12 Best Revenge Movies of All Time, Ranked According to Letterboxd
Since its launch in 2011, movie fans have been using the social platform Letterboxd to share their love for the medium. It's the perfect place to rate and review films; and, on occasions, participate in showdowns organized by the site. One of these Letterboxd showdowns gave users the chance to choose their top ten revenge movies, stories about the destructive power of the act of inflicting harm on those who have wronged us.
The ten most commonly selected revenge films in this tournament are admirable achievements, from Quentin Tarantino's complex WWII epic Inglourious Basterds, to Christopher Nolan's rule-breaking masterpiece Memento. A thirst for revenge is a naturally compelling concept, and the best revenge movies can be powerful examinations of one such dark depth of the human soul.
12 'Carrie' (1976)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Stephen King created a timeless horror classic in the story of Carrie, a shy teenage girl sheltered by her domineering mother, who one day unleashes her telekinetic powers to exact revenge upon those who humiliated her. As such, it's no surprise that only two years after the book was published, acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma took on the task of adapting the story for the big screen.
With a magnificent performance by Sissy Spacek in the titular role, Carrie is a disturbing denouncement of high school cruelty and an examination of the difficulties of growing up. Though it's not your typical revenge movie by any means, it's an incredibly potent depiction of how it can present itself in particularly destructive ways in youthful environments. It's no wonder why this is considered not just one of the best Stephen King movies, but one of the best horror films of the '70s.
Carrie
RDirector Brian De Palma Cast Sissy Spacek , Piper Laurie Runtime 10011 'Gladiator' (2000)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Are you not entertained? Letterboxd users certainly are, seeing as a large portion of them mentioned Ridley Scott's Best Picture Oscar winner Gladiator as one of their favorite revenge movies. Telling the tale of Maximus (Russell Crowe), the film depicts the way the high-ranking Roman soldier is forced into slavery and works his way up to seek revenge against the treacherous Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).
The well-known story is moving and tragic, but also full of emotion, brutal action, and thrilling set pieces. Few directors nail epics of endless entertainment value quite like Ridley Scott, and Gladiator is undeniably one of his grandest achievements of the 21st century. It's beautifully made and its story is nothing short of riveting, making it a worthy addition to the list of the best revenge films.
Gladiator
RRelease Date May 5, 2000 Director Ridley Scott Cast Russell Crowe , Joaquin Phoenix , Connie Nielsen , Oliver Reed , Richard Harris , Derek Jacobi Runtime 155 minutes10 'The Revenant' (2015)
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu
The Revenant may be best remembered as the movie that finally got the tremendous method actorLeonardo DiCaprio his much-deserved Oscar, but it's also much more than that. It's the harrowing story of a frontierman seeking revenge against those who left him for dead, based on the real story of American explorer Hugh Glass.
Perhaps one of the darkest revenge films in recent memory, The Revenant is absolutely staggering. Whereas lesser films tend to glorify the concept of revenge, director Alejandro G. Iñárritu depicts it as what it truly is: brutal, soul-crushing poison that is ultimately pointless. With Iñárritu's incredible directing and the gorgeous backdrop of the naturally-lit Canadian Rockies, you get a revenge movie that's certainly served cold – and is all the better for it.
The Revenant
RRelease Date December 25, 2015 Director Alejandro González Iñárritu Cast Tom Hardy , Domhnall Gleeson , Leonardo DiCaprio , will poulter , Paul Anderson , Lukas Haas Runtime 156 minutes9 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968)
Directed by Sergio Leone
It's hard to say which is the best film by Sergio Leone, since he has so many great ones. But if a case is to be made for one, many feel that Once Upon a Time in the West, one of the greatest Westerns of all time, is an easy pick. In it, two men protect a beautiful widow's (Claudia Cardinale) land from being taken over by a ruthless assassin (a typecast-breaking Henry Fonda) working for the railroad.
With the epic attention to detail and expressive visual style that characterized him, Leone crafted a genius deconstruction of progress, revenge, and the Western genre. Once Upon a Time in the West is a massively complex narrative worthy of its three-hour runtime, and of being so widely beloved by Letterboxd users. Immersive and realistic, but also elegantly stylized and an awful lot of fun, it's the ultimate example of its genre done right.
Once Upon a Time in the West
PG-13Director Sergio Leone Cast Henry Fonda , Charles Bronson , Claudia Cardinale , Jason Robards , Gabriele Ferzetti Runtime 166 Minutes8 'Gone Girl' (2014)
Directed by David Fincher
Not many filmmakers are able to turn the thriller genre into a chilling experience quite as effectively as David Fincher. Gone Girl, one of his best works, shows a man under the media's spotlight (Ben Affleck) as he becomes the main suspect in his wife's (Rosamund Pike) disappearance. Tense, mysterious, and with one of the best plot twists in the genre, it's a skin-crawling drama that grabs your attention and refuses to let it go.
Impeccably made and with Pike delivering a top-tier performance as Amy Dunne, Gone Girl is about as close to a horror movie as a thriller can get without actually being a horror movie. It's a brilliant exploration of identity, femininity, and revenge as they relate to power.
Gone Girl
RRelease Date October 3, 2014 Director David Fincher Cast Ben Affleck , Rosamund Pike , Neil Patrick Harris , Tyler Perry , Carrie Coon , Kim Dickens Runtime 149 minutes7 'Kill Bill Vol. 2' (2004)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
The incredible yet somewhat divisive continuation to Quentin Tarantino's first revenge masterpiece, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 follows the ex-assassin The Bride (Uma Thurman) as she continues her quest for vengeance against those who wronged her, led by her former boss and lover (David Carradine).
