Best Revenge Movies of All Time, Ranked

Revenge tragedy is a theoretical style wherein the principal theme is retribution and its often-fatal penalties. For most movies, the second half tends to get neglected. The revenge style is usually one of the partaking types of storytelling in cinema. If the story is private for the primary character, it makes it private for the viewer. Whatever decisions are made, for higher or worse, they’re extra simply understood. Most revenge movies could also be extra of the motion selection, beginning with an individual with a previous and a mission, and can usually finish fortunately regardless of all of the destruction and our bodies left within the hero’s wake. Commando, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an ideal instance.

Updated December third, 2022: To preserve the article contemporary and related by including extra entries, this text has been up to date to incorporate much more nice movies in regards to the theme of revenge.

The greatest revenge movies make the viewer really feel and assume. Whether the protagonist felt cheated, betrayed, or personally attacked, the act of in search of revenge not directly modifications them. To avenge the loss of life of a spouse or to rescue a kidnapped little one could flip somebody into a completely totally different one who does issues they by no means thought able to themselves. Sometimes their actions could cause extra hurt than good and go away the viewers asking themselves, was all of it value it? Here are the very best revenge movies of all time, ranked.

16/16 Unforgiven (1992)

In the critically-acclaimed Revisionist Western Unforgiven, legendary silver display screen star Clint Eastwood portays an getting old gunslinger and retired outlaw who’s introduced again into the fold to assist a younger man search revenge on the cowboys chargeable for disfiguring a prostitute. After being approached by aspiring gunman The Schofield Kid, repentant widower William Munny (Eastwood) reluctantly agrees to take a ultimate job with the assistance of longtime companion Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) to be able to declare the $1,000 bounty.

The trio should sq. off towards the corrupt sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) and fellow bounty hunters to avenge the assault on the prostitute. The Oscar-winning image options excellent performances by its A-list forged and delves into the complexities of retribution and violence from differing character views.

15/16 The Equalizer (2014)

Denzel Washington brilliantly captures the function of a deadly vigilante in search of chilly laborious justice within the gripping motion movie The Equalizer, delivering a tour-de-force efficiency as a former intelligence agent who’s compelled to take a stand towards the Russian mafia after a teenage prostitute is assaulted. Robert McCall finds his quiet, reclusive life disrupted when a woman he befriends is brutally crushed by her pimp, reigniting a powerful-yet-dangerous fireplace inside him that leads him to take issues into his personal palms and tackle the violent crime boss. The overwhelming recognition of The Equalizer led to a profitable sequel in 2018, with a third follow-up set to for launch in 2023 with Washington’s Man on Fire co-star Dakota Fanning additionally showing.

14/16 Carrie (1976)

This traditional horror story primarily based on Stephen King‘s first novel follows Carrie, a bullied teenage woman who finds out she has telekinesis. On an evening that was presupposed to be a turnaround in her tumultuous life, she is humiliated in entrance of the whole faculty by her tormentors and snaps, deciding sufficient is sufficient. This movie exhibits a susceptible woman with a novel skill reaching her breaking level in a brutal climax that’s nonetheless synonymous in popular culture many years later. Brian de Palma gave Carrie an extremely revolutionary movie type, particularly within the ultimate act, and each Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie received Oscar nominations for his or her portrayals of Carrie and Margaret White.

13/16 Death Wish (1974)

After NYC architect Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson)’s spouse and daughter are brutally attacked by a gaggle of thugs (Jeff Goldblum performs Freak #1 in his first ever function), he goes on a rampage by way of NYC to not solely get revenge on those that destroyed his household, however take vigilante justice to all of these he observes breaking the legislation. Death Wish is an ideal instance of a movie that each portrays the revenge theme and the psychological results it will possibly have on the individual that takes it. Bronson would return for 5 extra Death Wish sequels, with the final being in 1994. In 2018, Eli Roth remade the primary movie, casting Bruce Willis as Paul Kersey.

12/16 Upgrade (2018)

In Leigh Whannell’s underrated and under-seen science fiction movie Upgrade, Logan Marshall-Green performs Grey, a person who turns into paraplegic after he and his spouse are victims of a gang taking pictures. Grey accepts the assistance of a well-known techno-engineer and has a state-of-the-art microchip positioned in his neck, which takes full management of his bodily capabilities, not solely permitting him to stroll and transfer once more however making him a violent drive of nature, educated in a number of combating kinds. Grey then hunts down his spouse’s killers to unravel who was behind the assault.

11/16 Mandy (2018)

In most likely a very powerful movie within the resurgence of Nic Cage’s profession, Panos Cosmatos’s Mandy is a visually beautiful revenge flick. In Mandy, a cheerful couple’s lives are destroyed when a cult of hippie drug addicts and their demon-biker henchman kidnap and brutally homicide Red Miller (Cage)’s spouse, Mandy, proper in entrance of him, and go away him for lifeless. After having a psychological breakdown, Red retrieves his outdated crossbow from a buddy (Bill Duke), and fashions his personal weapons to take with him on an extremely gory revenge experience. This movie begins off in a really artsy and psychedelic vogue, then flips the script right into a brutal, bloody, wild experience. Cage’s appearing is prime type on this flick, and he has probably the greatest performances of his profession.

10/16 John Wick (2014)

John Wick needed to depart his previous as an murderer behind and develop outdated together with his spouse. But, when she dies of most cancers, she leaves behind a beagle pet in order that John doesn’t must grieve alone, giving him a ultimate glimmer of hope after dropping the one particular person he cherished. But, when thugs break into his home and kill the pet, his hope is snuffed out, and his rage takes over, setting a bullet-riddled path to avenge his misplaced buddy in a world that wouldn’t go away him alone. John Wick boasts an awesome forged together with Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane, and John Leguizamo, and reunited Reeves with producer/administrators Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who labored with him on The Matrix trilogy. Reeves additionally carried out about 90% of his personal stunts on this gun-fu motion movie.

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9/16 Taken (2008)

A retired CIA operative and divorcee (Liam Neeson) listens helplessly as his estranged daughter is kidnapped half the world away. Then, along with her kidnappers listening, he provides a lethal warning, let her go or die. Parents who see Taken gained’t discover it difficult to attach with the stoic father. What mum or dad doesn’t consider the lengths they’ll go to guard their children? Though Neeson did an awesome job, carried out most of his personal stunts, and the movie produced two sequels, it was really Jeff Bridges who was picked for the function. It wasn’t till he dropped out that Neeson was employed on.

8/16 Cape Fear (1962 & 1991)

Flipping the narrative of revenge towards the hero, each of those movies, the unique and the Scorcese remake, showcase a lethal cat and mouse sport between a deranged convict (Robert De Niro) and his former lawyer (Nick Nolte) who lets him go to jail. Here is an instance of the implications of doing the appropriate factor. When the lawyer, Sam, had an opportunity to avoid wasting the deranged Max Cady from jail, he hid essential proof upon realizing his guilt. Almost 20 years later, Cady is launched and tracks down Sam to punish him for his deed. Robert De Niro was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, and Juliette Lewis, who performed the daughter, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

7/16 The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) had an awesome life, an awesome profession, and a loving fiancé. That is till he’s betrayed by his greatest buddy and finds himself wrongly imprisoned with every part good in his life stolen from him. Edmond has been fascinated with the life he as soon as had and the buddy who betrayed him for nearly 20 years and is able to take again what’s his. So first, he escapes confinement with the assistance of his cellmate Abbe Faria (Richard Harris). Then he enters the world of aristocracy because the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo to get near the person who betrayed him (Guy Pearce). This story exhibits what one can obtain with time and persistence and exhibits that not all ghosts keep lifeless. Henry Cavill additionally seems in one in all his first movie roles.

6/16 Memento (2000)

In this head-spinning journey from Christopher Nolan, Leonard (Guy Pearce) units out to avenge the homicide of his spouse. However, he suffers from short-term reminiscence loss and should write notes that lose all which means after falling asleep. This winding story in Memento follows two threads that reveal tiny morsels of the puzzle as Leonard struggles to search out his spouse’s killer. One thread performs the sequence of occasions backward, whereas a thread in black in white flays ahead. Both finish in a shock ending that isn’t simply forgotten. The twists are nice, and nonetheless simply as efficient, greater than 20 years later.

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5/16 V For Vendetta (2005)

In the political motion revenge movie V For Vendetta starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman, a freedom fighter referred to as “V” goes on a killing streak to dismantle the British tyrannical authorities that wronged him a few years prior. Based on a graphic novel written by Alan Moore, each Weaving and Portman give improbable performances, capturing their character’s personalities flawlessly. The Guy Fawkes masks that V makes use of within the movie is now synonymous with the hacker group “Anonymous” and many teams combating towards authorities injustices.

4/16 Gladiator (2000)

Maximus (Russell Crowe) was a famend Roman common cherished by all, together with the getting old Emperor, who named him his successor to rule as regent. Unfortunately, this leads to a coup that sees the Emperor’s son kill his father and condemn Maximus and his household to loss of life. When the final is unable to avoid wasting his spouse and son, he’s captured and bought as a gladiator to battle till he dies. This leads him to face his household’s killer as soon as extra because it brings him to the Roman Colosseum, the place Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) holds the Gladiator video games.

Now in a position to look his enemy within the eyes as soon as extra, and together with his males nonetheless behind him, Maximus prepares to take his vengeance. Gladiator was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, profitable 5, together with Best Picture and Best Actor, however many feal Joaquin Phoenix was snubbed as Best Supporting Actor, as he gave probably the greatest villain performances in movie historical past.

3/16 The Crow (1994)

The Crow unfolds on the evening earlier than Halloween when Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) and his fiancé are brutally murdered by the henchmen of a vicious drug lord. As Eric’s soul is escorted to the afterlife, a raven intervenes and guides him again to the land of the dwelling to take his revenge towards those that killed him and his lover. His time is proscribed, nevertheless, because the window for his retribution is closing. Unfortunately, Brandon Lee was killed by an unintended taking pictures with a prop gun in the course of the making of the movie, however the accident modified the whole outlook on gun security all through Hollywood productions.

2/16 Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)

This epic saga of blood and mayhem see’s a former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (Uma Thurman) return from a four-year coma to take her vengeance towards her 4 former allies after they killed her fiancé and unborn little one. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 in a high-impact bloody good time that follows the would-be Bride chopping by way of something and every part in the way in which of her justice and ends in a ultimate confrontation with the orchestrator behind all of the chaos, Bill (David Carradine), her former boss and lover.

1/16 Oldboy (2003)

A loutish drunk finds himself imprisoned with nothing however a mattress and a TV, on which he watches the information that his spouse was murdered and that he’s the prime suspect. With nothing however time, Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) spends the subsequent 15 years considering of revenge. Then, he’s mysteriously let loose. What follows is a thriller to find who imprisoned him. With brutal motion and a surprising twist ending, Oldboy is the proper story of revenge and punishment because the viewer progressively realizes that not solely why Dae-su was imprisoned, however why he was let loose.