# Action/suspense movies with the least down time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034 "2007-10-17T13:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/21 "2007-10-17T18:32:41Z")
_Run Lola Run._ ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/22 "2007-10-17T18:34:56Z")
Back when gun hobbyists were more wont to use toxic chemicals, it was common to clean a badly leaded bore by filling the bore with mercury, plugging it, and letting it sit overnight. Next morning, pour out the mercury, et voila, a lead-free barrel. So, we’re looking at a fairly quick process. Relatively little amalgamation would have to take place to render the cartridges useless for sniper purposes. Snipers are all about consistent performance from their equipment. Cartridges that don’t all shoot to the same point of aim for which the sniper sighted his weapon are not up to the task; especially when you are talking about a marginal caliber like The Jackal used. He needed to make a kill, basically with a single shot. He had to know exactly where that bullet would go. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/23 "2007-10-17T18:42:19Z")
Plus, how was the Jackal so sure he’d find a guy at the Turkish bath who’d take him back to his place? “Go back to my place? I got a wife and kids! Why do you think I come here?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/24 "2007-10-17T19:24:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Plus, how was the Jackal so sure he’d find a guy at the Turkish bath who’d take him back to his place? > > “Go back to my place? I got a wife and kids! Why do you think I come here?” He was extemporizing – the rapid response of the French to his changes lead him to anticipate that his new disguide wouldn’t last long. In the book, he had stolen a second disguise (Marty Schulberg, a New York college student) that he used temporarily. He then hit upon the idea of finding a homosexual companion and taking over his place. It was much more blatant in the book – The Jackal dressed up in an obviously gay way and went to a gay bar, so there was little likelihood that a pickup would bring him home to a straight family (although he’d have to find another place if the pickup suggested a hotel – he was doing all this to avoid hotels). So it wasn’t that chancy at all. For the film, they had to telescope the action. andm it being 1971, they had to suggest the gay pickup – things were cagier in cinema, even as recently as that. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/25 "2007-10-17T19:33:40Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] – The Jackal dressed up in an obviously gay way and went to a gay bar, – [/QUOTE] Even gayer than the ascot he wore during the film? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/26 "2007-10-17T19:35:42Z")
Going back to the OP, at least in my experience, any answer other than _The Bourne Ultimatum_ is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/27 "2007-10-17T19:35:45Z")
Another vote here for _Shoot 'Em Up_, the movie has **maybe** 10-15 minutes of talking out of an 85 minute running time. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/28 "2007-10-17T19:37:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Even gayer than the ascot he wore during the film? Yup. Read the book. Of course, if Forsyth got explosive bullets wrong and image intensifiers wrong, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got early 1960s gay garb wrong, too. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/29 "2007-10-17T19:42:44Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Yup. Read the book. Of course, if Forsyth got explosive bullets wrong and image intensifiers wrong, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got early 1960s gay garb wrong, too. [/QUOTE] Edward Fox at that age would’ve looked gay no matter what he was wearing. I’m not much of a reader, but this sounds like a book I’ll track down, especially since the film was kickass. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/30 "2007-10-17T19:45:02Z")
[QUOTE=Dunawake] Another vote here for _Shoot 'Em Up_, the movie has **maybe** 10-15 minutes of talking out of an 85 minute running time. 😃 [/QUOTE] Hell, the average action flick at least pauses for the obligatory sex scene; _Shoot 'Em Up_ blasts its way through that one, too! :eek: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/31 "2007-10-17T19:48:08Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] He was extemporizing – the rapid response of the French to his changes lead him to anticipate that his new disguide wouldn’t last long. [/QUOTE] Well, if he was running away could have joined the French Foreign Legion. Oh, wait! ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/32 "2007-10-18T00:32:29Z")
Smokin’ Aces is pretty quick, too. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/33 "2007-10-18T01:20:49Z")
[Looking for this movie?](http://www.xkcd.com/311/) ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/34 "2007-10-18T01:26:46Z")
I always thought that “Mysterious Island” (1961) careened very quickly from one action set piece to the next. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/35 "2007-10-18T16:15:13Z")
_La Femme Nikita_, _Payback_ with Mel Gibson, and the recent remake _Poseidon_ all move along at a pretty brisk pace. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/36 "2007-10-18T17:43:45Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] … the mercury in the explosive bullets works in a mechanical fashion – the deceleration of the lead bullet doesn’t affect the mercury (or glycerin, which his “Armourer” claims is a possible substitute) within, so the mercury tries to keep going, crashes into the interior wall of the lead bullet it’s inside, and causes it to fragment and fly apart. It doesn’t “explode” by any chemcal means, but is driven apart by mechanical forces. [/QUOTE] The scene where the explosive bullet is tested (on a melon) is one of the most impressively disgusting non-gory vividly realized things I’ve ever seen. Love that scene; love the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/37 "2007-10-18T17:49:57Z")
I was exhausted after watching Black Hawk Down. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/38 "2007-10-18T18:04:25Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] The scene where the explosive bullet is tested (on a melon) is one of the most impressively disgusting non-gory vividly realized things I’ve ever seen. Love that scene; love the movie. [/QUOTE] I was a teen when that movie first aired on TV. One of my classmates, who had also seen it, promptly swiped some mercury from our high school chemistry lab and tried to re-enact the melon scene with his Remington .22. I wasn’t with him when he constructed the bullets, but I was present when he fired them. He fired from such close range that I can’t say how much accuracy was degraded. The results on target were pretty unimpressive. The mercury-loaded bullets did about the same amount of damage as regular hollowpoint .22’s. They punched .22-size holes going in and holes about as big as a penny going out. We were pretty disappointed. I’m not willing, based on one half-assed experiment conducted on a melon, to say such cartridges wouldn’t be more destructive to a human shot through the head than a conventional cartridge, but my gut feeling is that they wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/39 "2007-10-18T18:11:16Z")
Regarding those mercury-filled bullets, two points: 1.) I’ve always wiondered, given Forsyth’s explanation, why the bullet didn’t tear itself apart when it was fired – you have the same inertial force trying to get that stationary blob of mercury moving in the first place. 2.) In the movie **The Exterminator** they show a guy making explosive bullets by putting mercury into drilled-out bullets. But the guy is working with a propane torch over bullets still in their shells, which strikes me as phenomenally stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034/40 "2007-10-18T18:25:03Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] I was exhausted after watching Black Hawk Down. [/QUOTE] I’d vote for BHD as the least down time of any action movie I’ve ever seen. _We Were Soldiers_ comes in second, and would tie were it not for the in-training scenes in the middle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/action-suspense-movies-with-the-least-down-time/423034.md?page=3)