10 Most Interesting and Badass Anti-Heroes in Movies
Nowadays movies have become a lot more than the usual idea of the characters being heroes and villains as there are other ways a character can be looked at. While we consider the protagonists to the heroes in general, there are certain projects that have anti-heroes as the protagonists. These characters allow us to see the movie in a manner that we haven’t generally looked at it with the characters being a mix of both good and bad at the same time. It is not easy to write such a character and often rather unbelievable that the character actually ends up being likable. Over the years there have been several badass anti-heroes that we have become fond of. So, let’s take a look at a few of them.
Lando Calrissian
We are first introduced to the character of Lando Calrissian in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and he turns to be a likable character. But the main issue with him was the rivalry that he had with Han Solo even though both behaved like they were friendly. While Han Solo was someone who just did the right thing for the money, there is a chance that Lando would have never helped them out if Bespin wasn’t in danger from the Empire taking over it. Trusting Lando to do accordingly was why Han Solo was caught and sent to Jabba the Hutt.
Major Marquis Warren
Quentin Tarantino brought in the concept of one of his initial projects, Reservoir Dogs on the screen with The Hateful Eight. It has since become one of the most interesting cinematic features in the genre of westers. But the movie is most memorable thanks to the character of bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren played by Tarantino’s usual collaborator Samuel L. Jackson. As each and every character tries to come up with their own perspectives the bounty hunter sticks to what he feels is right and does accordingly. He does end up working alongside people he despises but that’s only because of the ultimate goal of fulfilling his objective.
Lisbeth Salander
Adapting a character like Lisbeth Salander from the books to the movies seems like a major feat and yet David Fincher proved it can be done. While the character of Lisbeth Salander is a vigilante and she took vengeance on people she thought deserved it, she still ends up breaking the law in the worst possible ways. An interesting part of her narrative of her character is that she cannot work socially and thus she teams up with Mikael Blomkvist in order to work her way. She does end up helping out Mikael but through all that, they do end up doing a lot of things that might be called out of the place for a general hero to do.
Mad Max
In a post-apocalyptic world, it is absolutely unbelievable to imagine that a character would be righteous and not fight for his own selfish purposes. Mad Max is clearly an anti-hero which is completely fitting with the idea of a loner who drifts along a wasteland. In the recent projects, we got to see a more anti-hero rendition of the character because he was just interested in getting out using his own means. This is absolutely opposite to what we got to see later when he helps out Furiosa and the other brides getaway. As the plan changes he continues to help them to the very end to make sure that they are able to be safe in the end.
Catwoman
Catwoman has always been the cunning character amongst the various characters surrounding Batman. Selina Kyle is a master thief and only goes out of her character when she decides to help out Batman because it is needed to do so. In Dark Knight Rises, we saw her leading Batman to a trap so that she can get her hands to means of getting her criminal history cleared. Later she decides to help out Batman when it is obvious to her that it would be for the greater good. There are even moments when she was thinking of going her own way and did not prefer to get involved.
Butch
Quentin Tarantino is known for writing his characters in ways that are hardly seen in cinemas and this makes each character rather memorable. Through the narrative of Pulp Fiction, we do end up hoping and thinking about the character of Butch getting his own way. While it is fairly obvious that he does what he does because he doesn’t want to continue to be going the wrong way, he does end up conning Marsellus Wallace. He does end up killing one of the most likable characters of the narrative Vincent Vega who are practically the coolest villain duo in cinema history.
Jack Sparrow
Johnny Depp was born to play Jack Sparrow, pardon me, Captain Jack Sparrow, and it is absolutely proven by the way he took on the role. His character was not supposed to be the hero in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies but in the end, he does end up being the character the audience stuck around for. Sparrow is absolutely selfish and at the same time someone who can never be trusted but in the direst situations he will make sure to help out and thus give way to a better solution for the greater good. Jack Sparrow might actually be one of the greatest anti-hero characters ever created.
Loki
Loki is one of the most interesting characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this has made sure that the character appears in several of the MCU projects over the years. While the initial narratives of the MCU saw him as a villain we saw him transition to help out his brother Thor in various other storylines. The character then switches back to his evil and notorious acts and this has been balancing itself out over the years with the various movies. It was one of the most daunting moments to see Thanos kill Loki in Infinity War as the latter decides to end up helping Thor while dying. Later in the Disney+ series, Loki brings him to a whole new light and this allows us to witness some dimensions of the character that also gives us hope about him and how he will deal with things.
Severus Snape
Severus Snape is one of the most tragic characters in cinema and literature history and throughout the narrative, we tend to realize that he will be a significant character. We see his bullying attitude work out various times in the movie but this is only followed by the fact that he ends up being a rather hated character. But our impression of the character changes when we realize that he is a lot more than that and actually has a certain depth to him. This was something that was rather unexpected from him and we witness it on a wholly different level. While he was a double agent working for the dark lord, he did try to protect Harry Potter various times because of the love he had for his mother.
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn has evolved a lot over the years with the character going through some major transformations under the different directors. Initially, she was seen as someone who has been majorly influenced by the Joker himself but this has not remained in Margot Robbie’s interpretation of the character. The last The Suicide Squad movie allowed us to see her in a whole new light and a lot more mature perspectives as she navigated through her character. She ends up helping out the team as they defeated Starro which was something that would have been expected from her. While she might be an anti-hero due to her villainous acts, one can clearly say that is because of her mental issues.
Which of these badass anti-heroes is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter for more content.
Also Watch: