Question: Is this a true story? The ending with text "John W. Creasy" and lifetime dates makes it seem like a true story.
Answer: No, the movie was based on a fiction book. The book takes place in Italy, and the kidnapping ring is run by the mafia.
Answer: The movie was completely lifted from a much better 1987 version of the same story.
Question: Why would Sam and his friends go to the library?
Answer: Possibly because it was the closest building with height to it as they are about to be hit by a gigantic wave of water. There was no snow yet, so I don't believe burning books or snow was on anybody's mind yet. It turned out to be a great idea as snow soon starts to fall and those books were literally a life saver.
Answer: It was the closest building they could access. While the smarter move would have been to just go back to JD's apartment (which Brian and Laura suggest) it may have been too far a walk to get out of the flooding streets.
Why did they burn the books and not the wooden shelves that the books were on?
As for burning books rather than shelves, it was just easier. They would have had to expend more energy to break down the shelves into manageable size.
Question: In the beginning of the film, where Dracula is talking to Viktor vonFrankenstein, he slams the chest shut and begins yelling at him. Before this, Viktor was looking over his shoulder and his attention immediately snaps back to Dracula, but he then turns once more to look behind him before staring at Dracula again, can someone explain why he looks over his shoulder a second time?
Answer: During their conversation Dracula is able to move around the room without Viktor noticing it. Then Dracula is standing on top of the fireplace behind Viktor, that's why he turns his head the first time. When Dracula suddenly slams the chest Viktor is surprised to see Dracula suddenly standing in front of him so he instinctively turn his head to look at the fireplace to believe his own eyes.
Question: If Lanning really had leaped from that distance, wouldn't he be unrecognizable upon impact and not with only a little bit of blood coming from his mouth?
Question: When Bourne interrogates Nikki (under duress) in the underground station, Nikki insists that Bourne had never worked in Berlin, much less completed his first mission there. But it is established that Bourne had killed the Neskis in Berlin on what is described by Conklin as his first mission. Assuming Nikki has no reason to lie and that she would have accurate information about Bourne's activities, what might explain that issue?
Chosen answer: Conklin ordered Bourne to kill the Neskis, telling him it was a training mission, when in fact it was an unofficial, off-the-books assignment to cover up his and Abbott's corrupt dealings with Gretkov, which Neski was about to expose. Nicky did not know about this Berlin mission as it was not an official Treadstone operation.
Conklin did not tell Bourne that it was a training mission. Conklin told Bourne "this is not a drill soldier...this is a live project, you're a go."
Partially correct. After Bourne eliminates the Neskis, Conklin says "Congratulations soldier, training is over." This implies that while the mission was real, Bourne was still an asset in training, and off the books.
By "not a drill" and "live project", Conklin is telling Bourne to actually kill the Neskis - like killing the hooded man for Hirsch, it's training him to do anything for Treadstone. It could be that the edit is out of chronological order, but the order of the scenes implies that after Bourne has done the job and returned to the car, Conklin says "Congratulations, soldier. Training is over."
Question: When Ben and the others enter the treasure room, who's carrying the Declaration of Independence?
Chosen answer: Abigail.
Question: What does Agamemnon yell right before the Greeks charge in the first battle?
Answer: He doesn't yell any words, just an expression of anguish over his brothers death.
Question: How is Dash Parr able to run across water?
Chosen answer: If any object can move across the water quickly enough, the weight isn't transferred completely. In some Scandinavian countries, they actually DRIVE very quickly across water in adapted vehicles. If the character of Dash could actually run that fast, it is feasible and possible for him to run on the water's surface.
Question: What does the Saxon who rallies the troops actually yell? He yells it twice: once, after Cerdic meets with Arthur in front of the wall and gives the order to "prepare the men for battle", and then a second time when Cerdic gives the signal after the only survivor of the first "wave" comes back through the wall. (And I don't mean his cry of "battle formation.").
Answer: I don't think it's supposed to be German. Probably Old Saxon. Could be something like "slahten fiand" - slaughter enemy.
Answer: He yells 'Schlachtet den feind!' (In very, very bad "German") - 'slaughter the enemy!'. And his army seems to yell: "Schlachtung! Schlachtung! Schlachtung..." - "Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter..."
Question: When Liz uses her fire, it incinerates everything around her. How does it not burn off her own clothing?
Chosen answer: Her jewelry does not melt either because the fire wraps around her and shoots outward enveloping her and her clothes and jewelry in a safe environment that allows her to breathe without burning the air going into her lungs. Plus if it burned her clothes it would get an R rating.
Question: How is it possible for everybody from other countries to know about the wager that Phileas made when the only ones who knew about were the members of the Academy of Science?
Answer: In order to stop Fogg from completing the journey, his rivals at the Academy wired (telegraphed) details to confederates in the countries he visited with instructions to waylay him.
Question: How come Harry and Peter stopped living together?
Answer: While it's never mentioned in the film, the most likely explanation is that Harry, as a rich kid, grew tired of "slumming it" and decided to move back into his mansion.
Question: In the extended version, when Frank confronts Jimmy about his betrayal, why did he make Jimmy commit suicide instead of killing Jimmy himself?
Answer: Jimmy is drowning in massive gambling debt and has had to resort to selling everything of value he owns as well as steal money from evidence lockers to help pay his debt down. He has nothing to live for and is merely going through the motions of life, and coupled with his guilt over selling out Frank and getting his family killed, Frank concludes Jimmy needs to take his fate in his own hands.
Question: How old are the Tracy boys and Tin Tin in the movie? Obviously they are younger then in the show, but how much younger?
Question: Does anyone know what the joke is about Matt Damon always calling out his name? Is it supposed to be a reference to something?
Answer: I read an interview with Trey Parker and Matt Stone where they said that they had not intended for it to be that way but that when they made the Matt Damon puppet, it looked so retarded that they thought it would be funny to just have him be retarded in the movie and only say his name. They said it was nothing personal against Matt Damon.
Question: Is there anyone who knows the English translation for the latin that Merrin speaks to Sara right after she dies in the end?
Answer: I do. It's just the Latin form of the Ritual Absolution in the Initial Rites from the Mass, applied to the second singular person (it is said with "us", instead of "you"), though it should not be used there with Sarah. In those situations, the proper absolution is the one that belongs to the Sacrament of Reconciliation or, instead, a simple blessing. The translation is: May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive your sins and lead you to eternal life.
Answer: Daniel "La Voz" Sanchez was based off the kidnapper Daniel Arizmendi López and Aurelio Sanchez was based off his bother Aurelio Arizmendi López, so some of it maybe true but not a lot.