All I know about guns I learned from movies/TV

[Seattleimport]

Alternate thread title "Or, 100 Ways To Die in a Gunfight".

Saw the excellent movie Inception last night. Really good movie, but as with most every movie that features guns, it has its share of horrendous mistakes/fallacies.

One such is evident in the trailer. If you don't mind a scene spoiler, there is a scene where a protagonist is trapped inside a warehouse, and is engaging in a rifle battle with antagonists outside. The protagonist takes cover behind a 1mm corrugated steel warehouse door. Obviously, against rifle bullets, that door is not cover but concealment. A wise antagonist would simply shoot through the door.*

What other movies teach particularly bad tactics? What movies actually showcase sound tactical decisions / practices?

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* This scene is forgivable in that it takes place within a dream, where that paper-thin wall could very well have the "physical" properties of 2-foot thick diamond-plated titanium.

 

[Tommygunn]

What other movies teach particularly bad tactics?

It would be more efficient to ask "what movies teach good tactics?" as that list would be so much shorter ........

 

[killchain]

It would be more efficient to ask "what movies teach good tactics?" as that list would be so much shorter ........

Heat.

Heard rumors that San Fran's SWAT used it for training fodder before they were allowed to have "assault weapons."

 

[LHRGunslinger]

Deadliest Warrior Season 2 Episode 1 GSG9 Vs LA SWAT

 

[Cosmoline]

You sometimes find rare bits of quality action on the dial. The classic Doctor Who episodes in the Pertwee era (early 70's) had stunts provided by a team of ex-soldiers called "Havoc." They basically had shoot-outs with ridiculous aliens, but showed some smart handling of the old L1A1's, hand grenades and the like. Contrasted with the gun handling horrors of the current series (or any other show in the UK), their stunts age well.

In this segment, for example, you can see Havoc augmented by Royal Naval personnel, coming into action on one of the RN's classic SRN5 hovercraft. The stunts are impressive considering the bulky costumes and extremely low budget. Watch the non-speaking roles--the speaking parts had to go to gun-ignorant actors by union regs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUdZOQG-aPU&feature=related

Also, the classic war films such as "The Steel Helmet" and "Fixed Bayonets" by Sam Fuller show very tight military gun handling. He was insisting on it a generation before "Saving Private Ryan" or "Heat."

 

[rmfnla]

TV & movies taught me that there are pistols & rifles that can shoot a gazillion times without reloading.

Now, if I could only find one...

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

So, in a movie where people go into to other people's dreams to commit crimes, the part you found unrealistic was the gun play?

Ah, gun forums. Perhaps the only place in the world where there is be plenty of suspension of disbelief for zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens, communist invasions of Colorado, alternate universes, extended car chases through congested metropolitan areas without a single traffic jam, killer robots, superheroes, talking animals, attractive female assassins, wanton violations of the laws of physics, and magic, but there will be hell to pay if a Glock makes a cocking sound as it comes out of the holster. That just never happens in the real world.

 

[dbb1776]

It is easier for me to accept Scotty beaming up Kirk than a glock clicking. I have no first hand experience with Beaming.
NANOO!

 

[CraigC]

It would be easier to pick out the ones that aren't a joke. As a general rule of thumb, if it is not written, produced or directed by John Millius or Michael Mann, expect errors. Lots of them.

 

[Seattleimport]

So, in a movie where people go into to other people's dreams to commit crimes, the part you found unrealistic was the gun play?

Well, to be fair, any work of fiction asks for suspension of disbelief on certain elements. And the viewer can reasonably expect that elements not explicitly fantastic will be handled relatively realistically.

To your specific question, no, I didn't find the gunplay unrealistic. As I mentioned: it took place in a dream. As soon as I noted the silliness of taking cover behind sheet metal, I dismissed the notion since the entire context was fanciful.

To your larger point, though: yes, perhaps we're too hard on gunplay in fiction. After all, in almost every case, the root purpose of the gunfight is to showcase conflict/advance the story. Fiction certainly isn't documentary, and of course it's unreasonable to expect fiction to behave as fact.

That said, many people have plenty of experience with fictional gunplay and zero experience with real gunplay. And they may draw bad conclusions from their fictional experiences. Which, if they choose to become gun owners, could lead to unfortunate consequences. I'm thinking of all the "what if" threads that generate overly aggressive tactics coupled with an overly optimistic prediction of the outcome of those tactics.

 

[speaksoftly]

Ah, gun forums. Perhaps the only place in the world where there is be plenty of suspension of disbelief for zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens, communist invasions of Colorado, alternate universes, extended car chases through congested metropolitan areas without a single traffic jam, killer robots, superheroes, talking animals, attractive female assassins, wanton violations of the laws of physics, and magic, but there will be hell to pay if a Glock makes a cocking sound as it comes out of the holster. That just never happens in the real world.

BAHA!! I'm literally about to bust a lung I'm laughing so hard at that one. Haha

 

[Justin]

Hollywood makes movies to entertain, not educate.

This goes for everything from gun handling to dating to driving to flying to practically any other activity.

If you really want to indulge your inner nit-picky geek, check out TV Tropes.