A thrilling and well-filmed shootout can define a film, and a film chock full of thrilling, quality shootouts can define a genre. Every year a new flurry of action movies make it into cinemas, but how many make it into the hall of fame?
Today’s Stuff to Watch takes a look at the action movie genre and features a few of the juiciest shootout scenes ever captured on film. Of course there’s no way I can include every quality shootout, so be sure to add your own in the comments underneath this article. Let’s lock and load!
Heat (1995) [IMDB]
Every time I think of this movie I can’t help but remember how gripped I was the first time I watched this scene. Of course the whole film is a quality production – but this particular scene sticks in your mind, has spawned countless references and even inspired a virtually identical mission in Rockstar Games’ GTA4.
Without a doubt a “must-see” action film, Heat stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro but doesn’t rely on high profile actors to sell the movie. Take a look at the clip below; it sells itself.
Watch: Heat Downtown Shootout Scene @ YouTube (Embedding disabled on all uploaded videos of this scene, sorry!)
Hard Boiled (1992) [IMDB]
It should come as no surprise that John Woo knows how to make a good action film, and with Chow Yun-Fat in a lead roll then you know the body count will be high. The plot’s as loose as it needs to be, but
provides the perfect set-up: world’s toughest cop teams up with an undercover agent to take down mob boss and uh… people get shot.
Hard Boiled is often hailed as one of the grittiest, bloodiest and most violent films of its kind and this point is demonstrated excellently in the clip below. If this looks good then you’ll be delighted to hear that the film is full of sequences like this.
A Better Tomorrow (1986) [IMDB]
Another John Woo film (and not the last either), A Better Tomorrow tells the tale of an ex-gangster trying to break ties with his gang whilst reconciling with his brother. The fact that his brother is in the police force means they’re both well trained in the ass-kicking department, and that’s all the set-up you need for an action flick.
The following scene is the kind of gory, all-guns-blazing bloodbath that made John Woo a “household” name.
A Better Tomorrow Part 2 (1987) [IMDB]
Remember that tough cop and his ex-gangster brother? Well this time round they’re teaming up with a restaurant owner and (in true action movie style) they’re out for revenge. There’s the plot over with – can you guess what comes next?
Here’s one of those typical over-the-top sequences action films have become so well-known for, except this one’s tinged with John Woo’s brutality and special effects department!
The Killer (1989) [IMDB]
The Killer is a tale of remorse and double-crossings as a retired hitman undertakes one last job in order to care for his girlfriend and repay a debt he owes (not your usual debt, either).
My only criticism of this particular scene is that the bad guy with the incendiary shotgun ammo only fires one round. Now that’s not much of a criticism, but then again this is another John Woo and it’s hard to complain about ferocious gunplay.
Boondock Saints (1999) [IMDB]
The most recent film on the list, Boondock Saints is a tale of two brothers, the mafia and an FBI agent who begins to question right and wrong. The clip below is a thrilling and gory clash, but this isn’t your usual movie shoot-out.
Instead we’re treated to a slightly less orthodox firefight, recalled and narrated by Willem “and then there was a firefight!” Dafoe.
The Wild Bunch (1969) [IMDB]
No list is complete without this tour-de-force, and no action fan is complete until they’ve watched this movie. Set at a time when the American “wild west” was disappearing, a group of outlaws are hot on the heels of one last big score.
This particular scene is actually the final shootout, so if you’ve not seen the film then you might want to skip it for now. If you have seen the film then I doubt you’ll be able to resist clicking play in the video below.
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