Top 20 Most Badass Movie Vigilantes

“Nobody” (2021)

Fans of Bob Odenkirk love him for his comedy work, hence they might not consider him the first choice for an action film. “Nobody” proves that he can get just as physical as the legends of the genre. Not only that, the movie lets him go full badass as he dishes out street justice. The bus scene alone shows Hutch Mansell as a man who doesn’t give up. He’s an office drone by day, but by night, Mansell dispatches Russian mobsters with lethal precision. Despite his unassuming facade, few realize he’s a full-blown assassin capable of tearing through hordes of assailants. Odenkirk sells the dynamic role with a raw and confident performance.

“Point Blank” (1967)

After completing a robbery, Walker is betrayed by his partner Mal Reese and wounded. The anti-hero then spends the rest of the movie hunting down Reese. Lee Marvin’s portrayal of Walker doesn’t feature much dialogue, yet it exudes just as much menace as the most revered cinematic villains. His unstoppable energy propels him through his enemies at a remarkable speed. Armed with his trusty revolver, Walker is the last person you’d want to appear at your door. He also uses various methods to get answers that show he’s as smart as he is physically gifted. The moral of this story? Don’t steal from a professional thief and expect to get away with it.

“The Brave One” (2007)

Erica Bain undergoes a profound transformation, going from a radio host to a vigilante, after three men tragically murder her fiancé. By the end of the film, she becomes something much closer to Travis Bickle. Bain buys a gun on the black market and takes it upon herself to rid the city of crime. This includes tense scenes and confrontations that prove the woman is a stone-cold killer. She also tracks down her partner’s murderers, leading to some chilling fights. Jodie Foster makes this believable story all the more real with her natural performance. Her character is able to channel her anger into a deadly skill, proving that some people shouldn’t be underestimated.

“Rolling Thunder” (1977)

Upon returning from Vietnam, Charles Rane is rewarded with silver dollars and a car for his service. Robbers take this as an opportunity to rob Rane, injure him, and kill his family. Motivated by vengeance, the veteran dons a hook for a hand and seeks out the assailants. William Devane plays the hero with a subdued personality that can explode at any point. This makes him even more dangerous as he contemplates how he’s going to exact his revenge. With the help of his military buddy, Rane finds the culprits in a brothel and wreaks havoc. The harrowing finale serves as a stark reminder to never mess with someone who has military experience.

“Machete” franchise (2010-13)

Starring in two films as the titular character, Danny Trejo oozes coolness as Machete Cortez. The first entry follows his plot to take revenge on his former partner. For this, Cortez employs a range of inventive and violent methods, showcasing the vigilante’s prowess in defeating villains without skipping a beat. His ability to pull out somebody’s guts might just be the craziest part of his adventures. In the sequel, despite surviving a hanging, Cortez persists in his quest for vengeance. He proves time and time again that he defies the odds and can’t be easily killed. Throughout both films, Trejo’s edgy performance infuses every scene with a gritty, tough-guy energy.

“The Boondock Saints” (1999)

After running afoul of the Russian mob, these unlikely heroes start to clean up the streets on their own. Their personal brand of morality involves gun fights, prayers, and outlandish plots to dish out justice. Despite their faults, Connor and Murphy MacManus manage to do it all in style. They’re badass without even trying, bringing together a swagger and devil-may-care attitude that you can’t buy. The siblings even cauterize their own wounds in a scene that shows how tough they can be. The duo’s popularity propelled the film to cult classic status and led to a sequel, as their story just couldn’t be contained in one movie.

“Law Abiding Citizen” (2009)

When the justice system fails him, Clyde Shelton takes matters into his own hands. He plans to avenge his wife and daughter by any means necessary. Using his CIA training, the anti-hero shows that not even imprisonment can stop him. Shelton conducts complex operations with all the resources and cunning mind of a Bond villain. He’s seemingly covered every possible idea, working to take down not just his family’s murderer, but also other components of the corrupt justice system. His ability to hold a grudge is almost unmatched in recent cinema history. Even with an entire system trying to stop him, Shelton manages to stay one step ahead for most of the story.

“Jack Reacher” (2012)

A key point to being a vigilante is to be one step ahead of the bad guys. Jack Reacher goes above and beyond this trait by seeming to know everything the way it happened as he tries to find a psychotic killer, eventually taking on an entire crime ring. Although he only really becomes a vigilante at the end of the first Jack Reacher film, he uses his military know-how and the characters’ own psychologies against themselves. Adept and charming in his own way, with just the right amount of mercilessness, Jack Reacher is not someone to be messed with in any combat situation.

“Prisoners” (2013)

Who said you have to be a killer to be a good vigilante? Such is the case for Keller Dover, who goes beyond the law to find his missing daughter. Using his handyman skills and an empty building willed to him by his father, Keller devises disturbing torture contraptions that don’t fare well for the prime suspect in the kidnapping. While we can remain empathetic towards Keller for trying to find his daughter and right some wrongs, the flipside to his personality makes him all the more disturbing and we can’t help but want to distance ourselves from his dark deeds.

“Taken” franchise (2008-14)

One of modern action film’s chief vigilante characters, this former CIA operative with “a particular set of skills” has transcended pop culture and turned his character into a memorable and quotable hero. Known for slamming bad guys’ heads into solid objects after already delivering a savage beating, Mills relies on previous combat experience and just about any grab-able object to dispatch his enemies in a calm and calculated manner. Leaving many bodies in his wake, Bryan Mills strikes fear into the hearts of assassins, kidnappers, corrupt law officers, and pretty much anyone who dares to mess with his family over the course of the franchise.

