Feature

Top 50 Movie Gunfights


24th September 2008

Who needs dialogue when you've got guns? If a picture says a thousand words, then a well-placed bullet in the head tells a whole goddamn story - gentlemen, these 50 awesome movie gunfights are your new holy scriptures. Stacked end to end, these cinematic shootouts contain enough corpses to choke a river, enough lead to sink Superman and enough blood to paint the world red - who cares about glamorising violence when it looks and sounds this awesome? Just remember, kids - guns don't kill people, movie stars with guns kill people. Let the carnage commence... Digg this article

50. SPIN ON THIS
BAD BOYS II (2003)
When Will Smith and Martin Lawrence attempt a Haitian takedown, their perps are found just a thin layer of brick and mortar away. Watch for Michael Bay's carousel camera, which whirls round both parties as they take out their rage on the house's poor doors and windows.



49. "COME QUIETLY OR THERE WILL BE... TROUBLE!"
ROBOCOP (1987)
Robocop's directive seemed simple enough, but the crack-peddling goons in Kurtwood Smith's drug factory had other ideas. Sadly, they wound up suffering Paul Verhoeven's unique brand of ultra-violence gunishment, though Smith gets the brunt of Robo's fury, getting thrown through three windows for good measure. He did say there would be trouble...



48. WHO NEEDS JAMES BOND?
SHOOT 'EM UP (2007)
Clive Owen plays it straight as sharpshooter Mr. Smith in this unashamedly testosterone-fuelled action romp: "Eay your vegetables," he deadpans, ramming a carrot through one poor soul's head before unleashing a volley of OTT gunfire that'd make even the most fervent gun nuts pop their load. Even Bond couldn't pull that off.



47. RUSSELL TO THE RESCUE
PROOF OF LIFE (2000)
The film itself? Largely forgettable stuff. But the gung ho ending? Forget about it. Russell Crowe and his men venture deep into the jungle of fictional land Tecala to rescue David Morse's hostage, grasping every opportunity to go full-on Soldier Of Fortune and make best use of their cutting-edge military hardware.



46. HERE TO DIE, GONE TOMORROW
A BETTER TOMORROW II (1987)
John Woo directed this Hong Kong action sequel and all but disowned it after the producer tried to tinker with it behind his back. The only thing Woo remains proud of is the final gun battle, which sees Chow Yun-Fat and associates going gun mental and racking up a body count nearing triple figures.



45. ANYTHING BUT DULLES
DIE HARD 2 (1990)
"How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?" wondered Bruce Willis' everyman hero John McClane. We say: who cares as long as the carnage looks this cool. With Dulles airport under siege, it's up to McClane to bring down William Sadler's men and save his own ass. Again.



44. INDY SHOT FIRST
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK(1981)
We all know the story by now. Harrison Ford, riddled through with dysentery, couldn't bear another Spielberg-orchestrated fight. Rather than sweat his way through the planned fisticuffs with an Arab swordsman, Ford simply suggested: "Can't we just shoot the sucker instead?" The resulting scene remains the funniest of the entire Indiana Jones trilogy.



43. EL MARIACHI WALKS INTO A BAR...
DESPERADO (1995)
Robert Rodriguez directs this cartoonish outburst of Wild West violence. Antonio Banderas is the guitar-playing gunslinger who takes on a bar full of miscreants, though perhaps he could have preserved some of his ammo by not shooting that one guy 15 times in the chest. That's the Latin temperament for you.



42. BLOODIEST MOVIE EVER
HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX (1993)
After mocking Tom Cruise (about 15 years before it was fashionable) in Top Gun spoof Hot Shots, Part Deux focused its attention on the buff buffoonery of Rambo. As Topper Harley takes on hordes of Iraqi soldiers, he piles up the corpses until he's awarded the biggest movie body count ever. Yep, even bigger than Commando.



41. CLINT IS COMING
UNFORGIVEN (1992)
Haven't you evil cowboys figured it out yet? Don't fuck with Clint Eastwood. His hero here is slightly longer in the tooth than The Man With No Name, plus, of course, he has a name - he's William Munny, and any sumbitch who takes a shot at him can expect full and bloody retribution.

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