Disney’s The Mandalorian has received a heap of praise since its release and the wait for a new episode each week can be excruciating for fans. Set in the Star Wars universe, the show follows a renowned bounty hunter who has taken it upon himself to protect and care for a valuable bounty rather than turn it in. ‘It’ being the super-cute ‘Baby Yoda’ that fans have come to adore.
Bounty hunters have always been portrayed as cool and mysterious characters with a dark past, so in honor of these beloved characters, here are 10 movies across a variety of genres featuring bounty hunters to check out in between episodes of your new favorite series.
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS (2002)
Ice Cube plays a bounty hunter who’s forced to team up with his bounty, played by the humorous Mike Epps after they get caught up in a bungled diamond heist. With $20 million worth of diamonds at stake, the oddball pair embark on a dangerous adventure to claim the riches.
This one may have slipped by your radar as it didn’t receive a lot of positive feedback upon its release in 2002, when Ice Cube was at his peak following the success of his breakout role in the 1995 comedy classic, Friday - a film that would take his acting career to the next level. Check out All About the Benjamins when you’re in the mood for some light entertainment.
THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (2004)
After the surprise horror/sci-fi hit that was 2000’s Pitch Black, Vin Diesel went on to star and produce the film’s much-maligned sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick. Years after the events of Pitch Black, Riddick (Diesel) is on the run and hunted by numerous bounty hunters. He finds himself on a planet in the midst of a war between two violent factions and, naturally, is caught right in the middle of it all.
The Chronicles of Riddick swayed from the tone that Pitch Black set, going from visceral horror/sci-fi to all-out action-adventure. It’s probably what turned off most critics, but it does have some redeeming qualities, as it features awesome world-building and action set pieces. Plus, who doesn’t love a good (or bad) Vin Diesel action film?
DOMINO (2005)
Keira Knightley plays Domino Harvey - an English fashion model who gives up a glamorous life on the runway and heads to LA to become a bounty hunter. She finds herself in a dangerous situation when a large sum of money that she, along with her team has been chasing, is stolen and the mafia gets involved.
This gritty crime/action flick is one that doesn’t shy away from highlighting the darker side of the bounty hunting world - the stakes are high and the consequences deadly. The always entertaining Mickey Rourke and Edgar Ramirez co-star in this thrilling film from the late Tony Scott.
THE RUNDOWN 2003)
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s second feature-film lead performance was in The Rundown alongside funnyman Seann William Scott. Johnson plays Beck, an aspiring chef/bounty hunter who’s assigned a mission to bring back his boss’s son Travis (William Scott) home from an adventure holiday in the Amazon.
The task proves to be a dangerous one when it’s discovered that Travis knows the location of a secret treasure, one which the local town’s dictator (played by Christopher Walken) and his goons are on the hunt for. The film is full of wisecracking humor and entertaining action and serves as a nice precursor for Johnson’s takeover of Hollywood in the years that followed.
MIDNIGHT RUN (1988)
Robert De Niro is a bounty hunter out to find a former accountant for the mafia (Charles Grodin) who's gone astray. Sounds simple enough, except that the mafia, the FBI and a fellow bounty hunter are all after the same man too.
Midnight Run is one of those gems from the '80s that you might have forgotten about, so now is the perfect time to revisit this awesome action crime-comedy buddy-movie. The pairing of De Niro and Grodin is one for the ages and the two play off each other naturally, building a believable but quirky friendship through the course of their on-screen journey.
DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012)
The seventh film from Quentin Tarantino and one of his more controversial ones (due to its heavy themes), stars Christoph Waltz as a German bounty hunter who helps a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) rescue his wife from a violent plantation owner. Waltz’s bounty hunter is of the rarer type in that he’s sophisticated and suave and genuinely wants to do good deeds, while still getting the job done.
Django Unchained features an all-star cast (which is par for the course in any Tarantino movie), all of whom provide career-best performances. While the film is brutal at times and offers plenty of shock value, it has a heartfelt story at its core and is one of the more stylized and unique films on this list to check out.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017)
Ridley Scott famously directed Harrison Ford in the 1982 dystopian sci-fi classic, Blade Runner, and thirty-five years later we finally got a sequel with 2017's Blade Runner 2049. This time around, master-director Denis Villeneuve took over directing duties from Scott with new leading man Ryan Gosling on board. Gosling plays a bounty hunter (which in this universe is known as a ‘Blade Runner’) whose job is to track down criminals known as ‘replicants’ - bioengineered people that are virtually identical to humans, only fitter, smarter and stronger.
A new mystery begins to unfold and Gosling’s character, K, is forced to track down Harrison Ford’s Deckard, who’s been missing for thirty years, for some answers. Blade Runner 2049 is by far the most visually stunning film on this list and is full of sci-fi lore and intrigue, a must-watch for all fans of the genre.
RAISING ARIZONA (1987)
Just before Nicolas Cage would go on to major success in the '90s, he starred in an early Coen Brothers film called Raising Arizona. Cage plays an ex-con who marries an ex-police officer when the pair later find out they’re unable to have a baby. Desperate for one, they decide to steal a baby from a furniture tycoon, which sends them down a path of humorous escapades as they try to keep their crime a secret, while various associated parties, including a ferocious bounty hunter, are on their trail.
Anyone familiar with the Coen Brothers' body of work will know what they’re in for here - a quirky and unconventional crime-comedy film that will keep you guessing. For those new to their work, this is a great place to start.
JONAH HEX (2010)
Josh Brolin plays bounty hunter Jonah Hex in the 2010 film of the same name based on the DC Comics character - a film that was universally panned by critics. This is, however, not a film made to please the critics, and it offers a lot by way of entertainment value. Set in Confederate-era America, Jonah Hex is a revenge tale that sees our disfigured bounty hunter out for vengeance against the men that killed his family.
Armed with some supernatural abilities and a thirst for blood, Hex will stop at nothing to see out his mission. The film has a great supporting cast that includes Michael Fassbender, John Malkovich, Will Arnett, and Megan Fox, and going in with low expectations will certainly make this an enjoyable watch.
STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
This list would not be complete without including the film that introduced the most popular (and coolest looking) bounty hunter of them all - Boba Fett. While the character didn’t have much screen time in the film, nor many lines, he went on to become one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars universe, and his band of people are the inspiration behind the hit series, The Mandalorian.
Boba Fett just oozes cool and is the owner of one of the more menacing-looking spaceships to feature in Star Wars, so it’s no wonder why he’s such a fan-favorite. He's also in 1983’s The Return of the Jedi and 2002's Attack of the Clones (as a young boy), but it’s in The Empire Strikes Back where his presence resonates the most.