Best Revenge movies present in this list are the masterpieces of some of the most talented Hollywood directors, writers, and actors.
Scorsese to Nolan, to Tarantino, these revenge movies will thrill, enthrall, and widen your horizon. Simultaneous quenching your thirst for the best performances from the likes of DiCaprio, De Niro, Reeves, to Thurman.
These are the people we need to thank. For having this genre of revenge movies in the first place. Of course among many others whose names you will encounter later.
I remember watching the cute police girl rescue scene from Mission Impossible Fallout and thinking to myself. That is what cinema should be.
Was I a bit manipulated by her big blue eyes and the vulnerable position she was left in?
Maybe a little. But that has nothing to do with how I reviewed the movie. 😉
Shawshank Redemptions Movie review was also not influenced by any subjective factors. Even though the whole idea of cinematic experience should be personal and subjective.
This is a list of the best revenge movies any movie critic would approve of.
Although the bloodshed in those Korean revenge movies may become an exception to that perception😝😜 they are an integral part and an excellent addition to the list of best revenge movies article.
Check out the best action movies and the best adventure movies if you like fast-paced movies if you like films that will take you to places and to other worlds, the best cyberpunk movies, and the best space movies will do just that for you.
The list below by the way, by no means, is chronological.
Best Revenge Films: Revenant
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Writers: Mark L. Smith (screenplay), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (screenplay)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter
Revenant is a 2015 American western epic that is all about revenge. Thus, one of the best revenge movies. Alejandro G. Inarritu directed the movie and co-wrote it with the help of Mark L. Smith. The movie features stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter.
It is about a man who is left for dead by his colleagues after already a deadly attack received by him from a grizzly bear. It is partly based on true events that happened, partly based on the book that first recalled it.
I honestly don’t know where to start. But one thing I am damn sure of is that no matter what I start with. The movie will come through.
However, on that note, it is important to mention the best part of what makes this movie one of the best movies about revenge, but also an incredible masterpiece is its cinematography.
Using only natural lights, Emmanuel Lubezki could not only convey how beautiful the American frontier is but also how harsh and unfriendly nature can be.
Shooting with natural lights means that every single person involved in the process is physically in those locations, shooting, acting, make-uping, doing whatever their job is regardless of the discomfort. Thus, “A-good-job must follow, for they all deserve.
The other best thing about the movie is its acting, particularly, Leo’s which is top-notch. And easy to see how much effort it took. For example, learning a whole new language to portray the character to the best of possibilities is the edge not many actors would go for.
It is one of the best revenge movies with such incredible acting and never-seen-before scenery: One that is definitely worth the Oscar it won, and surely, one of the top revenge movies.
Here’s our full review of The Revenant movie.
Best Revenge Movies of All Time: John Wick
Director: Chad Stahelski, David Leitch (uncredited)
Writers: Derek Kolstad
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen
Chad Stahelski’s best revenge movies revived in this John Wick movie series feature Keanu Reeves whom you already know I love. Derek Kolstad wrote the amazing, emotionally, touching script.
A famous and legendary killer has retired after marrying the love of his life. But he has to come back after an amateur gang decides to steal his car, and kills the only dog he had in the memory of his loved wife.
Of the best revenge movies and the best action, John Wick single-handedly created a whole new genre of action and fighting “Gun-Fu”.
If you read Knock Knock Movie review, then you know how much I love Keanu Reeves. The guy deserves all the love, for he has done most of the action himself. He deserves not because of that.
Many other actors do their actions by themselves. But he does sell the action. He brings the action right in your face, and almost like pulls your head into the screen and tells you to watch this.
Sure, there is a lot required from the Directors too. But I believe their job was done when they hired Keanu to present their image of what action movies are.
This is another one of those violent revenge movies that I could talk on and on about. But to conclude it I must say, it is the best thing that happened to the action movie genre in a long time. And the sequels keep on getting better and better.
I’d recommend everyone to watch one of the best revenge movies even though you might like action because there is so much more going on for the movie alongside the action that it makes for a full and enjoyable cinematic experience.
