Gone in 60 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 (Giovanni 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".
This movie contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion: When Sphinx saves Memphis from being beaten up, he grabs one of his attackers by the groin while he's standing behind him. Mimicking this famous picture
◊. - And Starring: "And Robert Duvall", complete with an attention-getting Orbital Shot just to make sure the audience is paying attention.
- Anything But That!: When Calitri is trying to kill Memphis, Memphis is able to hold him at bay by using a wooden chair that Calitri had earlier been building as if it were a Human Shield.
- 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.
- Chekhov's Skill: Calitri is shown during his introduction to be a skilled carpenter who spends his time building furniture, leading to Anything But That!.
- Cool Car: Eleanor.
- Enemy Mine: Memphis and Detective Castlebeck in the climax.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Donny Astricky does not appreciate a thug pulling a gun on him to try and steal his car (which Donny just stole himself).
- Evil Brit: Raymond Vincent Calitri, Played by Christopher Eccleston.
- Fake American: Played With. Memphis thought Sphinx was from Long Beach until Sphinx gets in one line with Vinnie Jones's natural English accent.
- Hello Again Officer
- Hero Antagonist / Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist : Castlebeck and Drycoff.
- I Call It Vera: Eleanor.
- Justified Criminal: Memphis.
- Leonine Contract: Memphis must steal 50 high-end cars, while being watched by the cops, or Calitri will kill his brother Kip.
- 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 until he breaks into a philosophical speech at the end.
- Refuge in Audacity: Knowing that the cops have their shopping list, and that some of the rarer cars are under surveillance, Memphis and Co. simply break into the police impound lot.
- Reporting Names: Each of the fifty cars is assigned a girl's name, so the crew can track what they've stolen.
- Road Apples: A dog eats a set of keys needed by the heroes. You know what comes next.
- Running Gag: Eleanor stalls out and refuses to start pretty much whenever it is inconvenient to Memphis.
- 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?
- Something of a Mythology Gag, referencing a tiger found in one of the Cadillacs, foreshadowed by a tiger's paw tattoo on a woman who looks just like Suzanne Summers.
- 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.
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