Self-control, perseverance, integrity, indomitable spirit--that's what it's supposed to be all about at the Concord Tae Kwon Do Studio, where boys are turned into black-belts and suburbanites are chiseled into great warriors, all under the watchful tutelage of proud sensei Fred Simmons. That is, until Fred discovers his wife has been unfaithful and instantly descends into a blubbering mess. Ok, so maybe Fred is far more blowhard than kick-ass hero. But when he sets out on a last-ditch quest to meet his kung-fu idol--the 8-time undefeated champ and star of the "Seven Rings of Pain" trilogy, Chuck "The Truck" Wallace--Fred winds up on a wild, comical journey that will take him from egomaniacal bluster all to the way to becoming the stand-up man of his delusional dreams.
Bruce Willis originally wanted Ludacris to play the role of Eddie.
WILHELM SCREAM: Immediately following the bus tire being shot out a wilhelm scream can be heard.
The gun used by all the cops was the Glock 19 which is chambered in 9 mm.
Several of the phones used by characters in the movie were the Nextel Motorola i670.
Bruce Willis' character's name "Jack Mosely" is derived from Robert De Niro's character in Midnight Run (1988), where he was in a similar situation playing a bounty hunter who had to bring his subject across the country whilst being chased by the mob and the FBI. The character was called "Jack Walsh" and for most of the movie was using a stolen FBI badge and going under the name "Alonso Mosely".
[last lines]
Eddie Bunker:
Happy birthday, Jack.
[Jack gets out of the car and walks into a liquor store]
Eddie Bunker:
Yo, it ain''''t Miller time, man!
Jack Mosley:
You''''re a sunny little shit, I''''ll give you that much.
Frank Nugent:
Fuck the truth!
Frank Nugent:
[Reloading weapon] You know, when I woke up this morning, I didn''''t expect to be trading nine millies with my friend.
Frank Nugent:
You can''''t be lucky all the time, Jack.
Eddie Bunker:
[Eddie pops around the corner, pointing a gun at Nugent] You can be smart every day, though.
Jack Mosley:
Days change, seasons change, people don''''t change.
Jack Mosley:
Oh yea, you give the car keys to your best friend and you let him take the old lady to the hospital. You stay at the bus stop with the girl because she''''s the girl of your dreams, right? So everything is going to be ok.
Frank Nugent:
[after the shootout in Chinatown, Nugent is talking to Mosley through the door] You Still There, Jack?
Jack Mosley:
Yeah, I''''m Still Here.
Frank Nugent:
[after the shootout in Chinatown, Nugent is talking to Mosley through the door] You still there, Jack?
Jack Mosley:
Yeah, I''''m still here.
Jack Mosley:
Never met your sister?
Eddie Bunker:
No.
Jack Mosley:
Wow.
Eddie Bunker:
So I''''m going out to Seattle to meet her. I''''m looking forward...
Jack Mosley:
Maybe she turns out to look like Angelina Jolie.
Eddie Bunker:
Shit, if she do, I hope she ain''''t my sister.
Jack Mosley:
You''''re not gonna die on me are you?
Eddie Bunker:
I dunno, I ain''''t never died before.
Man in Apartment:
Yu-Gi-Oh!
[first lines]
Jack Mosley:
[tape recording] This is Detective Jack Mosley, Shield number 227. I guess this will be my last will and testament. This is for Diane. Now, they''''re gonna come talk to you and they''''re gonna tell you things. But what they tell you isn''''t really what happen. So Diane, I think you should know what really happened. I was trying to do a good thing.
Revealing mistakes: After the hostages are released and Eddie runs back to the bus, Jack opens the front doors to let him back on. Before he touches the door handle, it is pointed all the way towards the back of the bus. With the handle in this position, both the front and rear doors of the bus would be open already.
Continuity: After Eddie gets back on the bus, and Jack smashes through parked police cars down the alley, you clearly see that the tyres which had previously been shot out and had come loose have returned and are fully inflated.
Revealing mistakes: When the bus drives down the alley, knocking down air conditioners, one of them falls apart, revealing it to be an empty metal box.
Revealing mistakes: When Jack Mosley is in the bus talking to the negotiator, you can see the screen of the Nextel phone. Even though Jack is carrying on a conversation, the phone screen does not indicate the phone is in a call.
Continuity: In the early scene when Jack shoots the first gunman at his car, Jack''''s pistol has its slide all the way to the back and chamber exposed. This means that the pistol is empty, yet, as the camera revolves around Jack, his pistol is fully closed and he has bullets again.
Continuity: The position of both of Jack''''s hands change as he is giving his gun to Frank in the courthouse basement near the end of the film.
Continuity: When Jack Mosley drives the bus down the alley after Eddie climbs back into the bus, the NYPD SWAT Team starts shooting at the Driver''''s side in an attempt to hit Jack. In one shot we see rounds ping below the driver''''s side of the window, but in the next following shots, the white paint where the bullets supposedly hit is unscathed.
References
"Hawaii Five-O" (1968)
- Mos Def tells Bruce to use his "Hawaii 5-0" lights in the cop car
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
- pinball machine in background of bar has Travolta in his famous pose with one hand pointing in the air
"Yûgiô" (1998)
- when eddie and jack are in the old chinamans apartment eddie says hes going to open a bakery and bake birthday cakes with yugio on them
Crash (2004/I)
- readerboard towards beginning of film advertises this movie
Heights (2004)
- readerboard towards beginning of film advertises this movie
Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)
- readerboard towards beginning of film advertises this movie
Bewitched (2005)
- As Jack and Eddie talk about birthdays in the ambulance, a street billboard can be seen out the rear window that reads "Nicole Kidman: Bewitc/"
Wedding Crashers (2005)
- you can see a wedding crashers poster on a bus stop towards the begining of the film
Featured in
"HBO First Look: 16 Blocks" (2006)
- clips