bad movie...

I saw this movie a long time ago, but I saw the last half of it just yesterday. I can answer some of your questions.

1. This is not even a plot hole. It is a bit illogical (why wouldn't the Swiss bank send the gold in a more secure plane without junk from other people?), but not a huge plothole. As for the gold going to Philly: maybe a Swiss bank had a deal there, maybe they own a bank there, who knows, who cares?

2. To gain access to lots of secured areas of course. Hackman is a liar and this woman believes she is at his mercy. He simply uses her. The keys could come in handy.

3. To make sure she'll keep her mouth shut about him.

4. Missed that part yesterday, sorry.

It is clear that you did not try very hard to understand what's going on in this movie, or you would have come up with explanations like this yourself.

1. They changed the cargo's! It wasn't the gold that was supposed to go to Philly, but some other stuff, but they changed the labels on the boxes and took the gold.

You actually missed that?? That was the point of this movie, man.

4. Because he had to make sure his boss (Devito) actually believed the job was compromised. If not, Hackman would have to live in fear for some maffiahitman the rest of his life.


Anyway I actually thought this movie had some great dialogue.

Well, the Swiss weren't sending the GOLD to Philly

it was Joe's shipment of washers that he is pretending to pick up.

He had a gun in the toolkit ,

3. He had to postpone the swiss job so he had time to set
up his sting.

Maybe you found it boring because you didn't understand it.

<I>Why would the swiss government be sending millions in gold to Philly?</I>

Why would the Swiss Government be sending millions in gold to Boston? Or to New York? Or to Chicago, or any other city in North America? I don't know specifically why, but I think you may be reading too much into the MacGuffin.

<i>If hackman just wanted to ripoff the man in the ferrari, why did he go through the charade of saying the swiss job was off. Why not act like business as usual, rip off the guy and go? </i>

You mean Frecchia? "Frecchia's Italian for arrow, ya know." I didn't think Frecchia was connected to the Swiss job. I think he was just some vaguely connected Big Wheel who wanted to buy Hackman's boat.

<i>If Hackman was to send the sercuity women at the airport back to her post, why would he take her keys?</i>

Not knowing his original plan, I'm not sure. I think having to hold up the gate guy at gunpoint was Plan B - less than ideal as it exposes him and Pinky unnecessarily.

Just for fun, i'd like to take a crack at your questions, especially since there doesn't seem to be any official answer!

1. Do we really know how countries and banks move their money around? Why couldn't a Swiss bank be moving gold anywhere in the States? It does seem strange that a shipment of washers and a shipment of gold would be on the same plane, but we can't say for certain that it would never happen. I don't think this oddity bothered people, though.

2. She seemed to be a department head to me. Her keys would have access to a lot of things. In an earlier scene DeVito's nephew asks Ricky Jay and Hackman, "why should something go wrong?" Using a funny example, they explain to him that they should always be prepared.

3. Someone already said that he hid his little gun in the toolkit. The gun, the lady, everything he does is to be prepared for anything that goes wrong.

4. When he said the Swiss job was off, he meant it. He didn't trust DeVito and wouldn't do the other thing. The Ferrari guy was something else. Another backup for him to retire on. But DeVito's nephew interfered and the Ferrari guy got away. Now Hackman needs to do the Swiss job. He has no money, he's a wanted man, and he wants out. That charade at the safehouse was done to have an excuse to turn down the job.

God, I love this movie! THe first time i saw it, it was dull, gray and boring. After I've seen it a few times (i won't tell you how many!), the dialogue and the way the characters act, react, make mistakes, and are never quite sure of each other--even when they're acting tough--makes this movie just sweet.

But it's not perfect. I think it's self-indulgent and loses the audience half way. But Mamet's dialogue gives me a hard-on.

"i hate to do anything as dramatic as count to three. But here goes..."

"Why would the swiss government be sending millions in gold to Philly?"

There is a branch of the US Mint in Philadelphia. I think coins have been minted in Philadelphia for over two hundred years.

Perhaps I'm too lenient on script discrepancies, I rather enjoyed it for what it was, a group of thieves who basically wanted to make one last heist before folding it up and moving on with their lives.

















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