- 7 weeks ago
## Short Description:
Lock and load for some cinematic firepower! Join us as we count down our picks for the most unforgettable movie shootouts of all time. From stylish standoffs to gritty gun battles, these scenes defined action cinema with their explosive exchanges. Our countdown includes intense firefights from classics and modern masterpieces alike!
Lock and load for some cinematic firepower! Join us as we count down our picks for the most unforgettable movie shootouts of all time. From stylish standoffs to gritty gun battles, these scenes defined action cinema with their explosive exchanges. Our countdown includes intense firefights from classics and modern masterpieces alike!
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Freeze!
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:11for the top 20 most exquisitely photographed bullet ballets from the silver screen.
00:21Number 20, Blaze of Glory, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
00:24There's something wonderfully fatalistic about the finale of 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
00:30I never shot anybody before.
00:36One hell of a time to tell me.
00:39There's a romanticism attached to the film's final freeze frame of Butch and Sundance,
00:43going out in what's presumably a blaze of glory.
00:45Well, that settles it. This place gets no more of my business.
00:48The audience knows full well that this affable pair is doomed.
00:51Butch and Sundance are clearly outnumbered and outgunned,
00:53and we don't need to see the outlaws cut down by a hail of bullets to know that.
00:57Ultimately, this is exactly what will happen in the end.
01:00The idea that somehow Butch and Sundance just might make it out alive
01:03is forever ingrained in that hopeful side of our brains,
01:06even if this iconic closing shootout tells us otherwise.
01:09For a moment, I thought we were in trouble.
01:10Number 19. Bullets and Booby Traps – Nobody.
01:24If I did miss this shit.
01:30It doesn't feel unfair to surmise that the plot of 2021's Nobody feels indebted to the success of the John Wick franchise.
01:36This isn't a slight, of course, as Bob Odenkirk makes the character of retired assassin Hutch Mansell feel authentic with an intriguing backstory.
01:43He also possesses an impressive set of skills to go along with said backstory,
01:52as evidenced by this climactic shootout that takes place within a booby-trapped building.
01:56Through a storm, hold your hand.
02:01Believability and realism take a backseat to fun,
02:05as Odenkirk and co-stars Christopher Lloyd and RZA take out scores of enemies with a grace that approaches superheroism.
02:16Number 18. Storm the Gates – Wanted.
02:19Speaking of superheroes, the 2008 film Wanted was based upon a comic book miniseries of the same name.
02:24I say kill them all and let fate sort out the mess.
02:29The flick also goes for broke with regards to providing a theatrical and gleeful approach to the photography of its shootouts.
02:40Specifically, the scene where Wesley Gibson goes buck-wild with bullets is hyper-stylized in appearance,
02:45but impressively composed with effective slow-motion sequences.
02:48The CGI effects definitely date-wanted, but this warehouse scene defies the film's 2008 release date
02:53and endures today as a kinetically filmed shootout that is still fun to watch today.
03:04Number 17. The Victory Motel – L.A. Confidential.
03:07A good movie shootout doesn't have to be cacophonous carnage all the time.
03:10Occasionally, some of the most effective sequences balance the quiet with the loud.
03:14All I ever wanted was to measure up to my father.
03:18Now's your chance.
03:21You died in the line of duty, didn't you?
03:23This sequence from 1997's L.A. Confidential is a great example of this sentiment,
03:28a scene that's powerful in execution but also subtly restrained.
03:31The characters of Exley and White aren't presented as all-conquering and fearless heroes,
03:35just cops who are forced to face down some dangerous odds.
03:37The Victory Motel shootout feels more realistic as a result,
03:46giving the audience moments of nail-biting downtime to go along with the bursts of bullet-riddled energy
03:51that punctuates the action scenes.
03:56Number 16. Through the Ceiling – The Boondock Saints.
