The 20 best movies about assassins

The neo-noir film Le Samouraï, like the best films of classic noir, is expertly crafted by director Jean-Pierre Melville, who proved himself to be a master of light and color. However, as skilled as the director is, he is more than matched by his star, Alain Delon, who plays the hitman Jef Costello. Delon is one of those actors who manages to be very beautiful and very cold, a tough guy with matinee-idol good looks. Like the best noirs, it leads the viewer along a complicated path that mirrors the protagonist's as he tries to figure out who tried to assassinate him. 

Unlike many other assassin films, The American  is very subdued, focusing more on suspense and the psychology of its main character, George Clooney’s Jack/Edward. What the film lacks in action, it more than makes up for in atmosphere, and there’s no denying that Clooney is always a pleasure to watch, even in a performance that calls for him to be more subdued than usual. What’s more, there is a meticulousness to the look of this film, which manages to hold viewers rapt, encouraging them to pay attention to each detail. It’s a film that only grows richer with each rewatch. 

Even though John Wick is at the center of the films that bear his name, each subsequent entry, including Parabellum,  sheds new light on the elaborate crime world from which Wick so desperately seeks to escape. This third installment in the series continues to push the franchise into new territory as Wick tries to escape from the numerous assassins who have set out to kill him. Like its predecessors, this film delights in pushing the envelope in terms of on-screen violence and excess. It’s a purely kinetic experience, and no one makes for a world-weary yet unkillable hero like Keanu Reeves.

When the first John Wick film became an unexpected hit, it was inevitable that it would engender its own franchise, and the second follows the title character’s further adventures as he is drawn back into the life of violence and death he sought so desperately to leave behind. As with the first film, there’s more than enough action and bloodshed to slake even the most inexhaustible thirst. However, what really helps the film to succeed is Keanu Reeves’ continued commitment to his performance, and he brings a wounded humility to Wick that makes him one of the present age’s most compelling heroes. 

La Femme Nikita is among French director Luc Bresson’s best films, and it follows Anne Parillaud’s Nikita as she is taken off the street and groomed to be a skilled assassin. Things get more complicated, however, when she starts to fall in love, and she has to contend with the divide between her new life and her assignments as a killer. This film has an intelligence and an emotional richness that helps elevate it above the usual run of assassin films. Nikita becomes someone the audience actually cares about, and her story has actual stakes beyond just the pleasure of seeing her become a death-dealer. 

Pulp Fiction remains one of Quentin Tarantino’s most recognizable films, and the performances from John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are key to both men’s star personas. With its fragmented narrative, jarring violence, and sharp dialogue, the film shows all of the artistic flourishes that would define Tarantino’s directorial output. The film is a pleasure to watch both for its own sake and the numerous homages and references to the pulp magazines of the past. Despite its extreme violence, it remains a remarkably funny movie, even thirty years after its release.

John Woo is one of those directors who has made his name by directing gritty, bloody action films that contain numerous homages to other genres. The Killer is one of his finest offerings, and its story seems ripped out of a 1950s melodrama, focusing as it does on an assassin who tries to get treatment for a singer whose eyes he damages by accident. The film skillfully blends the emotional satisfaction of the melodrama with the equally satisfying violence, with all of the styles one has come to associate with this master of the action genre. Its brutal beauty keeps it from ever sliding completely into the realm of the ridiculous. 

In the fine tradition of such action stars as Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham has made a name for himself playing hard-bitten characters. This is particularly true in The Mechanic,  in which he portrays, of course, an assassin, though one with a particular skill at making his kills look accidental. It's a remake of a 1970s film, but Statham’s committed performance makes this still worth watching, as long as one is willing to suspend disbelief (since the plot goes into some rather strange territory). Moreover, the film also features Donald Sutherland as Statham’s mentor in the grisly business of killing for hire.

Tom Cruise might be best known for his numerous heroic roles, but he’s not afraid to play a villain every now and again. This sleek noir thriller sees Cruise playing Vincent, an assassin on a killing spree. Cruise imbues the character with his signature star charisma, making Vincent more than just a killer. The real surprise, however, is Jamie Foxx, who plays Max, the taxi driver Vincent enlists to drive him around to his assignments. Michael Mann’s direction brings out the sinister neo-noir vibes of the film, giving it a propulsive energy that is as exciting as it is slightly disturbing. 

Martin McDonagh brings his unique black comedy sensibility to In Bruges,  which stars Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell as a pair of hitmen who, as the title implies, end up in the city of Bruges. Like so many of the director’s other works, this one has quite a lot of sharp dialogue, and there’s no denying the phenomenal chemistry in the pairing of Farrell and Gleeson. The film manages to be both bleak and hilarious at the same time. Farrell is remarkably well-cast, and his performance is remarkably textured. It’s the kind of film that keeps the audience guessing about what will happen next, and the results are almost always as devastating as they are humorous.

