Hollywood’s Biggest Gun Fails

5 Cringe-Worthy Gun Moments in Movie History

by Richard Baimbridge

We all love a good action movie, and Hollywood sniper/gun-for-hire films like Jason Bourne and John Wick are great fun to watch. A few of the actors like Keanu Reeves are actually well-trained and seriously know their way around a gun. But for hardcore gun enthusiasts, it can be anything from laughable to straight-up irritating watching them get it wrong sometimes.

Despite all the highly-professional and well-intentioned expert advisers on film sets, they still manage to screw up pretty often. You’d expect that big budget films like American Sniper, a movie based on the memoir of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper, would be an exception. And for the most part it is -- but even that film still has a few glaring errors, as we’ll soon discuss.

Focusing on its shortcomings is nitpicking, of course, when there’s so much more low-hanging fruit. Television and movies are responsible for most of the gun myths in society. Actors are often the biggest advocates for strict gun laws, yet first in line when it comes to taking roles that glorify guns. So, it seems only fair to poke a little fun at Hollywood…  

With that in mind, here’s our Top 5 Gun Cringe Moments in the Movies.

Will Smith High-Speed Train Sniper Shot, Gemini Man (2019)

The set-up is Smith lying prone on a hilltop with a Remington 700PSS rifle as a high-speed bullet train approaches. Target is in the window seat, and an agent on board the train is relaying constant intel to Smith via an earpiece. The realistic parts include Smith using a wind/barometric pressure gauge, range finder, and a DOPE book to configure his scope. He even stores his magazine at body temperature for higher muzzle velocity. The fail is the impossibility of the shot. Under ideal static field conditions, the headshot success rate at 1200 meters is only 20%. Throw in the elements of a train moving nearly 200mph and a bullet piercing thick glass…as sniper/author Nicholas Irving puts is, anyone who could make that shot can also walk on water. And Will Smith definitely ain’t Jesus.

John Wick/Common Subway Station Pistol Fight, John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

One of the most notorious scenes of all the John Wick movies is the shoot-out in a crowded subway station between Reeves and rapper, Common. Most people call out the absurdity of suppressors being so quiet that no one notices the shots. It’s the kind of thing that leads to bad legislation decisions… But what fewer people mention is heat. A suppressor can reach between 300-500 degrees after firing 30 9mm rounds. And these guys are just casually sliding them in and out of their pockets. Ouch! Hot potato, anyone?

Bradley Cooper Bad Shot-Placement, American Sniper (2014)

American Sniper is one of the most realistic and best-made sniper films ever produced, so it’s unfair to trash it. Cooper trained for the film using live ammo with retired USMC Sgt. Maj. John Dever, a legend in the film industry. But take a look at the shot placement in the RPG scene where Cooper is positioned on a rooftop. The shot is less than 100 yards. Target has an RPG aimed and ready to fire. We see through the scope as Cooper puts the crosshairs directly on the target’s right shoulder and fires. That kind of shot placement at 75 yards out would be a major fail for a skilled sniper.

Naomi Harris Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Gun, James Bond Skyfall (2012)

Like Gemini Man, this scene involves a nearly-impossible shot on a moving train. But unlike Smith’s Hail Mary shot, this one is actually makeable – in fact, it’s pretty simple, except for a few things: 1. Harris is shooting offhand. 2. Target is obscured by a friendly (James Bond is fighting him atop a moving train) and 3. She’s got the wrong gun for the job. Apparently, someone forgot to tell Miss Moneypenny that an Olympic Arms K23B “Stubby” with a 6.5-inch barrel, isn’t a sniper rifle. At 200 yards out on a moving train – sorry ma’am. Ain’t gonna happen.  

Mark Wahlberg Blasts Sleeping Dog with .408 CheyTac, Shooter (2007)

Wahlberg plays a Marine gone rogue after being set-up by the Feds in this sniper flick. The classic off-the-grid tale of a loner living in the woods with his only friend, a loyal dog who follows him every he goes. Sadly for the dog, he enjoys tagging along for shooting practice – which, in this case, involves a .408 CheyTac with a muzzle brake. Wahlberg is smart enough to wear hearing protection, but chats with the dog nonchalantly as it rests a few feet away from him while he sets up the shot. It’s supposed to be a mile out, but looks like 150 yards max in the reticle. Wahlberg takes the shot, vaporizes the can of soup he’s set up for a target, and presumably destroys his dog’s hearing permanently, as well. So much for man’s best friend…chalk another casualty up to Hollywood.

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