- Alternate Character Interpretation: Some see Arthur Bishop as an existentialist Sociopathic Hero, but others say it's because life's let him down too many times.
- Magnificent Bastard: Arthur Bishop is a talented hitman who always finds the 'jelly spot' of his targets to eliminate them. In an assassination of 'Big' Harry McKenna, Bishop passes it off by natural causes by spooking Harry into a heart attack before smothering him, an intelligent gambit he tends to repeat on all his hits. When he takes Harry's ruthless son Steve under his wing, Bishop also foresees the betrayal by his employers and fights through it. At the end, when Steve thinks he's won by poisoning Bishop, Bishop is revealed to have seen it coming and sets up a final recording for Steve, along with a bomb activated by a tripwire.
- Moral Event Horizon: After Louise has called Steve after cutting her wrists and is bleeding to death, Steve and Arthur stand by and watch, giving her estimates of the symptoms and time until death, and throwing her the keys to a vehicle and telling her where she can drive to get help. This scene is also an excellent showcasing of the film's existentialist themes. As Steve says to the girl; "If you don't care about your life, why should I?"
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