03:591999's The Boondock Saints desperately wants to be your favorite stylish action film,
04:04with a number of scenes that practically beg to be watched and re-watched.
04:08The firefight ambush comes to mind.
04:09There was a firefight!
04:11And as does the scene where the McManus brothers drop through an air vent in the ceiling to assassinate their targets.
04:23It's all slow motion and late 90's trip-hop as the McManuses tumble down in an awkward position,
04:27yet still manage to coolly take out everyone in the room.
04:30They even make time for a little prayer.
04:32It's not out to be the most realistic execution out there,
04:34instead trying and succeeding and entertaining its audience.
04:37Shepherds we shall be for thee, my lord, for thee.
04:40Power hath descended forth from thy hand,
04:42for feet may swiftly carry out thy command.
04:44Number 15. Leone vs. NYPD – Leone the Professional.
04:49It's difficult for us to decide who's more captivating, albeit for different reasons.
04:53During this action-packed finale to Leone the Professional,
05:01Gary Oldman is pure wildness, with his performance as DEA head Norman Stanfield.
05:05Meanwhile, Jean Reynaud's Leone is cool and calculated as he goes up against an invading force of NYPD.
05:11The wolf.
05:15This is another fatalistic situation where the ESU team clearly outnumbers Leone,
05:19and we're fairly sure that the assassin isn't going to make it out of this one.
05:22However, the final gift from Matilda that Leone gives to Stansfield sends this scene off with a literal bang that feels bittersweet, yet satisfying.
05:30Number 14. Bar Shootout – Desperado.
05:33If you were to look up the word cool in the dictionary, then it's highly likely that you just might find a description of this scene from Robert Rodriguez's Desperado.
05:40This isn't a try-hard sort of cool either, but the effortless sort that you find from people who just know how to make things look good.
05:53This bar shootout owes a lot to classic spaghetti westerns like Django and Sabato,
05:57right down to Antonio Banderas' El Mariachi, hiding guns in a mysterious case.
06:01As a result, the bloodshed here is visceral but stylish, a nice balance between the uncanny and the exciting.
06:07The bar shootout is a deadly dance of death, with El Mariachi coming out victorious.
06:11You missed me!
06:16Number 13. Nightclub Assassin – Collateral.
06:19The characters of innocent cab driver Max and determined hitman Vincent are already deep into it when this nightclub sequence happens during the 2004 film Collateral.
06:27Director Michael Mann's known ability to stylishly and captivatingly direct film thrillers is set on full display as Vincent makes his way through the crowded nightclub, executing his victims with pinpoint accuracy.
06:40It's a dichotomy of the hitman's cool calculation and the setting's loud and crazed atmosphere.
06:50This is the sort of scene where it all comes together – script, actors and director – in order to create memorable movie magic.
06:59Number 12. Over-the-top action – Hot Fuzz.
07:03Morning.
07:08The entirety of Hot Fuzz plays with established action movie tropes, subverting audiences' expectations of them via some meta-commentary about how protagonists in these genres are supposed to behave.
07:17As a result, the film's final shootout serves as a gloriously over-the-top homage to the buddy cop films that are enjoyed so much by Nick Frost's character Danny.
07:25Frost and his co-star Simon Pegg get to engage in all the behaviors seen in films like Point Break, only for real and against some deadly adversaries.
07:32Edgar Wright's handling of the self-referential is executed perfectly, and this shootout manages to be both exciting and entertaining.
07:39You're a doctor. Deal with it.
07:52Number 11. Chaotic Shootout – Taxi Driver
07:55There's absolutely nothing glamorous, glossy or pleasant about this climactic shootout sequence from 1976's Taxi Driver.
08:02Suck on this.
08:03Oh, oh, oh!
08:05Director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader knowingly craft a troubled and unstable protagonist in the form of Travis Bickle, and this shootout serves as a breaking point for Bickle's unhealthy fixation on young Iris.
