Top 20 Movies With The Best Gun Action

Robert Rodriguez continues his violent “Mexico Trilogy” with this energetic entry full of ridiculous fights. With Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi, this revenge story kicks off with a bang and keeps the audience engaged. He’s exactly the kind of badass who defies the odds with his weapon skills. Once you stop questioning the unlimited ammunition, you’ll realize that this film works better as a complete fantasy. Banderas’ cool and calm demeanor helps to sell each shotgun blast and machine-gun firing. From bars to streets, there’s no location unfit for a crazy shootout. Rodriguez leans into the absurdity of every encounter with a wink. Creating a cinematic thrill ride, the filmmaker spares no expense in giving the viewers a good time with every duel.

Brian De Palma’s remake of the classic film features some of the most over-the-top violence of the 1980s. Al Pacino plays Tony Montana, a Cuban exile working his way up as a drug lord. This involves a few shootouts along the way and an encounter with a chainsaw. Through it all, this gritty story doesn’t shy away from the gunfire as the criminal climbs the ladder. There’s also the final standoff at Montana’s mansion. With a horde of bad guys at his door, the character fires a grenade and then stands atop the stairs as people pour inside. Pacino’s performance takes these scenes into overdrive as he yells and fires back at his opponents. It’s ultimately a bullet-riddled conclusion for a violent and unstable man.

This movie both pays homage to the spy film genre and pokes fun at it. Director Matthew Vaughn also leans into a much more violent plot with guns blazing. The key scene comes when Colin Firth’s character is caught in a church with crazed members. Using acrobatic camera moves and choreography, the filmmakers create an unforgettable sequence. You can’t walk away from this experience without being blown away by Firth’s work at that moment. In between all of the gadgets and villainous plots, the movie knows when to throw characters into absurd action that’s always fun to watch. There’s also a thrill-ride ending full of all the gunfire and explosions you could want.

When the T-800 is sent to protect John Connor, the cyborg uses a few trusty arms to battle the T-1000. Since regular guns don’t do the trick, the heroes eventually need to grab a massive arsenal of other weapons. Every gunfight is all the more interesting since the main enemy can’t be easily killed. In each scene, director James Cameron builds up the tension of the shootouts as the fate of Connor – and humanity – is in the balance. The villain eventually comes up against a shotgun and a grenade launcher in an exciting finale. Not to be outdone, the first entry in the series also has plenty of wonderful set pieces such as the police station attack.

When an assassin takes in a young girl, he unexpectedly becomes her mentor. His skills with a wide array of guns make him a nightmare for the people looking for her. Adept with long and short-range weapons, the hitman dispatches enemies without flinching. His standoff in the apartment building includes lots of firepower, blood, and bodies. Mixing this with his flexibility and cunning instincts, Léon manages to fend off a small army in an impressive sequence. He also has to come up against Gary Oldman’s corrupt cop, who spends an earlier scene running around with a shotgun. To call this movie realistic would be a stretch, but it’s exactly the kind you want to watch for well-crafted shootouts.

Some movies are most effective when they don’t take themselves too seriously. “Shoot ‘Em Up” is one example of a film that does just that, while living up to its title at the same time. Clive Owen stars as a drifter that protects a baby from assassins. Along with using carrots as weapons, his character Smith can fire guns at any number of henchmen with tremendous accuracy. He can even fight off bad guys while parachuting out of a plane in one silly scene. Throw in a manic performance by Paul Giamatti and you have a fantastic piece of entertainment. Making fun of the craziest action adventures, “Shoot ‘Em Up” loves to throw realism out the window for almost every shootout.

It might not be the only movie to mess around with first-person perspective, but “Hardcore Henry” takes the concept to the extreme. This film makes you see everything through the eyes of the protagonist. Tapping into the same energy as first person shooter games, the action feels as frenetic and intense as any movie before it. Henry uses various guns to fight off mercenaries on a quest to stay alive. For added effect, the filmmakers include songs like “Don’t Stop Me Now” to make one particular sequence all the more entertaining. You’d be forgiven if you wanted to pick up a controller and turn this into a video game.

Anybody that loves director Sam Peckinpah knows that he’s no stranger to violence. This classic Western might be the peak of his career, featuring one wild shootout after the other. There’s slow-motion, blood, and lots of dramatic deaths as a plus. The final scene could match almost any gunfight in terms of bullets fired, people killed, and sheer brutality. As the gang defends their positions to their last breath, they meet a tragic end in a hail of gunfire. It’s an unforgettable finale that even some modern viewers might find shocking. Peckinpah never misses an opportunity to showcase his directing skills, making for some of the most indelible action in the genre.

When John McClane gets stuck at Nakatomi Plaza, he has to shoot his way out. The New York cop becomes a one-man-army against well-armed terrorists. After getting ahold of their weapons, he makes them wish they were any place else. McClane doesn’t skimp on the bullets either. He shoots through tables and includes all kinds of tricks, showing he can use a weapon in clever ways. The hero also hides a pistol in the inventive final scene. With a last-minute reveal, he quickly draws a firearm in order to take out Hans Gruber. Bruce Willis’s performance sells the desperation of each gunfight until the bitter end. It also adds to the charm of this film, making every encounter more raw and entertaining.