Vengeance Movies: Django Unchained
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
In all senses possible, Django Unchained is an unapologetic Tarantino movie; having an all-star cast, witty dialogue, and savage realness, most importantly an entertaining tone. The all-star cast includes people like Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson.
The plot of another one of the best revenge movies: Freed with the help of a bounty hunter, a former slave sets out on a path to rescue his wife from an evil overlord. All the while killing the people bounty hunter sets out for them.
They captured the period right and rightly captured the hearts of the people. It is truly a hoot to watch this movie. More than just revenge movies, it is a western that takes pieces from every genre. However, dovetails into one incendiary yet conciliatory message as to why haven’t there been more movies made about slavery in the country before.
This is everything a good cinema should be. I can’t recall any aspect that isn’t to like. Entertaining, dramatic, with over-the-top dialogues, and those cool scenes that you would only see in the cinema.
But when all that comes together; funny, amusing, and unchained-creativity harass the audience with its achievements in everything.
The only negative side of it could be that it is a bit too long as the best revenge movies sometimes can be. And the predictable ending might make it seem as if it was rushed to be out. But the all-star acting and the script keeps you engaged throughout.
This means, if you are invested in the story, it is hard to notice that it is too long. In one of the top revenge movies, Samuel L Jackson proves his range is far and wide.
Best Revenge Movies of All Time: Mission Impossible Fallout
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writers: Bruce Geller (based on the television series created by), Christopher McQuarrie
Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames
Ever since the Rogue Nation, Christopher McQuarrie has been directing Mission Impossible movie series. And it has paid off, for it only got better. Mission Impossible Fallout on the other hand was even co-written by him based on the television series created by Bruce Geller. This is simply one of the best revenge movies because it features stars like Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, and Ving Rhames.
Ethan Hunt with his sidekicks attempts to save the world once again. This time from a group of organized terrorists who want to explode the three holy cities of the three Abrahamic religions.
One of the most famous and popular novelists in American history, Scott Fitzgerald once said “Action is Character”. Fallout strictly adheres to this rule and opens a new layer of understanding of how action movies should be.
As Ethan Hunt fully embodies this school of thought, his fighting scenes or the ride on a bike, or any other sequences that involve him become tense. Because we care about him as a character.
The realness of actions crosses over through the stunts that actors chose to do, instead of using stunt doubles or CGI. This sells the action. It isn’t just the fact that they are doing the action themselves and that is a good job. But also, everything in and around is a praiseworthy endeavor.
This is a movie that respects the audience. It requires you to pay attention and invest in it. Some people may not like it. But from a true cinephile perspective, I can tell you that it isn’t always that movies respect their viewers, even the best revenge movies.
This also proves this isn’t simple mindless entertainment. It is entertainment all the same but one doesn’t let you take it for granted.
Violent Regeve Movies: Kill Bill
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah
The fourth Tarantino movie “Kill Bill” is one of his best, and one of the best revenge movies. We all know Tarantino writes almost all the movies he directs. Kill Bill features stars like Uma
Thurman, David Carradine, Daryle Hannah.
An assassin retires and settles on normal life. However, her former boss attacks her, and she falls into a coma for four years. She swears vengeance once she is back on her feet.
I know we just talked about Django Unchained, another one of Tarantino’s masterpieces. However, it is hard to get enough of his talent and his genius. Because this one is very special. Among all the other Tarantino movies, Kill Bill stands out as one unique piece of work that fuses western filmmaking with a bunch of other areas but still succeeds.
A lesser-known aspect but one that I adore about Kill Bill is its scene structure. For the most part, scenes start with physicality then engage your logic with its narrative, and the intellectual dialogue feels into you with the emotion-als.
It is incredible how one scene starts and ends, and you are already left with a wide range of emotions and thoughts and impressions, you wonder in veneration how one can come up with all that in a human mind?.
This is what every revenge movie should be like: full of action, canny dialogue, unequal imitation of Eastern medium into the west. Okay, the best revenge movies don’t have to imitate the east nor take anything from them. It’s just that Kill Bill makes the reference subtle but obvious that people knowingly love it.