08:16Robert De Niro's Bickle has trained his body to react, but not his mind, and the execution of his deadly plans is chaotic and bloody.
08:23By the end, Bickle has taken the lives of three men, borne some grievous wounds, and sits on the couch in a near-comatose state.
08:29It's sudden, shocking, and realistic – the sort of scene that sticks with the viewer forever.
08:33Number 10. Taking Out the Bad Guys – Die Hard
08:36For many movie fans, Die Hard is a perfect action movie.
08:39Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?
08:45Yippee-ki-yay!
08:46It's difficult to disagree with this sentiment, too, especially when you take into account the care and thought put into executing the set pieces.
08:52John McClane's battle against his antagonists at Nakatomi Plaza is one that ebbs and flows between thoughtful planning and breakneck execution.
09:04As a result, the quiet bits of McClane sneaking around are punctuated by scenes like his shootouts with brothers Tony and Carl.
09:10Another shootout where McClane is cornered by Hans Gruber's men leads to the wince-inducing scene where the detective is forced to pick shards of broken glass from his foot.
09:18Shoot the glass!
09:21Number 9. Union Station Shootout – The Untouchables
09:25It takes a master of the level of O'Brien De Palma in order to construct a scene as complex as the Union Station shootout sequence from 1987's The Untouchables.
09:33Is there some problem I can help you with?
09:35No.
09:36De Palma's reputation for long shots and tension building takes is put on full display as Special Agent Elliot Ness and George Stone arrive at Union Station.
09:44The resulting shootout between the pair and Al Capone's men is a thing of nail-biting beauty, as both sides trade shots while a runaway baby carriage hangs in the balance.
09:55The end results feel visually indebted to the Odessa step sequence from 1925's Battleship Potemkin, but the 1980's update gives The Untouchables a legacy all its own.
10:05Number 8. Bloody Porch – The Wild Bunch
10:13We can stay up here and kick hell out of them, that's what we can do.
10:17There's a marked difference between an average western shootout and the bloodiness that embodies the finale of Sam Peckinpah's 1969 masterpiece The Wild Bunch.
10:25The themes of transition and change are echoed in the din of gunfire as Pike Bishop's once formidable gang goes down fighting for one of their own.
10:36These are men whose world is passing them by, yet they cling to this violent lifestyle in the most visceral fashion possible.
10:41Peckinpah and editor Lou Lombardo shoot the violence up close and personal.
10:45It's unflinching and free of any romantic notions about the Old West, including terrible collateral damage.
10:50Come on, you lazy bastard!
10:53Number 7. Candyland – Django Unchained
10:56There can often be a fine line between art and exploitation, but Quentin Tarantino has always been the kind of filmmaker who wants to have his creative cake and eat it too.
11:04As a result, the Candyland sequence from 2012's Django Unchained is both impeccably storyboarded and shot, while at the same time being an absolute case of bloody overkill.
11:15The sound design alone amplifies the action, as each bullet nauseatingly makes its way with an approach that feels almost prurient.
11:21There's a certain level of glee at play as Django Freeman mows down gunman after gunman at the Candyland compound, such as the poor fellow caught in the crossfire.
11:31It's sublimely ridiculous.
11:36Number 6. Trust Me – Terminator 2 Judgment Day
11:40The kicker behind this scene from 1991's Terminator 2 Judgment Day is given more weight for those who are fans of director James Cameron's original film.
11:48Trust me.
11:50Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 annihilates an entire police station in that entry, whereas that same T-800 unit is now a hero in the sequel.
11:58Schwarzenegger's android has been tasked with John Connor not to kill anyone, so he doesn't.
12:09But that doesn't mean that he can't absolutely mow down police cars, background scenery, or the kneecaps of an entry guard.
12:14In the words of the T-800 itself?
12:16He'll live.
12:18Number 5. Red Circle Shootout – John Wick
12:21Who knew that this 2014 film from director Chad Stahelski would grow into the fan-favorite franchise it's become in the modern day?
