MovieChat Forums > Undue Influence (1996) Discussion > Glowing laser lens

Glowing laser lens

posted 16 years ago by nhawthorne-1
5 replies | jump to latest

The hitman not only had an unlikely assassin's weapon -- the ridiculously heavy Desert Eagle handgun -- but he had it rigged with a silencer and laser sighting device, making it even more ridiculously heavy and cumbersome. Why not use a carbine instead? But what's really silly -- hilarious actually -- is that the lens of his laser sighting device constantly glows like Rudolph's nose! Not only is this technically impossible, but it's tactically absurd, giving away the guy's position no matter how cleverly he tries to hide. Then, plotwise, why would he try to kill Madriani after the case has unraveled in court? Hitmen don't go for revenge unless they're paid, and who would pay to hit Madriani? The redhead, maybe, but that's another story...

[–] daver-3 16 years ago

I know I'm replying to an old post, but we just watched this movie and though it was quite interesting with some good plot twists, we came away with the same questions as nhawthorne: why would the hitman go after Madriani???? His contract was obviously for the Merlos. Not to mention that fact that he is about the most inept hitman of any movie (apart from the Pink Panther movies).

[–] hueydoc 16 years ago

nhawthorne-1; there was no silencer on the weapon, but any GOOD hitman would have used a rifle because they are more accurate at long distances than pistols.

[–] lemoviecritic 16 years ago

I agree with those of you that this scene should have ended up on the cutting room floor. It was unnecessary to drive the story to the next scene after the police arrive and explanations are made to where Brian says who the guilty was in the car scene. He already knew who that was. As to the gun issue, I'd guess the director thought since Brian is aa pretty good sized man and not a great sprinter that having him see the 'red dot' on his suit would give him encouragement to sprint out of the gunman's 'sight'.

'A day without laughter, is a day without sunshine'.

[–] den09 10 years ago

Hang on a mo...wasn't this whole hit thing a fakey set up by the Feds? They were about to fake the killing of two witnesses to get them into protection...sorry it all went a bit cloudy there... the hit-man was a real hit-man and gunning for Brian or Pauly, coincidentally there at the same time as the fakery? Or what ?
It seemed to me that it was implied that same hit-man faked the shooting...So was the hit-man being deliberately clumsy? It felt like it with that red-spot thing ..and then it didn't ...and then it did! Help.
I dunno it was a bit DUH But it was an easy guess who done it from the go.. the rest being just filler.

Jean Smart eh?

[–] JohnnyJohnson (400) 2 years ago

I just finished watching this and came on here to ask the same thing! Why start shooting at Pauly and hold a gun to the son's head???? He's a professional hitman, so who was paying him to off Pauly at the end?!?! He already blew up a federal post office so you'd think he'd want to lie low for a bit and not just randomly kill Pauly for no reason. And for a hitman, he REALLY sucked. You have a target as big as a whale and who can't run to save his life and you can't get even ONE shot at him? It was funny seeing Pauly waddling as fast as he could to avoid the bullets, though. LOL. This movie wasn't going to succeed in giving him a new career as an action star, that's for sure. And for someone as hot as Jean Smart to be so in love with him? Something stinks in suburbia.

Also, it was obvious almost immediately that it was the son who got Melanie pregnant but even that story arc didn't make much sense. When in court the medical expert said the DNA of the fetus was "consistent" with the father Jack who had a vasectomy, that's just not how DNA works. The lab would have come back saying something like the DNA markers are consistent with the father of the fetus being RELATED to Jack, a first degree relative. So hmm, who could that be?

I didn't understand the whole witness protection thing, and why Jean Smart would go on the stand and say they lost a lot of WP papers and that Jack and Melanie just HAPPENED to be living next door to a couple in WP whose paperwork of their address just HAPPENED to be wrong in their files so it was probably a hitman that killed Melanie. I mean, how lucky can you get? Deus Ex-Machina, just make something up with such a contrivance to move the plot along.