I really enjoyed writing the first installment of our Awesome Umarex Replicas on the Silver Screen. I have to admit that I do like a good movie, but these days finding a good movie is getting harder. At least it seems like it is. One great thing about today’s web based entertainment services is that you can dial up an old film, even esoteric old films at lightning speed. Take advantage of new technology to access your favorite old films! And while you are at, consider these flicks that just so happen to highlight guns of which we make replicas. Shameless, I know. Let’s take a look at eight more films, shall we?
1. Made from Teutonic Unobtainium, the Walther P88
While not quite a classic, or even good, Beverly Hills Cop III does feature the relatively uncommon and uncommonly good Walther P88. The P88 was an all steel, superbly engineered duty size pistol made by Walther in the late 1980s. By this time the polymer wave was just starting, but that wave was sizeable enough to derail new steel frame pistols that were much more expensive to engineer and manufacture. The P88 had a relatively short shelf life on the retail level, but it really was a great firearm. Somehow, one ended up in Eddie Murphy’s hands BHC III. Yes, this is an R rated film with copious amounts of R rated language and scenery, but is still pretty watchable in the vein of the similar Lethal Weapon movies. Murphy gets his hands on a bad guy’s P88 and uses it to subdue him for a spell. You can get your hands on our CP88 by clicking on the highlighted text below. This replica is made in Germany, just like the original, and is just as fascinating as well. Long live the CP88!
2. “What’s on the Galley’s Menu?” “ Alphabet Soup” *pulls out HK MP5K-PDW
Heckler & Koch famously makes heavy duty hardware for military use. One of their most iconic designs is the MP5K sub machine gun. While the Micro Uzi ruled the 1970s and 1980s screens, the HK sub gun rode into the 1990s with gusto. It’s hard to write about 1990s action films and not mention Steven Seagal (yikes, I know!). Back in the early 1990’s Seagal was carrying on Chuck Norris’s cinematic tradition of fusing martial arts and firearms to set the world straight by kicking bad guys in the teeth. His film Under Siege Came out in 1992 and, like most of the action flicks of the day, had gobs of guns, fights, and orange flame. Interestingly the Department of the Navy allowed aerial shots of the USS Missouri on its cruise toward Hawaii. That blessing only comes with a guarantee of positive representations of the Navy in the film. Several scenes were also filmed in the Redneck Riviera City of Mobile, Alabama on board the decommissioned USS Alabama. The movie starts out with a hijacking attempt that, of course, is not entirely successful. The HK MP5K appears in the hands of one of the hijackers under deck. Our version, the HK MP5K-PDW, features a folding stock, but is very similar to the unit used in the film. Click on the highlighted text to check out our homage to HKs great little sub gun.
3. It Was a PX4 Storm, Right?
The Beretta PX4 Storm pistol is an aggressively styled handgun that was marketed with an accompanying carbine, the CX4 Storm. The magazines for these firearms are interchangeable, which is a really handy feature. That they are solid, reliable platforms are also a super handy features. Was it the futuristic design or clever marketing from Beretta that placed the PX4 in one of 2010’s biggest films? I don’t know, but, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Dominick Cobb does tote one around for scenes filmed in any one of the six global sets. The globetrotting PX4 on the screen does feature a threaded barrel and is used on occasion with a suppressor. This movie really gets into your sub-conscious by straddling sci-fi with action. The sub-conscious is really where the drama takes place in Inception. DiCaprio’s job in the film is to invade the minds of people to steal information from or give information to them in order to change their actions in the conscious world. Certainly a big-budget affair, this summer release made over $800 million worldwide, which underscores what a bargain our .177 caliber Beretta PX4 Storm is!
4. Clint Eastwood, Because Even Chuck Norris Needs Something to Fear
Like the GLOCK 17, its smaller stablemate, the G19, has had its fair share of cinematic glory as well. With a slightly shorter grip and shorter slide, the GLOCK 19 is a bit more concealable than the full-size G17. This size advantage (depending on who you talk to) has led the G19 to be an undeniable leader in sales in the handgun category for decades now. In the Line of Fire is an intense movie with two of the most intense actors that have ever worked in Hollywood, Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich. The most interesting firearm in the film is the—Bruce Willis, ya listening?—homemade composite double barrel pistol that is intended to be used in the assassination of a US president. That pistol is actually able to pass a metal detector. The GLOCK 19, on the other hand, most certainly will not. Malkovich, a Jason Bourne gone bad, has a date with destiny, but wants to play cat and mouse with aging Secret Service agent Horrigan (Eastwood) before that date arrives. Leary (Malkovich) breaks out his G19 during a roof-top pursuit and uses it to kill Horrigan’s partner (played by Dylan McDermott). In the Line of Fire is representative of a flawed-but-good character triumphing over a really flawed evil character. Eastwood made a whole slough of films based on this basic premise. In the Line of Fire is full of classic Eastwood-being-Eastwood which makes it very watchable. The good news is that we have both G19 Gen. 3 .177 steel BB and G19 Gen. 3 6mm airsoft versions of the G19. They’ve been selling like hot cakes so don’t wait around if you want one between now and the holiday season!
