Many have lamented this summer movie season as lackluster, but it hasn’t been. Things did get off to a bit of a rough start, but we ended up receiving a handful of worthwhile blockbusters and plenty of excellent indies. And most importantly, we got plenty of characters that will be remembered as above-the-cuff badasses.
When it comes to summer blockbusters it’s important to have your leading man or nemesis be heroic or strong –especially if he’s going to save the day (or try and ruin it). While a few of the characters on this list may not appear to be natural “badasses” on the surface, they most certainly are just that.
To kick things off, here are some of the lamest heroes of the summer. The ones that you don’t buy for a second as the savior of the day and ones you would rather see suffer a horrible death at the hands of their antagonist.
Sadly, these three made it through to the end of the movie:
Aang (Noah Ringer, The Last Airbender), Destan (Jake Gyllenhaal, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin, Jonah Hex)
And now, the real badasses:
10. Vector (Jason Segal, Despicable Me)
A super villain who only wears a gym suit, has his TV room on top of a shark tank, and steals a Pyramid from Egypt are, by all accounts, the traits of a true badass. While Vector is a total nerd on the outside, he’s a diabolically crazy person on the inside. Even though Vector is the antagonist in Despicable Me, he’s one of those slime balls you can’t help but love. He couldn’t be more oblivious, but he’s still not someone you would want to face in a fight, especially when it comes to villainy weaponry use.
9. MacGruber (Will Forte, MacGruber)
MacGruber is fan of ripping out throats. His antics are deadly and any man who takes pride and joy in removing one man’s throat with his bare hands is pretty dangerous. MacGruber is a walking time bomb. Whenever he does something stupid, it’s going to lead to plenty of death and bloodshed. And at the end of the day, he does defeat Dieter Von Cunth.
8. Etain (Olga Kurylenko, Centurion)
After disastrous turns in Hitman and Max Payne and the underwhelming Quantum of Solace, it was quite surprising to not only see Olga Kurylenko in a good action movie but also deliver a fine performance. Kurlenko’s Etain is a mute warrior. While playing a character without speech is no easy feat, Kurylenko brought a ferocity to it that hasn’t been seen a female action heroine in quite some time. She’s smart, nasty, and vengeful.
7. Royce and Isabella (Adrien Brody and Alice Braga, Predators)
Predators was filled with an ensemble of dangerous people, but outside of Lawrence Fishburne’s crazed character Noland, the ones you truly want to make it to the end are Royce and Isabella. Alice Braga hasn’t had much luck in the sci-fi action world but she made for an excellent badass. Not just a female badass, but a badass period. And even though Royce doesn’t have the built of Arnold, he was quick and lethal. One of the many problems with the (never-should-be-mentioned) AvP films was that you knew none of those human dopes had a chance of survival. In Predators, it was an actual battle.
6. Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Inception)
Winning a fight in zero gravity is by all means an impressive feat. Arthur is both slick and proficient and while he may not look the strongest, he’s obviously someone that’s going to keep fighting once knocked down. He’s also the most dangerous type of fighter: a smart one. Arthur knows how to work the dreamworld, which comes to his advantage when fighting mindless dream drones.
5. One Eye (Mads Mikkelsen, Valhalla Rising)
Similar to Kurylenko’s Etain of Centurion, One Eye is a mute warrior. A man with no present or a future, One Eye is a viking (which of course immediately makes him cool). But the fact that he’s an existential mute version of Snake Plisken makes him stand out even more. He also may in fact be Jesus. If you look deeply into the brilliant Valhalla Rising, you’ll see the connection. Mikkelsen has delivered plenty of strong performances as people you wouldn’t want to mess with, but One Eye is at the top of the list.
4. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man 2)
Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark is one of the few reasons why the overstuffed and messy Iron Man 2 actually managed to work. Even when his life is on the line, he’s still able to crack a smile and look cool. He’s a drinker and a womanizer, but when the stakes are high, Stark arises to the occasion and is still capable of saving the day. Stark is everything a superhero should and shouldn’t be.
3. Col. John “Hannibal” Smith (Liam Neeson, The A-Team)
This year, Liam Neeson seemed to be having a pissing match with himself when it came to two of his scenery-chewing characters: the sparkly armored Zeus in Clash of the Titans and the cigar-chomping Hannibal. While Zeus gets some bonus points for the powerfully Oscar-worthy line, “Release the Kraken!,” Hannibal still wins this battle. Throughout the two-hour running time you see Hannibal fly a tank, handcuff a pack of wild dogs, spout classic one-liners (“I love it when a plan comes together!”), and light up a Stogie whenever he gets the chance.
2. Eames (Tom Hardy, Inception)
In terms of being suave, Tom Hardy‘s Eames almost puts James Bond to shame. Eames is capable of inexplicably (and unexplainably) dreaming up giant rocket launchers, and he can also take out armed guardsmen while skiing like he’s on vacation without breaking a sweat. He talks the talk and walks the walk. Eames is a man of imagination, a pro at gunplay, and his suits make Don Draper look like a hobo.
1. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
While Pilgrim himself is basically a totally oblivious loser for most of the film (almost to the point of being a jerk), he’s still able to throw some anime-style punches and fight off his love’s seven evil ex-boyfriends. Pilgrim takes out a rock star, a movie star, two techno-powered brothers, and many more. Earning the power of self-respect and winning the girl of his dreams at the end also work in his favor. Crown Scott Pilgrim as the ultimate badass of the summer.
What were your favorites of the summer?