Easily the most violent revenge movies on this list. But among movies about revenge, this fits the theme of the article perfectly for this is all about it.
Good Revenge Movies: Beguiled
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writers: Sofia Coppola (screenplay by), Thomas Cullinan (based on the novel by)
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning
Sofia Coppola (yes, the daughter of legendary filmmaker Mr.Coppola) directed and co-wrote The Beguiled with an outstanding cast of Nicole Kidman, Kristen Dunst, Elle Fanning. This is one of the best revenge movies where women’s fantasies come full-on into play.
The story is set during the American civil war when a wounded and union soldier ends up near an all-girls school. They rescue him but he becomes the product of their sexual predilections.
The biggest difference between the older version and the new is in the fact that the new one takes the women’s perspective. Of course, that means the 1971 version was a bit better and it sure was of the best revenge films.
However, this does bring a lot to the table in terms of being a revenge movie and slightly soft-core eroticism. I like that they show eroticism in and of itself from a very innocent and sort of like an elegant point. That makes it sexier and hotter.
In 1971 it was way too open and all around and a bit rough. It may sound counterintuitive since we now live in a more liberated world than in the 70s. But the way movies were shot speak two different languages.
Coppola’s elegant yet simple story-driven approach is what Millennials and Genzers would prefer I guess. But in terms of movie technicalities, that makes it a bit shallow-ish.
It should still be one of the best revenge movies just because of its cast. Or because of Elle Fanning. I reckon her face was the thing that brought all the elegance into this movie.
Beguiled’s aesthetics on the other hand is Hollywood quality. The dresses, and furniture, the period is perfectly expressive of that time.
Movies About Revenge: Taken
Director: Pierre Morel
Writers: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen
Taken is directed by Pierre Morel. Its writers are Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen. The cast includes people like Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen.
It has a very simple plot. An ex-CIA operative’s daughter gets kidnapped. And he goes after them to find them to rescue his daughter. He sets off after delivering one of the best monologues of all time.
The premise of the movie is as simplistic as it gets. Plus it executes it very well. Because this is one of the best revenge movies and an action flick, and they usually don’t have the best of story.
This movie probably has the second most popular line from the movies. “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill” is as popular if not more than the line ’ “I will be back” from Terminator.
The never-ending action is something that delights the eyes of the action lovers like me. The professionally executed actions literally thrill the audience who appreciate it. Now put on good acting across the board. You get basically a class level action movie.
It is wrong to compare this movie to other movies that usually win Oscars and think this received that many bad reviews or didn’t even win anything. Because this was one heck of good entertainment. And good entertainment it is.
The movie doesn’t waste time introducing its actions and once it gets going. It just doesn’t stop. Once you are thrown into the actions, you don’t want it to stop. This means it is engaging as heck as well.
And that is how the best revenge movies should be. Full of action, fights, and with a monologue a kind that it alone goes viral and pulls the movie by strings.
Korean Revenge Movies: Old Boy
Director: Chan-wook Park
Writers: Garon Tsuchiya (story), Nobuaki Minegishi (comic)
Stars: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-Tae, Kang Hye-jeong
Old Boy is directed by Chan-wook Park, and Garon Tsuchiya wrote the script based on the comic of Nobuaki Minegishi. Stars include people like Choi Min-Sik, Yoo Ji-Tae, Hye-Jeong Kang.
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Our main hero is released into a far worse fate than that was within those four walls in this one of the best revenge movies.
The old boy is the ultimate revenge story. Yes, the others are all revenge movies. But this one based its everything, every aspect of this revenge story. And it is one heck of a story to watch. I would not know the proper words to explain it.
On the one hand, its morality is under question. On the other hand, its questionable morality is what makes the theme the most awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping kind.
This movie is a cinematic achievement of a kind that many only dream about. The movie leaves such a scar on you that next time you are going to watch a revenge flick, you will be thinking twice.
The reason that it leaves a scar is the way the story unfolds and culminates, it is unlike any other movie I have ever seen. It’s like every single movie probably first plan and hopes that their revelation is going to have that much of an impact. But no other movie has done it better in such a badass, but a morbid way.
