Top 25 Movie Guns

Movie List: Top 25 Movie Guns

This is a fun list of movie guns I've put together based on awesomeness, appearance, uniqueness, iconic notability, and/or firepower. The original list was for movie weapons but that proved far to generic and large... so we'll start with the guns...
(Thanks to imdb.com & imfdb.org for helping fill in the research holes)
(Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead)

Honorable Mention: 

These guns almost made the list but didn't because they are not recognizable enough, didn't have enough screen time, or is just stuck in a terrible or lesser-known movie.

- Prosthetic Leg Gun (Planet Terror)
- Double Desert Eagle Handgun (Green Hornet)
- Custom Gold Springfield M1911 Handguns (Face/Off)
- M202A1 FLASH Quad Rocket Launcher (Commando)
- Boba Fett's EE-3 Blaster (Star Wars)
- Bio Force Gun (Doom)
- Disintegrator Pistol (Buck Rogers)
- CornerShot (Wanted)
- Point of View Gun (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
- Lawgiver (Dredd)

25. The Holy Shotgun (Constantine)

• Description: Used John Constantine's to dispatch demons and the occasional fallen angel. Constructed entirely out of holy artifacts and material... including the bullets.
• On the List Because: Its gold, it kills demons, and it look unlike anything else in the movies.

24. Arc Gun (District 9)

•  Description: An alien "Prawn" weapon that fires a concentrated blast of electrical energy and turns targets into a cloud red splatter and mist.
•  On the List Because: Its a great sci-fi weapon and is notable for its awesome blue lightning and its brutality... it surprised Wikus (and audiences) the first time he fired it and vaporized a merc.

23. "Ol’ Painless" GE M134 Handheld Minigun (Predator)

•  Description: Carried by the tobacco spitting Blain (Jesse Ventura) as part of an elite commando unit.
•  On the List Because: It has an awesome nickname, it a handheld mini gun, and they use it to chop down an entire acre of rainforest with bullets during one of the greatest wastes of ammunition even seen on film.

 

22. Beretta 92FS (Equilibrium)

•  Description: Standard issue weapon of the Grammaton Cleric who are masters of a fictionaly gun-based fighting style called "The Gun Katas".
•  On the List Because: It looks awesome, fired by guys that look cool, and for people who didn't notice check out the muzzle flash.

 

21. Auto 9 (RoboCop)

•  Description: The gun made famous by Robocop
•  On the List Because: Its synonymous with all the Robocop movies, its big, bad, and looks amazing.

 

20. Sonic Gun (Minority Report)

•  Description: The only non-lethal weapon on the list, the Sonic emits a huge blast of energy that effectually knocks out anyone hit by it... and also throws them a short distance.
•  On the List Because: The visual effect for this gun in the movie were outstanding, it sounds awesome when fired, and the ratchet-twirl-thing you do to charge it is also cool.

 

19. Safari Arms Matchmaster (Wanted)

•  Description: Duel wielded by Angelina Jolie in the movie as a member of a secret society of assassins.
•  On the List Because: The iconic gun of the movie... i.e. its front and center on the movie poster... it notable for its elegant artwork, fired by a hot assassin, and can be used to curve bullets? apparently?

 

18. Polish ZSU-33 14.5mm (The Jackal)

•  Description: A mounted auto cannon chosen by the hit-man known as the "Jackal" to assassinate the first lady.
•  On the List Because: Its the definition of overkill, it fires depleted uranium rounds at an ungodly rate, and as a bonus its remote controlled... poor Jack Black.

 

17. EM-1 Railgun (Eraser)

•  Description: A classified handheld elector-magnetic rail gun with a X-ray scope that fires small aluminum rounds at close to the speed of light.
•  On the List Because: Who needs the physics to make sense! Not only is the gun the centerpiece of the movie but it unloads massive amounts of ass-kicking... no cover is safe.

 

16. "Boomstick" Stoeger Coach Gun (Army of Darkness)

•  Description: Ash's trademark shotgun... and not really a Remington by the way.
•  On the List Because: "Alright you Primitive Screw-heads, listen up! You see this? This... is my BOOM-stick! The 12 gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about a hundred and nine, ninety five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right... Shop smart... Shop S-Mart. You got that?!"

