I'm a former U.S. Marine and have always been a bit concerned about the depiction of gunplay in movies as non-representative of reality and to some extent, glorifying gun violence. Of course I also understand that these are movies, designed mainly for our entertainment, and don't have any responsibility as a format to depict reality... even though some writers / directors decide to.
I totally agree with your decision to not include war movies. Some are more accurate than others, but many are just as sensational as their cops/robbers counterparts. Saving Private Ryan had its parts... of course the amphibious forced entry, also the scene where the team makes an impromptu assault on the AA battery gave me the willies - a slight connection with a real tactical situation - but the last half of the movie was a bit hollywood, like the tank bursting over/through a wall much in the same cinematic mechanism that would otherwise be reserved for a dinosaur in a movie like Jurassic Park.
Anyways, back to the point - not talking about war movies but serious cinema gunplay... I actually like many of the movies listed here. However, when I see gunplay used as a dramatic tool, it detracts from the experience for me. I guess it would be akin to seeing a magic show, but seeing all of the props and prep for the tricks - it takes away your ability to take in the illusion. The first two movies that I thought of before getting too deep into your article was LA Confidential and Heat. Both gave me the impression of having the opportunity to see an event, as if we were witnessing a documentary or having the perspective that only cinema can give us, to be able to be with the characters, living the plot as if it were their real life.
Other moments that I "liked" (not that I revel in bloodshed, but for one that respects life - seeing it taken, even if only on the silver screen, is a very dramatic event with impact) include Mr. Pink unloading a full clip from his semi-auto at the pursuing police as they round the bend of the building... like Val Kilmer who followed a criminal "rules of engagement", once Pink decided that he needed to apply force to effect his escape, he did it decisively. Benny Blanco from the Bronx popping a cap into Carlito - just as things are about to come together. Delivering a fatal gunshot wound to Pacino at this moment is not fair, your heart breaks for a man, who although dealt in criminal matters in the past, was trying to break free of a life that he was tragically not destined to escape from. gunfights don't have to have a build up and be long and drawn out to be effective. One moment your doing your own thing, bam, next thing your dead - can't get much more realistic than that. Of course most of the other gunfights in Carlito's Way were pretty well done. I also remember liking Sean Penn's performance in State of Grace - nothing spectacular from a technical standpoint, but I like the absence. of sound and the slow motion treatment. If you ever fired a weapon, it can be surprisingly loud. Cinema just can't reproduce that dynamic SPL level, so sometimes not having sound at all can be more effective than putting in foley popgun effects. I found the "go loud" scene in Proof of Life pretty memorable too.
(tongue in cheek) and of course Val Kilmer's first cinematic debut... Nick Rivers engaged in a gunfight with the Nazis and playing a game of tic-tac-toe through the window - abstracting the whole concept of a gunfight into a borderline poor joke... just as borderline as Taco Bell is south of the border.
My point, I find relief that different people with different perspectives can come to the same conclusion. HEAT The sound was not overly hollywooded it made me start looking for cover and apparently was entertaining as a scene too.
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