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Ting
Tony Jaa, Ong-Bak (2003)
No wirework. No doubles. No CGI. Just raw, roaring muscle. Even Bruce Lee, Tony Jaa's hero, would be KO'ed by his car-hurdling, double-knee kicking stuntage in Ong-Bak. Putting the assault into somersault, after shooting a scene in which he clobbers a guy with his trousers on fire, the Muay Thai superman got burns on his legs, nose and eyebrows - then politely asked for a second take. Jaa's family raised elephants for a living - which can only explain how Jaa survives getting a baby elephant thrown in his face in follow-up Warrior King. Best not try that one at home.
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What Do You Think?
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| lord vader...? | where was Vader??also, Anton Chigurh, Chopper, Maximus (dont give me that too thuggy shit), Blade...?
these questions need answering. ... Read More
smokystardude About me | | 17:01, 07 January 2009 | Report This Post | | | | | lord vader...? | ... Read More
smokystardude About me | | 16:56, 07 January 2009 | Report This Post | | | | | Roy Batty anyone? | What about Roy Batty in Blade Runner? ... Read More
xerx About me | | 20:38, 03 January 2009 | Report This Post | | | | | A few oversights... | Where's Anton Chigurh? Serious contender for the number one spot (and the hair just made him creepier). A few like De NIro in Heat, Leon that have been mentioned shouldn't get in because they think too much, talk too much and dare I say it, have too-rounded characters.
Blade should have at least made the also-rans too... ... Read More
Code_187 About me | | 13:56, 28 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | WTF!!! | Errrr...... Wheres Blade? No-one kicks vampire ass better than Wesley Snipes, with a big MF sword, shades and a hell of a leather jacket.
And John Preston (Christian Bale) in Equilibrium? Leonidis gets 30 kills and he gets 118? My moneys on Bale... ... Read More
Rulezdaworld0 About me | | 17:19, 18 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | OH AND.. | HAN ''FUCKING'' SOLO! ... Read More
danbo1138 About me | | 21:27, 17 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | What a load of cock | what the fuck kinda selection is that?
RAMBO.JOHN.J.
MAJOR ALAN''DUTCH'' SCHAEFER
BRUCE LEE
SNAKE PLISSKIN
THE MAN WITH NO NAME
SANJURO
KYLE REESE
JOHN MCLANE
RIPPLEY
CONAN
BATMAN
MAXIMUS
ARAGORN
JAMES BOND
BOBA FETT
CLUBBER LANG
STEVE MCQUEEN
I could go on.........
... Read More
danbo1138 About me | | 17:09, 17 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Weak! | Sorry, gotta say it, apart from Walker, pretty weak selection. ... Read More
bingo34uk About me | | 15:48, 17 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Baddass My Arse!!! | Where's Ben Kingsley- Sexy Beast?
Mel Gibson- Lethal Weapon 1.Not The Shite Sequels.
Chow Yun Fat- Hard Boiled
Clint Eastwood- Unforgiven ETC...
Clive Owen- Shoot Em Up
Sylvester Stallone- First Blood
Arnold Schwarzenegger- The Terminator 1.Not The Shite Sequels
The List Goes On.........................
... Read More
speilberg360 About me | | 22:37, 15 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Pish posh, how can Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast not get an honourable mention or Begbie?!! Re-think please ... Read More
gabriel doe About me | | 20:22, 15 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Swayze?You're Crazy! | No Chopper?No CHOPPER?!
Why do you waste my time?.... ... Read More
SMOKINWILLIE About me | | 19:49, 15 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Agreed, something from John Wayne's and Clint Eastwood's catalogues should have got an honourable mention. Along with Marvin and Bronson, they're probably a massive part of defining badasses.
And where's Robert De Niro's character from Heat? ... Read More
jncorbett About me | | 23:50, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | I feel like I'm taking CRAZY pills | I was really expecting michael caine's Carter to be in there somewhere - so as I got through the back nine with no sign I though 'YAY' he's number 1. Imaging my surprise when there was some guy with a mullet. - Fine, he can rip your throat out, but he loses all badass cred for
a) his hair
and
b) he's a kiddy fiddler in donnie darko
nuff said.
