1. “Kong: Skull Island” (2017)
This one is short but sweet. The Browning M2 gets a nice little feature role as a duet in the final fight sequence of “Kong: Skull Island.” The scene includes this action flick’s token nerd turned gunslinger, Houston Brooks, a geological advisor who uses twin .50-cal machine guns to save Kong at the last second during his final duel with the Ramarak, aka the Skull Devil or The Big One.
Epic battle scene aside, this is one of the rare moments modern audiences get to see the M2 pop up on an old aircraft ball turret. Stranger yet, the scene shows the scraps of the ball turret strapped to a junkyard boat.
By the end, the previously stranded and undeniably kooky Lt. Hank Marlow hops on the twin M2s to rejoin the fight after a quick combat reload. Kong eventually gains the upper hand thanks to the intervention of the human machine gunners before finishing off the leader of the Skullcrawlers.
2. “Fury” (2014)
In what is perhaps the best last stand in a WWII film over the last 20 years, our main hero “Wardaddy” drops scores of bad guys over a prolonged slug match with his tank-mounted M2HB machine gun. The sheer power of the .50 BMG cartridge is on full display as it makes mincemeat of attacking German soldiers.
Unfortunately, Wardaddy was only manning the exposed machine gun as a last resort when ammunition supplies were running low. The heroic action leaves him exposed to sniper fire, which he survives, but only after enduring several wounds from enemy fire.
As far as last stands go, this one is gritty and memorable, with a touch of both pure machine-gun devastation and tragic loss that sees the embattled tank crew fall one man at a time. We’d be lying if we said we didn’t rewatch this fight scene at least a half dozen times.
3. “The Expendables” (2010)
When you’re in a movie called “The Expendables,” there is little reason to hold back on the heavy gunfire and explosions. What sets this scene apart is the coordinated attack of nose-mounted quad M2 machine guns firing from an aircraft and a clever flaming surprise from the sky.
You just don’t see the .50-cal Browning mounted on aircraft for action scenes very often these days. However, the old slugger still manages to turn an otherwise unthreatening seaplane into a devastating sky raider.
“The Expendables” does right by the viewer, too, making sure to wrap up the scene with a full inferno of burning fuel to cap the initial strafing run with extra explosive effects.
4. “Rambo” (2008)
This one is definitely not safe for work or babysitting, so you have been warned. Despite the movie’s name, “Rambo” is technically the fourth installment of the Rambo franchise.
Massively outnumbered and on the run from Burmese soldiers, the tables turn quickly when John Rambo flips the enemy’s pintle-mounted M2 Browning on the attackers. In an up-close and brutal slay fest, Rambo fully deletes swaths of Burmese fighters in seconds with the M2 Browning sporting an armored shield and massive muzzle brake.
The brake actually seems necessary on this one because Rambo is still able to rapidly engage enemy fighters through the blinding flash of the cannon-like M2 machine gun. On a scale of one to 10, this scene scores a comfortable 12 for gore and devastation.
5. “Tremors 3: Back to Perfection” (2001)
Finally, Burt Gummer has exactly the firepower he needs for the opening scene of “Tremors 3: Back to Perfection.” Running dual M2HB .50-cal machine guns in an M48 anti-aircraft quad-mount system, Gummer gives the audience what it wants with heavy nighttime machine gunnery that wipes out waves of charging two-legged shriekers.
If anything, Gummer is fully enjoying the moment as he rocks around in his vibrating turret and laughs at the devastation. As fellow gun nuts, we appreciate his attention to the little things, like an overabundance of ammo, a well-laid tactical trap, and the joys of shooting.
Alas, things are never quite as easy as they appear, and Gummer soon finds himself fighting on the back foot during another shrieker infestation. Naturally, it’s a government agent that interferes with Gummer’s gung-ho, kill-them-all strategy that causes all the chaos in the first place.
At least it gives Gummer a lot more screen time for clever shooting antics and even some homemade weapons before the end of the film.
6. “Waterworld” (1995)
Love it or hate it, the epic film “Waterworld” and its post-apocalyptic flood scenery show that the M2 Browning machine gun will likely outlast civilization itself. In one of the movie’s most memorable scenes, our hero – “the Mariner” (Kevin Costner) – is trapped in a cage on a floating fortress town when the evil Smokers lay siege to the rickety community.
Backed by quad-mounted M2 machine guns, the Smokers turn the atoll community into Swiss cheese, but they miss the Mariner in the attack. That gives our post-human hero a chance to turn the tables on the oil-obsessed raiders.
In the end, the Mariner manages to use a harpoon to spin the Smokers’ siege guns onto their own command ship, which naturally explodes into flames as a result.
7. “Apocalypse Now” (1979)
This one is quick, but it also highlights just how handy a pair of M2HB Brownings can be during an ambush. This “Apocalypse Now” scene is gritty and chaotic, with the chatter of the .50-cal machine guns adding to the smoke-filled confusion aboard a Navy PBR patrol boat.
The M2 platform makes several other showings in this flick, with another .50-cal gun bearing the name “Canned Heat” also unleashing fire from a pintle mount on the patrol boat. An additional M2 Browning can be seen in the ironically pointless trench battle scene in the film.
As far as war epics go, “Apocalypse Now” is a bit heavy-handed on the moral dilemmas of modern warfare, but it doesn’t skimp on the many gunfight scenes.
BONUS: “To Hell and Back” (1955)
If you haven’t seen America’s most decorated soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy, starring in a movie about himself and as himself, then you need to check out “To Hell and Back.”
In one of the movie’s final scenes, we get to see how this true American hero single-handedly turned back a German attack to save his men. His real-life exploits read even more fantastical than his role in the movie’s script, with Murphy earning a litany of honors that ranged from three Purple Hearts and a French Croix de Guerre to two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, and the Medal of Honor.
This war classic is low on the testosterone-fueled puffery common in modern action flicks but high on uncompromising American grit. In the end, Murphy runs his M2 Browning from a burning tank in a singular last stand that turns into an unexpected victory, though he pays the price for his unflinching bravery.
