“He looks determined… without being ruthless. There’s something heroic
about him. He doesn’t look like a killer. He comes across so calm…
acts like he has a dream… eyes full of passion.” – The Killer (1989)

Assassin movies are a guaranteed hit with moviegoers. And for some reason, we too often cheer on this ‘bad guy.’ Why?

Hitmen are the inevitable descendants of our Western gunslingers like Gregory Peck in The Gunfighter (1950) or Alan Ladd in Shane(1953). Even when those films were made, there was acknowledgement that such killers had already outlived their usefulness and had no place in civilized society. But modern cinema isn’t so “civilized,” because professional killers are thriving in it. The reason is most likely that hitmen are ‘cool’ because, like rebels, vampires, psychopaths, and Lords of the Sith, they operate totally outside of societal norms and do whatever they want. Such freedom is enviable, but naturally not the sort of behavior most people would think of emulating. That’s sort of the basic pleasure of cinema: escapism.

In the vein of celebrating these anti-heroes, Movie Trailer Talk has compiled the “Top 10 Badass Hitmen Movies” (summaries added from IMDb):

1. Léon aka The Professional (1994) – Leon is a first-class hit man, but is also a sensitive guy who loves his potted plants. He is moral: “No women, no children” is his professional motto. He is sympathetic to his neighbor, Mathilda, a typically rebellious twelve-year-old who has trouble with her family. But when her father runs afoul of drug kingpin Norman Stansfield, Mathilda turns to Leon for assistance.
2. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Jules and Vincent work as hitmen for crime boss Marcellus Wallace. Wallace is currently dealing with Butch Collidge, a boxer who failed to throw a fight after taking Wallace’s money and is now planning to flee the city, but can’t leave his father’s watch behind. Vincent faces some problems of his own when Wallace asks him to show his wife Mia a good time while he’s away. Some of these people redeem themselves and some don’t, and all meet an end appropriate to their choices.
3. El Mariachi (1992), Desperado (1995), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) – El Mariachi just wants to play his guitar and carry on the family tradition. Unfortunately, the town he tries to find work in has another visitor…a killer who carries his guns in a guitar case. The drug lord and his henchmen mistake El Mariachi for the killer, Azul, and chase him around town trying to kill him and get his guitar case.
4. Dip huet seung hung aka The Killer (1989) – A violent Hong Kong action film, this is the story of an assassin,
   Jeffrey Chow (aka Mickey Mouse) who takes one last job so he can retire
   and care for his girlfriend Jenny. When his employers betray him, he
   reluctantly joins forces with Inspector Lee (aka Dumbo), the cop who is
   pursuing him. Together, the new friends face the final confrontation of
   the gangsters out to kill them.
5. Kill Bill Vol. I, II (2003, 2004) – The lead character, called ‘The Bride,’ was a member of the Deadly
   Viper Assassination Squad, lead by her lover ‘Bill.’ Upon realizing she
   was pregnant with Bill’s child, ‘The Bride’ decided to escape her life
   as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, and on the day of
   their wedding was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the
   assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later,
   ‘The Bride’ wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She,
   then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her
   life and killed her baby.
6. The Day of the Jackal (1973) – A British assassin is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill
   Charles de Gaulle while a dedicated gendarme follows the assassin’s
   trail in this political thriller. The film uses the perspectives of the
   ultra-professional assassin as he prepares his work and that of the
   harried but humble French detective as he undercovers the plot.
7. Nikita aka La Femme Nikita (1990) – Nikita is a young lady who with two Nihilist friends commit robbery and
   murder while on drugs. After her trial she is not executed or taken to
   prison, but to a school for special operatives. She is told that Nikita
   no longer exists and she will be trained to pay back society for what
   she has done, as a spy/assassin. She is trained for over two years and
   with no warning is handed a gun in a restaurant and told to kill the
   man at the next table as her handler leaves.
8. The Terminator (1984) – A cyborg assassin called “The Terminator” is sent back through time to
   1984 to kill the seemingly innocent Sarah Connor-a woman whose unborn
   son will lead the human race to victory in a bitter future war with a
   race of machines. If the Terminator succeeds, mankind is doomed.
   Sarah’s only hope is a soldier from that post-apocalyptic war, who has
   chased the Terminator back through time. The future of the human race
   depends on which one finds her first…
9. The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) – When a body is recovered at sea still alive, the mystery man (Damon)
   seems to have forgotten everything in life, including who he was.
   Eventually he begins to remember smaller details in life and soon finds
   out that his name was Jason Bourne. What he doesn’t like is that a gun
   and fake passports also belong to him. Now Bourne, and his new friend,
   Marie Helena Kreutz (Potente) travel from country to country in search
   of his new identity. But, someone else is not happy to see him alive,
   and is frantically trying to track him down.
10. Road to Perdition (2002) – Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan
    views Rooney as a father figure. However after his son is witness to a
    killing he has done Mike Sullivan finds him self on the run trying to
    save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on
    those who wronged him. Jude Law co stars as a hit man hired to kill
    Sullivan.

Some honorable mentions that we thought should have be noted:

• Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai (1999) – In Jersey City, an African American hit man follows “Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai.” He lives alone, in simplicity with homing pigeons for company, calling himself Ghost Dog. His master, who saved his life eight years ago, is part of the local mob. When the boss’ daughter witnesses one of Ghost Dog’s hits, he becomes expendable. The first victims are his birds, and in response, Ghost Dog goes right at his attackers but does not want to harm his master or the young woman. On occasion, he talks with his best friend, a French-speaking Haitian who sells ice cream in the park, and with a child with whom he discusses books. Can he stay true to his code? And if he does, what is his fate?
• The Boondock Saints (1999) – Two Irish brothers accidentally killed mafia thugs. They turned themselves in and were released as heroes. They then see it as a calling by God and started knocking off mafia gang members one by one. Willem Dafoe plays the detective trying to figure out the killings, but the closer he was to catching the Irish brothers, the more he thinks the brothers are doing the right thing.
• In Bruges (2008) – A Christmas story. Should one who killed a child be allowed to live? Harry Waters, a London thug, sends Irish hitmen Ken and Ray to Bruges to lie low after a job goes awry in a London church. Ken’s the old hand, fascinated by the Medieval, with a fatherly attitude toward Ray, who’s young and bored but chastened after the London job. Ray’s disposition changes when he meets Chloë, a hip young woman who sells drugs on the local set of a movie featuring Jimmy, an American dwarf. Harry calls with irrevocable instructions. Ken balks, setting up a showdown in the town square. A pregnant innkeeper, dumdum bullets, and a code of conduct play into the resolution.
• Grosse Point Blank (1997) – Martin Blank (Cusack) and is a hitman with some emotional problems. He goes to a shrink (Arkin) who doesn’t want him, and has had recurring dreams about his long lost love (Driver) for 10 years since he stood her up on Prom night. When Blank gets an invitation to his School reunion he is originally dead against the idea, but when he is hired for a job in his home town he is forced to return home, and to face some old truths.
• The Mechanic (1972) – A professional hit man (Charles Bronson) is planning to retire, always a difficult move for one in such a profession. A young apprentice appears to be eager to learn all the skills of the trade – but is that all he wants?

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