Continuity mistake: When Bosley is in the dungeon towards the end of the movie he is seen ripping his sheet to shreds trying to make a rope. If you look in the window where he throws his rope there is light coming in from outside - not necessarily daylight, but a floodlight or similar. From outside though, the wall is pitch black, with no light coming from the room either. (01:01:10)
Continuity mistake: In the last scene with the tugboat you can see the wake starting a few hundred meters behind the boat, even though it is supposed to have been sailing for a while.
Continuity mistake: In the car chase scene, when the red Ford Taurus flies into the air and flips, in one shot its a 96-97 model, in another shot it becomes a 98-99 model (grille is different).
Continuity mistake: In the fight with the thin man, after Natalie hits him Dylan already has her leg lifted to hit him but Alex doesn't. In the next shot they lift and hit at the same time. (00:25:20)
Chosen answer: I suspect that like much in this movie, it was merely conceived to be an 'exciting' opening for the movie and logic played little part in its inclusion.