To me, BG #2/Baldy does not appear to have been frozen in surprise or fear; it looked as though his gun was somehow stuck and he was desperately trying to get his gun out as Vincent double-tapped BG #1, then mozambiqued BG #2 (though I am not sure if BG#2's third serving went to head or not). This could be a result of the director simply telling the actor playing BG #2 to act that way. If BG #2 decided to keep his gun concealed (but with his hand on the stocks), there could be a "shock and awe", surprise and indecision effect going on, such as what you described.txinvestigator wrote:I have seen people frozen with shock and surprise in MANY circumstances. That clip, although out of hollywood, is pretty accurate in the way humans behave. Bad Guy #1 was use to people complying because he had a gun. So was BG#2. When met with aggressive and effective force neither was prepared. They had to recognize the force, decide what to do, and execute. By then Vincent was thru. Notice how fast he fired the four shots.yerasimos wrote:Whenever I see the homie-briefcase clip from Collateral, I always think that Vincent would have taken a bullet or two from the BG on the right (bald/shaved-head guy) if Baldy had the skills to get his gun out when his hand was on it (you see his hand buried in his jacket before the shooting starts, and you see a gun in Baldy's hand after he falls to the ground).
Only in Hollywood can a guy have his hand on his gun while his partner-in-crime holds a man at gunpoint, then let his partner take two bullets, then take two bullets himself, then fall down incapacitated with his arm extended, gun in hand, and never get a single shot off. (In fairness, sloppy editing may play a role with that last part.) I would expect in the real world that Baldy would have his gun out also, or be able to finish his draw and fire at least once before going down.
BTW, they had a good technical director. Notice BG #1 was close and was shot with a "speed rock" and since #2 was moving back Vincent extended to a two handed hold.
If BG #1 and #2 had been standing a little closer together, what would be the odds of success of a more purely combatives opener by Vincent? I am thinking of beginning with a redirection of BG#1's gun hand just like in the clip, but then using a palm strike/chin jab, or upper body push to explosively drive BG#1 backwards/left into BG#2. BG#1 and BG#2 seem to be too close together in the clip as-is for this to work. Some folks may not be able to draw as quickly as Vincent, or be wearing such a draw-friendly cover garment. Assume a similar weight and height disparity similar to that in the clip (Tom Cruise is said to be relatively short, so I am assuming BG #1 and #2 are a little taller/heavier).