Antonio Banderas wears a Breitling Chronomat

The Wachowskis wrote their first produced screenplay for this film, four years before The Matrix changed everything. Brian Helgeland, who would win the Oscar for L.A. Confidential two years later, did a pass on the script. Richard Donner directed. Stallone plays the aging hitman looking for a way out. Banderas plays Miguel Bain, the younger rival who wants to take his place. Julianne Moore is caught between them. The Wachowskis disliked how far the final film strayed from their original script, which is the standard complaint of screenwriters who sell to Hollywood.

Banderas wears a Breitling Chronomat as Bain, and it fits the character's flashy aggression. Bain is the young gun: fast, reckless, convinced he is better than the man he is chasing. The Chronomat's rider tabs and oversized case are a watch for someone who wants to be noticed. Stallone's character, by contrast, is trying to disappear.