My hypothesis is this was “learned” across genres from Westerns, where everyone would have single-action guns that legit required manual cocking every single time, and where fixed-to-the-hammer firing pins with no transfer bar made it safer to carry on an empty chamber. So there was always some ratcheting sound and directors got used to that.
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Another similar one IMO is when reloading semiautomatics always pulling the slide/charging handle again even when the weapon has a bolt/slide catch that you can then just release.
Well, he cheated, didn’t he. Of course, to quote Jason McCullough (Support Your Local Sheriff), “You beat that poor man to the draw. He’s dead and you’re alive - that’s the whole idea of the game, isn’t it?”
I’ll confess that I kind of enjoy the gun-kata in Equilibrium (2002). But I draw the line at the gun manipulation in The Dark Tower (2017). Catching a revolver speed loader in mid air with the revolver cylinder just crosses a line for me. Can’t explain why.
I remember being totally captivated by Otto’s metal detector pistol sneaking in A Fish Called Wanda. I think my buddies and I ‘practiced’ this maneuver in 7th grade, lol.
On the other hand, on Person of Interest Mr. rReese points out idiotic gun handling to opponents. If I remember correctly the “looks cool” sideways style of shooting.
I like Supernatural but the casual gun-tucking into the back waistband is idiocy.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is rife with stupid gun tricks. My favorite is when Scruggs manages to get Curly Joe to shoot himself in the head. Three times!
In Anna, a Luc Besson directed (or maybe produced) John Wick/Red Sparrow/etc-alike movie, there’s a variation. On her first very public hit, the heroine discovers she’s been given an unloaded gun. When one of the targets bodyguards starts to choke her, she takes the slide off her own gun, and use it to stab the goon in the throat.
A few were, but I doubt they were aiming for his feet. Unless they were extraordinarily bad shots. There was also, in that same sequence, the head baddie taking several rounds from a machine gun in the midsection and flying backwards into the wall (or, in this case, a wall of boxes).
That’s actually a real thing. The Germans used a rifle attachment called the “krummlauf” which was used to shoot around corners in an urban environment. It was also used to shoot enemies off of your armored vehicle.
The bullet tended to fragment as it went around the bend, so it ended up being more of a shotgun-type effect, but it was very effective at close ranges.
The krummlauf wore out quickly and was only useful in a few limited specific situations, so its use was limited.
Sure. I don’t believe most criminals are well trained marksman and in a stressful situation, like a shootout, they’re likely to miss their target more often than they hit it. You want to talk about stupid gun tricks in Robocob? When thwarting the robbery of a convenience store we see Robocob bend the barrel of someone’s submachine gun. You’d think that kind of force would rip it out of the guy’s hand but he’s able to hold onto it firmly enough to allow the barrel to be bent.
