Goofs for
Face/Off (1997)

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• Continuity: Engine #1 of the aircraft is blown, yet the cockpit warning light indicates engine #3 has been damaged.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt doubles during the boating scene.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: During the shootout in the hanger at the beginning a movie there is a scene when Troy takes a shotgun from one agent and uses it on another. When the agent is shot, he is lifted in the air onto some boxes, the string used to pull him is clearly visible in the shot as well as the few seconds before when we see the agent running towards Troy.
  
  

• Continuity: In the beginning of the movie, Sean Archer is sitting on the merry-go-round with his son, Michael, and the bullet goes through Sean's chest and into Michael's head, shown by the amount of blood that seems to be dripping from Michael's forehead. Later in the movie, though, a summary of Michael's death shows that the bullet was through his chest, not his head. It's about 21 minutes into the movie.
  
  
• Plot holes: During the raid on Dietrich's apartment, Archer (as Castor) grabs a FBI SWAT member and says "Buzz" as he remembers him, however at that exact point, Dietrich is seen behind Archer's right shoulder. Archer makes out that he "killed" the SWAT member, but Dietrich saw Archer compromise his cover and then fire one round into the floor.
  
  
• Continuity: Just before Dubov gets shot by Walton, we see Burke Hicks running up to Walton to try to stop him. A few minutes later when Dubov falls down and Walton tries to shoot Castor, Burke Hicks runs up to Walton again.
  
  
• Factual errors: During aircraft chase scene at beginning of the movie, Castor Troy is steering the jet with the yoke while plane is on the ground. Aircrafts are steered by the rudder pedals while on the ground.
  
  
• Continuity: During the shootout in the hangar, Castor Troy jumps out of the plane twice.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the warehouse shoot-out in the beginning, the stunt cord is visible as the officer who is shot with the shotgun is blown back.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: During the hangar shootout one of Archer's agents is shot with a shotgun. As the blast throws him backwards the stunt wire that pulls him off the ground and backwards is visible.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: A tether attached to Sean Archer can be seen, preventing him from falling through the skylight during the FBI raid/shootout scene in the apartment.
  
  
• Continuity: In the last scene where Archer (as Castor) is fighting Castor (as Archer), Archer screams in pain when Castor hits him, but it's Castor's voice. In the previous scene, the microchip in his larynx was dislodged, so he spoke as Archer again.
  
  
• Continuity: When Sean Archer is shot while riding the merry-go-round with his son, the bullet hole appears to move. At first it is high up on his back, and in the next scene it is further down.
  
  
• Continuity: When Castor Troy (C. Troy) and Sean Archer (S. Archer) are having their faces switched in the laboratory, the monitor for Castor Troy shows his name as "T. Castor". When in fact it would read either "Troy. Castor" or "Troy. C". Hospitals/ Institutions always record patient details as: Surname. Christian Name (full)/ Initial.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Archer (as Castor) and Pollux are jumping across the skylight at Sasha's apartment, you can clearly see the safety lines that support the actors.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double when Castor Troy is thrown against the fence (and knocked out) when he is thrown behind the jet engine during the airplane hangar sequence during the beginning of the movie.
  
  
• Continuity: On the plane at the beginning of the movie, Castor (still Cage) passes his drink to his left hand when the stewardess sits on his lap, however, a second later he's putting a cigarette to his lips with his left hand, and the drink is back in his right.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: As Archer (as Castor) and Pollux swing over skylight, just before Pollux falls through, two crew members can clearly be seen on adjacent rooftop.
  
  
• Boom mic visible: Reflected in the window as the ear is being reconstructed.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: Immediately after the motorcycle cop pulls up during the Convention Center evacuation montage there is a wide shot of the frenzied street; in the background a camera crane with camera and operators is visible as it tracks upward.
  
  
• Factual errors: When computer info was flashed on screen reporting how Castor Troy was killed, the word "separated" was misspelled as "seperated".
  
  
• Continuity: During the hangar shootout one of Archer's federal agents is killed with a shotgun blast (we get a good look at his face), yet a few moments later you notice the same agent is standing, alive and well.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Jamie is being smooched by her date, she says, "Karl, stop it!" but her lips do not move.
  
  
• Continuity: Just after Castor Troy activates the bomb in the LA Covention Centre, he walks behind a choir girl, says something to her, then grabs her hair, in the first shot we see of them she has a bit of hair hanging down next to her ear, but in the next shot, Castor has all of her hair in his hand pulling it back from her face.
  
