YMMV / 3000 Miles to Graceland

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Was Murphy's plan to execute the rest of the gang a last-minute change-of-heart, or was it something he was actively planning even before the heist was planned? There's enough evidence to suggest the latter may be true, as Murphy's attempted aid to the dying Franklin could be construed as him trying to strangle the latter (while holding pressure on his neck) instead, so as to get rid of a possible obstacle and cause division amongst the surviving robbers in the process.
• Awesome Music: The soundtrack contains a lot of hard metal and techno, the standout of which is Filter's "It's Gonna Kill Me". George S. Clinton's score qualifies as well, most notably Franklin's Requiem.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The names of several characters, and the fact that it centers around a group of ex-cons who reunite to plan and execute a casino heist together, has evoked comparisons to Grand Theft Auto V, with bonus points for two of the major characters in the crew being named Michael and Franklin.
• One-Scene Wonder: Canadian musician Paul Anka, as a pit boss in the Riviera who is frustrated with Elvis Impersonator Week and eventually takes a proactive role in trying to stop the gang that robs the casino a few moments later. The sight of Paul Anka wielding an assault rifle and firing full-auto in the direction of the fleeing robbers is almost worth the price of admission itself.
• Retroactive Recognition: In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, Nip/Tuck's Kelly Carlson can be seen as a member of the motorcycle gang Murphy rides by midway through the film.
• The Scrappy: Jesse is an ill-tempered, arrogant kleptomaniac who disrespects nearly everyone he comes across, and would have been beaten or shot... were it not for the fact that he's just a kid. As such, Michael has to drag him around for nearly the entire film as a Tagalong Kid, and he "graduates" to being The Load by the third act, as he's caught by Murphy and used as a bargaining chip for Michael to bring the loot from the heist.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • The opening scene with the scorpion fight, animated in Rainmaker Entertainment's trademark style, clashes horribly with the rest of the film.
  • When the surviving scorpion stings Murphy at the end appears. It looks no better than it did at the beginning despite now interacting with a real world setting.
• Squick: When Murphy is driving alongside the motorcycle gang leader, the latter asks the former what he's been up to. At that point, Megan raises her head from Murphy's lap (having just given him fellatio), sticks a wad of used gum in her mouth, kisses Murphy and he then reveals that he's now chewing the same piece of gum she had!
• They Copied It, So It Sucks!: A common criticism of the film is that it clearly tries too hard to emulate the style of Quentin Tarantino.
• Uncertain Audience: The film attempts to be a cross between a crime drama involving two alleged sons of Elvis Presley, a heist flick, a Buddy Cop Show (via the two hapless investigators following in the wake of Michael and Murphy's carnage) and a Road Trip Plot, while simultaneously invoking the spirit of Quentin Tarantino's works without really understanding why those films worked well (a byproduct of an unfocused tone for the film, which eventually caused stars Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell to create competing cuts — one a dark and violent crime film, the other a Black Comedy centered around Russell and Courteney Cox's characters). The resulting product was a mess at the box office, ultimately grossing just shy of $19 million against a $62 million budget (not counting prints & advertising).

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