This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Describe Throw Away Guns Discussion here.
GewoonDaan: I'm a bit too new to Tropes and to wiki's in general to try my hand at it, but isn't it time the examples for this trope get categorized? Anyone up for that?
Das Auto: I'm gonna sort and folderize this now.
Umptyscope: Confused me — thought this was about where a crooked cop will shoot an unarmed civilian and throw a loaded gun near the body so the cop can claim self-defense.
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Does anyone remember the movie that came out a few months ago about the guy whose gun is stolen, and the whole plot is for him to try and retrieve it before it can be used in a murder or something? That seems like a good exception to the trope.
Darmok: It's probably worth mentioning the "New York Reload" here. This is when, rather than reloading gun A, somebody pulls out fully-loaded gun B instead. (Maybe that deserves a trope of its own!?)
Very true. There's even the (awfully stupid) tendency for characters to have replacement guns instead of replacement clips. Which reached it's invetiably ludicrous apogee with Boondock Saints (oh, and the Matrix, natch) - the main characters simply have dozens of guns tucked inside their trench coats. Discussed in detail somewhere on Jabootu.com, but I can't locate it at the moment.
Phartman: Please, inside voice! But yeah, that also happens a lot with Chow-Yun Fat. He's a whiz with Gun Fu, but apparently played hooky on "reloading day" and didn't copy anyone else's notes.
Speaking of The Matrix,if the guns were computer code,couldn't they have implemented an infinite ammo cheat?
Seven Seals: No, for the same reason they couldn't become invulnerable at will, turn bullets into butterflies, or grow tentacles. Although it's never explicitly stated, we have to assume the Matrix operates according to rules that implement physics as we know it, and allow only limited and complicated bending (Neo's superhuman feats, the agents' tricks). Creating matter out of thin air in the Matrix itself is probably a big no-no (but taking in lots of new guns apparently isn't). It's best not to think about these things too much...
Ununnilium: Which was one of the things that disappointed me about the sequels - at the end of the first, Neo was obviously "breaking the rules", but his powers were way toned-down afterwards.