12:27Are you here on business, sir? Afraid so, Francis? Why don't you take the night off?
12:34Stahelski's career in the field of movie stunt work was likely one of the reasons why the choreography here is so stellar, as evidenced by this scene from the Red Circle nightclub.
12:42There's a nice balance of close contact fighting and gunplay during this sequence, but the action really ramps up once the bullets start flying.
12:49The throbbing dance music and crowded quarters only add to the unpredictability, and Wick takes on a number of adversaries.
13:01Wick comes out on top, but he doesn't leave the Red Circle unscathed, and is forced to seek refuge at the Continental.
13:07Number 4. Compound Attack – Scarface
13:14Come in! They're all over the place! Get out of here!
13:16The finale of this climactic scene from Scarface may be embedded in pop culture history today, but let's also not forget all the other moments from the compound attack that helped make this sequence so incredible.
13:25Say hello to my little friend!
13:28There's a bravado to Tony Montana's posturing in the face of overwhelming odds, a confidence that makes the audience think that maybe, just maybe, he might make it out of this assassination attempt alive.
13:41Jay!
13:43Montana takes out scores of Sosa's men with machine gun fire and a grenade launcher, but he sustains some critical hits.
13:49Finally, he's taken out from behind, ending his brief but meteoric rise to the top of an illegal empire.
13:55Number 3. Lobby Shootout – The Matrix
13:58There's a nice balance between the old and the new within this scene from The Matrix.
14:01Holy shit!
14:06Classically orchestrated gunplay and martial arts meld with stylish slow motion and a lot of dated late 90s fashion to create a thrilling shootout.
14:14Freeze!
14:15Neo and Trinity defy the laws of physics as various guards attempt to take them down, while the soundtrack thumps along to the innovative cinematography.
14:28The slow-mo works particularly well here, enthralling audiences who are hooked on this world the Wachowskis built with The Matrix.
14:34It's also incredible to rewatch today, an exciting scene with thrills to spare.
14:38Number 2. Tea House Shootout – Hard Boiled
14:48It's difficult to pick out exactly which shootout from John Woo's 1992 masterpiece Hard Boiled to include on our list.
14:54The climax of the hospital is absolutely amazing, but we just gotta go with the opening action at the Tea House.
15:06There are so many moving parts that are taken into account once the scene gets going, as Chow Yun-Fat and Bao Yi Lam attempt to break up a gun smuggling deal.
15:13There's a ton of complicated choreography, fire, explosions, the works.
15:23Additionally, the Tea House scene gets the wheels of the film's plot properly in motion, and both Lam and Yun-Fat do a lot of great acting with their eyes and body language throughout the tense shootout.
15:32Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
15:41You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
15:45If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
15:50Number 1. In the Streets – Heat
15:53The actors who took part in this genre-defining shootout from Michael Mann's Heat did so with a lot of hard work under their belts.
16:00I don't know how to do anything else.
16:03Neither do I.
16:07I don't much want to either.
16:09Neither do I.
16:10The proof is in the pudding, too, since the end results of this shootout were so effective that reportedly the United States Marines have cited it in their training.
16:18Second door!
16:19The tense back and forth between Lieutenant Vincent Hanna's LAPD and Neil McCauley's bank robbers is deadly for both sides, yet the actors involved possess some seriously steadfast resolve.
16:35These are determined men under some intense pressure, yet the end results remain steely and cool even as total chaos erupts in the streets.
16:42What are some other realistic movie shootouts? Let us know your picks in the comments below.
16:50Let us know your picks in the comments below.
Recommended
20:12
|
Up next
1:02:24
44:55
31:32
17:31
17:13
8:38
10:25
20:12
20:12
19:44
16:42
10:17
27:08
28:38
12:27
10:22
23:26
33:05
21:21
27:20
33:21
10:49
23:44
12:51
Be the first to comment