6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: Declan gets a good shot off on the Jackal's leg that hits through the concrete wall. However when it cuts to the next shot the Jackal is holding a different part of his leg than where he was shot, and the hole in his pants and blood are gone. (01:49:45)
6th Aug 2018
Revealing mistake: When Declan first starts trying to shoot at the Jackal, his timing of trying to simulate the kick of the gun is off. The kick and shot would be simultaneous but there is a slight delay in his reaction. (01:49:35)
6th Aug 2018
Factual error: After the Jackal jumps to the other side of the metro subway train to get away, Declan pulls out his cellphone and makes a call. However in 1997, when this movie was made and the time it takes place, there was no way you would be able to get cellphone reception in a subway station underground. (01:48:00)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: The Jackal leaps in front of the metro train to get on the other side as it passes as he is attempting to escape Declan. As he lands, the train skids to a stop and you can see a red reflector or light close to Jackal's head, with one of the doors of the train by it. After it cuts to Declan trying to get through the train, then back to The Jackal getting up, the number 81,622 suddenly appears next to the train door which was not there in the previous shot. (01:47:45)
6th Aug 2018
Other mistake: The heavy caliber high powered mounted machine gun in the minivan with such a high cyclic rate would have recoiled so violently, that not only would the glass in the minivan shatter but it would have rocked the vehicle and kicked it around so that its shots would have been wild and all over the place after the first shot. Unlike how it's shown in the film. We are dealing with a 14.5 MM rapid fire cannon here. And when the gas tank is shot, the van isn't even shaking as the weapon is still firing. (01:43:50)
6th Aug 2018
Character mistake: As Declan and his spotter see the Jackal's van, the spotter states that the range is it's at is 762 meters. But in the shots showing the van and their position, it is much closer than that. It's possible they meant 76.2 meters, a much more reasonable number. (01:43:05)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: Before the Jackal attempts to assassinate the First Lady, the Chairperson calls the Surgeon General to the podium. In the shot from behind as he shakes her hand then walks up, you can see to the right there is the shadow of him and the podium, with no other shadows visible around him or near him. But then it cuts to a wide angle from in front in the crowd and the shadows are all different, with some even now behind him from the building. (01:36:25)
6th Aug 2018
Revealing mistake: When the Jackal shoots Douglas, you can briefly see the outline of one of the blood packs under his white shirt. (01:32:50)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: After The Jackal shoots Koslova, he places a pillow under her head to prop it up. Once at rest, her face is clear of any hair. It then cuts to the Jackal as he tells her about her blood being black and she has 20 minutes to live, then back to her. And now she has some strands of hair down over her left eye. (01:25:40)
6th Aug 2018
Revealing mistake: When The Jackal shoots Koslova through the couch, you can see a small hole in the fabric of the couch already there, before it's made larger by the special effects team's work. (01:25:05)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: As the helicopter is coming down for Declan and Preston, in the wide shot Declan is standing outside the car leaning against the door facing forward. But as the chopper draws near, he turns his body around and looks at it. It then cuts to a close up of him and suddenly he's facing forward again. (01:20:30)
6th Aug 2018
Character mistake: At the docks, The Jackal draws his pistol on Declan to kill him, but Koslova returns fire to save Declan. The Jackal's pistol is silenced, however Koslova's is not. And they engage in a fire fight and foot chase on a dock crowded with people. Koslova appears to be using a Beretta 9mm pistol, which is loud in it's own right. Yet as they exchange shots, not a single civilian near by reacts to the fire fight or panics whatsoever. She even runs past a few and pushing them out of the way waving her gun around, and they merely treat it like an annoyance. There was plenty of people around to hear the loud gunshots of Koslova's pistol and could see the Jackal firing with his as well. (01:12:20)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: As Declan is holding Koslova as she dies, her hand is on the side of his face. As she takes her last breath, you see her index and middle finger next to his ear, while her ring finger and pinkie are bent in and touching his neck. It then cuts to a shot of Declan's face as he reacts to her death, and suddenly her hand is flat on his cheek with all fingers on it, just before it drops as the life leaves her. (01:28:10)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: When Witherspoon is shot in the head by The Jackal, we see a large blood splat hit the wall behind him. But later as Declan is running through the house while the FBI and paramedics are there, he runs past this same spot and now the blood splat is much closer to the corner of the wall. (01:24:30 - 01:27:00)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: The Jackal kills Witherspoon, who stumbles back against the stairwell wall and is in a sitting position. He's seen behind Koslova as she's kneeling behind the couch trying to shoot the Jackal back. Witherspoon's body is then shown again after the Jackal shoots Koslova and is approaching her as she tries to crawl away. Witherspoon's body changes positions in several ways. Most notably, his head is now sitting more straight up and closer to the doorknob. His legs are bent up more with his feet now almost touching the table leg. And also the rug he is on is bunched up more, having only 1 large bump before, but now having two. (01:24:50 - 01:25:20)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: Once the Jackal sets off the music at Isabella's house, making Koslova rush outside, the other FBI agent upstairs starts running down them when the Jackal shoots him though the stairs, leaving many bullet holes. As he falls down the stairs though, they seem clean and unscathed. A few shots later as the Jackal is coming out from under the stairs, you can now see there is damage to them. Most notably the large chunk of splintered wood on the 5th step up that appears. (01:22:45)
6th Aug 2018
Deliberate mistake: Declan and Preston are hanging out at an airfield in a blue car when they realise one of the numbers in the notebook they have is an FBI access code that The Jackal now has. In establishing shot of this scene you see the blue car sitting more towards the left with Declan on the hood. Then when Preston calls in this finding and they get a helicopter to come pick them up, in the shot with the chopper coming the car is now suddenly much further to the right. It seems they had to move it during filming to allow a place for the chopper to land. (01:19:05 - 01:20:30)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: At Isabella's house, Koslova is walking with her into the kitchen as the FBI is placing her in protection. As they are walking, Koslova has nothing in her mouth and as the camera pans around, she starts to lift her right arm up to her face with her cigarette in her right hand. The camera cuts to a frontal view of her, and suddenly she has a cigarette in her mouth and is now taking it out with her left hand. (01:18:45)
6th Aug 2018
Continuity mistake: After the mole in the FBI room is discovered and escorted out, Preston shuts the door and steps back into the room. In this shot you see two of the FBI sitting on a couch next to the door. The one on the left has his left arm relaxed beside him and the one on the right is looking straight forward. It then cuts to a close up of them before the guy on the left speaks, and now his arm is ridged with his fist balled on the couch, and the guy on the right is now suddenly looking to the right. (01:17:10)
6th Aug 2018
Character mistake: In the Chicago-Mackinac race, the Jackal is trying to blend in with the other boats. But he has an American flag visible on his boat. When in the race, the boats only use fleet pennants. Other flags indicate "Not in the race." So the coast guard that waved at the Jackal would have realised this. (01:07:40)