Films about bodyguards and assassins have long made for great drama and exciting action. In cinema, actors from Humphry Bogart and Lee Marvin to Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Costner have all thrown their hat in the ring of the bodyguard/assassin film to great success. Some were action films, some were dramas.
Hit films, such as Lawrence Kasdan's The Bodyguard and The Specialist, directed by Luis Llosa, have successfully told stories of bodyguards or assassins who become protectors. From high drama and nail-biting suspense to explosive action, these 10 films are the best of what this genre of film has to offer.
Blackjack (1998)
John Woo is one of the most respected and artistic action filmmakers of them all and his best work came from his native Hong Kong. When he accepted a courtship from Hollywood, his output was hit and miss. 1998's Blackjack was done as a favor to a Canadian producer friend of Woo's. While the film was certainly a 0ne-off for the filmmaker, Woo made it an exciting and interesting film, nonetheless.
The 80s and 90s action star Dolph Lundgren plays a CIA operative who becomes a bodyguard to a woman who has seen a political murder. While the screenplay isn't the best and Woo worked with a lower budget than he was used to, Blackjack is an entertaining film with a good performance from Lundgren and the signature stylish action that makes John Woo a master of his craft.
Romeo Must Die (2000)
Having starred in many of the best kung-fu films of the 80s and 90s, Jet Li was already an international martial arts icon when he signed on for Andrzej Bartkowiak's 2000 action thriller, Romeo Must Die. Li plays a cop on the trail of his brother's killer, who becomes the protector of the villain's daughter.
The film is a slick Hollywood thriller that wisely let Li choreograph his own action sequences, helping the film to rise above most of the standard action thrillers of its day.
Close (2019)
In the Netflix film Close, an heiress is targeted by a group of assassins and a female bodyguard is hired to protect her at all costs. Noomi Rapace gives one of her finest performances as the bodyguard, showing her skills with drama and extreme action.
The film is full of exciting set-pieces and director Vicky Jewison does a fantastic job of making this a tense and explosive female-driven action film. This is modern action at a highly entertaining level, but the filmmaker doesn't forget the humanism of the story, as Rapace's character is extremely well-written and performed.
Leon: The Professional (1994)
In Leon: The Professional, Jean Reno stars as the title assassin who becomes bodyguard and savior to a young girl (Natalie Portman) whose entire family has been killed by a crooked cop and his hired killers.
If one can get past the overacting of Gary Oldman, one will discover an exciting thriller with a soul. After an opening attack full of Hitchcockian suspense, Luc Besson's film settles in for a sweet character study of two lost souls brought together by a world of violence. Reno and Portman are excellent and it is great fun watching Portman learn how to be a badass assassin.
Man On Fire (2004)
Denzel Washington plays Creasy, a former CIA man who is hired to watch over the young daughter of a wealthy couple in Mexico City. When the girl is kidnapped, Creasy comes after those responsible with a violent vengeance.
In Man on Fire, Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington have great on-screen chemistry, both actors doing expert work. Tony Scott directed with his usual visual flair but gives this film a character study slant held within the action set pieces. This is a fantastic film that stands as one of Denzel Washington's best. Scott's film is based on a novel by A.J. Quinnell, first adapted to the screen in 1987 in a film of the same name, starring Scott Glenn.
The Bodyguard (1992)
An ex-Secret Service agent played extremely well by Kevin Costner takes the job of being a bodyguard to a famous musician/actress, played by Whitney Houston.
Written and almost directed by Lawrence Kasdan, Mick Jackson's The Bodyguard is a solid character tale that is a tense thriller. Costner is very good in the title role, but Whitney Huston surprised critics and audiences with a deep and well-crafted performance. The characters are interesting, the romantic moments are earned, and the suspense is thrilling. This is one of Kevin Costner's best films.
Man On Fire (1987)
Everyone is familiar with Tony Scott's 2004 Denzel Washington hit Man on Fire, but only the most astute cinephiles have seen Elie Chouraqui's 1987 version, starring Scott Glenn. Chouraqui's was the first adaptation of A.J. Quinnell's novel of the same name about a bodyguard whose charge, the young daughter of rich parents, is kidnapped and his bloody path of vengeance.
While Scott's version is great in its own right, Chouraqui's film gets the edge, as it is less flashy and more realistic. There are some great action sequences, to be sure, but the film is more concerned about the main character of John Creasy, played by Scott Glenn, giving what is perhaps his best performance. This is a dark and realistic commentary on vengeance and retribution and a sweet story about friendship - a true undervalued treasure of the 80s.
My Bodyguard (1980)
Tony Bill's absolutely intoxicating 1980 My Bodyguard tells the story of a young middle schooler who is bullied so badly by a thug, played by Matt Dillon, that he asks an older kid to be his personal bodyguard.
Chris Makepeace gives a sweet and relatable performance as the bullied boy and Adam Baldwin is his bodyguard and unlikely friend. Critics and audiences fell for the film, making it one of 1980's surprise hits at the box office that year. Becoming a star due to his role, Matt Dillon has claimed this as one of his best films.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1992)
James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgement Day may not come to mind when thinking of bodyguard/assassin films, but it is actually both. The terminator is an assassin that is reprogrammed to be a bodyguard to John Connor, thus saving the future of mankind.
Cameron's film is exciting and makes great use of its groundbreaking special effects. Featuring amazing action, one of the great movie villains, and record-breaking financial and critical success, the film has gone down as one of the great science fiction-action films of its decade and one of the best ever made.
The Man From Nowhere (2010)
Jeong-Beom Lee's fantastic South Korean thriller/action film, The Man From Nowhere, finds a quiet pawnshop keeper with a most dangerous past, saving a young girl from an organ donor ring.
The film is a visceral thriller that rightfully focuses on the relationship between the man and the young girl, who he befriended as she lives in the same apartment building. This creates a warm and believable relationship that makes the man's search for the kidnapped girl more exciting. The film is dark and violent, but ultimately about the lengths that a true friend will go to for those he loves.