Gone in 60 Seconds

There were, if you can believe it, two versions of this movie. The original 1970s version was written, directed, and starred a man named H.B. Halicki, who wasn't a professional actor, but was the owner of a junkyard, which is why the original film had so many car crashes - he could supply his own cars, cheap. Since Most Tropers Are Young Nerds ( and Nearly All Tropers Are Snarky), we'll be focusing on the later version

Gone in Sixty Seconds is a 2000 action film starring Nicolas Cage, directed by Dominic Sena, and written by Scott Rosenberg. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of The Rock and Armageddon, and is a remake of the 1974 H.B. Halicki film of the same name.

The film was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and throughout Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The film concerns "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage), a former master car thief forced to return to his former trade and steal fifty specified cars for crime boss Raymond Vincent Calitri (Christopher Eccleston), who is threatening to kill Memphis' brother, Kip (Giobanni Ribisi), because Kip had taken a contract but failed to fulfill it (a stolen Porsche Carrera was chased to Kip's warehouse and the collected cars were impounded).

Memphis now has to fulfill the contract and so reassembles his old crew, also joined by Kip's crew.

With Detective Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and his partner, Det. Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) breathing down their necks, they decide to steal all the cars in one night, to reduce the chances of being caught. Also, in case the police are monitoring their communications, all of the cars they are stealing have female code names. The most famous one in the story is the 1968 Mustang, which is nicknamed "Eleanor."

But, the police already know about the boost and, after cracking an employee at the Mercedes dealership, who had earlier supplied Kip's crew with the special laser cut keys for a Mercedes, set a trap to catch them in action. It thus turns out to be a high action drama of a very long night.

Also featured are Angelina Jolie as "Sway", Robert Duvall as "Otto", and former professional soccer player Vinnie Jones as "Sphinx".


 * Asian Drivers: The driving student, who is an Asian woman, is hopeless at any and all aspects of driving.
 * Auto Erotica: Memphis and Sway make out to pass the time while stuck in a car. Lots of Double Entendre lobbing occurs as they are doing so in a stick shift.
 * Autopsy Snack Time: Sphinx is working as a coroner and puts his sandwich down on a cadaver's chest to answer the phone.
 * Awesome McCoolname: Memphis, Sway, Sphinx, Kip and... Otto.
 * Car Chase: Well, yes, duh, but the original is remarkable in that the entire second half of the movie is one long chase.
 * Cool Car: Eleanor.
 * Enemy Mine:
 * Hello Again, Officer
 * Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist / Hero Antagonist: Castlebeck and Drycoff.
 * It Was Here, I Swear: Subverted in the original.
 * Justified Criminal: Memphis.
 * Moment Killer: Memphis and Sway are about to get intimate, but Sway breaks the moment by pointing out that they have an opportunity to steal the car they're after.
 * My Car Hates Me: Be nice to Eleanor, and she will be nice to you. Or not. She's kind of a bitch that way.
 * Mythical Motifs: Eleanor doesn't only get called a pretty girl's name (the name is pretty, not the girl), she also gets called "the unicorn" by Memphis.
 * Obsolete Mentor: Robert Duvall's character.
 * One Last Job: Memphis has actually retired as a thief, and comes out of retirement to save his little brother's bacon.
 * Pass the Popcorn: Memphis and Kip watching from the diner as Johnnie B is arrested.
 * The Quiet One: The Sphinx, whom everybody thinks is mute.
 * Road Apples: A dog eats a set of keys needed by the heroes. You know what comes next.
 * Slo-Mo Big Air: A car reaches low Earth orbit during the final chase scene. Unlike most examples, this is portrayed as a bad thing for the car.
 * Stunt Double: Averted, as Cage did most of his own stunt driving. He even continued to pursue it as a hobby after the film was completed.
 * Vanity License Plate: The Hummer's is "SNAKE". Guess what they find inside?
 * Villain Protagonist: Memphis.
 * The Voiceless: The Sphinx.
 * Unflinching Walk: Subverted, Sphinx reacts to Johnny Bs exploding car he set on fire before he walks toward the fight
 * Watch the Paint Job: Don't make Eleanor angry. You won't like her when she's angry.