Impressive but lacking in some small details

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2013)

I enjoyed this movie well enough to see it twice in theater and later bought the DVD. It is gritty and nothing about it is boring. Anton Chigurh is the most memorable character in this movie by far. As much as I enjoy this movie there are some annoying details that stand out to me as inaccurate. As impressive and creepy as using a captive bolt gun to kill people was, I really can't see anyone carrying one around for that purpose considering it's bulk and the attention it would attract. When Llewelyn Moss is chased into then back out of the river by the pit bull, he gets back on dry land and realized that he can't outrun the dog. He draws a Colt 1911a1 .45 to shoot the dog but first frantically scrambles to clear the water from the barrel, apparently to avoid bursting the barrel and rendering the handgun useless. This drill is totally unnecessary since whatever little water remains in the barrel will not cause any issues. I know this from experience and I really have to roll my eyes when I see this. The rifle Llewelyn Moss is using for antelope hunting has a laminated stock and the scope has a matte black finish, very rarely would you see a laminated stock on anything but a custom rifle in 1980. Matte black scopes on sporting rifles weren't common until years later. Moss also buys a Chinese copy of a Winchester model 97 shotgun which definitely wasn't available in '80. A Remington 870, Winchester 1200, or Mossberg 500 or some others would have been a better period correct choice. When he discovers the drug deal gone bad shootout scene he liberates a H&K SP89 pistol which was not available until at least 1989. I was an 18 year old gun nut in 1980 so I caught these things right off. Really, this movie has too many goofs and you have to wonder how so many of them went un-noticed or un-corrected. I gave the movie an 8 because of these and other obvious goofs. Destpite this, it is still a very powerful, suspenseful, and violent movie that I still enjoy and will continue to.