That means those movie scenes where people are having a shootout with silencers in a library and nobody notices, or even in a crowded train station.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m under no impression that the scene from John Wick is realistic (at least not with the way current firearms technology functions).

When speaking about subsonic ammunition, the greatest impact is mainly how far away you can hear the weapon. Guns are loud, yes — something that cuts the sound down from 5 city blocks to 1 (hyperbole, I don’t know the exact numbers but I do know it considerably decreases how far the sound travels) is pretty fuckin quiet.

And .22lr subsonic really is movie quiet, not that it matters - you’re practically shooting a suped up BB at that point.