Film Junk Poll: What is the Best Revenge Flick?
One of Quentin Tarantino’s favourite themes as a filmmaker has always been revenge, and while the upcoming Inglourious Basterds is described by some as a Jewish WWII revenge flick, it remains to be seen whether or not it will ultimately end up being counted as one of the best revenge films of all time. This week’s poll pits some of the best tales of vengeance ever seen on the big screen against each other in search of a single winner. As always, there are plenty of other titles that could been included, so after you cast your vote be sure to let us know which ones we forgot in the comments below.
Comments (27)
Not that it’s the BEST, but i thought Four Brothers was a good revenge movie.
Posted by Ross F on August 19th, 2009….no Real Genius?
Posted by jazz on August 19th, 2009Kill Bill– YAWN.
Posted by dan on August 19th, 2009It’s not really a revenge flick, per se, but the character I most wanted to enact revenge upon in a movie was the assy detective in this 70s zombie movie called “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie.” The guy is such a huge right-wing dicknose and he of course does not believe in the zombie threat, instead accusing the lead character of being a hippie satanist or some such nonsense…I felt like throwing something at my TV.
This is going to contain a huge SPOILER, so if you haven’t seen this movie and want to, stop reading.
The DICK (literally and figuratively…in both senses) ends up killing the lead character (who we actually like) but the lead character comes back to life as a zombie and kills him right back! I actually told Shaun that if the detective did not get killed by the end of the movie I was going to track down the filmmaker and write him an angry letter.
Posted by Less Lee Moore on August 19th, 2009Oldboy hands down!
Posted by modesilver on August 19th, 2009I really liked Man on Fire, i chose Kill Bill on this list because i’m such a huge Tarantino fan, i just wanted to express my appreciation of you including that on the list with some of these classics.
Posted by Mike on August 19th, 2009Gotta go with Bronson. There really is no better choice in this category. Even though Death Wish might be the ultimate revenge film (along with Death Wish 2 and 3), I had to vote Once Upon… because it’s one of the best films ever made and definitely Sergio Leone’s best work.
Honorable mentions:
Wrath of Khan can be considered a revenge film, right?
Revenge of the Nerds
Lady Snowblood
Posted by Hanoi_Xan on August 19th, 2009Old Boy was good, but I’d rather watch Kill Bill anyway. Also, kudos to Payback. Loved that flick, too.
Posted by mrbenning on August 19th, 2009Dead Mans Shoes
Posted by Byron on August 19th, 2009FINALLY, a poll for me, i LOVE revenge flicks.
Last House takes the cake, mainly because it has 3 awesome versions of it.
Posted by Drew on August 19th, 2009hello, Revenge of the Nerds!
or Léon
Posted by rus in chicago on August 19th, 2009the fact that kill bill is above once upon a time in the west right now sickens me to the very core. simply the best western of all time, an outstanding epic that deserves to be seen by anyone with a developed attention span
Posted by AlexG on August 19th, 2009That being said, I probably would have voted for cape fear if it had been in the list (which it should’ve).
Get carter and count of monte cristo would also fit perfectly, though i realize it would’ve made for a darn long list
Glad to see my three favorite revenge films of all time up there: Kill Bill, Man on Fire, and Paybeck. I just saw Oldboy and loved it too. But I gotta go with Payback, because that is the coolest I had ever seen Mel Gibson be.
The Professional or Leon would have been good too.
Posted by Matt on August 19th, 2009Once again I have to abide technicality. For pure revenge on those that did you wrong for little to no rhyme or reason it seems Kill Bill is good but I haven’t seen all the films so I could be wrong. Straw Dogs and The Crow are much more satisfying revengesque pictures though.
Posted by Ian on August 19th, 2009I’d say Inglorious is a war film not a revenge film.
Point Blank is pretty good though it’s not on your list.
Otherwise it has to be Once Upon a Time in the West.
I voted for Man On Fire by mistake but that’s good too.
Posted by el1sdf on August 19th, 2009OLDBOY!!! One of the best movies ever and my second favorite movie. If you never watched that flick, do me a favor and slap yourself. None of those movies on that list even comes close. It’s too bad that many people are too biased to watch a foreign film and read subtitles.
Posted by Al Cortez on August 19th, 2009@Alexg I agree.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST is one of the greatest films ever made. Period.
and Sean, how come Point Blank with Lee Marvin (The movie which the lesser PAYBACK is based on) isn’t on this list?
Posted by Bob The Slob on August 19th, 2009for the pure genre wise, OLD BOY should be my pick
but for the movie greatness wise, definitely ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, one of the greatest movie ever made, HARMONICA is also one of the greatest character movie ever contributed
Posted by Xu on August 19th, 2009I’ll vote ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST as far as this list goes with Kill Bill coming in 2nd. I gotta second
“el1sdf” on Point Blank though as you can’t go wrong with Lee Marvin as Walker aka Parker, THE badass of ALL badasses. Richard Stark absolutely nailed the cold-blooded noir-y “Tombstone” of a character in his Stark books. Mel Gibson did all right as the characer but neutered him in the theatrical version. Point Blank’s definitely the definitive version of that character.
I LOOOVE Rolling Thunder and Thriller: A Cruel Picture and The Japanese Sasori aka Scorpion Woman series is aces as is Lone Wolf and Cub.
Loves me some vengeance!
Posted by Fatbologna on August 19th, 2009Payback or CROW (voted for Payback – I love an underdog)
I’ve never seen “I Spit on Your Grave” but it sounds like a good one for the kids.
Posted by Shut-Up Ed on August 19th, 2009Yeah. Once Upon a Time in the West is just too awesome for everything else on this list. I do love me some Kill Bill and Oldboy is pretty good as well, but neither compare to Leone’s deliberately paced beauty.
Posted by Nate on August 19th, 2009Oldboy is probably the most twisted revenge story ever. When I finally got around to the plot twist, the villain makes The Bride look like a stupid thug.
Posted by steviebaby on August 20th, 2009I really, really liked Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Oldboy and Mr. Vengeance are awesome too, but I have a soft spot for Kind Geum-ja.
Posted by Chris on August 20th, 2009Dolph Lundgren’s The Punisher. That movie really needs a good DVD/BR-release. Don’t care about the new films that much.
Posted by Hanoi_Xan on August 20th, 2009the crow!!!
Posted by Ledgewood on August 20th, 2009Totally agreed about “Once Upon A Time In The West!”
Also, I thought of another good one: “The Limey.”
Posted by Less Lee Moore on August 24th, 2009“Rolling Thunder”, but can’t wait to see “The Farmer” w/ Gary Conway if it ever gets released!
Posted by Big Gun on September 24th, 2009Leave a Reply