Lists
Tim Kirkpatrick
Jul. 26, 2017 01:44AM EST

7 awesome weapon arsenals in the movies

No action movie is complete without having big explosions and high-powered automatic weapons that help the good guys save the day.

Now, not every story needs to have an epic scene where the heroes gear up just to show off their weapon inventory. But when they do, the nostalgia of seeing them enter into a weapons vault sends chills down the audience's spine.

Related: This is why silencers actually make your infantry weapon better

So check out our list of awesome weapon arsenals we've seen in the movies:

1. The Matrix

Although this takes place in the digital world, its endless variety of weapons will get any firearm collector's mouth watering.

Damn, kid! (Images via Giphy)

2. The Boondock Saints

When you're fighting crime in Boston, you need to have a weapon arsenal that can handle the load. They seem to have it.

Gun, guns, and more guns. (Image via Giphy)

3. Hot Fuzz

After a motivated cop relocates to a dull town where a murder hasn't been committed in over 20-years, he's bound to uncover something. But when he stumbles upon the town's dark secret, he uses some big guns from the fully stocked arsenal to save the day.

A jaw dropping weapon arsenal. (Image via Giphy)

4. G.I. Joe: Retaliation

When the G.I. Joes take the fight to their arch nemesis known as Cobra, small pistols just aren't sufficient enough to win the battle. They turn to General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis) for his expertise and his brilliant combative setup.

I hope he lives alone. (Image via Giphy)

5. Mr. Smith's

When the worlds greatest male assassin finds out his wife is the world's greatest female assassin it's time to break out the big guns — and kill her.

Over kill? (Image via Giphy)

Also Read: 7 female TV detectives who'd make badass drill instructors

6. Mrs. Smith's

When the worlds greatest female assassin finds out her husband is the world's greatest male assassin it's time to break out the big guns — and kill him.

Not the best place to hide an arsenal, but it's still badass. (Image via Giphy)
We're starting to think they might not be the best assassins after all.

7. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Taking down a huge corporation like Skynet while fighting an indestructible T-1000 is not easy. Luckily the good guys found a weapons vault in the middle of the desert.

Oh, yeah! (Image via Giphy)

Bonus: Tremors

Fighting off big a** worms requires some pretty large caliber weapons and tons of bad acting.

How do movies like this get the greenlight? (Image via Giphy)
Can you think of any others? Comment below.
History

This pilot shot down an enemy fighter at Pearl Harbor in his pajamas

Comfort is important when doing a hard job. If it's hot on the work site, it's important to stay cool. If it's hazardous, proper protection needs to be worn. And comfort is apparently key when the Japanese sneak attack the Navy. Just ask Lt. Phil Rasmussen, who was one of four pilots who managed to get off the ground to fight the Japanese in the air.

Rasmussen, like many other American GIs in Hawaii that day, was still asleep when the Japanese launched the attack at 0755. The Army Air Forces 2nd Lieutenant was still groggy and in his pajamas when the attacking wave of enemy fighters swarmed Wheeler Field and destroyed many of the Army's aircraft on the ground.

Damaged aircraft on Hickam Field, Hawaii, after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

There were still a number of outdated Curtiss P-36A Hawk fighters that were relatively untouched by the attack. Lieutenant Rasmussen strapped on a .45 pistol and ran out to the flightline, still in his pajamas, determined to meet the sucker-punching Japanese onslaught.

By the time the attack ended, Wheeler and Hickam Fields were both devastated. Bellows Field also took a lot of damage, its living quarters, mess halls, and chapels strafed by Japanese Zeros. American troops threw back everything they could muster – from anti-aircraft guns to their sidearms. But Rasmussen and a handful of other daring American pilots managed to get in the air, ready to take the fight right back to Japan in the Hawks if they had to. They took off under fire, but were still airborne.

Pearl Harbor pilots Harry Brown, Phil Rasmussen, Ken Taylor, George Welch, and Lewis Sanders.

They made it as far as Kaneohe Bay.

The four brave pilots were led by radio to Kaneohe, where they engaged 11 enemy fighters in a vicious dogfight. Even in his obsolete old fighter, Rasmussen proved that technology is no match for good ol' martial skills and courage under fire. He managed to shoot down one of the 11, but was double-teamed by two attacking Zeros.

Gunfire and 20mm shells shattered his canopy, destroyed his radio, and took out his hydraulic lines and rudder cables. He was forced out of the fighting, escaping into nearby clouds and making his way back to Wheeler Field. When he landed, he did it without brakes, a rudder, or a tailwheel.

There were 500 bullet holes in the P-36A's fuselage.

Skillz.

Lieutenant Rasmussen earned the Silver Star for his boldness and would survive the war, getting his second kill in 1943. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1965, but will live on in the Museum of the United States Air Force, forever immortalized as he hops into an outdated aircraft in his pajamas.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

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