Contract killing is a private occupation from the most ethical occupation in the real world. But in film, it is not. It’s a conventional plot that is the force behind many action movies and thrillers which pump our adrenaline.
Assassins are given particular jobs to wipe out precise targets without asking questions. They may work as cold or even psychotic, but they are still profoundly people of desire, love, and relationships.
Assassins and killers can be insanely cool despite their morality and body count. Here is a selection of the best movies featuring assassins. Here are some of our favorite movies.
Bullet to the head
When experienced person Jimmy Bobo and his partner Louis kill a corrupt ex-cop, Louis loses his life from a former soldier named Keegan.
Detective Taylor Kwon has the sensation of a connection between the two murders and tracks down Bobo, who later saves Kwon from an assassination effort.
So, after witnessing the deaths of their partners, a New Orleans assassin and a Washington, DC, detective ally to knock down their common enemy – a ruthless real estate developer named Robert Nkomo Morel.
Cast · Sylvester Stallone · Sung Kang · Sarah Shahi · Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje · Jason Momoa · Christian Slater · Jon Seda · Holt McCallany.
Director: Walter Hill
In Bruges
From acclaimed writer Martin McDonagh comes In Bruges, black humor of errors about two contract killers—Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) who hide in the eponymous Belgian town and grow gradually at probabilities with their boss Harry
As expected from McDonagh, who can find humor and irrationality in the saddest of situations, the script here is excellent.
And the exchanges between Ray and Kane about ethics and killing are blade sharp. Bruges is simply outstanding with its intelligence.
cast – Colin Farrell · Brendan Gleeson · Ciarán Hinds- Elizabeth Berrington · Rudy Blomme
Director: Martin McDonagh
Killer Elite
Danny Bryce, one of the world’s deadliest special-ops agents, returns from self-imposed exile after the capture of his mentor’ Hunter.’ Danny reunites his team of former skilled commandos to start a rescue mission.
While a disgraced Arab sheik captures his mentor, a hired assassin is forced into action. His mission was to kill the three delegates of Britain’s elite Special Air Service who were responsible for the deaths of his sons.
The mission won’t be easy; Danny and his team must fight through Spike and a group of assassins known as the Feather Men.
Cast · Jason Statham · Clive Owen · Robert De Niro · Dominic Purcell · Aden Young · Yvonne Strahovski · Ben Mendelsohn · Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
Director: Gary McKendree
The Mechanic
One of an elite group of assassins, Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham), might be the best in the business. Bishop executes his assignments with precision, detachment, and a strict code of adherence.
He was an expert at making his hits look like accidents, suicides, and the work of petty criminals learns his tricks to an apprentice who has a connection to a previous victim.
When Harry (Donald Sutherland), his close friend and mentor, is killed, Bishop swears revenge. Harry’s son (Ben Foster) comes to him with a vengeance in his heart and a need to learn the Bishop’s trade, signifying the birth of a deadly partnership.
Cast · Jason Statham · Ben Foster · Tony Goldwyn · Donald Sutherland · Jeff Chase ·, Mini Anden · James Logan · Eddie J. Fernandez.
Director: Simon West
Killer Joe
Violent, darkly comic, and full of solid performances, Killer Joe proves that William Friedkin hasn’t off track his touch, even if the plot may be too tempting for some.
A cop turns an assassin and agrees to kill the disgraceful mother of a distressed drug dealer in exchange for a fling with the young man’s sister.
It has happened When a debt puts a young man’s life in jeopardy, he turns to his wicked mother to collect insurance.
Cast · Matthew McConaughey · Emile Hirsch · Juno Temple · Thomas Haden Church · Gina Gershon · Marc Macaulay · Gralen Bryant Banks · Carol Sutton.
Director: William Friedkin
John Wick
Before the Hollywood renaissance, Keanu Reeves was part of thrillers, playing conflicted operators and cold-blooded killers. No one expected it to pull off as it did earlier, but John fastened what you’d expect from an assassin thriller.
Legendary assassin John Wick retires from his (violent) career after he married the love of his life.
When sadistic mobster Yosef Tarasov and his supporters steal John’s favorite car and kill the puppy that was the last gift from his wife, John unleashes the remorseless killing machine within him and seeks revenge. His sudden death left John in deep mourning.
Cast · Keanu Reeves · Michael Nyqvist · Alfie Allen · Willem Dafoe · Dean Winters · Adrianne Palicki · Omer Barnea · Toby Leonard Moore.
Director: Chad Stahelski
Crank
Sometimes Assassin revaluates their line of work; in this film, Chev Chelios is in the same situation. Chev Chelios, a hitman, wants to go straight and lets his latest target run away.
Chev decides to let his latest target live, so he is poisoned with a synthetic drug by his employer that can only be controlled by keeping his adrenaline up. A phone call informs him that he only has an hour to live unless adrenaline courses through his body.
Now, he has to keep himself high on adrenaline while finding the antidote. Crank’s aggressive style may turn off casual action fans, but audiences who strive for a strong dosage of adrenaline will be thrilled by Jason Statham’s frenetic run against the death. It is an excellent movie for adrenaline-addicted.
Cast- Jason Statham · Chev Chelios; Amy Smart · Eve; Clifton Collins Jr. El Huron; Dwight Yoakam · Doc Miles; Efren Ramirez · Venus.
Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Hanna
Brought up by her father in the Finnish wilderness, teenager Hannah trained her entire life to become a perfect assassin. Her father dispatches her on a mission, and she covertly makes her way across Europe and evades agents sent by a ruthless operative named Marissa, who once worked with Hana’s father.
When father and daughter become the targets of a CIA operation, Hanna quickly prepares for what she’s been conditioned and trained to do.
