The bad aim in the movies is often passed off in several ways as people tend to move, people aren’t skilled with firearms, or there’s even a sense of unnaturally thick plot armor that keeps the main character from being taken out by a lucky shot, or even by a well-aimed shot. The point is that in the movies, plenty of rounds are often wasted for various reasons and it’s easy to notice since, in real life, a harmful or deadly shot still requires good aim, but in real life, it’s more likely that emptying a clip in the direction of one’s target is going to see at least several, if not more, rounds enter the target. Plus, if one aims, the chances increase since reality doesn’t allow a bullet to bend or accidentally miss a target unless one doesn’t know what they’re doing. Seriously, aiming a firearm isn’t rocket science, but in the movies, it feels like it must be akin to performing a trigonometry problem on the fly. Here are several movies that show the result of horrible aim.
10. Dumb & Dumber
If a person doesn’t know how to handle a gun then this is bound to happen. Harry and Lloyd were two of the dumbest individuals to ever be seen in the movies, so it’s fair to imagine that giving Harry a gun wasn’t the smartest move since he’s the type of guy that might try to look down the barrel to see if he can see the bullet in the chamber. But, seeing as how no one got hurt, it’s easy to state that despite the high stakes of the moment, it’s one of the more forgivable moments when the aim of the shooter was this horrible, especially since it was a comedy depicting the two main characters as absolute morons.
9. True Lies
There’s no desire to root for the terrorists, but the guys in this movie truly have the most terrible aim of many of those ever made up to be bad guys. Not only are they more likely to fire from the hip or just whip out their guns and start shooting, but they can’t even hit a person within an enclosed space, or someone trying to hide behind a lamppost. The saving grace of this movie is that it was meant to be an over-the-top, ridiculous action movie that didn’t make a lot of sense at times. After all, it did feature an uzi firing on its own as it fell down the stairs at one point.
8. The Hunt
A lot of archers might tell you that being up close and personal is entirely possible, it’s just not ideal. Inside the bunker, the space is limited in this scene and it’s not tough to think that trying to pit a bow and arrow against a handgun or a rifle would be foolish. But it does show that Liberty is actually not as great of an archer as one might want to think she is since with a target this close and her mind being set that she’s doing the good lord’s work, sticking an arrow into a post instead of into a body only ten feet away says that you’re a hobbyist when it comes to archery, not a real archer.
7. Boondock Saints
It could be said that surprise would make all four men fire wildly and hit nothing but their surroundings since Connor, Murphy, and Rocko had no idea that they were going to be facing down Il Duce when they came running out of the house. But dialing in your shot after the first second or two should have been a thing of ease if any of them had slowed down for just a breath. Granted, taking time to breathe in the middle of a firefight doesn’t sound optimal, but at the same time, that one breath could mean the difference between life and death, so it’s easy to think that it might have been worth it.
6. Blues Brothers
This is another case in which the scene is set was rather silly, as was the fact that Carrie Fisher’s character was after the Blues Brothers in the first place. But every time she caught up to them, something ended up going wrong and the brothers managed to walk away. As I mentioned, it was silly, since they survived a few attempts to kill them such as a rocket launcher, a bombing, and a drop in a phone booth that had been sent skyward after a propane explosion caused by a flamethrower wielded by Fisher. Yeah, it was ridiculous, but her aim was still horrible.
5. Commando
Let’s be honest, Arnold was allowed to be a badass back in the day since he was just buff, tough, and insanely cool. But with minimal body armor and walking out in the open like this, he would have been dropped in a hail of gunfire the moment he stepped out into the open. But in a lot of action movies, the bad guys aren’t allowed to be crack shots or even that great at aiming. After a while, this became a bit boring, but it persists in some movies in which the hero is supposed to appear invincible somehow.
4. Con Air
A group made up of convicts that don’t like each other and aren’t known to be team players doesn’t sound like the greatest or most skilled group in the world, but the fact that they created a kill zone that should have been able to shred the armed law enforcement agents that were coming for them. The corridor they were being funneled into was good enough for an ambush, but between propane canisters, numerous firearms, and a slew of other items that could have been used as weapons. The only reason that this might have never worked is the fact that, as it was mentioned, the convicts weren’t exactly disciplined.
3. F9
Roman Pearce is one of the last guys that should be granted this level of plot armor since it makes the loudmouthed, arrogant character appear to be far better than he really is. The fact is that he might be a damned good driver, and know his stuff when it comes to vehicles, but apart from that, Roman is kind of a dumb character who gets incredibly lucky. The fact that trained shooters can’t bring him down in this movie while he knocks them off at will is further evidence of how the Fast and Furious movies have become insanely ridiculous.
2. Falling Down
Drive-by shootings aren’t anything to laugh at unless one can find a way to do it that’s not entirely tasteless like the Wayans did. But in this movie, it’s serious and amusing all at once since the two young men going after the main character had already been chased off and humbled. Of course, trying to insult gang members is not a wise move, and it’s not at all surprising that they were kept in the story to try and exact a measure of revenge on the guy that made them look so foolish. But then, just because they’re impetuous doesn’t mean they’re great at aiming at their intended target.
1. Star Wars: A New Hope
Okay, this is truly low-hanging fruit since it’s been seen over the years that stormtroopers often aren’t able to hit the broadside of a mountain with a missile launcher. But their aim has been said to be precise in A New Hope and has even been lauded in the comics and the novels. But somehow, this idea didn’t manage to make it into the movies, since the list of jokes that have been made about this part of the franchise is long and is known even to a lot of non-fans.
Bad aim is kind of contagious in action movies.
Carrie Fisher’s
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