Spy Game (2001) - 34 mistakes

Factual error: The hat that Brad Pitt wears in the 1985 scenes is a Padre's hat with navy, orange and white as the colours. In 1985 the Padre's colors were brown and yellow. The color change didn't come until late 80's or early 90's.

Factual error: The "American Consulate in Hong Kong" is actually the HSBC building. (The local audience laughed at that scene.) The actual consulate building is nearby, but perhaps not so photogenic.

Factual error: In Suzhou Prison, presumably the Suzhou near Shanghai, all the prison guards are speaking Cantonese, which is a southern dialect. They should be speaking either Mandarin (Putonghua) or their regional dialect.

Factual error: In the scene where Brad Pitt meets Robert Redford on the roof of a house in Berlin in (I think it was) 1980, you can see a lot of GSM transmitters. GSM cell transmitters didn't come until 1993.

Factual error: In the scene where you can see Robert Redford sending a fax, there is a Tux doll (Linux mascot) on the wall. Funny, but this scene happens in 1991 and Tux was first designed in 1996.

Other: During the scenes in Beruit, we see a picture of a militiaman firing an RPG at an armored vehicle. If you look at the launcher, you can see that there is no grenade in the launcher when it is "fired".

Factual error: There would never be a US Embassy in Hong Kong - only a consulate.

Continuity: When Nathan and Bishop are on the rooftop talking, Bishop is seen pulling a chair over so he can sit down. The camera angle changes and he's seen pulling the chair over again.

Factual error: Satellite photos on Robert Redford's desk depict Suzhou as lying on the coast of China. In fact it is far inland.

Factual error: Bishop is drinking out of a cafe in Beirut, just in front of Elizabeth's hotel. There is a Coca Cola logo on the tend, but this logo will appear only in the '90s.

Continuity: Right after Bishop makes it to the balcony, the scene changes to them in a bar drinking and you see Nathan taking a drink and then putting his glass on the bar. The camera angle changes to a close up and the glass is now near his mouth.

Continuity: When Nathan starts making his lunch plate from the food that is in the room, he is seen grabbing a spoon but after the camera angle changes to a front view the spoon is not in his hand nor on his plate.

Factual error: Redford's character speeds towards his office in Langley, Virginia driving his Porsche. As he passes a Georgian style building and the camera position, road markings (zig zag lines, metal road studs and a 'keep left' bollard) are all momentarily visible. This very short scene was obviously filmed on a UK road, certainly not in the US.

Continuity: When Nathan stands and greets Agent Folger for the first time he is seen sitting back down on the TV monitor but as the camera angle changes to back inside the room, he is seen sitting down again.

Factual error: Robert Redford's call to the London Stock Exchange to liquidate and transfer his holdings to the Caymen Islands makes no sense. The LSE does not provide that kind of service, it is a regulatory body which admits companies to the Exchange and regulates them. In reality he would have called a bank or stockbroker to execute this type of transaction. And that banker or broker would not have been sitting in the LSE building on Old Broad Street in the City of London. There is no physical trading floor at the LSE, in the way which is depicted in the film, for the banker or broker to work from.

Factual error: Part of the movie is set in Beirut during 1985. Periodically, there are scenes with Robert Redford's character working from a command post in the American Embassy. Behind him, is a quite modern looking 15" monitor. The interesting part is that although the monitor looks out of place, the makers of the movie saw fit to fill the screen with monochromatic "green" information, which would be consistent with 1985.

Continuity: As Bishop is pulling the doctor through the mob of people you can see someone has the back of Bishop's shirt and is trying to hold on to him. The camera angle changes to a front view and no-one is holding onto the back of his shirt anymore.

Continuity: When Nathan shows the doctor the picture of his parents murder scene, the doctor puts his hand over his mouth. The camera angle changes and the doctor's hand is no longer on his mouth.

Plot hole: Muir arrives in his office at one point and his secretary has left a bottle of scotch and a glass with a note to enjoy his retirement. But Muir had already left the office for good earlier that day (around 3pm), and said goodbye to his secretary. She had no reason to think he would be back, and so there would be no reason to hold out on the gift. Had he not heard a news report from China on his way out, he never would have returned.

Continuity: When Nathan is training Tom, they are in a park and Nathan tells him to extract info from someone. Tom unfolds his arms and starts walking towards a woman. The camera angle changes and he is seen unfolding his arms again.