Visible crew/equipment: As the camera moves forward in the opening shot, a clear reflection of a film light can be seen on the side of the fire engine.
Character mistake: Casey is sixth of six male students standing in a row to individually demonstrate a karate move for Sensei. After the fourth student, Sensei passes up student #5 and says, "Next. Casey." Sensei completely missed the fifth student, the only other beginning white belt like Casey. (00:28:45 - 00:29:10)
Other mistake: Glen/Charlie poured gasoline all over the vehicle he killed Sandra in - including its soft convertible top - but the flames stayed around the car's perimeter. (00:50:54 - 00:51:26)
Continuity mistake: Zeke is in the kitchen with his daughter. He is checking out Dick's driving license; in the close-up he is holding it with his left hand, but in the following shot, as she asks him "Where'd you find it?" he is holding it in his right hand. (00:10:15)
Continuity mistake: The amount of water in Paco's glass varied, including increasing (back to about one-third full) after he drank some. (00:39:18 - 00:39:55)
Continuity mistake: The spacing (almost touching versus several inches apart) and appearance (shape and whether there are shoots) of the two flowers in the vase on Estelle's/Betty's table at the restaurant vary. Sometimes, the flowers on her table look more like the ones that could be seen on the table in front of hers after Brian/Roy entered the restaurant. (00:03:40)
Continuity mistake: The amount of blood on 10-year-old Miguel's face and neck after his "jump in" is not consistent. Sometimes there is more (or less) blood on his cheeks and neck and sometimes it appears splattered compared to large areas diluted with blood. The intensity/color of the blood also changes - sometimes it is very red but other times it is paler. The cut on his left eyebrow apparently was not on the far left corner yet sometimes the blood started there; other times, the blood started almost to the middle of his eyebrow. Sometimes he has blood below his eyebrow. Despite all the blood on his face and neck (down to the sagging T-shirt), there is no blood on his white or light grey T-shirt. He also does not get any blood on his jacket. Miguel was repeatedly punched then kicked by several large, muscular adult gang members for 13 seconds (to become a member of the MS-13 gang) but is unrealistically able to get right up then go and pick up and carry his dog - with no limping or signs of pain. (00:29:15)
Continuity mistake: The bartender pours two beers that have no foam on the top. When the beers are set on the table they have about one inch of foam. When the camera angle changes there is no foam. (01:18:45)
Other mistake: From the time Eliza exits the bar until she drives away, there are discrepancies in the scenery: there are or aren't parking spaces along the road; there's a lot of space between her truck and the truck in the next parking space, but not when she's backing out; the man rattling bottles by the garbage cans is further from the building and her truck when she's getting in and should be visible when she's backing out but isn't; her truck's rear end would be partially blocking the traffic lane, etc. (00:03:15)
Continuity mistake: In the prologue, the Nazis storm the Bresson residence. The elder Professor Bresson is sitting at his desk, back turned to them. There's an open fountain pen next to him, right by a paper sheet, but when Bresson answers rather defiantly to the bad guys, the paper sheet suddenly has disappeared. (00:02:15)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of Aiai Liu's flashback, she is on a boat. Fellow prostitute Ping leans forward towards Hua saying he should treat them all fairly. Aiai she is intently cleaning a fingernail in one shot, immediately after she has the same hand placed on her cheek. (00:32:45)
Other mistake: Elsa Brecht is holding an official piece of mail sent from the Coconut Grove Hotel in Miami but it's postmarked Orlando, Florida. There's no legitimate reason the mail would be postmarked Orlando when Orlando is 235 miles from Miami. (01:24:16)
Continuity mistake: At the concert before Murata starts performing, a woman is holding a baby. The baby is shown holding a packet in its arm, with the arm resting. It then cuts to a different angle, where the baby's arm is suddenly raised slightly. (00:49:45)
Continuity mistake: At the start of the film, a man is giving a tour of a building under reconstruction to some potential buyers. One shot, as he's telling them that this sits on a 14-acre lot, there are just 3 people as they walk through a doorway. The film jump cuts to a closer angle, and suddenly a 4th person appears in front of them from thin air. (00:02:34)
Deliberate mistake: Carson's [John Travolta] cat Raymond did not appear to be in the pet carrier when he was running out of the building to his car or when walking to his office and placing the carrier on the desk. (00:02:15 - 00:03:30)
Revealing mistake: Obvious use of green screen for buildings across the street. On and off, the background fades, and buildings appear higher or lower depending on the camera's angle. At one point, the angle of walls behind Rex (Bruce Willis) is at a downward angle, and his head is almost touching the ceiling. (00:06:10 - 00:07:25)
Factual error: Mohegan Sun casino is in the state of Connecticut. Connecticut does not have legalized sports betting and did not have it in 2012, when the film is set, therefore Julia would not have been able to place Howard's bet.
Other mistake: Moose was narrating what he was writing in his second letter to Mr. Dunbar. There were 64 words, 12 more words after "P.S.", then "Love, Moose." A view of his finished letter showed it was way too short to have included everything he supposedly wrote, and the expected format did not match. (00:26:20 - 00:27:10)