Western shootouts are violent enough as it is, so you can just imagine how the world of outlaws and gunslingers would appear through Tarantino’s lens. Anytime a cowboy, officer, or any other darn-tootin’ rapscallion in “Django” decides to get smart and draw their weapon, you can be sure that everything in the immediate vicinity will be soaked by the impending bloodbath. The bullets seem to carry way more force than they actually should, causing those who are shot to go flying through the air like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon. It’s wildly irreverent and delightfully gruesome.

Some critics may argue that this film is a case of “style over substance,” but the style is simply undeniable. The way the shootout scenes play out is almost like a dance, with slick, perfectly timed movements that result in some truly dazzling fight choreography. The rapid pace of the shooting moves forward at such an exhilarating speed, that we’d encourage you not to blink while the bullets are flying, otherwise you may just miss one of its many moments that make you say, “Did you just see that?” Heck, even the way they reload is cool; what’s not to love?

We hope you’re wearing your brown pants because you may get a little excited from all the on-screen ass-kicking and bloody shootouts. Deadpool’s impressive agility and endurance allow him to put maximum effort into making every single shot count, making for some interesting shootout set pieces you wouldn’t see in most action flicks. Although his gun isn’t his main weapon, The Merc with a Mouth sure makes good use of it whenever he whips it out. Ooh, did that sound bad? Ah well, Mr. Pool would probably get a kick out of the double entendre.

Following the exploits of the notorious outlaws in its title, this film features some classic Western shootouts. There’s also the gunslinging skills of Sundance which are among the most impressive of any character out of the Old West. While the film can be extremely funny, the gunfights find a way to blend the humor with genuine danger. The duo find themselves in a fight for their lives multiple times, and it’s their final one that’s the most memorable. In a terrific standoff, both characters make one last ditch effort with a bizarre confidence. The end freeze frame only confirms the mythic quality of this story and its gunplay.

How about we steer away from the more exaggerated examples and heat things up with something a little more down to earth? After a bank robbery goes awry, the criminals are left with no choice but to retaliate against the police officers zeroing in on them, resulting in one of the most thrilling scenes in any action or crime film. What makes the shootout so exciting to watch in this case is the excellent sound design, as every shot fired from one of the many assault rifles and shotguns sounds equally powerful and destructive. Couple this with the sheer level of carnage, panic, and collateral damage and you have one brutal shootout sequence.

While we love “Django Unchained” for its highly stylized action scenes, “Unforgiven” is a more grounded, gritty entry in the western genre. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself flinching every time somebody pulls the trigger in this film, as the immediate crack of the gunshot evokes notions of raw, uncensored violence, in a film that lingers on the bloody and brutal consequences of each shot fired. There’s nothing particularly fancy or flashy about the shootouts here, but sometimes a more realistic approach to gunplay is more than appreciated; it demonstrates how swiftly a gunfight can start and how suddenly it can end.

There are movie characters that are good with guns, and then there are characters that can alter and control the trajectory of bullets to ensure they never miss a target. In the world of “Wanted,” expert assassins have developed a technique called “bending the bullet” and it’s just as spectacular to look at as it sounds. With this uncanny ability in mind, the action sequences in the movie are open to some seriously innovative approaches to gunplay choreography: the bullets whizz through the air at a frantic pace and the film occasionally slows down just enough to give you a better look at all the mayhem. It’s the movie shoot ‘em up fans always “wanted.”

As straightforward as gunplay is, “Collateral” treats firearms with a dark, unbridled honesty – which is to say: when someone shoots, someone dies. The violence is depicted so brutally and without glamor, that you are genuinely terrified at the possibility of another confrontation. For his role as the villain, Tom Cruise went through rigorous firearms and combat training for the film, and it shows. Representing a shootout this way is an interesting reversal of how we typically feel in regards to this subject matter in film, as a sequence with bullets flying is usually meant to entertain and thrill us. “Collateral” reminds us just how “un-fun” guns really are, which is a testament to how brilliantly these scenes are crafted.

With the film expertly combining the speculation and philosophy of science fiction, the flair of Japanese anime, and the stylish action of the Hong Kong heroic bloodshed genre, “The Matrix” gave Western audiences shootouts unlike anything they’d ever seen before. While the sound design and choreography all add to the spectacle on-screen, what really sells the gunplay is the mind blowing and much-parodied ‘bullet time’ effect, where things slow down to a crawl, allowing the audience a chance to witness the ripple effects of bullets as they travel through the air and the force of their impact on multiple objects. After seeing the sensational gunplay in this movie, you’ll only be able to utter one word as a response.

Director John Woo’s penchant for fast paced action scenes involving guns is a staple of his career, as his film “A Better Tomorrow” popularized the heroic bloodshed genre both in Hong Kong and internationally. “Hard Boiled,” however, kicks things up to a level that will knock your socks off. Entire sets are obliterated from the amount of debris and gunfire, with the long take in the hospital alone being one of the finest scenes in action cinema. If you want gunfights that become increasingly outrageous as the movie goes on, then look no further.

It’s been hailed as one of the greatest modern action films, and for good reason. The high octane, blistering speed of the choreography is enough to send any fan of action into a tizzy. Once the combat in this one gets going, it barely takes a breath with action set piece after action set piece. The filmmakers have coined the name “gun-fu” to describe Wick’s combination of both gunplay and martial arts, with its insane mash-up of punches, kicks, and wicked fast marksmanship skills. “John Wick” treats gunplay like an art form and it pays off with amazing results. The original set the tone for a franchise that’s going strong and staying fresh well into its fourth entry.