5. What if I Told You the Beretta M84FS Is the Best .380ACP on Earth?
The Beretta Cheetah, also known as the Series 81, is real steel, real good looking, and real Italian quality. However these handguns are overshadowed these days by all the tiny polymer “mouse” guns available in .380ACP. The modest sized Beretta is not a pain to shoot due to its steel frame and high capacity magazine. Looking back into the film history of this platform, the one film that stands out from them all is 1999s The Matrix. In 1999 Keanu Reeves was not an action super-star. He wasn’t really on the radar of being an action super-star. Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, and Antonio Banderas were the handsome tough guys that were being cast for the blockbuster summer movies. The Matrix was a little out there in the sci-fi realm, but then again, not at all. Neo (Reeves) is awakened from a comfortable but unexciting naiveté to an exceedingly dark reality of a world that seeks to destroy him. Bullets are ineffective against “Agents”, but that doesn’t stop them from being used, especially by the Agents in their efforts to snuff Neo. Beretta’s M84FS appears in the hands of Trinity, played by Carrie-Anne Moss, right up against the head of an Agent. There is a whole armory’s worth of guns in The Matrix, but the smaller M84FS is easy to pick out from the crowd. If you haven’t seen this film in a while, it is certainly worth your while to revisit it. If you haven’t seen the Beretta M84FS in a while or ever, click right here.
6. The Book of Heckler & Koch, Chapter 4, Verse 5
When you like .45ACP and like to have a handgun that extends capacity and reliability over a certain nameless design, you can safely look to HK for the answer. Not to mention that HK adds a de-cocker and ambidextrous controls to their heavy hitting HK45. Now, it’s not perfect. It’s big, heavy, and doesn’t increase capacity over a 19… close one-- that much. Never mind the practical, the HK45 is cool as heck. It boasts better ergonomics than the utilitarian USP and is as reliable as an anvil which makes it a perfect choice for a sidearm in a post-apocalyptic USA. Denzel Washington plays the protagonist, Eli, a mysterious drifter making his way across the country in possession of a certain book. It’s worth mentioning that Eli has skills. He would have to in order to stay alive as long as he has. It’s almost as if he has help. Not going to spoil this one if you don’t know the trick, but Eli does tote a well-worn HK45 throughout the film. The film being set 30 years in the future was actually made just one year after HK introduced the HK45 to the market. The film prop was given some aging treatments to make it look the part of an old battle-worn gun. Our CO2 powered replicas aren’t weathered, but we’ve got HK45s in both .177 BB and 6mm airsoft.
7. Very pretty, General. Very pretty. But, can the Walther P38 fight?
The only other Walther that has near universal visual recognition is the P38 9mm. This sidearm came into existence shortly before the Second World War and was used extensively by the German Army. The high energy 9mm round packed way more energy than the .380 ACP or 9mm Kurz as it’s known in Germany. There have been no shortage of films centered on WWII, but the one that comes to mind featuring the P38 is The Dirty Dozen. The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film loaded with an all-star cast notably featuring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Telly Savalas, and Trini Lopez. Tasked with an impossible mission, Maj. Reisman (Marvin) selects a dozen irascibles from the army jail to raid a location deep in France where high ranking German officers are meeting. The mission, if successful, will greatly assist the allies with the D-Day invasion. Maj. Reisman and Wladislaw (Bronson) disguised as German officers use P38s in their efforts to complete their mission. Worth watching if only for the incredible cast, The Dirty Dozen is a real classic war film. Our Walther P38 .177 BB pistol is certainly a legend and is one of our more popular historical replicas.
8. You Can’t Touch This
The roaring twenties was just a fine old time… for some people. One faction of the population was thirsty for adult beverages, another faction was pleased that booze was on the lam. This is the recipe which led to a network of industrious extralegal entrepreneurs taking it upon themselves to meet demand with a boozy supply. Caught in the middle of all this were law enforcement agencies tasked with stopping the booze and putting a damper on the boot-leg supply chain. While you couldn’t legally buy a drink during this time, you could walk into your local hardware-slash-gun shop and lay bills on the counter for the best rock-and-roll that money could buy. Browning BAR? Yes, .30 caliber full-auto heavy metal could be traded for your folding money without a permission slip from Uncle Sugar. An M1921, or M1928 with a stick or drum mag of .45ACP firepower could go from hanging on the wall of the store to hanging on the wall of your house by simply walking into the store with money.
By now you see where I’m going with this. Naturally, superior firepower is coveted by both good and bad guys alike. It just so happened that many notorious bad guys took to the compact “typewriter” for its ease of handling, capacity, and efficacy. A good deal of its use was on competing bad guys, but no shortage of crimes against citizens were committed with that .45. One of the best mob movies I can remember is The Untouchables starring Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, and Robert DeNiro. Ness (Costner) and Malone (Connery) are charged with running down Al Capone, played by DeNiro. No need to summarize the plot for you surely know how this one ends. The M1A1 variant shows up several times in the film and it just so happens that we’ve just announced our Legends M1A1 .177 caliber BB slinging tribute to this classic design. There’s no permit needed for full-auto BB fun. The M1A1 is yet another perfect fit in our Legends line of historical replicas.
Stay tuned! We’ve got one more installment in this three part blog. By now you might be thinking, “How many replicas do they make?” The answer is a lot. We make a lot.
Mark Davis, family guy, avid outdoorsman, and outdoor writer is the social media specialist for Umarex USA.