On that note, here is my ranking of the Top 10 Bad Guy Badasses in movie history. Since "bad guy badass" is somewhat vague, let me try to define this category in more detail. The "bad guy" part is easy: everyone in my list is the primary antagonist of the film. No Snake Plisskens or John McClanes here, though they're definitely badass protagonists. As for "badass", I looked for characters without fear or remorse. The pursue their singular goal relentlessly and by any means necessary. They take a licking and keep on ticking.I tried to avoid baddies with supernatural powers, though you'll see that a few made my list. I only drew from movies which I've seen, so I'm open to suggestions for additional nominees. When in doubt, I asked myself, "Which of these guys would I least want to meet in a dark alleyway?" Here are my results:
- The Terminator (The Terminator) - The prototype.
- Anton Chigurh (No Country For Old Men) - Scarier than most horror movie monsters.
- The Predator (Predator) - Engages in hand-to-hand combat with Arnold (and kicks his ass).
- Agent Smith (The Matrix) - Badass in a business suit.
- Freddy Krueger (Nightmare on Elm Street) - His dark sense of humor elevates him above his horror movie peers.
- Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction) - "And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee..."
- Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs) - From creepy to deadly in the time it took for his captors to let down their guard. Killing accompanied by classical music is badass.
- Riddick (Pitch Black) - Who needs firearms when you have guns.
- Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back) - More of a badass before we knew that crybaby Anakin Skywalker was inside that suit.
- Gordon Gekko (Wall Street) - Badass in a business suit, part deux. The only non-murderer in the group, but don't underestimate the brutality of a Gekko-led hostile takeover.
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Recently Viewed on DVD
Live Free or Die Hard - Definitely ntertaining, but short on the twists and turns of the previous installements. I'd have to put 1, 3, and 2 (in that order) ahead of Live Free. Justin Long, you are no Zeus. (I even would have settled for Officer Carl Winslow over the Mac poster boy.) 1.5 PB Jars
Sicko - The box claimed this was "Michael Moore's funniest film yet", but I personally thought Bowling for Columbine was funnier and an overall better movie. With Bowling as my touchstone, I'd say that this documentary does a decent job of highlighting a problem in our country, but it fails to evoke as strong an emotional response (despite the sob stories of sick Americans deprived of insurance coverage). Even for a sympathetic liberal, this movie's attempt to make Canadian, European, and Cuban health care look superior to America's proves unconvincing. 1.5 PB Jars
1 comment:
Pretty good list B. Thinking of total psycho evil people that I would not want to face off against, STANSFIELD from 'Leon' aka 'The Professional' comes to mind. The guy isn't all that badass but he is just such a psychopath with utter disregard for human life that I think he deserves mentioning. He is also a fan of the classical music, "I like the calm before the storm..." Also, Leon is one of my all time favorite movies.
And if we're letting women be in this category, then I think Gogo Yubari from KILL BILL deserves to be mentioned. She is Badass! She asked a guy if he wanted to screw her and then decided to stab him with a knife to the belly. "How about now, big boy? Do you still wish to penetrate me?... Or is it I who has penetrated you?" Booyah!
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