Quotes

Dialogue

Robert McCall: I was a Pip. Jay: You were a pimp? Robert McCall: No, not a pimp, a Pip. "P - I - P", Pip. Jay: What the fuck is a Pip? Robert McCall: Why you got to curse so much? You know, like Gladys Knight & the Pips? Like this. [starts dancing]

Dialogue

Robert McCall: [explaining the ending of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, which he was just finishing] Old man tied the fish to the side of the boat, had to row back to shore, fish bled in the water, sharks came and ate the whole fish till there was nothing left. Teri/Alina: That's just kind of a waste, isn't it? Robert McCall: Depends upon how you look at it. The old man met his adversary when he thought that part of his life was over. He saw himself in the fish. Came to... Came to respect it the more it fought. Teri/Alina: Why didn't he just let the fish go? Robert McCall: The old man's gotta be the old man. Fish gotta be the fish. Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what.

Dialogue

Ralphie: I'm not strong enough. Robert McCall: Don't doubt yourself, son. Doubt kills.

Dialogue

Teri/Alina: I'm Teri. Robert: Bob. … Teri/Alina: You know, you don't look like a Bob. Robert: Yeah? Teri/Alina: You look like a Robert. Robert reads books like this and Bob watches TV... My real name's Alina. Robert: What happened to your face? Alina: Someone stupid. [after an uncomfortable pause, she get's out a CD of her singing] Okay, it's not professional. Just tell me what you think, okay? Robert: Wow. Alina the singer. Alina: You and I know what I really am. Robert: I think you can be anything you wanna be. Alina: Maybe in your world, Robert. Doesn't happen that way in mine. Robert: Change your world.

Dialogue

Alina: You know, I see a lot of widowed guys. Something in your eyes. You know, it's not sad. It's just kind of... lost, you know? You always read books? Robert: My wife did. She... She was working through the 100 Books Everybody Should Read. She made it to 97, so I figured I'd give it a shot. And one day we'd have something to talk about. We'd get together.

Dialogue

Alina: I love being up at this hour. Robert: Yeah? Alina: Yeah. You know, everything's so dark. It makes everything seem possible again. Robert: Yeah, me, I can't sleep at night. Alina: Yeah, well, I get to hear your stories. What's your new one about? Robert: It's about a guy who thinks he's a knight in shining armor. The only thing is he lives in a world where knights don't exist anymore. Alina: Kind of sounds like my world.

Dialogue

Ralphie: [asking about Robert's injured hand] What happened? Robert McCall: I hit it on something stupid.

Dialogue

Robert: [arrives at Nikolai's table and produces a pair of broken, blood-stained glasses] He's not coming back. [takes a seat] Had enough? Nicolai: You certainly have my attention. Robert: Because I can keep going. Brick by brick, dollar by dollar, body by body, or you can call your boss and tell him to shut down his operation, tonight. Nicolai: That's not much of an offer. Robert: It's the only one you're gonna get. When you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud, too. Nicolai: When you look at me, what do you see? [Robert laughs] Hmm? The answer's nothing. I have no feelings for you, one way or the other. You're like lint or a bottle cap. You're just a thing to remove. Robert: I knew a Russian police captain back in the day. He told me about a case he worked on. Can't remember the guy's name. He was a famous scholar, lived in Moscow. He was a humanitarian, an author. Anyway, he decided to share his abundance with someone less fortunate. And even though he had five children, he op

Dialogue

Vladimir Pushkin: Who are you? Robert McCall: Everybody wants to know. … Vladimir Pushkin: What do you want? Robert McCall: I want the head of the snake. Vladimir Pushkin: So it's you. And now you've come to kill me. Robert McCall: Yes. Vladimir Pushkin: And tell me, what do you gain from my death? Robert McCall: Peace.