Top 40 Badass Movies of the Last Ten Years
20. Snatch (2000)
Besides some of the finest swearing and gunfire in contemporary British cinema, you have a character that will feed individuals to pigs. There’s no one single badass character, but guys like Boris The Blade and Bullet Tooth Tony make a nice badass ensemble.
19. Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
If you like to see people getting owned, but want to sprinkle in a little Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley while you’re at it then this is for you. People are getting killed left and right, and you’ll have to wait until the end of the movie how they are all connected.
18. Battle Royale (“Batoru rowaiaru”) (2000)
The strength of Battle Royale is one awesome idea. The film focuses on what happens when a group of high school students are sent to an abandoned island to kill each other. And you thought your high school years were rough! In the end, there can be only one, so it’s literally survival of the fittest.
17. The Proposition (2005)
Captured outlaw Charlie Burns is given the Sophie’s Choice of propositions. He can kill his at-large older brother Arthur or else captured younger brother Mikey will die at the end of a hangman’s noose. This real treat of a Western (if you can call it that since it takes place in Australia) is gritty, bloody, and unjust.
16. Ichi the Killer (“Koroshiya 1″) (2001)
Do you like fairly regular over-the-top violence, torture and gore? Ichi, the most deranged delusional psycho-killer is one of the more unique films around. You’ll probably remember it most, however, for its graphic and inventive torture scenes.
15. Spartan (2004)
After the kidnapping of the daughter of a high-ranking US government official (probably the President, although its never specifically stated), the Secret Service taps all-purpose badass Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) to find her. Scott is a guy who, no matter what’s happening, always seems to manage to work his way out of it. Besides Scott, the screenplay is full of interesting and crisp David Mamet dialogue along with plenty of fascinating characters.
14. Ong-bak (2003)
They marketed this Thai film as the nuclear bomb of cool, probably because trying to even name all the badass crap Tony Jaa does in this one six minute chase scene, let alone the entire movie, would take forever. Check it out:
13. Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
Clive Owen plus a trenchcoat pretty much automatically equals awesome movie. But in this one you can also see Owen killing people with carrots or killing people while having sex with Monica Bellucci. If you need further convincing, check out the first two minutes:
12. Kill Bill (Part 1 and 2) (2003-2004)
First, Quentin Tarantino is definitely badass, so you know one of his films has to crack this rundown. Second, Kill Bill is basically one film, so we lumped the two parts two together. And third, Uma Thurman vs The Crazy 88’s. That is all.
11. Sin City (2005)
Remember that Clive Owen plus trenchcoat corollary? that’s present here. So are plenty of ass-kicking chicks, and one additional badass named Marv played by Mickey Rourke. The film is a blistering ballet of bullets and blood, with dames and danger at every turn. It’s a kinetic masterpiece, bold, brilliant and totally badass.
