Top 5 Movie Shootouts: #1) The Way of the Gun (finale)

In this Top 5, I've been ranking my favorite movie shootouts for you.  This comes with a disclaimer: I'm excluding war films because they don't really seem to fit with what I'm going for.  Maybe I'll do a Top 5 Combat Scenes one day to break them down.  As always, I welcome your thoughts on my selections, and I'm equally interested in hearing about your choices, so feel free to comment and share your take.

This list started with John Wick (the Red Circle) at #5, and since then I've listed The Wild Bunch (finale) at #4, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (finale) at #3, and Heat (downtown L.A.) at #2.  Now, it's time to discuss my choice for the top spot on this list, a cult classic that is near and dear to my heart.  

Top 5 Movie Shootouts: #1) The Way of the Gun (finale)

To say that I greatly enjoy The Way of the Gun would be a bit of an understatement.  If I were to list my favorite movies, it may just crack that Top 5, and it would surely be in my Top 10.  While there are many things I enjoy about the picture, the exciting and yet incredibly grim shootout that brings it to a close has to be considered its strongest asset.  As soon as I decided to put this list together, I knew that I couldn't put anything else at the very top.  To do otherwise would be disingenuous, and those who know me well will tell you that I do my best to keep it real.

While the director of The Way of the Gun, Christopher McQuarrie, isn't as much of a household name as he probably should be, critics and audiences have been much kinder to his recent work with Tom Cruise than they were to his offbeat directorial debut.  This outing came about after his script for The Usual Suspects earned him broad acclaim, and I'm not sure that a quirky yet downbeat shoot 'em up served with a healthy dose of basic criminal philosophy is what anyone expected for his first feature film.  In truth, when I watched it during its theatrical run in 2000, the final product varied greatly from my expectations.  However, since I had a blast with the picture, I never held that against it. 

Like most of the films to make this Top 5, this one combines quality direction with some terrific acting.  McQuarrie got the best performance of Ryan Phillippe's life out of him in the role of Parker, a tough guy with a penchant for mouthing off, while the one and only Benecio Del Toro is sublime as his icy counterpart, Longbaugh.  These are not likable characters, and the big gunfight that they are steadily marching toward throughout the film doesn't provide them with a likable outcome.  Oh yeah, and the weary but unwavering "bag men" who our leads square off against in this blood-soaked finale are led by none other than James Caan.

Whether the conclusion is likable or not, it is most definitely a fitting way to close out this particular film, with the riveting shootout standing as a damn-near perfect metaphor for the film as a whole.  Parker and Longbaugh are both savvy and good, and we may not like the code they live by, but we have to admire them a bit for their efforts.  Unfortunately, when they make their big play, it becomes obvious that they're just not good enough.  Fortunately, their code allows them to perish under these circumstances with their honor intact.  Hell, they went for it all and gave it their very best--and they almost pulled it off.  Like the saying goes, there's no shame in trying . . .

The cinematography is a wonderful throwback to the somber hues and the brilliant splashes of blood that made the work of directors like Leone and Peckinpah so impressive to behold.  In a way, my preference for these legends (and the inclusion of some of their best work on this list) may help to explain my fondness for this gritty sleeper.  The choreography is also excellent, with McQuarrie's brother (a former Navy Seal) giving the proceedings a serious boost in the way of technical prowess.  The gun protocol and combat tactics on display here are just as important to the overall effectiveness of the showdown as the direction and the acting.  Seriously, the final shootout in The Way of the Gun probably features more reloads than you're apt to see if you go all in for a marathon of The Cannon Group's greatest hits, and Parker and Longbaugh could have put together one hell of a clinic for properly clearing a room.

It's all a bit somber and a bit gory, and it is also quite nihilistic, but for my money, there is no finer shootout in the history of the cinema than the gloomy but painstakingly authentic* conclusion to The Way of the Gun.

*There is one gag during the big gunfight at the end where the film abandons all of the realism it has worked so hard to present and clearly lampoons a typical action film's disregard for such considerations, and this knowing wink is yet another reason I love this movie so much.

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Well, there you have it.  One recent hit, three indisputable masterpieces, and one cult classic to rule them all.  If you're a fellow cinephile and you too enjoy the occasional movie shootout, do share your thoughts.

Top 5 Movie Shootouts: #3) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (finale)

Okay, so here's the drill: in this Top 5, I'm ranking my favorite movie shootouts for you.  Many of the films set to make this list are classics that will be hard to argue, but I have no doubt that my choice for the top spot on this list will not sit well with many.  Oh well, I call them like I see them--and in this case, I'm 100% convinced that I'm right.  Also, I should point out that I'm excluding war films because they don't really seem to fit with what I'm going for here.  Maybe I'll do a Top 5 Combat Scenes one day to atone for that.  As always, I welcome your thoughts on my selections, and I'm equally interested in hearing about your choices, so feel free to drop a comment and give me your take.

 Thus far, we have John Wick (the Red Circle) at #5 and The Wild Bunch (finale) at #4.  Today, we're going with the very epitome of an exercise in style over substance at #3, and as such it depends more on landmark director Sergio Leone’s vision and flair and less on choreography and staging.  In fact, this is easily the simplest gunfight to make my list, and it features the fewest players.  Yet, as I noted a moment ago, this is an exercise in style, . . . and what an exercise in style it has proven to be. 

Top 5 Movie Shootouts: #3) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (finale)

Clint Eastwood is a true titan of the cinema, yet he was basically just some up-and-comer with a lean physique prior to his work with Leone.  I’m not sure that he or anyone else realized just how big of an impact those so-called spaghetti westerns would have on the film industry, but Leone’s daring juxtapositions and his grandeur would usher in a whole new era for one of Hollywood’s most beloved genres.  It is entirely possible that no western has had as much impact or cultural significance as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and the shootout that brings this masterpiece to an end remains thoroughly enchanting.

As Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach square off in a remote cemetery with a fortune in gold on the line, the sprawling film gives way to an operatic pairing of sight and sound.  Ennio Morricone’s monumental score perfectly captures the tension as Leone’s camera carries us through a series of extreme close-ups deftly interwoven with vivid wide shots.  Steely gazes give way to fingertips that dance above the weapons that will soon determine who winds up dead and who winds up with the gold.  The three men involved in this exhilarating standoff have each worked valiantly and suffered greatly to arrive at this moment, and Leone wrings every drop of suspense that he can out of the impending gunfire.

So deft is his touch and so perfectly suited to this wild reinvention of the western genre are the cast and Morricone’s score that the sequence remains nothing short of spellbinding to this very day.  Once the first weapon is drawn and the shots ring out, the shootout concludes in the blink of an eye, but that only underscores the power and scope of this grand finale.  Just as Leone used a daring collage of imagery and Morricone’s haunting score to perfectly capture the anticipation of this duel, he utilized brutal concision to convey the finality and brevity of the resolution to this grand yet finite conflict with the same precision and effectiveness.

Yes, this one is all about style, and it’s truly the build-up that makes this gunfight a classic, but that doesn’t impact its standing in the legacy of the cinema.  I have no qualms about featuring the poetic and visually stirring climax of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on my list, and I’m sure that those enjoy a great film will second that.  

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Those readers who are left wanting after this revelation should find more to their liking when my next selection arrives courtesy of a far higher body count and enough firepower to make Rambo take cover.  Look out, L.A.--the heat is on when I unveil my choice for #2 on this list.

Also, those who enjoyed this piece may want to see where I ranked The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly when I did my Top 5 Clint Eastwood Movies a while back.  Here's a hint: it's #1 with a bullet!