As someone who enjoys a good revenge movie, I’ve seen my fair share of them. While some might argue that watching someone get their comeuppance on the big screen is simply satisfying, I believe that revenge films can be a great way to explore different facets of human nature.
With that in mind, here are my picks for the best revenge movies in Hollywood. Spoiler alert: there are a lot of them! Here are the top 10 movies that will teach you how to get even.
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1. Kill Bill (2003)
Kill Bill is a great example of a film that will teach you how to take revenge. The protagonist, The Bride, is motivated by her quest for vengeance after she’s attacked and left for dead on her wedding day. She sets out on a journey to find the people who ruined her life and take them out one by one.
As viewers of this movie, we come to care about The Bride immensely and want nothing but for her to slay all these evil characters. But even if you don’t share The Bride’s vendetta, Kill Bill serves as an important lesson in how far some people will go for revenge.
This is the second installment in the Kill Bill series. In this film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) wakes up after being in a coma for four years and goes on a hunt to find out who had tried to assassinate her and why. She is out for revenge and has a list of people she wants to kill.
2. Memento (2000)
Memento is the movie to watch if you want to take revenge on somebody who has wronged you–without leaving any evidence. It follows Leonard, a man with anterograde amnesia who can’t form new memories, but still remembers the past–including details of his wife’s murder.
The film is set in three acts, each corresponding to a different part of Leonard’s day. In the first act, he wakes up in bed next to his wife and heads off for work, not remembering anything that happened after he sprained his ankle. But when he arrives home from work at the end of the day, he instantly remembers being murdered by his wife in their bedroom.
This leaves us with nothing but questions: where did his memory come from? Why does he remember things that didn’t happen? And how will he get revenge?
3. John Wick (2014)
John Wick is a 2014 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad. It stars Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan , Dean Winters, Ian McShane , John Leguizamo and Willem Dafoe.
Keanu Reeves plays John Wick, a retired hitman seeking vengeance for the theft of his vintage car and the killing of his puppy, which serves as a memento from his recently deceased wife . The film was shot in New York City and Montreal with a budget of $20 million. It was released in cinemas in October 2014.
John Wick, a retired hitman living in New York City is forced out of retirement by Italian gangsters who seek vengeance for his killing of their subordinate. After killing one boss and stealing his car, he escapes to an old friend’s home in Montreal where the couple take him in. When the thugs arrive, he kills them and escapes to a safe house.
4. The Girl With Dragon Tattoo (2011)
The girl with dragon tattoo (2011) is an adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s international best-selling novel. The film follows the early life of Lisbeth Salander, who becomes radicalized after being exiled from society after reporting her father for rape and incest.
She retaliates by becoming a computer hacker known as “The girl with the dragon tattoo.” Though she doesn’t have any tattoos, she does have a dragon tattoo on her shoulder that becomes prominent in later movies. The movie also covers the story about how she avenges herself against the two men who made her life miserable, Bjurman and Zalachenko.
5. The Italian Job (2003)
In 2003, a remake of the 1969 film The Italian Job was released. In this version, Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, who is planning on stealing thirty million dollars from a police safe. With some friends and his crew by his side, he is about to pull off what seems to be a simple plan until things quickly begin to get out of hand.
The beginning of the film starts with Charlie talking about how he got his name, which is because everyone calls him “cocky.” He also begins to talk about why he loves gold so much and how greed is the only thing that motivates him. After this introduction, we are introduced to John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), a man who is rumored to have stolen thirty million dollars. After Charlie talks about this for a little bit, it flashes back three weeks before the present day events of the film.
6. A Time To Kill (1996)
A Time To Kill (1996) is a crime-drama film directed by Joel Schumacher. The cast included Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey. Despite receiving “average” reviews from critics, the story of A Time To Kill told in court was applauded by audiences. The mystery unravels at the end of this classic courtroom drama.
This movie is about a father who takes revenge on the men who raped his daughter. Matthew McConaughey plays the father, and Sandra Bullock plays his lawyer. The movie is a bit long, but it’s worth watching for the ending alone.
An all-star cast, including Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey in supporting roles!
7. Fight Club (1999)
Edward Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, a depressed insomniac who finds himself in a support group for people suffering from insomnia. He meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), who is the leader of the group.
The two become friends and form an underground fight club, where men meet to fight each other as a way of venting their frustrations. The club becomes very popular and Tyler decides to expand it into Project Mayhem, which is a plan to destroy corporate America.
The movie has been criticized for glorifying violence, but it’s also been praised for its commentary on consumerism and materialism.
8. Crash (2004)
In this movie, a group of people in Los Angeles are brought together by a series of car accidents. They all have something to hide and they all want revenge. The movie is an allegory for racism, as the characters are all stereotypes of different races and ethnicities. It won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Crash is a 2004 film written and produced by Paul Haggis. It stars Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton (the English-born daughter of a black Zimbabwean mother and a white English father), Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Larenz Tate, and Ryan Phillippe.
9. The Crow (1994)
This movie is based on the comic book series by James O’Barr. It tells the story of Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), who returns from the dead to take revenge on his murderers. He is aided by a crow that guides him to his targets.
The movie begins with Eric’s girlfriend, Shelly (Sofia Shinas) being raped and murdered along with her fiancee during a robbery in their apartment.
The film was released after Lee’s death, when he was accidentally shot during filming.
10. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
This Quentin Tarantino masterpiece is a revenge movie in every sense of the word. It’s about a group of Jewish-American soldiers who are out for revenge against the Nazis. They go on a killing spree, and it’s one of the most satisfying things you’ll ever see on film.
This movie is one of Tarantino’s more fictional works, being a fantastic take on actual events in World War II. One scene was taken directly from history , when Hitler actually watched a film about himself dying at the hands of Americans . However, other stories are completely made up by Tarantino, including the involvement of David Bowie ‘s father in the plot to scalping Nazi leaders.
11. The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather is a movie about a man who wants to protect his family from those who would do them harm. The movie follows Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), the head of a New York crime family, as he tries to keep his family safe from rival mobsters.
The Godfather is a great revenge movie because it shows how far one man will go to get revenge on another. It also shows that the best revenge is the kind that nobody sees coming.
The Godfather has won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Marlon Brando. It has been nominated for six more Oscars, including Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Al Pacino.
12. The Prestige (2006)
The Prestige is a movie about two magicians who are bitter rivals. One of them, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), is a stage magician who performs in front of an audience. The other, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), performs magic tricks for the wealthy elite. The two men are bitter rivals because they both want to be the best magician in the world.
The movie begins with Borden performing a magic trick that ends up killing Angier’s wife. Angier then vows revenge on Borden and will stop at nothing to get it.
The movie is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. It also has some great performances by Jackman and Bale, as well as Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, and David Bowie.
The Prestige is a great revenge movie because it shows how far one man will go to get revenge on another. It also shows that the best revenge is the kind that nobody sees coming.
13. The Revenant (2015)
The Revenant is a movie about a man who is seeking revenge on the men who left him for dead. The movie is based on the true story of Hugh Glass, a frontiersman who was attacked by a bear and left for dead by his fellow trappers.
The movie follows Glass as he tries to survive in the wilderness and get revenge on those who wronged him.
The Revenant is a great revenge movie because it shows how far one man will go to get revenge on another. It also shows that the best revenge is the kind that nobody sees coming.
The Revenant has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (for Leonardo DiCaprio). It won three Oscars, including Best Director for Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki.
The Revenant is a great revenge movie because it shows how far one man will go to get revenge on another. It also shows that the best revenge is the kind that nobody sees coming.
