Summary
The cliché of the overly-gifted protagonist is somewhat an overplayed trope of action movies; the character easily excels at everything they attempt, free from the burden of foibles or folly. The concept is genderless and can be pretty cool, which has cemented itself as a subgenre in itself worth watching as a popcorn flick.
Whilst this does usually mark a lack of character depth and is fairly frequently a sign of a low-effort production, there’s a reason filmmakers still return to this well. For one, it trims the fat of needless busy work and explanation when the audience is really hereto see action and explosions. More importantly, when executed right, it makes for a fantastically exciting romp sure to live long in the annals of movie history. This list is for them, the8 best one-person army movies.
The pinnacle of Steven Seagal’s mostly B-movie career,Under Siege, is aclassic action film that helped shape the genre. A nuclear-armed US battleship is seized by a rogue agent and his gang of mercenaries. With the crew successfully subdued, there’s just one thing they didn’t count on: the cook, who just so happens to be an elite Navy SEAL operative.
As the last chance to prevent catastrophe, Seagal’s Casey Ryback must skulk around the vessel alone, picking off mercenaries along the way. It’s a little formulaic and dated, butUnder Siegewas a pioneer in 90s action films that helped establish a lot of those tropes, and an excellent turn for Tommy Lee Jones as the unhinged villain makes it well worth watching still.
Arguably peak Tarantino, after establishing his brand withReservoir DogsandPulp Fiction, the stage was set for his martial arts-inspired revenge thrillerKill Bill: Vol 1to blow the doors off. It earned the director lifelong fans that would ensure each subsequent film was packed with hype, but it’s hard to say any of those have delivered the same cultural impact.
The protagonist being wronged and setting out for revenge is another tried and tested trope of the action genre.Kill Billadds a heaping helping of visual flair and Eastern cinematic influences to differentiate it from the pack. Uma Thurman plays the stoic Bride who tracks down and kills members of her former assassin gang after they left her for dead on her wedding day.
John Wickdoesn’t tread much new ground bar replacing the murdered wife with a dog, but it does deliver audiences exactly what they want: a throwback to the classic one-person army with incredible visuals and choreography to heighten gun-fu.
It’s stylistically shot, satisfyingly action-packed, and all delivered withthe natural charisma of Keanu Reeves. The first film proved so popular that it spawned an entire franchise that currently boasts four film entries, along with incoming spin-offs and a video game, so there’s plenty for fans to sink their teeth into.
Arguably the definitive Hong Kong action movie and the film thatintroduced the wider world to Jackie Chan.Police Storyis a brilliant showcase of Chan’s trademark slapstick fighting style, using unconventional weaponry consisting of everyday objects, and features some of the most outrageous stunts he ever performed.
After a major drug bust, Chan’s Ka-Kui is tasked with protecting the crime lord’s personal secretary as she alone has the testimony to score a conviction. Cue the assailants to spring from the woodwork and leave Jackie dangling from double-decker buses and sliding through multiple stories of exploding lights.
Probably the least well-known on the list,Shoot ‘Em Upisessentially a parody of the action genre, dialing up the lunacy to twelve. The film is just wall-to-wall quipping and ludicrously over-the-top action sequences emphasizing the best of the criteria as described in the intro. It’s all killer, no filler.
The film begins with Clive Owen’s mysterious drifter rescuing a newborn baby who, unbeknownst to him at the time, is the center of a deep-running conspiracy that leads back to an incredibly well-armed Paul Giamatti. The film is pretty ridiculous, so critical reception is mixed, but for those just looking to sit back and enjoy one man tearing through waves and waves of faceless goons in increasingly high-octane set pieces, there are few better options.
Guyz Niteonce sang, “No one dies harder than John McClane” and that about sums it up. Nobody needs to be told the lasting legacy ofDie Hard, it is arguably the seminal piece of action movie history, a perfect blueprint through which the genre has become defined.
It still holds up just as well today, even with some of those tropes becoming very stress-tested in the nearly 40 years since its release. When terrorists seize the Nakatomi Plaza, it’s down to one rogue detective trapped inside to save the day. Endlessly quotable and probablythe most influential one-person army, but not quite the best.
With all due respect to the doubtlessly fun films that precede this entry, the top two hold their spot for not just embodying the thrilling one-person army tropes but elevating them with themes and character development to produce truly thought-provoking work. The first is the disturbing slow-burn thrillerOldboy, the most internationally recognized work from acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-wook.
Oh Dae-su is mysteriously abducted and imprisoned for 15 years; when his cell door swings open one day, he sets out on a personal mission to find out who did this to him and why. It removes the gloss and glamour of Hollywood action set pieces for a dour, grounded, and altogether more brutal action approach. Oh Dae-su is not exceptionally trained and is instead driven by his lust for vengeance, leading to a recklessly violent pursuit.
First Bloodspawned one of the most lucrative and definitive one-person army franchises, but it’s almost a shame it did. Whilst the sequels up the ante, they very much lose sight of a special and moving origin story. John Rambo returns from war to a society that has no place for him, amid his shattered psyche from the horrors he’s had to endure. It brings him into conflict with local law enforcement, leading to an extensive manhunt as Rambo besieges the surrounding areas of the small town.
The Vietnam War was controversial and unpopular, leading to a lot of the animosity Rambo faced personally, and the film is a damning indictment of the military machine chewing up and spitting out these young men without significant post-war support. It’s honestlya career-best performance for Stalloneas he depicts the anguish and isolation his character suffers. For a more conventional approach, the sequels will probably satisfy more, butFirst Bloodis the far better story.
