The Recruit

Continuity mistake: When Layla is hooked up to the lie detector that tracks the movement of her eye, she is looking around the room and blinking repeatedly, but the eye on the screen (which is supposed to be hers) never moves or blinks, even though the camera is still on her.

Continuity mistake: When Colin Farrell's truck is chasing the silver VW Bug, the Bug crashes through a gate, sending debris into the truck's windshield, causing a spider-web impact break. In all subsequent shots, the windshield is undamaged.

Continuity mistake: After Clayton says Burke's name to his 'captors' he is shown holding a pair of pants, in the next shot he is not holding them, then the next shot he is again.

Continuity mistake: When the boys are playing cards, Burke comes in and you can see that there are a bunch of chips and the deck of cards on the table. The camera angle changes and so do the chips. The cards suddenly jump into Clayton's hands as well. (00:29:55)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: The cut on Burke's forehead (which he gets at the end by putting his head through the glass door) changes throughout the final scene from some blood to a lot of blood about 5 times.

MCKD

Continuity mistake: In the shooting range scene at the Farm, the Recruit to Layla's left fires all of his rounds and his slide locks back when the camera is close up on Layla. In the next shot, the same recruit fires one last shot.

Continuity mistake: In the shooting range scene, one of Colin Farrell's shots hits the line of the center ring of his targets. When he pulls his target in, turns to Layla and says "Nintendo", you can see that the rounds are in different places.

Continuity mistake: When Layla's VW has hit the tree, James's truck is pulled up alongside her, facing forwards. When James drives off, his truck is facing the other way but there was not enough time for him to turn around, or any indication that he did turn around (i.e. no sound of a vehicle making a three point turn).

Continuity mistake: When James is standing at the wall of the interrogation chamber holding Layla's trousers in his right hand, the trousers are there in one shot, gone the next and back in the next.

Continuity mistake: When Clayton is being recruited Burke grabs a newspaper to circle CIA. The previous scene had only the front page, but when he circles CIA there is a part of the torn paper on the bar as well. (00:06:40)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Layla passes the note to Zack, he has a gray shirt on which is not tucked into his pants. Later, when Clayton is following him the gray shirt cannot be seen. (01:22:20 - 01:23:10)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: While searching Zack's bloody jacket for the note Layla passed Clayton's hand gets bloody. However, after reading the note he puts his hand to his mouth and there is no blood on it. (01:26:00)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: When Clayton is a "prisoner", rips and tears in his shirt appear and disappear throughout the entire scene.

MCKD

Continuity mistake: When Burke circles CIA on the newspaper at the bar, the newspaper is folded in half and positioned so Clayton can read it. A scene later the newspaper is not folded in half and it's positioned so Burke can read it. (00:06:45)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: When Layla is trying to get away from Clayton in the car chase, she goes to pass a blue car behind a white truck. It cuts to a shot from inside her car and the white truck is there, but no blue car. Another car is coming the other direction and she has to yank the wheel. She should have been creamed by the blue car, but wasn't because it disappeared. (01:32:10)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: When Clayton is hiding behind the SUV a shot from behind shows him peeking his head out to look at Layla. It cuts to a shot from the front where most of his torso is out from behind the SUV. Then another cut to behind shows only his head out again. (01:21:05)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: After getting shot, Zack touches the bloody jacket with his left hand. When he dies there's no blood on the fingers he touched it with. (01:25:45)

Joel Gordon

Continuity mistake: In the final scenes Al Pacino shoots at Colin Farell until the slide locks back on his pistol. When they make it outside there is a shot of the pistol with the slide fully forward just before they cut to another shot of him releasing the slide from the locked back position to the fully forward position.

Continuity mistake: When Layla is hooked up to the lie detector that tracks the movement of her eye, she is looking around the room and blinking repeatedly, but the eye on the screen (which is supposed to be hers) never moves or blinks, even though the camera is still on her.

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Trivia: Lately, Hollywood is pairing young actors with older, character-actors the younger ones are repeatedly compared with (because of their looks or their acting styles): check this movie (Farrell-Pacino), Spy Games (Pitt-Redford), The Patriot (Ledger-Gibson) and The Score (Norton-DeNiro, Norton-Brando).

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