 

15. M56 Smart Gun (Aliens)

•  Description: A massive heavy machine gun used by the United States Colonial Marine Corps that comes with a harness, articulator arm, and eye piece targeting system.
  
•  On the List Because: It's basically light artillery mounted on a person and actually held off hoards of Xenomorphs... for a while anyway.

 

14. Bowcaster (Star Wars) 

•  Description: The trademark weapon of the Wookies made famous by Chewbacca
•  On the List Because: Cause Chewy is awesome that's why!

13. The Good Samaritan (Hellboy)

•  Description: A massive caliber pistol wielded by Hellboy that can be loaded with various specialized ammunition.
•  On the List Because: It's a ridiculously oversize handgun carried by a wise cracking Ron Perlman.

 

12. LAPD 2019 Blaster (Blade Runner)

•  Description: Standard issue revolver for the futuristic LAPD.
•  On the List Because: The cult classic of the list... it was the primary gun of one of the best science fiction movies ever... and it was used by Harrison Ford.

 

11. The Noisy Cricket (Men In Black)

•  Description: A small energy weapon used by the MIB. When fired, the gun produces enough kickback to launch the shooter many feet backwards.
•  On the List Because: Its a parody weapon, impractical to fire, and why they elected to give it to the rookie is beyond me.

 

10. Guitar Cases (Desperado) 

•  Description: Two cases conceal heavy machine guns and the third serves as a rocket launcher.
•  On the List Because: The movie is chalked full of absurd gun play but it topped off by these guys.

 

9. Phaser (Star Trek) 

•  Description:  Standard issue energy weapon of Starfleet.
•  On the List Because: First appearing in 1966 it has become on of the most famous and recognizable weapons in science fiction history.

 

8. DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol (Star Wars)

•  Description: The trusted sidearm of Han Solo
•  On the List Because: Worn like an old west six-shooter, this gun is part of the look and persona of one of the most popular characters in movie history.

 

7. The Golden Gun (Jame Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun)

•  Description: Used by the famous Bond villian Francisco Scaramanga to carry out assassinations, the gun can be disguised as separated pieces... a lighter, pen, and cigarette case.
•  On the List Because: Even people that have never seen this movie have heard of this gun and is synonymous with James Bond even though it was only in one movie.

 

6. E-11 blaster rifle (Star Wars)

•  Description: Standard issue blaster for all Imperial Stormtroopers
•  On the List Because: You can barely go 5 minutes in an original Star Wars trilogy without seeing one of these guns.

 

5. Desert Eagle 0.5 (Snatch & The Matrix)

•  Description: A 50 caliber handgun developed by  Israel Military Industries which should generally be fired with two hands. Used notably by agents in the Matrix and by Bullet Tooth Tony in Snatch.
•  On the List Because: The Degal is even iconic outside of movies but if you have a bad-ass character that you want to make really bad-ass you give him one of these.

4. "My Little Friend" Colt AR-15 (Scarface)

•  Description: One of the weapons used by famous movie criminal Tony Montana.
•  On the List Because: It was the main gun in one of the best go-out-in-a-blaze-of-glory scenes in cinema... and kicked off by the famous line "Say hello to my little friend!"

3. Smith & Wesson Model 29 (Dirty Harry) 

•  Description: Weapon used by the famous movie cop Dirty Harry Callahan.
•  On the List Because: "I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking...did he fire six shots or only five? Now to tell you the truth I forgot myself in all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow you head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself a question... Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?!"

2. M41A Pulse Rifle (Aliens)

•  Description: Standard issue firearm of the United States Colonial Marine Corps, fires 99 round at semi or full auto and has a secondary grenade launcher.
•  On the List Because: It big, its bad-ass, it sounds awesome when fires, and it was used to take out Xenomorphs in one of the best sci-fi action movies of all time.

1. Walther-PPK (James Bond) 

•  Description: The iconic handgun used by MI6 Agent James Bond
•  On the List Because: Not only has this gun appeared in every James Bond movie (except for The World Is Not Enough & Die Another Day) but is synonymous with the character and is recognizable to people from multiple generations

Why Love Movies?