Some franchises begin to wear out after their first couple of entries. John Wick has only gone from strength to strength. In what is intended as the conclusion to the title character’s saga, Chapter Four follows him as he embarks on the staple journey for most assassins in the movies: revenge. The film is filled with the same sort of elaborately choreographed fight scenes as its predecessors, though here, the emotional stakes feel higher, as it is almost inevitable that he will meet his death by the end. This installment also features a fine villain in the form of Bill Skarsgård, who portrays a member of the High Table who wants to destroy Wick. 

Scarlett Johansson has been widely praised for her portrayal of the character Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it took a remarkably long time for her to finally get her own film. In this case, the film follows Black Widow as she has to reckon with her past working for the KGB, and it’s quite a pleasure to see her finally get to act as a free agent rather than as just another one of the Avengers. Moreover, the film has all of the kinetic pleasures and action set-pieces that one has come to expect from the MCU. 

Quentin Tarantino is one of those directors with an immediately identifiable style, which is very much in evidence in Kill Bill: Volume 1.  Uma Thurman truly shines in this film as a woman known only as The Bride, who embarks on a quest for vengeance against the assassins who tried to kill her, including the titular Bill. Like so many of the director’s other notable works, it is very much an homage to various other films and genres, but it is also very much its own thing. With its hyper-stylized violence and its whip-smart writing — to say nothing of Thurman, who makes the Bride into an icon of feminist rage.

Matt Damon gives one of his most memorable and indelible performances in The Bourne Identity, in which he plays Jason Bourne, a spy with amnesia, trying to piece his memory back together while evading those who want to destroy him. It’s a tautly constructed spy thriller, immersing the viewer in the action and not letting up from the beginning to the end. There’s also a remarkable amount of commitment to Damon’s performance, and his indelible presence as Jason Bourne helps to explain why he has been so key to the franchise’s success over its numerous installments. 

The Manchurian Candidate is one of the most chilling films that emerged from the Cold War of the 1960s. The center of the film is Raymond Shaw, the son of the scheming and nefarious Eleanor Iselin, who plans to use him as a brainwashed assassin to further her own schemes to seize control of the US government and gain vengeance on the Communists who have manipulated her. Featuring a truly terrifying and electric performance from the late Angela Lansbury, the film perfectly captures the terror and the paranoia of this period of American history, when it seemed as if the world was falling apart and no one knew who or what could be trusted. 

Keanu Reeves is at his career best as the title character in John Wick, which focuses on a former assassin who goes on a quest for vengeance after his dog is killed. What could have been a ridiculous B-movie premise becomes something grander and more intense. In many ways, it is the perfect example of male melodrama, as Wick yearns for nothing more than to escape the cycle of violence in which he always seems to be enmeshed. Moreover, the film also shows the extent to which the action genre still has a lot of life, and the film’s stylish kineticism is a breath of fresh air in the genre. 

The Coen Brothers have always had a knack for crafting bitingly funny and haunting dramas, and No Country For Old Men  remains one of their most extraordinary works. Adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, it follows three characters as their lives intertwine around a cache of stolen money. Javier Bardem is absolutely terrifying as Anton Chigurh, the hitman who sets out to get the money and leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. In many ways, he is the walking epitome of death, utterly devoid of compassion or empathy, and this is what makes him so compelling. 

Given the seriousness of murder-for-hire, it’s rather surprising how often assassins are the subject of comedy films. Bullet Train, for example, focuses on Brad Pitt’s anxiety-ridden assassin Ladybug. There are quite a few lovely twists and turns to the story, with plenty of blood and fight sequences scattered throughout. It owes much of its visual aesthetic and its pattern to directors like Quentin Tarantino (particularly as exemplified by the Kill Bill films), and it’s also a remarkably funny film. It is, all told, a humorous adventure in which neither the audience nor the characters are encouraged to take anything too seriously.

Directed by David Fincher, the cool, cynical, and stylish The Killer focuses on Michael Fassbender’s nameless character as he seeks vengeance on those who attacked his girlfriend after one of his assassinations goes wrong. Like many of the director’s other films, this one is so cold as to be almost frozen, but it’s more than saved by Fassbender’s performance. The film resolutely sutures the viewer into the title character’s perspective, which is disturbing and haunting, particularly since it’s clear he’s a man with no conscience or moral guidance. Even through its deliberate pace, the film grabs hold and doesn’t let go.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie showed they had undeniable on-screen chemistry in the action comedy Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in which they play a pair of married assassins hired to kill one another. However, the film succeeds for many other reasons other than the dynamic between Pitt and Jolie. It has a wickedly smart and funny screenplay, and it plays with some of the most well-known conventions of the romantic comedy genre. It’s the type of film that invites the audience to just sit back and enjoy the show, and it never loses sight of the fact that movies like this are supposed to be fun.