing reads 'Hanover Street'. Hanover Street was the first film in which Harrison Ford played the leading role.
Trivia: Richard Harris and James Fox are related by marriage: Harris' son Jared married Fox's niece, Emilia, in 2005.
Jack Ryan: I'm not after your job, Marty. I'm after the man who tried to kill my family.
Sean Miller: How's the family, Ryan? Nearly lost 'em, didn't you? It's easy to get at them. You should look after your family better, you know? Are you there?
Jack Ryan: Yeah.
Sean Miller: I understand your little girl's feeling better, eh? Lost her spleen though, eh? Pity, that. Make it a mighty tough on her to fight off infection, eh Jacky?
Jack Ryan: You sick son of a bitch.
Cathy Ryan: It was him wasn't it? He's never gonna leave us alone.
Jack Ryan: He'll never get that close to us again, honey. That's why he calls in the middle of the night. It's all he can do.
Cathy Ryan: You get him, Jack. I don't care what you have to do. Just get him.
Question: Before Admiral Greer shows up to tell Jack about Sean Miller's escape, where were the Ryans planning to go?
Answer: The movie never clearly says. It was some event that required tickets, as the mom runs back into the house to get them. And it was something Sally really wanted to go to, but it is never clear what the event was.
Question: Near the end, during the dinner party at the Ryan house, how did Jack figure out that Lord Holmes' assistant, Watkins, was the IRA informant? He seemed to put it together very suddenly.
Answer: Because, while everyone was scared and running for safety, he was the only one cool and calm. Plus, everyone was together, he was the only one alone and appeared out of nowhere.
Answer: The guests seemed fine, but Jack realised the power was intentionally cut since the boathouse light was working. Maybe he saw the external powerlines were still intact and thus deduced the power was shut down from inside the house. Going toward the basement, he sees Watkins coming from the direction of the basement shortly after the power went out and this made Watkins the prime suspect of the power outage. Ryan may have also known about the existence of an informant in the Royal entourage due to his extensive study of the prior attack situation. Finally, it may have been inappropriate for Watkins to have a gun since he was not a bodyguard. Seeing the blood, the dead guard and the power switch off confirmed Jack's suspicions which led him to shoot Watkins to get more info.
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