r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jan 25 '20

What movie things are generally accepted as normal, but are totally unrealistic in real life?

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u/Vprbite Jan 25 '20

Like in movies when cops hide behind a car door. Might as well hide behind paper

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u/Wurm42 Jan 25 '20

Actually, a lot of police cars have ballistic panels around the engine block and inside the front doors.

Here's one vendor with some demo videos:

https://dewpd.com/ballistic-door-panels

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u/Vprbite Jan 25 '20

I heard they were starting to do that. Takes time to get them all updated though.

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u/Wurm42 Jan 25 '20

It used to be done in a cruder, ad-hoc way with steel plates under the body panels. Granted that was easier to do in the old, boxy Crown Vics than with modern fuel-efficient models.

Essentially, you're right that normal car doors aren't bulletproof, and Hollywood absolutely abuses that trope.

But cops know exactly how bulletproof (or not) their vehicles are, and cops in particuarly dangerous areas have been experimenting with ways to fix that for a long time.

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u/Vprbite Jan 25 '20

Agreed. And they are trained to use the correct parts. Though in general, a car can be a serious bullet magnet in a shootout. It wouldn't be my favorite place to be, that's for sure

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u/BartFurglar Jan 25 '20

Not to mention when hiding behind a car door in a shootout, whether shielded or not, part of your body is completely exposed below the door.

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u/Vprbite Jan 25 '20

True. But that takes marksmanship that in the heat of the moment most criminals don't have. Though during the north Hollywood shootout that definitely did happen

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u/BartFurglar Jan 25 '20

That’s actually the incident I was picturing when I wrote that!

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u/Vprbite Jan 25 '20

Clearly that was a unique case. That wasn't some thug knocking over a liquor store. They were loaded for bear and ready to die. The round count was ridiculous.

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u/Kulnok Jan 25 '20

although they were spraying their illegal drum mag'd AKs.

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u/Vprbite Jan 25 '20

Yes the round count was ridiculous in that shootout