Undoubtedly Old Boy has all the best revenge movies attributes. Some people tend to disregard the villain or the antagonist of the story. I think he is also portrayed in the best way possible.
I know, I was just using the best this and the best that. But it truly is so. Like no better revenge flick would require so much of the “the best”.
Rape and Revenge Movies: Cape Fear
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: John D. MacDonald (novel), James R. Webb (earlier screenplay)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange
Martin Scorsese directed Cape Fear which is one of the revenge horror movies that almost went to Spielberg to direct. It features stars like Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange. And was written by James R. Webb based on the novel by John D. Macdonald. And this is one of the best revenge movies.
The plot involves a convicted rapist who is freshly released. Now he stalks the family of the lawyer who defended him because he believes he didn’t do his best.
In the original movie, the idea of right or wrong is explored a bit more deeply than Scorsese’s version. And the Lawyer is portrayed as the exemplary right doing person.
However, Scorsese changes the original script a bit and makes everyone a human. There are no flawless characters. This is the part that I love so much about.
Because that is how life is. Also, the way He puts the hero against the antagonist is merely lyrical. It is like the lawyer has many areas in which he lacks and Niro has it all in those areas. While the areas he lacks, the lawyer has.
They are like the complete opposites of each other. This is why the script works perfectly. Because you want to root for the lawyer, but you see he is disloyal and lacks integrity. Then you think to root for the convict but his intentions are not right.
Just like that once you get into the story, you cannot get out. Acting is another thing that needs to be mentioned. Because without Niro’s talent, the story of the convict wouldn’t have been as believable. Definitely one of the best revenge movies and another one of Scorsese masterpieces.
Korean Revenge Movies: I Saw The Devil
Director: Jee-woon Kim (as Kim Jee-woon)
Writers: Jee-woon Kim (adaptation), Hoon-jung Park (screenplay)
Stars: Lee Byung-Hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-Hwan
For a Korean revenge movie, I Saw The Devil outperforms and breaks every little bit of aspect or stereotype attached to them. Jee-Woon Kim who sometimes goes by the name (Kim Jee-Woon) directed the movie. Hoon-Jung Park with the help of the director took care of the screenplay adaptions. The flick features stars like Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-Sik, Joon-hyuk lee. This surely is one of the best revenge movies.
A secret agent after finding his fiance brutally murdered exacts revenge on the killer. But he does it with style and makes it last. However, the killer is not a simpleton as well.
Cat and mouse between the protagonist and the antagonist is a relatively new theme. Or perhaps, not this level of blood and gore. The carnage in this movie is so vivid and all over the place, that it could easily go for a Christmas movie rather than a Korean revenge movie.
Just like the best revenge movies above, I Saw the Devil features multiple perspectives. Seems like these days, all the good directors are choosing multiple perspectives over one. Because it is simply harder to accomplish, thus when it succeeds, it won’t just have any equals.
The long duration otherwise would have been a problem if it wasn’t for the excellent acting and the filming techniques that keep it tense and suspenseful throughout.
You might not like to watch a movie with subtitles. It’s as if they knew they would be an international hit. So that they have enough time to read it and be able to enjoy the scenery.
One of the most violent Korean revenge movies that is also the best of movies of any kind.
All Things Considered
Best revenge movies listed here, if you have been reading, are the real masterpieces of cinematic achievement both in terms of their particular genre. The best revenge movies, to be exact.
But also in every other detail: the script, the character arcs, the action, the cinematography, and the list goes on. Plus, for their extraordinary cast and legendary filmmakers whose names have been mentioned already.
Although my experience from watching Mission Impossible gave me an understanding of how a truly perfect scene is. Each and every one of the movies takes a very high level on my personal preferences.
Best revenge movies in fact should be able to take your preferences out of their decree. And bring a new order to the way you watch movies. Because they are more than just mindless actions and ostentatious graphics to lure you into the theatre.
Their story is one about redemption, hope, and fury when it is okay to feel it. Well, whether it is really so or not, you shall find out.
