1. Diehard: Bruce Willis as John McClane is a total bad ass. He kills anyone and everyone. And what about what's his name, that plays Hans Gruber....GREAT VILLAIN. The role I wish I'd gotten to play in this movie: Argyle, the limo driver.
2. Lethal Weapon: The movie that defines the whole buddy cop genre. This movie starts off great and keeps going. Gary Busey, before his accident, in his pre-mental problem glory. I love this movie.
3. Tombstone: This movie is superb. Kurt Russel plays a good tough guy Wyatt Earp. But Val Kilmer steals the movie with his performance of Doc Holliday. "I'm you're huckleberry." This movie has more bad ass quotes in it than I know what to do with. Great action, great vengeance by Wyatt Earp. And don't forget Sam Elliot. He's always a bad ass.
4. Empire Strikes Back: It's the best of the 6 because the bad guys win. Big time. "Luke, I am your father." Enough said. Don't forget about the ice planet Hoth. And Cloud City. Cool.
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark: Is there anyone who saw this as a kid that didn't want to grow up to be Indiana Jones? Seriously? To this day, I'd quit my job and leave my family for 6 months to go chasing treasures in the desert. And killing Nazi's.
6. First Blood: The first of the Rambo installment, and the only one that actually had a story line. Brian Dennehy is a perfect asshole cop/sheriff. I mean, Rambo is now an American institution, right? How can this not be on there?
7. Star Wars: A new hope (The Original) Set the tone for the next 40 years of civilization. Space travel, computers, holograms, laser beams, Cantina's, Desert Planets, Land speeders, and Sand People. Sounds like the Reagan administration.
8. The Bourne Identity: I quote Seth Rogen from the 40 year old virgin. "Man, I used to think Matt Damon was a real Streisand, but he's rocking the shit in this movie." Total Bad ass, great fighting, classic Ludlum Story. Best part, the sequels don't embarrass the franchise.
9. Braveheart: When they kill his wife, you want him to go bananas. And he does. And he does. And he does. And then he does some more. Really this is just a bad ass guy's type movie that you can watch over and over again. Mel as William Wallace seemed believable. And Gibson directed the movie. Kudos.
10. Gladiator: Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. The way they bring the Roman Colosseum to life is amazing. Don't forget about Djimon Hounsou (who was amazing in Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio) as one of the slaves with Russell Crowe. Or should I say "Maximus?"
So on to the Honorable and over rated.
Honorable mention, in no particular order:
The Boondock Saints
Saving Private Ryan
Terminator
Terminator 2
The Road Warrior
Desperado
The Transporter
Over Rated:
The Matrix is good. Not great. The sequels bring the whole thing down for me.
Every Die Hard sequel was a train wreck
Under Siege. Who the hell ever thought that Seagal was a bad ass?
Alien
Aliens Sigourney Weaver does not equal bad ass.... She equals BAD-ASS. Does she like women?