As Hanna kept a low profile while colliding with the CIA, she started to evaluate her upbringing and purpose in the world.
Cast– Hanna · Eric Bana. Erik Heller ; Johanna Zidek (as Vicky Kreips) · Cate Blanchett. Marissa Wiegler; CIA Tech #1 · John Macmillan. Lewis
Director: Joe Wright
Sicario
The CIA has always been a beloved subject for spy movies that try to expose the faults in the system. Sicario captures it through the lens of Roger Deakins.
After rising through the ranks in her male-dominated career, idealistic FBI agent Kate Masser gets a top job. Recruited by mysterious government official Matt Graver, Kate joins a task force for the growing war on drugs and taking down the most robust drug dealer in Mexico.
Slow suspense, heavy action, and sharp cinematography identify this as a Denis Villeneuve thriller. But the ultimate highlight is the character study of assassin Gillick, who undergoes compulsive stress, which is mind astonishing.
Cast · Emily Blunt · Benicio Del Toro · Josh Brolin · Victor Garber · Jon Bernthal · Daniel Kaluuya · Jeffrey Donovan · Raoul Trujillo.
Director: Denis Villeneuve
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne franchise takes us on an extended tour exploring the exploits of amnesiac agents Jason Bourne.
It is the story of Bourne, who was rescued from the sea by an Italian fishing boat near death. When he recovers, the man suffers from complete amnesia, without identity or background—extraordinary fighting talent and self-defense that speak of a dangerous past.
In this first movie of the Bourne franchise, Bourn wakes up with no memory and discovers his links to past CIA operations, causing terror within the agency as Bourne chases them and reveals their truth.
Cast · Matt Damon · Franka Potente · Chris Cooper · Clive Owen · Brian Cox · Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje · Gabriel Mann · Walton Goggins.
Director: Doug Liman
Collateral
In Collateral, Tom Cruise had the extraordinary opportunity to play a negative character in Michael Mann’s thriller,
A cab driver is offered $600 to stop his cab on the five stoppages by a well-dressed gentleman. But after realizing that his current hire is a hitman driving him from various landmark to landmark until the last witness to the crime is dead.
When the cabbie finally discovers the truth, he must stop the killer from wiping out his previous witness without any second thought.
Cast · Tom Cruise · Jamie Foxx · Jada Pinkett Smith · Mark Ruffalo · Peter Berg · Bruce McGill · Irma P. Hall · Barry Shabaka Henley
Director: Michael Mann
Kill Bill: Volume 1
Here’s another Quentin Tarantino flick showing he’d never stop working with an assassin-centric story. IL Bill Volume 1 has an edge because of the much more extensive involvement of different assassin figures.
A former assassin, known only as The Bride, awakens from a coma four years after her jealous ex-boyfriend, Bill, tried to kill her on her wedding day.
Driven by a limitless need for revenge, she vows to get even with her unborn child, her entire wedding party, and every person who contributed to the loss of four years of her life.
In Kill Bill Volume 1, we witness Black Mamba’s most remarkable kills and moments.
Cast · Uma Thurman · Lucy Liu · Vivica A. Fox · Daryl Hannah · David Carradine · Michael Madsen · Julie Dreyfus · Chiaki Kuriyama.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
No country for the old man
Until today, No Country for Old Men by the Coen brothers remains one of the best movies about assassinations. Why? Because it does not sugar-coat, praise, or promote the profession.
While hunting, Llewelyn Moss discovers the terrible consequences of a drug deal. All the drug dealers have killed each other in exchange. Rather than report this to the police about this mishap, he can’t resist the cash he left behind; he takes it with him.
This event leads the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he viciously murders almost every rival, bystander, and even employer in search of his money. The hunter becomes the victim when a ruthless killer named Chigurh chooses his path.
On the other hand, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell supervises the investigation even as he struggles to confront the utter evilness of the crimes he’s trying to stop.
Cast · Tommy Lee Jones · Javier Bardem · Josh Brolin · Woody Harrelson · Kelly Macdonald · Garret Dillahunt · Tess Harper · Barry Corbin.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Looper
Directed by renowned genre-bender Rian Johnson, Looper combines two high-thought genres into one mind-blowing action-packed thriller.
It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe, a present-day contract killer assigned to killing victims returning in time from the future. But one day, his older self (Bruce Willis) appears in front of him, leaving him stuck and struggling with moral dilemmas.
The young-one-sees-old-self figure is odd for a time-travel thriller, but Johnson enhances several layers to the story that turns the head. The action sequences are intense, the characters are captivating, and the final turn changes everything.
Looper delivers an original mix of a brilliant, bold futuristic sci-fi and good old-fashioned action-packed movie that leaves you speechless.
Cast– Joseph Gordon-Levitt · Joe; Bruce Willis · Old Joe; Emily Blunt · Sara; Paul Dano · Seth; Noah Segan · Kid Blue.
Director: Rian Johnson
The Professional
The Professional, internationally known as Leon, follows a hitman named Leon who lets twelve-year-old Mathilda live with him after corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield murders her family.
Mathilda is only twelve years old but is already aware of the dark side of life: her sadistic and rude father supplies drugs for dishonest police officers, and her mother neglects her. When her family is murdered, Mathilda teams up with an unwilling Leon to learn his deadly trade and avenge the death of his family.
These two form a bond, and Mathilda learns the tricks of the trade from Leone. While various scenes focus on Leon’s assignment and his chase of the relentless Stansfield, the movie’s emotion and heart is his relationship with Mathilda.
cast -Jean Reno · Leon ; Gary Oldman · Stansfield ; Natalie Portman · Mathilda ; Danny Aiello · Tony ; Peter Appel · Malky.
Director: Luc Besson