When the film was released, director Mathieu Kassovitz called it a "bad episode of 24 (2001)." In an interview with amctv.com, Kassovitz said that 20th Century Fox interfered throughout production, and he never had a chance to shoot a scene the way it was scripted, or the way he wanted it to be.
According to Mathieu Kassovitz, Vin Diesel was astounded at how much the film had been shortened. Having just completed production of Fast & Furious (2009), he had not seen a cut of the film in six months. He joked, "Am I even in the movie any more, or am I on the cutting room floor?"
The round Sigil Tattoo seen on Vin Diesel's neck is known as "The Gate of the Necronomicon" and is protective, symbolizing Man, the Creator and The Watchers.
20th Century Fox severely cut the film's running time to 93 minutes. It is reported that 70 minutes were cut, although Mathieu Kassovitz claims that it is closer to fifteen minutes.
Mathieu Kassovitz later released a documentary called Fucking Kassovitz (2011) covering the production.