Whereas carter stabs a guy in a back alley and throws another off a multistorey carpark.
And he notably DOESN'T have a mullet.
However I ... Read More
guru_san About me | | 20:11, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | ..... | NUMBER 1 ULTIMATE MOVIE BADASS IS JACK BURTON COS ITS ALL IN THE REFLEX'S ... Read More
hombrepoo About me | | 14:41, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Joe Pesci?? Any film he's in even HomeAlone ... Read More
hombrepoo About me | | 14:36, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | ... | Two words: John Wayne. ... Read More
t_bell About me | | 12:28, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | "I'm Neville facking Bardoss mate!" | Where is Eric Bana's Mark 'Chopper' Read? He was a bad-arse (get it right please) and utterly hilarious at the same time. ... Read More
warpedai About me | | 00:58, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Nice one sillitoechris | I can't believe I forgot to mention Anton Chigurh, in my books he is number one. He is the full embodiment of a movie bad ass. And I quote "Impervious to pain, short on words, fiercely solitary and fabulously uncomplicated" (Empire, 2008) Chigurh barely winced as he limped along on his bloodied leg and had a "fucking" bone sticking out of his arm. He only spoke when he really had to or really wanted to.("Call it, friendo") He didn't have many friends I'd imagine, h... Read More
Chips_Ahoy About me | | 00:46, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Innovative list, but flawed... | It's nice to get reminded of some fun movies from my youth... And yes, Patrick Swayze was a real badass in Roadhouse, but no way he tops Charles Bronson. No fuckin' way!
And you forgot the biggest badass of all time: Clint "Madison County" Eastwood. His Harry Callahan or Man With No Name were the embodiment of badass coolness. And you didn't even mention it among "also runs"...
That's un-fuckin-forgivable! ... Read More
Boryan K. About me | | 00:03, 14 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Anton Chigurh | the serial killing manhunter in No Country For Old Men- scared the shit out of me and the last person on earth you want being paid to relentlessy stalk and kill you. and I know these are real life guys - but Chopper.... real-life fruitcake, aswell as Lenny McLean in Lockstock - both serious nutcases!! ... Read More
sillitoechris About me | | 22:49, 13 December 2008 | Report This Post | | | | | Next Page |
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Simon Crook
explains his choices...
You can wear the leather. You can chain the fags. You can even attempt the sunglasses. But badass (or, if you insist, bad/arse/) is an essence, not a wardrobe requirement, and a quality owned by a chest-beating elite. Just ask Jean-Claude Van Damme, who seems to think the height of toughness is an ability to "do" the splits. That's way too try-hard. Badasses don't "try". They simply are.
Impervious to pain, short on words, fiercely solitary and fabulously uncomplicated, the movie badass is two megatons heavier than your average anti-hero. In fact, he's the leathery personification of alpha male wish-fulfillment - the man's man with the vocal cords of a sideboard motor, impenetrable enigma and Castrol GTX for blood. All action, mucho macho attitude and minimal dialogue, the point, really, is that, drilled deep down in any male's throbbing X-chromosones, you ever-so-secretly want to be them.
Our selection process? Simple. We hired out Belgium, converted it into a giant Ultimate Fighting dome, threw in the contenders and waited to see who came out with their faces still on. Those who (choke) didn't make it: Maximus (too thuggy), Riggs (too mulletty), Arnie (too camp), Jason Statham (too sweaty), Snake Plissken (last gay in the post-apocalyptic village) and John Rambo (Michael Ryan wanted to 'be' him and look what happened there). And if all this rippling manliness is all too much? Well, it bloody well should be considering we've published this on a scratch-and-sniff monitor loaded with tiger shark pheramones. Nostrils flaring? Armpits flexing? Release the badass!
What Do
You Think?
Did Simon get it completely wrong, miss an obvious choice or were his choices spot on? Tell us what you think by clicking here.
This top ten first appeared in Empire Magazine Issue 234.
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