More dialogue-driven and thematically provocative than its predecessor, while still having some of the strongest action set pieces of Tarantino's career, Vol. 2 is a stunning sequel, arguably one of the best of the 21st century. Although the director considers the two volumes as part of a single film, Letterboxd evidently thinks that having two great revenge films will always be better than just one.
Kill Bill Vol. 2
RRelease Date April 16, 2004 Director Quentin Tarantino Cast Uma Thurman , David Carradine , Lucy Liu , Vivica A. Fox , Chia Hui Liu , Michael Madsen Runtime 1366 'Memento' (2000)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
When asking what Christopher Nolan's best movie is, answers are sure to vary. But Memento, one of his earliest outings, is arguably the most creative and ambitious film he made during the infancy of his career. Told in reverse chronological order, it's the story of a man with anterograde amnesia (Guy Pearce) tracking down the man who murdered his wife.
The challenging structure is absolutely not the only thing that the film has to offer, though it is certainly the main thing that makes it so worthy of a rewatch (or a few). Through a cleverly told revenge tale, Memento shows the astonishing lengths that humans will go to in order to give their lives some semblance of meaning, led by one of the most intriguing characters Nolan has ever crafted.
Memento
RRelease Date May 25, 2001 Director Christopher Nolan Cast Guy Pearce , Carrie-Anne Moss , Joe Pantoliano Runtime 113 minutes5 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Inglourious Basterds, a historical drama about a group of WWII American soldiers who cross paths with a French-Jewish teenager with a mysterious past, is usually near the top of lists ranking not just Tarantino's best films, but the best war movies ever created.
Aside from having multiple of the most suspenseful scenes of 2000s cinema, as well as one of fiction's most intimidating and memorable antagonists in the form of Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa, Inglourious Basterds twists and bends history in very interesting ways, with a fascinating revenge story at its core. Balancing relentless action with gripping character drama perfectly, it's a film that's well-worth the hype that still surrounds it over a decade later.
Inglourious Basterds
RRelease Date August 19, 2009 Director Quentin Tarantino Cast Brad Pitt , Mélanie Laurent , Christoph Waltz , Eli Roth , Michael Fassbender , Diane Kruger Runtime 152 minutes4 'Django Unchained' (2012)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Yet another Tarantino modern classic, Django Unchained tells the story of a freed American slave who, with the help of a German bounty hunter, sets out to save his wife from a ruthless plantation owner. This is easily one of the most violent Westerns of all time, a creative decision that Tarantino uses to amplify the story rather than as a simple gimmick.
For better or for worse (and for the majority of Letterboxd users, it seems, it was the former), Tarantino's style is stronger than ever here, transitioning from relentless cartoonish violence to dramatic social themes. All things considered, though, what gives the period-set revenge movie Django its strength is the empowering revenge story that it tells.
Django Unchained
RRelease Date December 25, 2012 Director Quentin Tarantino Cast Leonardo DiCaprio , Jonah Hill , Samuel L. Jackson , Jamie Foxx , Kerry Washington , Christoph Waltz Runtime 1653 'John Wick' (2014)
Directed by Chad Stahelski
Back in 2014, director Chad Stahelski took the world by storm with John Wick, a stylish action flick about an ex-hitman (Keanu Reeves) who comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that humiliated him and killed his puppy. It's not surprising, then, that the 2014 film has spawned a massively successful franchise with a global fanbase and admirable box office numbers.
Where most modern American action movies are criticized for being dull, unexciting, and unengaging, John Wick manages to tell a simple but compelling story and use it as the foundation for slickly choreographed, marvelously edited action set pieces. Audiences responded immediately, and the love for the movie on Letterboxd proves that.
John Wick
RRelease Date October 24, 2014 Director Chad Stahelski Cast Keanu Reeves , Adrianne Palicki , Willem Dafoe , Bridget Moynahan , Jason Isaacs , Alfie Allen Runtime 101 minutes2 'Oldboy' (2003)
Directed by Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook's conclusive chapter to his Vengeance Trilogy, the Korean thriller par excellence, follows a businessman who's mysteriously imprisoned and seeks revenge against his captors after getting out. Oldboy is a jaw-dropping action drama unlike any other, with a shockingly dark narrative and an engrossing visual style.
Throughout the entire runtime of Oldboy, there is always that terrifying feeling that things won't go well for anyone. It's no spoiler to say that the feeling is justified. The movie is gruesome and absolutely devastating, largely due to an iconic plot twist that changes everything about its story. Few movies better depict revenge as something utterly appalling and catastrophic.
Oldboy (2003)
RRelease Date November 21, 2003 Director Park Chan-wook Cast Choi Min-sik , Yoo Ji-tae , Kang Hye-jung Runtime 120 minutes1 'Kill Bill: Vol. 1' (2003)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
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According to the users of Letterboxd, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is nothing short of the best revenge movie of all time. It begins telling the story of The Bride, as she wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her four years prior to her waking up from a coma. With the idiosyncratic non-stop brutality that Tarantino is known for, delightful chaos ensues.
The Bride is pretty much the symbol of the revenge movie genre, and there are plenty of good reasons for that. From the magnificently directed action and captivatingly simple story, to the exciting third act and Uma Thurman's terrific performance, Kill Bill Vol. 1 is the ultimate dissection of the very concept of revenge.
Kill Bill Vol. 1
RRelease Date October 10, 2003 Director Quentin Tarantino Cast Uma Thurman , Lucy Liu , Vivica A. Fox , Daryl Hannah , David Carradine , Michael Madsen Runtime 111 minutesncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kr6a%2F02apnq6Vo7SmecyoraKdo2K8p3nApaNmrJmism6twpymq5yZo7RuwM5mo56spJq%2Fo7vXnWY%3D