The Top 10 Best Movie Assassins

There’s Just Something We Love About Movie Assassins.

There’s something bizarre about our fascination with movie assassins. It’s as if we can’t get enough of the romanticized version of a contract killer that Hollywood loves to put on the big screen. Honestly, I think it’s because secretly we all have people in our lives we’d love to strangle, and these movies let us live vicariously through them. It might not be healthy, but that’s just the way it is. But hey, I won’t tell if you won’t. Still, there are a lot of movie about hit men out there and some are a lot better (and cooler) than others. That’s why I took the time to put together this list of the 10 Best Movie Assassins. I’m sure a lot of these entries are will come as no surprise to connoisseurs of the professional murderer genre, but I threw in a few curve balls just to keep it interesting.

10. Anton Chigurh- No Country for Old Men

Movie Assassin
An assassin in need of a haircut.

This is a list full of representation. After all, not all movie assassins are angry white guys. Starting off the list we want to show how accepting we are of everyone of all shapes, sizes, colors, and creeds, that’s why the hitman with the worst haircut ever is coming in at number 10. Despite having a haircut that guarantees he will never get laid, Anton is absolutely terrifying. His character is a total psychopath and really follows the saying, “if you’re good at something, never do it for free.” Plus, his weapon of choice, a bolt gun, shows that he sees his targets as animals just waiting for the slaughter. He’s smart, relentless, and is absolutely terrifying.

9. Martin Blank- Grosse Pointe Blank

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An assassin in therapy.

Martin is definitely the funniest and possibly most neurotic of all the movie assassins on this list. His reason for killing is that he has a certain moral flexibility that proved useful while he was in the army. Of course, the private sector pays much better so, here he is. A hitman in the midst of a mid life crisis. So, he does what any guy would do, hits up his high school reunion to reconnect with his lost love. It’s really romantic until his arch rivals show up to kill him and he’s forced to balance a personal and professional life. He’s one of the few contract killers that’s honest about what he does, which gives him a small sense of virtue.

8. Ghost Dog- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

movie assassins
An assassin with honor… And a sword.

Not every movie assassin subscribes to a life of terror or violence. Ghost Dog follows a very specific and ancient code. That doesn’t mean that he won’t do some slice and dice from time to time, but deep down he has an unshakeable sense of honor that allows for some moral flexibility. Like a lot of hitman movies, he finds himself the prey instead of the hunter when a job goes bad. What makes him perfect for this list though is that he is completely unique. Ghost Dog is very much a modern day samurai who finds himself in the service of the mob. However, when the mob turns on him, he makes them regret it.

7. Hanna- Hanna

movie assassins
An assassin with a ton of girl power.

Most movie assassins at least have their driver’s license, but not Hanna. By far and away she is the youngest killer on this list, but that doesn’t make her any less deadly than the others. Trained from birth by a former black ops agent to be a perfect killing machine, the intention was never to have her take on his trade, but to protect her from those that would come looking for her. Unfortunately for the young woman, she finds herself separated from her father figure and forced to take the fight to those who thought she was weak and defenseless. Lucky Hanna is such a badass because it gives this list a much-needed dose of girl power.

6. Ah Jong- The Killer

An assassin trying to save a life.

Sometimes movie assassins do the wrong thing for the right reason. Now, I could get pretentious and gasp at the fact that some people haven’t seen this John Woo classic, but instead, I’m going to tell you how lucky you are that you get a chance to watch a film that gives us a hitman we can all feel sympathy for. Ah Jong is a contract killer who takes one last assignment to make enough money to help restore the sight of a blind singer. Just like so many before him though, he’s double-crossed by his boss. Still, Ah Jong has a purpose and he won’t rest until he finds redemption.