Gun Myths in New Death Wish
By chance the old Bronson Death Wish (Michael Winner's last decent film) was on late night cable and I watched about half of it. I didn't like it very much in the 70s and I don't think it's improved with age. I did like the new one with Bruce Willis, but it had some stupid things in it. First, the Glock cutting up the flap of skin between the thumb and the first finger of the hand holding it. Here's a picture of a Glock 17:
Look at the curve and size of the lip at the back of the gun below the slide. I have trouble believing you can get your skin in the way of the slide going back and forth. Maybe I'm being nit-picky here.
OK this next one is a spoiler. Go see the movie before you read further (and I know the trailer already showed the gun in action).
There is no freakin' way Bruce gets the full auto version of a custom AR-15 (BDR-15-3G). It could have been possible for him to have obtained an AR that looked that way and then make the gunsmith changes to change it from semi to full auto (although I'm told this is not at all as easy as some make it out to be). But the gun store in which busty Bethany is a sales person does not have the full auto version (if one exists) for sale. How do I know that? Well, three reasons. One, the Firearm Owners Protection Act in 1986 prohibited an ordinary citizen not in law enforcement, etc. from owning a full auto weapon manufactured in America unless that weapon was registered with the BATFE and had the $200 dollar excise stamp. Second, if it was one of the 70,000 or so full auto weapons so registered it would take more time than it did in the movie to obtain it. And third, Illinois prohibits ordinary citizens from owning a machine gun like that one at all. No store is going to carry one. So that part was BS -- cool BS, given the effect of the gun on the bad guy, but still BS.
Back to nit picky. The engine and the wheels of a car probably will stop or deflect bullets but the thin steel body and glass of the normal car will not. Movie shooters duck down in a car or hide behind the passenger part or the trunk and are always thus impervious to bullets coming their way. No, even pistols go all the way through mostly.
Final quibble, non gun: It takes months not days to get over a several month long coma. Some people never come all the way back.
The willing suspension of disbelief only deforms so far before it busts.
Look at the curve and size of the lip at the back of the gun below the slide. I have trouble believing you can get your skin in the way of the slide going back and forth. Maybe I'm being nit-picky here.
OK this next one is a spoiler. Go see the movie before you read further (and I know the trailer already showed the gun in action).
There is no freakin' way Bruce gets the full auto version of a custom AR-15 (BDR-15-3G). It could have been possible for him to have obtained an AR that looked that way and then make the gunsmith changes to change it from semi to full auto (although I'm told this is not at all as easy as some make it out to be). But the gun store in which busty Bethany is a sales person does not have the full auto version (if one exists) for sale. How do I know that? Well, three reasons. One, the Firearm Owners Protection Act in 1986 prohibited an ordinary citizen not in law enforcement, etc. from owning a full auto weapon manufactured in America unless that weapon was registered with the BATFE and had the $200 dollar excise stamp. Second, if it was one of the 70,000 or so full auto weapons so registered it would take more time than it did in the movie to obtain it. And third, Illinois prohibits ordinary citizens from owning a machine gun like that one at all. No store is going to carry one. So that part was BS -- cool BS, given the effect of the gun on the bad guy, but still BS.
Back to nit picky. The engine and the wheels of a car probably will stop or deflect bullets but the thin steel body and glass of the normal car will not. Movie shooters duck down in a car or hide behind the passenger part or the trunk and are always thus impervious to bullets coming their way. No, even pistols go all the way through mostly.
Final quibble, non gun: It takes months not days to get over a several month long coma. Some people never come all the way back.
The willing suspension of disbelief only deforms so far before it busts.
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