Do remember the first time you saw Samuel L. Jackson’s Jules hand down his edict to a group of terrified kids in Pulp fiction? Watching Jackson in that scene personifies the meaning of Bad Assness. Now, assness isn’t a word. It is more of a state of being. It can be seen on screen when a character is in complete control in a dire situation or when he/she just refuses to give into impossible odds. There are some truly bad ass characters that have hit the cinema. They radiate something from the screen to the audience. There is a certain confidence in their being and they usually perform well under extreme duress. Do they always succeed? No. They don’t have to win to carry the mantel of Bad Assness. So for the purpose of today’s roar, I have picked some true bad asses who for whatever reason, show that they possess great bad assness on screen.
5) Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator)
“ You are one ugly…,”Great line and Arnold’s Dutch shows us just how bas ass he really is. Dutch is faced with impossible odds in this movie. The Predator is far more advanced and an accomplished hunter. Arnold is beaten in the end he takes both he and the alien out. The defining scene is Dutch buried in the mud with only his eyes showing, that alone gives Arnold Bad Assness.
4) Patricia Arquette (True Romance)
Alabama gets her head beat to a pulp by James Gandolfini and she keeps on ticking. This is probably the most violent scene you’ll ever witness in a movie and Arquette shows why she carries bad assness. She must weigh 100 pounds less than Gandolfini yet she gets the better of him. A truly gruesome, but ultimately satisfying scene. Yes, women can be bad asses too.
3) Bruce Willis (Die Hard)
It is a no-brainer. John Mclane cannot be stopped in Die Hard, but the scene that gives him bad assness is when he walks on broken glass in bare feet. Some of us would rather be shot at or thrown out a window. Shards of glass in the feet has got to hurt and think about how much you’d have to really rely on walking/running to fight terrorists. Yippie Kay Oww!
2) Christian Bale (Batman Begins)
Training with the League of Shadows should be enough for Bruce Wayne, but it is not. To actually get yourself arrested to study the mindset of criminals is a bold thing to do. Bale plays Wayne/Batman perfectly in this movie and carries a ton of bravado, but not before getting beat up. His toughness becomes clear during his training with Ducard (Liam Neeson). He finally gave the villains of Gotham something to fear, a symbol and his bad assness.
1) Robert Shaw (Jaws)
"...I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So,
eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out,
the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb."
Quint is number one and his bad assness is over the top in one of the greatest scenes in movie history.
5) Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator)
“ You are one ugly…,”Great line and Arnold’s Dutch shows us just how bas ass he really is. Dutch is faced with impossible odds in this movie. The Predator is far more advanced and an accomplished hunter. Arnold is beaten in the end he takes both he and the alien out. The defining scene is Dutch buried in the mud with only his eyes showing, that alone gives Arnold Bad Assness.
4) Patricia Arquette (True Romance)
Alabama gets her head beat to a pulp by James Gandolfini and she keeps on ticking. This is probably the most violent scene you’ll ever witness in a movie and Arquette shows why she carries bad assness. She must weigh 100 pounds less than Gandolfini yet she gets the better of him. A truly gruesome, but ultimately satisfying scene. Yes, women can be bad asses too.
3) Bruce Willis (Die Hard)
It is a no-brainer. John Mclane cannot be stopped in Die Hard, but the scene that gives him bad assness is when he walks on broken glass in bare feet. Some of us would rather be shot at or thrown out a window. Shards of glass in the feet has got to hurt and think about how much you’d have to really rely on walking/running to fight terrorists. Yippie Kay Oww!
2) Christian Bale (Batman Begins)
Training with the League of Shadows should be enough for Bruce Wayne, but it is not. To actually get yourself arrested to study the mindset of criminals is a bold thing to do. Bale plays Wayne/Batman perfectly in this movie and carries a ton of bravado, but not before getting beat up. His toughness becomes clear during his training with Ducard (Liam Neeson). He finally gave the villains of Gotham something to fear, a symbol and his bad assness.
1) Robert Shaw (Jaws)
"...I'll never put on a lifejacket again. So,
eleven hundred men went in the water, three hundred and sixteen men come out,
the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb."
Quint is number one and his bad assness is over the top in one of the greatest scenes in movie history.
9 comments:
Great topic. I liked your list, too.
Here's some more:
Clint Eastwood could be on this list for almost every movie he was in, but he oozes badassness as Blondie in Buono, il bruuto, it cattivo (Good, the Bad and the Ugly).
Paul Newman as Luke in Cool Hand Luke ... He constantly loses but he refuses to conform.
Bruce Willis is at his best in Die Hard as John McLane, but he also was good as Butch Collidge, the badass boxer who wouldn't take a dive and kills his opponent in the ring, and then survives a car accident and a beating from Marsellus Wallace before escaping from the rapists and killing the gimp with a samuri sword.
sorry danny boy but that list is sooooooo effing wrong in so many ways. It leaves out so many ass kickers it's not even funny.
1) Bruce Lee. no need to explain, just his name alone you know someone's getting their head kicked in.
2) Snake Plisken. Makes John McLame and Jack Cower a couple of pussies
3) while we're talking about the russell man, let's not forget Jack Burton. Truck driving, demon fighting sonavabitch.
4) Sonny Chiba in anything. He'll kill you with a stare.
5) Chow Yun Fat as detective Tequila. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have people jumping sideways shooting guns with both hands while doves fly around in the background.
6) James Bond. gets the bad guy and gets the girls. can you be anymore of a bad ass?
7) finally... Pee Wee Herman. The chicks dig the bike
I apologize but my favorite badass was not in cinema. I would still like to mention Snake Eyes as the all time biggest badass. The guy was just everything that was cool. You had to be in the comic books to really appreciate it, particularily the Vietnam flashbacks before his accident. Him in a LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) unit with Stalker, Storm Shadow and Fred. He always had the Booney hat with a picture of his twin sister tucked in it for good luck and his token M-60 I think he called it "Thumper". Storm Shadow saved his ass in Vietnam and he went to learn to be a ninja after his family was killed. Without all that you have a uzi wielding Ninja that can't speak...are you serious?! Not to mention the only GI Joe whose name is classified to this day. Oh ya and he had a pet fucking WOLF! Take a bow Larry Hama you made my childhood when you created this masterpiece. When I was in the woods I was Snake Eyes and he was the only GI Joe that I had to pace myself when I played with him so I would not wear out his joints. I still have my Snake Eyes in my china closet and will be buried with him clenched in my hand.
most badassiest badass ever: Dolemite
Sorry, the list could have been 25 to 50 characters in film and I'll tell you it was struggle there are so many, so you are completeley right. Joe's list is aewsome though as is yours.
I also considered Vader, Doc Holiday, Walken in Suicide Kings, there are so many!
you need more ladies
1. uma thurman in kill bill
2. bridget fonda "nina simone" in point of no return "I never did mind the little things"
3. princess leia killin jabba
How about the quintessential bad-ass Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz in Apocolypse Now? Or the scene stealing Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore? "Any man brave enough to hold his guts in can drink from my canteen anytime."
I cannot disagree with Quint, he is singlehandedly the reason that I cannot turn Jaws off whenever it is on. One has to appreciate that he was stabbing the shark with a machete while his lower half was getting devoured. "Y'all know me, y'all know how I earn a livin..."
John,
Absolutley with Kurtz. All I wanted was a a mango!
Flight of the Valkyerie and surfing always gets me!
Post a Comment