MovieChat Forums > Taken (2002) Discussion > Goofs?

Goofs?

posted 14 years ago by steven_titchenell2006
7 replies | jump to latest

I don't know who wrote the "Goofs" section, but I think they were overly critial & in at least one case, didn't know what they were talking about:
1)The American flag flying over one building had 50 stars when it should only have had 48 considering when the scene was set. Who bothers to count stars on a flag while watching a movie, tv show, etc...? Plus maybe they couldn't find an American flag with only 48 stars
2)A flag in the background in a scene set in Maine was a Canadian flag. Again, who scrutinizes a film so closely? Especially when the story is so complex & has so many characters to keep track of
3)The Keys neighborhood is snow covered, but a few miles away where Jesse & Russell jump on a train, there is no snow. It isn't a rare occurence at all to have snow covered ground one place & no snow a few miles away
4)Canadian license plates. So what?
5)An inaccurate newspaper headline. I wouldn't have known it was inaccurate if I hadn't read it on here

[–] Planikta 14 years ago

Well, relevant or not, they're still goofs.

1) The regular viewer won't notice such details, but the attentive one will. It's very obvious too, no need to count them or anything, the 48-star flag had a "6 rows / 8 columns" star pattern, while the 50-star has a "5 rows / 6 columns plus 4 rows / 5 columns" star pattern. If you spend over 40 millions of dollars on a production and can't find a vintage flag, something is wrong.

2) Again, while the regular viewer might never notice, even after watching the series multiple times, it's the kind of detail that you'll either notice or not. If it had simply been a Canadian flag waving around anywhere in background, it wouldn't even be considered a goof, but considering it's flying over what we're to believe is a U.S. Military Base, well... It doesn't make sense.

3) I agree.

4) Again, the regular viewer might not notice or care, but it's still a goof. There's no logical reason why there should be so many tourists visiting from British-Columbia. Maybe in the Seattle scenes, it would've been ok, but in the Texas or Maine scenes?! Again, it's not like this goof prevented anyone from enjoying the series, but it always amazes me to see how much money is invested in big productions without anyone actually caring for such details. To some of us, the details are as important as everything else.

5) Are you implying that goofs you don't know about aren't goofs? The scene, set in the '80s has a recent Indian politician listed as a Salvadorian ambassador... If I were to mention, in a movie set in the 50s, that Bill Clinton was the Prime Minister of Canada, I'm pretty sure you'd notice...

I agree that they're overly critical, but that isn't limited to this series. I see plenty of "logically explainable" "goofs" on every IMDb page I read... On the other hand, don't you think that YOU are being overly critical of the goof section? Just saying... :)

[–] steven_titchenell2006 14 years ago

I'm not saying they aren't goofs. I'm just saying I've seen Taken 14 times since April of 2004 & never noticed any of the goofs and if they're that obscure, why bring them up?

[–] cee_64 14 years ago

To educate those that aren't aware of them. And to let Hollywood and the rest of the film producing world know that there are people who are aware of them so they should pay more attention in the future and hire better continuity people.

If a man speaks in the forest and no woman is there to hear it is he still wrong?

[–] steven_titchenell2006 14 years ago

I think the kind of people who notice such things in movies are only watching them to nitpick them to death

[–] cee_64 14 years ago

While I'm sure that some do, to most of us goofs just stick out like a sore thumb. Seeing a 50 Star Flag instead of a 48 Star Flag just jumps off the screen to me, but then I'm old enough to have been around when the 48 Star Flags were still current. I'm just observant like that. I also notice a lot of car and music mistakes, but then again I'm old enough to remember them when they were current so when I see them it just jumps off the screen.

If a man speaks in the forest and no woman is there to hear it is he still wrong?

[–] trinity_enigma 14 years ago

I will give them all of them because they are goofs- most of the goofs I read are things I would never notice because they aren't relevant to the film/programme.

Except for number 3- you don't know how far away the trainlines are for a start and as you say it is not uncommon for snow to be in one place and not another. We have a load of snow in our garden right now that hasn't melted because its sheltered but on the roadside it has all gone.

It should be changed to incorrectly regarded as a goof.

[–] alveolate 13 years ago

and you coming up with a 5-point list in a feeble attempt to debunk them as goofs... this is not nitpicking?

you can always ignore the imdb goofs sections; they are obviously not your interest. but there are those who would like to know how often certain types of goofs are made. just like how you probably won't read all 3+million pages on Wikipedia but they all have some purpose as pieces of information.

what i'm amazed at is the number of posters in these forums who like to criticise something for being "overly critial" (sic). why not just live and let live?