Sylvester Stalloneis no stranger to wielding firearms of all kinds throughout his decades-long career as a Hollywood action star, but one expert has debunked the realism of one of his best-known movies. First beginning his acting career in the late 1960s,Stallone’s earliest film appearanceswere largely relegated to smaller supporting roles and background characters, including an uncredited performance in 1970’sMAS*H.
Following his first significant roles in the 1973 independent movieRebeland the 1974 comedyThe Lords of Flatbush,it was Stallone’s decision to pen the script for 1976’sRockythat finally provided him with the vehicle that would turn him into a household name. During the 1980s, however,Stallone would begin his transformation into one of Hollywood’s leading action stars. Beginning with 1982’sFirst Blood,Stallone’s tenure as the misunderstood Vietnam veteran John Rambo would eventually spawn a decades-long franchise that would go on to rivaltheRockymoviesas his most popular role.
Stallone’s Rambo: First Blood Part 2 Gun Technique Gets Dismantled By Weapons Expert
Despite 1982’sFirst Bloodbeing based on a standalone novel of the same name, Stallone would mark his first return as John Rambo in 1985’sRambo: First Blood Part II.After being abandoned while on a mission to rescue US prisoners of war, Stallone’s character returns to the mission’s command center andproceeds to destroy the computer room with a high-caliber machine guntaken from the side of a helicopter.
However, according toInsider’sHow Real Is It?series, Stallone’s otherwise effective form of vengeance falls well short of proper firearms technique, earning ameager four out of ten accuracy rating. Former US Army special operations veteran and firearms expert Patrick McNamara suggests that while Stallone does a good job at making the sequence look real,it is largely ineffective to shoot from the hip, especially with anything other than a pistol.
You’re not going to be able to fire that thing from the hip. You could fire a pistol from the hip. Whatever it is, where you’re just bringing it in tight to your body you need that bipod down, because you have to fire in those seven to nine round bursts.He did pretty good at making it look real,you could tell. I mean, those muscles were tense.
McNamara also suggests that it is unrealistic to expect the M60-E3 model Stallone is using to fire that many rounds in that manner without it malfunctioning. Pointing out that while Stallone wraps the ammo belt around his free arm to prevent it from kinking,the best method would be to use the original ammo can, which in many cases is designed to clip onto the side of the weapon.
The other thing that you have to suspend reality on is that a M60-E3 model can fire that many rounds without malfunctioning. He wraps the belt around his arm. It’s to make sure the thing isn’t dangling. You know, you don’t want that belt to dangle and to kink, because then you’re going to have a failure to feed immediately.
If you don’t have an AG, assistant gunner, is just use the ammo can itself. And the ammo can on a lot of these will just clip onto the side of the apparatus, on the machine gun itself, and that way it’s fed properly. It just feeds in nice and straight, and that belt won’t twist, bind, kink up.
Our Take On Stallone’s Weapons Handling Skills
The First Blood Part II Scene Is Iconic Regardless Of Its Accuracy
Despite McNamara’s assessment of Stallone’s weapons handling skills inRambo: First Blood Part II,his legacy is still closely tied with the kind of high-powered action that madeJohn Ramboone of Hollywood’s most memorable characters. Even decades later, Stallone would continue his affinity for big guns and stylized action sequences in later movies such asThe Expendablesfranchise, and his most recent Rambo outing in 2020’sRambo: Last Blood. While his form may not be 100% accurate, the iconic image of John Rambo firing his machine gun from the hip will forever remain linked with Stallone’s action-hero legacy.
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Cast
Rambo: First Blood Part II follows John Rambo, played by Sylvester Stallone, as he is released from prison for a government-sanctioned covert mission back to the hostile jungles of Vietnam. Tasked with gathering intelligence on American prisoners of war, he faces formidable challenges in this high-stakes operation.
