The 50 Most Memorable Movie Assassinations

Find out which cold-blooded, calculated rub outs hit the mark.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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A year ago, the thought of Joe Wright directing an action/thriller about a teenage girl bred to be a cold-blooded assassin made us chuckle. After all, we’ve seen the English’s directors previous films, which, though all well made and respectable, don’t hint that he’s the next John Woo. Check the resume: Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, The Soloist. The only things “tough” about those movies are the British accents and Jamie Foxx’s hairline.

Now that we’ve seen Wright’s violent and lightning-bolt-paced Hanna, however, we’re dining on humble pie. In the film (which opens this weekend), Saoirse Ronan whoops ass Jason Bourne style as a killing machine on the run after she discovers her preordained, homicidal life’s path. There's nothing soft or Jane Austen-like about it.

We do have one major qualm with Hanna, though: Ronan kills a lot of people but doesn’t perform a single assassination throughout the entire movie. That seems like a pretty hefty omission for a flick about someone who’s brought up to, you know, assassinate people, no? Perhaps we’re just being greedy; Wright’s action setpieces are so bonkers that we hoped to see him enter an unforgettable cinematic hit into the history books. Something that’d rival famous sequences from movies like The Godfather or the ending of Apocalypse Now.

Since Hanna left us without a strategically planned kill scene, we’ve softened the blow by compiling The 50 Most Memorable Movie Assassinations, a countdown that makes up for its grimness with filmmaking expertise and tons of Joe Pesci. And that’s a never bad thing.

50. President John F. Kennedy In Watchmen (2009)

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49. Pai Mei In Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

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48. Unnamed Target In The Mechanic (2011)

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47. Shoulders, The Stooge, Rodent, The Brow, And Little Face In Dick Tracy (1990)

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46. Damien Thorn In Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)

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45. Jeriko One In Strange Days (1995)

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44. Umberto Calvini In The International (2009)

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43. An Entire Wedding Party In Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

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42. Park Chung-hee In The President's Last Bang (2005)

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41. Oscar Romero In Romero (1989)

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40. Julius Caeser In Julius Caesar (1953)

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39. Frank Castle's Family In The Punisher (2004)

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38. Lee Harvey Oswald In JFK (1991)

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37. Simon Ross In The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

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36. John Dillinger In Public Enemies (2009)

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35. Reputed Crime Boss Ricorso In Batman (1989)

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34. Willie Stark In All The King's Men (2006)

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33. Raymond Lohan In Hunger (2008)

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32. Unnamed Big Wig In Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

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31. Police Commissioner And Judge In The Dark Knight (2008)

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30. Mahatma Gandhi In Gandhi (1982)

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29. Veronica Guerin In Veronica Guerin (2003)

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28. Ox In Belly (1998)

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27. Unnamed Big Wig In Wanted (2008)

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26. Francisco Flores In Traffic (2000)

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25. Harvey Milk In Milk (2008)

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24. Jesse James In The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)

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23. Gaius Germanicus Caligula In Caligula (1979)

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22. FBI Director Jacobs In Clear And Present Danger (1994)

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21. Sonny Valerio In Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai (1999)

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20. Marcus Aurelius In Gladiator (2000)

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19. Senator Carroll in The Parallax View (1974)

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18. Brick Top In Snatch (2000)

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17. President John F. Kennedy In JFK (1991)

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16. Edward "The Comedian" Blake In Watchmen (2009)

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15. Sonny Corleone In The Godfather (1972)

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14. Bobby Kent In Bully (2001)

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13. Oscar Wallace And George In The Untouchables (1987)

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#12. Virgil Sollozzo And Captain McClusky In The Godfather (1972)

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11. Nicky And Dominick Santoro In Casino (1995)

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10. Adolf Hitler In Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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9. Tommy DeVito In Goodfellas (1990)

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8. Jimmy Malone In The Untouchables (1987)

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7. Don Fanucci In The Godfather Part II (1974)

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6. Cyrus In The Warriors (1979)

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5. Bonnie Parker And Clyde Barrow In Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

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4. Malcolm X In Malcolm X (1992)

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3. Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979)

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2. Emilio Barzini, Philip Tattaglia, and Moe Green In The Godfather (1972)

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1. Tony Montana In Scarface (1983)

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