  
• Plot holes: Only Dr. Walsh, Dr. Miller, and Tito were set on fire in the lab. Dr. Walsh's assistant was not killed in the fire set by Castor Troy and his men. Therefore, someone else knows the switch happened.
  
  
• Continuity: After Sean Archer gets into the helicopter to chase Castor Troy, Castor fires three times from the plane at the helicopter. In the next shot there are four bullet holes in the windscreen.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After Castor (as Shawn) defuses the bomb, the display shows two seconds remaining. The news reporter states that he defused the bomb with one second remaining though.
  
  
• Factual errors: Near the end of the raid on Dietrich's place, Loomis busts in armed with a Colt M4, with an underslung M203 Grenade Launcher. He fires the launcher twice in rapid succession. The M203 is a one-shot launcher and requires reloading between shots. There is no indication that Loomis bothered to reload at all.
  
  
• Continuity: At the Walsh Institute, after he gets the face transplant, Archer is told that the bomb is set to go off in 6 days; however, the subsequent shot of the bomb shows 216 hours (9 days) on its timer.
  
  
• Continuity: Just before Sean (as Castor Troy) goes to Erewhon Prison, his friend Tito says there are 6 days until the 18th, when the bomb is supposed to go off. Just before that, though, there's a shot of the bomb that says there are 216 hours until it explodes. Tito could have meant six days after Sean got out of Erewhon, the bomb would go off, but Sean is supposed to be in Erewhon two days, which means the bomb would go off in a maximum of eight days. 216 hours, though, is nine days, not eight. That clarifies the meaning of what Tito said, but the time frame is still incorrect.
  
  
• Continuity: When Eve and Castor (as Sean) are about to get in the car to go to Mike's grave, it's raining. At the cemetery, it's sunny with no signs of recent rain whatsoever.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Castor is being loaded onto the stretcher after being harpooned, his hand drops to his side and then moves back up even though he is supposed to be dead.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Castor as Archer reads Eve's journal the latest date reads the 17th which would put it the day before the bomb at the convention center was to explode. But as he reads it, the text states the Archer had come home after catching Castor and told her that he had to go back on assignment. The events described would actually have happened on the 7th, according to the movie's time line.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: Near the beginning of the film, when Castor Troy turns round and sees his brother Pollox Troy being pinned down by cops, the camera zooms in on Pollox's face as he shouts "CAS!". However judging by the lip movement and expression of Pollox, it's obvious that the word was dubbed over the video.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Castor as Archer hops into the speedboat after killing the owner, Archer fires his weapon at Castor, but the shot is heard significantly before he has fired.
  
  
• Continuity: When Dubov falls over the hand rail after getting shot, Archer (as Castor) holds onto the barrel of the gun and his hand is slipping. His hand clearly changes position on the barrel between different camera angles.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Castor awakes from coma, he starts taking off the bandage. He's not supposed to have skin on his face, but in one shot, he still has it on forehead.
  
  
• Plot holes: When Castor sets the bomb it is set for 236 hours (just about 10 days) after the initial surgery, there is a shot of the bomb indicating it was about 216 hours. There is no way that the surgery and subsequent healing process, in addition to the chase, capture, interrogation, etc. that took place in such a short interim.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the funeral scene, the flag draping the casket is lying in an incorrect orientation. It is conventional for the union of a United States flag to be at the head and on the left side of the body, covering the heart.
  
  
• Plot holes: The complex face switching surgery required anesthesia and experienced doctors when Archer is given Troy's face; Troy would have needed to go through the same procedure when he awakens from the coma to get Archer's face, and wouldn't have been able to overrun the doctors.
  
  
• Factual errors: Archer (as Castor) grabs the gun's muzzle to save Dubov. There is no way that the muzzle would be cool enough to grab it. After that many shots it would hot enough to light a cigarette and remain hot for several minutes.
  
  
• Continuity: After they recieve Archer in the office with applause for catching Castor, he checks the computer for his son's file. It states he was murdered on Sept. 9th, 1991. However, later in the movie, when they go to the cemetery on Michael's birthday, the grave states Sept. 24th, 1991.
  
  

• Factual errors: SPOILER: The whole resolution of the film depends on the fact that Archer and Troy have different blood types. However, if this is true, there is little chance of a human body actually accepting a "whole face transplant."
  
  

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