Top 5 Cinematic Shoot-outs!

Throughout action cinema history, there have been many iconic moments, but none put your heart in your mouth like a good old fashioned shoot out. These scenes have the ability to blend action, drama, and character together into a nail-biting moment. They can be bloody, gruelling, tense, funny, and just downright cool. Here are my top five shoot outs in movie history.

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service

Fun, funny, shocking, and over the top. Colin Firth loses his Mr Darcy image in the show-stopping centrepiece of Matthew Vaughan's spy homage. Firth goes through an entire church full of bad guys, in an incredible sequence, only to meet his downfall in the shape of Samuel L. Jackson’s lisping villain. In one word: amazing!

4. The Matrix

The Matrix has many stand out moments of action, and the rescue of Morpheus almost made this list, but it's the climatic shootout between Neo and Agent Smith that I've gone for. Showcasing bullet time's extraordinary capabilities whilst Neo discovers his true powers. This scene has everything. 

3. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

I recently voted The Man With No Name as the greatest ever cinematic gunslinger. Here we get to see him in full action, in a scene which epitomises the spaghetti western. The Mexican stand off. It's a nail biting scene, directed incredibly well, with Sergio Leone drawing tension from every frame. He makes his mythic cowboys looks like giants. It's a huge moment, and cinema hasn't been the same since. 

2. Scarface

Al Pacino's first appearance on this list is another truly iconic scene.  As Colombian drug lord, Tony Montana makes his final stand. It's fantastic action meeting fantastic character work, creating a truly unforgettable scene. "Say 'ello to my lil' friend!”

1. Heat

The shootout scene in Heat is an instant classic. De Niro. vs Pacino in this high stakes scene, as Robert De Niro and his gang of thieves attempt to escape from the LA police after a bank robbery. The scene has since been shown to law enforcement as a textbook way to retreat from a situation. Amazing action, awesome acting, and nail-biting tension, there was no way this wasn't going to be my number one!

So, how does my list compared to yours? Have I made any glaring omissions? Let me know by commenting on this post.

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