As the kick-off post of this entertainment blog I thought I would keep things simple and visual.

So... Here are some movie images, scenes, and roles that encapsulate why I love cinema. These are by no means in order, ranked, or part of a complete list.

(Warning: Might Contain Spoilers)

Pitch Black - Sunset

Pitch Black starts off with a passenger ship crash landing on an unknown world that really really really bright. (I remember squinting sometimes in the theater) Then the survivors have to deal with the escape super criminal/murder/badass, Riddick... which seems bad enough. But, the movie does a great job dropping hints and clues that point to A) The planet sometime falls into a full eclipse and B) Something bad lives in the caves that killed everything on the planet and hates light. All of these foreboding elements combined with the intense brightness and contrast of the first part makes you get a real sense of dread when you see the first signs of the rings popping up over the horizon. Plus, the sunset is so visually striking when it happens that it sticks in my mind and is why it made this list.

 The Shawshank Redemption - The Escape

How can you not like this sequence in the movie. You just spent the first hour and a half watching Andy Dufresne's life go to hell and all glimmers of hope get shot down (literally) and then you think, like Red, that he might kill himself... then poof he's gone. Then you see how he escaped and screwed over all the bad guys as narrated by Morgan Freeman... simply awesome.

Unspoken Love - The Last of the Mohicans & Up

Weird combo I know but bear with me.

These two scenes... I think, are incredible example conveying a lot without any dialog. First, at the end of The Last of the Mohicans Chingachgook's son Uncas rushes ahead to save Alice. Now, up to this point the two have literally not said anything to each other but just by the way they act together you know that they're in love. Unfortunately, Uncas is no match for Magua and is killed then thrown off the cliff. Alice then approaches the cliff, and despite Magua's attempts to coax her back, she follows her love down to her death. The combination of no dialog, cinematography, and an amazing score make this a very moving scene for me... gets me every time.

On a lighter note... we move to Up. The Ellie/Carl life montage at the beginning of the movie is really incredible if you thing about it. Its able to convey all the emotional ups and downs of their life and how much they loved each other all in a matter of minutes without using a single word, which is more than what most romance movies can accomplish. Also, its even more incredible when you consider that its an animated movie.

Say Hello to the Bad Guy - Silence of the Lambs, There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, The Dark Knight

One great thing about movies is they are able to magnify life... a police officer can be a hero in real life but a movie can turn him into John McClane... however, they can also magnify the villains. Sometime the perfect actor combines with the perfect villain and we get the following:

Anthony Hopkins portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter was so good he had the entire crew creeped out during filming.

Daniel Day-Lewis is one of my favorite actors but after his role as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood... I'm convinced hes evil. I drink you milkshake! I drink it up!

Apparently, Javier Bardem is good at pretending to have no sole...his role as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men was amazing (...his role in Skyfall too). He was so bad and so ruthless in that movie that even toward the end you're not sure what he wouldn't do to someone. Which is show in the scene above where he walks into a random convenience store in the middle of no where and asks the old man who owns the place "What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss". He then makes the man call heads or tails and saying "You stand to win everything" implying that if he wins he'll keep his life otherwise he's dead for no other reason than chance.

And Finally... The Joker in The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger's performance conveyed the true chaos and insanity of the Joker so well that in produced one of the best villains in the cinema history.

Now for the sake of time... RAPID FIRE

Here are other notable movie moments that stand out to me over the years... some less sophisticated than others....

The Last Crusade: Best father-son duo.

Predator: Best waste of ammunition.

Jaws: Best reaction.

Jurassic Park: Velociraptor (really Deinonychus) vs. Kids in a kitchen.

V for Vendetta: The "V" intro speech

Aliens: This whole movie was pure sci-fi greatness topped off by the showdown with the queen.

Forrest Gump: Best friends say goodbye

The Godfather Part II: The baptism scene is incredible

I'd love to go on and on (maybe I'll do a Part II also) But in conclusion, I'll end with the best of the best... here it is my #1 top seed reason I love movies captured in a single shot no analysis needed (I wish I could include the music too)....