Continuity mistake: When the two guys in white are having a drink outside of Rome, the guy with the white beard looks outside, and he has his hand on his chin, yet in the following shot it's nowhere near his chin. (01:02:30)
Continuity mistake: In the fight scene where Maximus fights alone in Morocco, watch where he punches a gladiator, slices open his belly then spins around and stabs him. Watch once he has spun around; there is no cut on the man's belly. (01:04:15)
Continuity mistake: In the second battle scene where Maximus fights against six gladiators, he stabs one of them in the chest. Blood splatters everywhere and even all over Maximus' right arm. In the very next shot, his arm is miraculously clean. (01:04:20)
Continuity mistake: When Maximus stabs the last gladiator during his solo match, as he stabs him with his last sword you see him using his left arm while holding his right arm behind him. When it cuts he is suddenly holding the sword with his right arm instead. (01:04:35)
Continuity mistake: When Maximus slices the head off of his opponent, and delivers his line "Are you not entertained?" his sword begins in his left hand then it cuts to a wide shot, and it's in his right, then they cut back to a closer shot and it's back in his left hand again. (01:04:50)
Continuity mistake: In the middle of the film, just after the last gladiator match in the Roman province arena, Maximus goes to see Proximo. In one particular shot we see Proximo walk away and Maximus turn his whole body to face him, yet in the following shot, it is just his head that is turned. (01:07:05)
Continuity mistake: In one scene, where you see a view of the Colosseum and its flags, all the flags are pointing towards the middle and that's strange keeping in mind the wind comes from one direction. (01:11:45)
Continuity mistake: When Commodus is standing over his nephew Lucius, touching his face while he slept, his sister Lucilla enters the room and you hear only her footsteps, but he is then standing at the end of the bed out of reach of Lucius. He does not have time to make that move. (01:12:30)
Continuity mistake: When Lucilla is making tonic for Commodus there is a close-up of her hand mixing the tonic. We can see on the table there is nothing near the glass except for a purple bottle which is probably 5 centimeters from the glass. When it cuts and she puts away the spoon she tips something over on the table right next to the glass. However it can't be the purple bottle because it would have to be closer to the glass in order for Lucilla to hit it. (01:12:55)
Continuity mistake: When Maximus and the other gladiators are walking up to the Coliseum in Rome, the black guy walking with him is about 2 to 3 feet away from him. When the camera cuts to a face shot, they are shoulder to shoulder. (01:14:35)
Continuity mistake: At the Coliseum when the crowd is placing bets, you can see a man writing on a blackboard. He stops writing and turns around. When it cuts back to a closeup he turns around again. (01:15:05)
Continuity mistake: When Lucilla is talking with Gracchus and Gaius about Commodus and she says "He must die", we see Gracchus in the background looking at Lucilla. When it cuts he is looking down lifting his head to look at Lucilla. (Extended version only). (01:21:10)
Continuity mistake: During the battle of Carthage, Hagen stands alone with an arrow in his shield, couple of scenes on, no arrow, couple of scenes on again, an arrow hits his shield. (01:21:20)
Continuity mistake: During the battle of Carthage, Maximus rides past another man standing on the ground and throws a spear into his chest. The man clutches the spear with his right hand as he falls backwards, but when it cuts to him hitting the ground both his hands are out to the side and the spear has suddenly disappeared. (01:21:50)
Continuity mistake: When Hagen is shot in his leg with an arrow he is holding the arrow in his leg. Maximus notices the chariot charging for Hagen and he shouts "Hagen". It cuts to Maximus running against Hagen, but now we can see that there is no arrow in Hagen's foot. When it cuts to Maximus reaching Hagen and pushing him away from the chariot the arrow is back in his leg. (01:22:45)
Continuity mistake: When the chariot crashes through the gate we see the gates get busted in an exploding inferno. But when it cuts, the gates are intact again. (01:22:55)
Continuity mistake: When the chariot runs in through the gate we see the gate slightly open. When it cuts to the chariots hitting the chain and tipping over the gate is suddenly wide open. It could not have opened that fast. (01:22:55)
Continuity mistake: When Maximus is on a horse pursuing the chariot with the female gladiator throwing a spear at him and misses, we can see there is an extra spear standing on the chariot. Then Maximus throws his spear and when it cuts to the spear hitting the female gladiator the spear in the chariot is suddenly gone. (01:23:45)
Continuity mistake: After Juba has thrown the sword to Maximus, Maximus tries to gather the gladiators by shouting "Single column, single column," then it cuts to him charging on his horse while holding his sword arm out. When it cuts from behind him he is holding his sword arm in front of him instead. (01:24:10)
Continuity mistake: During the fight with the gladiators in the chariots, Maximus jumps on a horse and chops off a gladiator's head. Now you can clearly see the blood on the blade. But when the fight is over before he salutes the crowd, you can see the blade is clean. (01:24:20)
Chosen answer: No, they are full brother and sister. They both had the same mother and father. Incest was not exactly normal at that time, but it stretches back within the imperial families as far as Caligula and possibly earlier. There is no evidence to suggest that the real Commodus was attracted to his sister, it was probably just included in the film in order to make the character seem more disturbed, and also as another reason why he would be Maximus' enemy (Maximus and Lucilla were, after all, once lovers).
The Doctor