* AlternateCharacterInterpretation
** Marvin does hint at some standards and professionalism during his talk with Jack in Texas. Was he really going to [[spoiler:sell Mardukas to the mob]], or was he planning to [[spoiler:take the first million—already a sizable sum that he'd never had a chance at before—and then let The Duke go and run off with that, instead of showing up for the second million? That Marvin abruptly asks for more money in addition to the advance payment ''while'' he's meeting the mobsters, instead of during their negotiations on the phone, certainly leaves room for the possibility.]]
** Is The Duke really telling the truth about having not known that he was working for a mobster at first and giving most of the money to charity? Jack (who references reading about the case in the paper) doesn't scoff at his claims that at least some of the money went to charity, but The Duke ''does'' have some BlatantLies come out of his mouth across the movie.
** Was Eddie offering Marvin only a quarter of what he offered Jack simple greed, or did he feel justified by how Jack had already made the original capture, the hardest part of the manhunt, and would be easier to find on the road?
** Why is Jack's wife married to the corrupt cop who drove Jack from Chicago? Did she marry him out of pure greed and she's willingly in denial about his corruption? Did she initially think that Jack really was corrupt and that her new husband was honest, and only began to think otherwise later on? Or did the cop ''coerce'' her into marrying him as another way of spiting Jack? Does Jack know for sure if her new husband is dirty, or is he just making generalizations based on his bitter experiences on the force? Is she angry at Jack because she is defensive about marrying a corrupt man for money? Or is she she's just terrified for Jack (and possibly herself) that the man will hurt or arrest Jack if he finds him there?
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Marvin, the resourceful yet unlucky rival bounty hunter, is decently competent and funny in spite of how it's ultimately emphasized that he's OnlyInItForTheMoney.
** Jack's daughter. The moment where she sees him during the stopover and they reconnect some is a SignatureScene of the movie.
** Jerry, the double-crossing assistant at the bail bonds office who is always buying donuts while making phone calls to his ''real'' boss.
** Sidney, TheConsigliere of the mob whose (reasonable) advice keeps being ignored.
* FirstInstallmentWins: Hardly anyone remembers the Made-For-TV follow-ups.
* FridgeBrilliance: Assuming that the three made-for-TV movies are both canon and set after the original movie, it does seem odd that Jack is still chasing bounties and [[spoiler:Jerry and Marvin]] aren't in jail, but then again, given how [[spoiler:Jack's money came from Mardukas and how he wouldn't want to be accused of bribery]], it would make sense to continue with his old job for a few months or so and avoid SuspiciousSpending. Also, [[spoiler:Jerry]] was apparently arrested on suspicion, when there might not have been any real evidence against him, and [[spoiler:Marvin]] hadn't actually done anything illegal (that the Feds could prove), just being in the wrong place at the wrong time when they arrested him.
* IronWoobie: Jack Walsh. He keeps a brave, unconcerned face, but he lost his family and his job for standing up as an honest cop, watched his wife marry a DirtyCop, hasn't seen his daughter since she was five, and is stuck doing small-time bounty jobs to save up for his coffee shop while receiving little to no respect or courtesy from the law enforcement personnel who were once his brethren.
* MoralEventHorizon: Marvin is a sleazy and unethical {{Jerkass}}, but for most of the film he's simply a rival to Jack. [[spoiler:He crosses the line into outright evil when he decides to turn Mardukas over to Serrano, knowing he'll be killed.]]
* OnceOriginalNowCommon: In terms of Creator/RobertDeNiro's career, however, this was one of the first times that he was cast in a primarily comedic role, so after spending the first two decades of the twenty-first century primarily starring in comedies, it can be hard for modern audiences to realise what a novelty this was at the time.
* TearJerker:
** Jack not only had to quit the Chicago police force because he refused to take bribes, but a corrupt cop stole his wife and family from him.
** Jack, visiting his family for the first time in nine years to ask his ex-wife for money. At first it's assumed that Jack is just a [[DisappearedDad deadbeat dad]] who ran out on them and is intruding on his family's new, better life without him. When he leaves again, his daughter runs after him and tries to give him all her babysitting money to help him out. On the verge of tears, he tells her that he can't take it and that he loves her. The look on their faces as he drives off makes it painfully obvious that leaving the first time was not his choice, and it's killing him to do it again.
** Overlapping with Heartwarming, but Mardukas's final line to Jack - "See you in the next life." - hits a whole lot differently after Charles Grodin passed away in 2021.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Aside from the fact that everybody smokes like a chimney, even inside of airplanes, and Jack uses payphones instead of a cellphone, at one point Jack [[PokeInTheThirdEye snarks to the FBI over a bugged phone]] that he is standing in front of a Howard Johnson's restaurant (the franchise started to decline at a severe pace from TheNineties onwards, with the very last restaurant of the chain closing in 2022).
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