The Ending (spoilers)
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wangying1856 — 19 years ago(May 12, 2006 09:26 PM)
I didn't expect him to die at the very end, I thought it was possible, but the way he was killed I did not expect, just as he had got his revenge and was about to throw away the gun he gets hit, pretty powerful moment. He was a character whom I hoped would make it through alive and get to south America but he was a killer too. I think the ending was the price the character must pay for the life he lives.
They sure don't make films like they used to. This was a good one. -
m_antonioni — 19 years ago(June 20, 2006 09:54 PM)
A character Michael Caine played in a movie a couple of years earlier than this one, in which the character is also a criminal, also dies at the end of the movie. So getting killed at the end was part of the Caine mystique in this period.
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taffy_turner — 19 years ago(July 26, 2006 06:44 PM)
He's the assasin hired by the big boss in Newcastle to get/kill Carter. He's also in the same carriage of the train that takes Carter to Newcastle at the start of the film.
"You're Only Supposed To Blow The Bloody Doors Off!" -
taffy_turner — 19 years ago(August 16, 2006 05:04 AM)
But if he had survived, what would he have done next? He couldn't have gone to South America with his girlfriend (Britt Eckland) as their little fling had been rumbled. Plus I think Carter had surely flipped his lid after all the killings he'd just carried out?
Anyway I guess his death was how the book was originally written and it's just another case of morals and crime not paying, but how come the other hit man gets away scott free though? Perhaps he'll get his come-uppance at a later date?
"You're Only Supposed To Blow The Bloody Doors Off!" -
thesnowleopard — 17 years ago(August 02, 2008 12:39 AM)
Anyway I guess his death was how the book was originally written and it's just another case of morals and crime not paying, but how come the other hit man gets away scott free though? Perhaps he'll get his come-uppance at a later date?
Of course. If Carter, whom we like, has to die because he's a killer, how much more so his assassin whom we want to see die? He probably got whacked in the upcoming gang waror maybe his bosses had him killed once he'd done the job for them (a nice little irony there). But either way, it would make no sense in the moral universe of the film for the assassin to live a long, healthy life and die in bed.
http://www.geocities.com/rpcv.geo/other.html -
bodegg — 18 years ago(June 07, 2007 01:04 PM)
Wasn't really that difficult though was it? He could have mirrored Carter's walk along the beach as he was on the clifftop. Carter had no reason to believe he was going to be topped there and then, although he would have realised he would be next. The assassin is a professional. He stalks his prey (train carriage at the start?)and travels light. As Carter had done a lot of physical exertion he would be slower than the killer making it easier to set up a shot. Carter was strolling along, laughing, totally distracted and then stood still while he thought about throwing the gun ito the sea. Bags of time. Don't forget the whole assassination thing was devised for the film, it's not in the book!
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adam-thirnis — 18 years ago(July 21, 2007 07:20 AM)
The assassin being in the train at the start was just a case of using the same actor IMO. Hodges says in the commentary that the assassin was already following him but I think he's being disingenuous if he's claiming this was intentional. There is nothing in the film to suggest he was following Carter - he was just background. The film is low budget and they were just saving money by making use of the same actor - they also used the same land rover for the police at the end that the villains were driving earlier in the film.
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enochsneed — 17 years ago(August 25, 2008 01:11 AM)
This makes sense. It's Kinnear who calls 'J' after setting up Carter's meeting with Eric Paice. I've always assumed 'J' was a local (i.e. North-East) hitman. However, he does say he already knows Carter by sight, and we don't know where he lives. We will just have to accept he is hired to kill Carter and succeeds very efficiently.
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MaximusXXX — 19 years ago(December 22, 2006 10:12 AM)
I was very happy, I love films that end with the main characters death, murder, suicide, natural death etc. I loved it, I didn't expect it to happen since most films are predictable in the way they end, but this was special.
It's not a lie if you believe it.