Continuity mistake: In the run-away tram scene the camera shows a group of scared passengers. One of them, who is holding a real dog a few shots before is holding a stiff, stuffed dog and is waving it around.
Continuity mistake: When Roper tells Captain Solus that McCall will only last two weeks, McCall reads his lips and tells Roper he will be there for more than two weeks. However, Roper was facing Solus when he mentioned the "two weeks" so McCall could not have been able to see his lips.
Continuity mistake: Eddie Murphy is standing in the pouring down rain, then enters the house. His jacket is bone dry when he comes in the door.
Revealing mistake: When Earl crashes his Explorer through the police barricade, his car hardly gets any damage, proving the barricade is far more lightweight than a real one.
Revealing mistake: During the scene in which we see the cops stop the tram with the car. As the car and tram are about to come to a stop we can see that the car is lifted off the floor a few inches on a flatbed of some form.
Continuity mistake: In the runaway streetcar scene Korda has a bag over his left shoulder the entire time. But when Korda and Roper are fighting, Roper slams Korda against the wall and then through a window and his entire left side is shown but there is no bag. When they resume the fight, the bag is on his shoulder again.
Deliberate mistake: As Roper drives the Dodge into the shipyard watch the underside - no sign of McCall, even though he's visible under the body when he comes out of hiding.
Continuity mistake: During the fight on the cable car, the cable car passes the same liquor store 3 times (the same light blue car is parked outside it). Also, in one shot, the tower with the huge antenna in the background is nearer, even though the cable car has careered further away.
Continuity mistake: The car that overturns in front of the cable car changes between shots, evident by the different marks and license plates.
Other mistake: When Roper and McCall switch places in the tram scene, Roper steps up on the seat while McCall grabs the wheel. Despite the delay between Roper's foot leaving the gas pedal and McCall getting into the front seat, the car does not slow down. (00:57:20)
Factual error: When the police lieutenant is stabbed to death by the jewellery thief, the case would then fall under homicide, not hostage negotiation. So, the detective nor Murphy would have no authorisation whatsoever to work a homicide case, which is not their unit. Total fiction.
Factual error: I seriously doubt that any police detective would single-handedly go and question any suspects alone. By themselves, at least two or three officers will be present when going to any address of a suspect for questioning, in case of a dangerous encounter.