Every week, I talk about topics varying from situational awareness, holster choice and gear options for carrying concealed. All those are extremely important but sometimes it’s fun to take a step back and look at what pop culture decides to carry in movies. One of my favorite reality-based movies has to be the 2004 classic Collateral. in this movie, the main character (Jamie Foxx) is a cab driver going along with his day when a hired gun (Tom Cruise) pays him for a night of driving around. This film is directed by Micheal Mann who has done other classic like the TFB favorite Heat, which we’ve done a number of articles and videos on. Let’s take a closer look at some of the carry guns of Collateral, a classic gun guy movie.

Vincent’s HK USP 45

The HK USP 45 used by Tom Cruise’s character Vincent is arguably a character of its own in the movie. This full size beast is an extremely capable and reliable handgun. When this movie came out in 2004, it would have shown Vincent as a refined killer with sophisticated tastes in firearms. It may be a little big and clunky choice for even back in 2004 but its bulletproof reliability makes it an understandable choice for the time. There are a few fantastic scenes in the movie where Vincent really puts work in with the HK USP 45 showing just how hard Tom Cruise worked for the role.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

Probably the most iconic scene from this movie would be the alleyway scene. A group of thugs tries to rob Jamie Foxx’s character and Vincent comes down just in time. The follow scene shows Vincent do a Mozambique drill on the two thugs firing 5 rounds in a crazy 1.39 seconds. The script originally wanted it done around 1.6 seconds but Tom Cruise beat that time on set doing it in real life.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

The massive fireball coming out of the HK USP 45 also shows just how hot his rounds were loaded making the .45 ACP choice an extremely hard hitter with that type of load. Later in the movie, Jamie Foxx grabs the HK USP 45 and ultimately saves himself with this ultra-reliable pistol. This was one of those firearms that influenced me and ultimately I decided to buy an HK USP Compact in 9mm as a result of this movie. A classic pistol and even though its clunky to today’s standards, it’s still a phenomenal firearm.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

Detective Fanning’s S&W 3913

Probably the most practical carry firearm on this list. Detective Fanning is chasing Vincent and the killings throughout the movie and shows his trusty Smith & Wesson 3913 a few times throughout the movie. The Smith & Wesson would be a viable option to see an LAPD detective carry in 2004 since a number of officers would be carriers of that as well as the larger big brother 5906 model. This handgun is a single stack variant which carries 8 rounds in the magazine. Out of all the guns on this list, this would probably be the best caliber and overall best sized firearm to carry.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

The SIG 232 would be a smaller handgun but the .380 ACP round it’s chambered in is slightly light for self defense in my opinion. The LAPD utilized the metal-framed S&W pistols for a number of years and had multiple variations and this would be one that is considered a back up gun or something a detective would carry when in the field. Definitely a cool piece today but compared to today’s standards, it’s very heavy while not offering much capacity.

Vincent’s S&W 5906 Pick Up

A truly iconic movie gun, the Smith & Wesson 5906 is a modern classic. Not everyone is a fan of this handgun, even our own Hop has a very vocal disdain for this handgun. I have had the pleasure of shooting a few and owning a clean example, and I think they are rather special. In the movie, Vincent kills a lobby guard and acquires this 5906 after losing his HK USP. Vincent proceeds to chase Jamie Foxx’s character through the streets of LA into the subway which leads to the climax shootout of the movie.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

The 5906 wouldn’t be the first choice when picking a carry firearm. It is considered a full size handgun and being metal framed, it’s somewhat hefty to haul around all day. The trigger can also take some getting used to but isn’t the hardest gun to learn. The 14+1 capacity offers a fair bit of firepower as well if you’re willing to carry the weight. As far as a replacement gun, Vincent did a fairly good job finding a replacement handgun for his HK USP 45.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

Thug’s SIG Sauer P232

In the alleyway scene, the thug who robs Max and takes Vincent’s briefcase packs a stainless SIG P232. As a carry gun, this was one of the smaller choices in the mid-2000s. The Kahr Arms PM9 was starting to roll out around this time, but the small .380 ACP pistols were a solid choice for someone who wanted to carry. This is an extremely nice handgun, and I have a hard time believing a street thug would be packing a super clean higher-end handgun like this. In the movie however, it doesn’t help much since Vincent drops him like a wet noodle with 2 shots to the chest.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

Wildcard Choice – Felix Thug’s Glock 17L

Hands down, the wildest carry gun in the entire movie was a thug called the Cold Eyed Killer. This thug was working for the bad guys and ended up being one of the thugs in the nightclub shootout. This absolute Chad decided to haul around a Glock 17L with an early laser attachment. This thug finds himself pointing his laser at Jamie Foxx’s character which Vincent ultimately ended up seeing and dumped 2 rounds into the poor guys chest. This isn’t a practical choice but for a hired gun who knows he is going into a gunfight, it’s a very controllable firearm with plenty of capacity so it’s not a terrible choice if you have to pick one gun to take into a gunfight.

Photo Courtesy of IMFDB

Overall Thoughts

There were a number of other firearms in the movie like Vincent’s suppressed Ruger 22 pistol or the head FBI agents SIG P226, but the guns above are the ones I remember when thinking about the movie in general. We all know movies are fictional pieces of entertainment, but sometimes the directors and production staff get things right which makes for interesting topics of conversation.

Do you guys think the guns used in this movie were ridiculous for the time period or did they have some validity? Let me know down in the comments below. If you’d like more of these style articles leave suggestions of other movies you’d like to see breakdowns on. As always, if you have questions on carrying or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there.

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