Most Rewatchable Scene
The meatpacking-district confrontation
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:03Read transcript
- The second visit to the missing girl’s mother is praised for its sad social tension and for grounding the investigation in her need to know. — Bill Simmons
- Max’s bookstore introduction is praised for instantly energizing the film and establishing chemistry with the investigator. — Bill Simmons
- The panel digresses into the implausible length and audience of the adult novel used as a book cover.
- The parking-lot negotiation and underground search are favorites; discovering that the same performer appears in two supposedly fatal films supplies dark comic relief. — Bill Simmons
- The threatening phone call to Eddie is admired for Gandolfini’s reaction and sleazy characterization. — Bill Simmons
- The meatpacking confrontation is praised for its location, revelation of the motive, and escape using the single bullet. — Bill Simmons
- The subsequent call confirming the film’s reality is singled out. — Bill Simmons
- Eddie’s death scene is praised for Gandolfini’s taunting excess and Cage’s emotional escalation. Stopping to telephone the mother for permission is also mocked as bizarre overthinking.
- The final fight with Machine is praised, particularly the ordinary-looking face behind the mask and his lack of an explanatory traumatic history. — Bill Simmons
- One preference is for the second and third Phoenix-and-Cage scenes as they enter the underground world. — Bill Simmons
- Another contribution praises hiring Dino to make a custom film before choosing the meatpacking showdown; the next choice agrees, emphasizing that the villains anticipated the investigator. — Bill Simmons