He also draped it over a door and shot it with a 9mm - it stopped the bullet but it broke through the door.

The part of the body armour image Hollywood leaves out is that while it may "stop" the bullet, broken ribs and severe bruising are to be expected when bringing a bullet from 1500 fps muzzle velocity to a dead stop in less than a second. A .223 can do plenty of damage as their velocity is higher than say a .30-06, the standard cartridge of an M-1 Garand used in WWII and early part of the Korean War, which is bigger but slower. I've seen a .223 go in the chest of a deer and out the hindquarter before at over 100 yards.