“Inglourious Basterds” (2009)

Let’s hear it for the ladies! This movie vigilante gets points for the most creative method of vengeance: using flammable film reels to get the literal last laugh on the entire Nazi command. In this little rewrite of history, Dreyfus manages to take out historical figures like Joseph Goebbels and even Adolf Hitler himself, sending a chilling message to the audience in her theater, taunting them with death. Although she accomplishes this with a little help from the Basterds and doesn’t even survive her lone act of vengeance, Shosanna Dreyfus has one of the highest body counts on our list.

“The Equalizer” franchise (2014-)

Looks can be very deceiving. Kind-hearted hardware store employee by day, ruthlessly violent justice figure by night, Bob McCall stands up for the little guy, even if the threat is a group of ice-cold Russian gangsters. Based off a character from the hit 1980s television series of the same name, actor Denzel Washington brought a lot more character to his role as McCall by having him afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This is just icing on the cake, however, as this makes him an even more efficient killer. Using his workplace as an arena, McCall manages to use common household tools to maximum deadly potential in a final showdown with the bad guys…giving them each around 16 seconds to live.

“Unforgiven” (1992)

When you learn about outlaw William Munny’s background, it’s evident that he’s far from a saint. His violent past catches up with him when he reluctantly takes on a job to hunt down people again. Once his partner Ned is killed by corrupt sheriff Little Bill Daggett, Munny seeks revenge of his own and confirms how badass he really is. The man enters a bar and fires at several people, later shooting Little Bill without thinking twice. Even if he has any traces of remorse, he rarely shows it in a hardened exterior. Clint Eastwood delivers a stellar performance throughout the film, lending his character a level of ruthlessness rarely seen in a Western.

“Drive” (2011)

Ryan Gosling took the action world by storm in Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 arthouse hit “Drive.” As mysterious as he is unpredictable, this nameless vigilante is willing to sacrifice everything he has to ensure a woman and her son are never bothered again by a heartless gangster. Adhering to strict rules as a getaway driver and never claiming to be a professional at what he does, The Driver manages to always get the upper hand when the tables are turned against him, putting him one step ahead of the bad guys even when he is the one being chased down. Let’s just say we would never want to be trapped in an elevator with this guy.

“Man on Fire” (2004)

Leave it to Denzel Washington to bring pathos to his vigilantes. Much like “The Equalizer’s” Bob McCall, Washington’s portrayal of ex-military hero John Creasy is loaded with character flaws that either put him on equal footing or one step beyond those who have wronged him. John Creasy works his way up the Mexican criminal food chain in order to rescue the girl he was hired to protect, racking up an impressive body count along the way. As he targets his victims, Creasy ensures that their deaths become more and more elaborate, yet is professional enough to ensure that nobody is caught in the crossfire. Did we mention he does all this while mortally wounded? Yeah, he is that good.

“V for Vendetta” (2005)

Not quite a superhero but definitely on the same level, this mysterious character is both theatrical and sympathetic while also being sadistically violent and merciless. After an alliteration-filled introduction, V takes on a dystopian government by encouraging the people of Britain to rise up against the oppressors. Never taking credit for his own actions, V proves to be more an idea of vigilantism than an actual manifestation of it. With an interesting backstory and an anti-fascist agenda, V’s choices dispatching his enemies border on the quiet and painless to the psychologically devastating. Either way, he gets the job done in stunning fashion.

“Death Wish” franchise (1974-94)

A household name in vigilante lore, Paul Kersey is an unbridled force to be reckoned with once his ability to kill is awakened. Starting off as a tragic antihero in the first Death Wish film, Kersey gradually became the face of justice in four more sequels with more ridiculous bad guys and bigger guns. Needless to say, Kersey’s story in the first film put many filmgoers’ greatest anxieties on screen when it came to dealing with inner city violence and urban fear. Kersey’s actions were also seemingly and eerily mimicked in real life when Bernie Goetz took the law into his own hands in a 1984 incident that paralleled a scene from the first “Death Wish” film.

“The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938)

Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, Robin Hood might be the most famous outlaw ever. His campaign against Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham includes his personal gang of Merry Men. To top it all off, he gets the job done with a wink and a smile. There’s also his impressive language, agility, and sword skills. He proves that wearing tights can be badass all while fighting off opponents such as Guy of Gisbourne. Using his unorthodox methods and sense of humor, he saves the day for ordinary people and keeps royalty in check.

“Taxi Driver” (1976)

He’s a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment! Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader’s oddball creation in Travis Bickle is an unsettling and oddly true to life depiction of society’s dark corners. Although seemingly harmless, this likely to be PTSD-afflicted Vietnam vet-turned taxi driver doesn’t seem to know the extent of his actions. Played in impeccable fashion by Robert De Niro, the quotable Travis Bickle wages a one-man war on the society he feels has failed him. Practicing his lines toward pimps and thugs, this character reflects the average joe taking the law into his own hands, making him the perfect vigilante. However, since he crosses the line in such chaotic fashion, Travis Bickle is both a relatable yet distant character.

“John Wick” franchise (2014-)

If they had just left him alone, so many people would still be alive. John Wick is the kind of guy you don’t want to cross. He’s a one-man wrecking crew that seeks revenge for the death of his dog in the 2014 film “John Wick.” After taking care of the Russian mob, he returns to battle more assassins in the sequels. His skills with all kinds of weaponry can’t be understated. From firearms to horses, the man knows how to bring the pain. He also defies the odds by surviving serious injuries. Played by ultimate badass Keanu Reeves, this series showcases some impressive stunt work to really make the audience understand his power.