The Anti-Hero archetype

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UncleMao
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Post by UncleMao » 27 Oct 2005 10:19

Like most people, I am fascinated by anti-hero characters in film or characters with certain heroic traits coupled with flaws. These make the most interesting people to watch but somehow, the type has been done to the death and not always successfully. But I'll talk about some of those that interested or entertained me the most up to this point in time.

In the 80's and early 90s - Action movies were stacked to the gills with the anti-hero. Lethal Weapon's Martin Riggs, Last Boy Scout's Joe Hallenbeck were typical character types. Drunks, smokers but often former elite shitkickers that would hand you your asshole in a little tin box if you pissed them off.

TV action-comedies like the A-Team thrived on the flawed hero dynamic. Characters were a lot fuller and better developed than paint-by-numbers scratch-and-sniff typical goodie goodies like TV's Automan and TJ Hooker.

So here we go, a salute to the most memorable anti heroes in film to date.
Feel free to add you own favourites...

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1. Fight Club's Narrator and Tyler Durden
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2. Tombstone's Doc Holliday
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3. Pulp Fiction's Jules Winfield and Vincent Vega (villains?)
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4. Deadwood's Al Swearengen
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5. Soprano's Tony Soprano
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6. American History X's Derek Vinyard
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7. Batman Begin's Batman
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8. The Professional's Leon
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9. Lethal Weapon I and II's Martin Riggs
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10. Memento's Leonard Shelby
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11. LA Confidential's Bud White.
Last edited by UncleMao on 28 Oct 2005 16:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Jacked
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Joined: 11 Oct 2005 13:14

Post by Jacked » 27 Oct 2005 20:42

Add to list:

Pitch Black's Richard B. Riddick

<a href='http://imageshack.us' target='_blank'>Image</a>
Last edited by Jacked on 27 Oct 2005 20:57, edited 1 time in total.
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Smash
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Location: Warren, MI

Post by Smash » 28 Oct 2005 01:43

Jacked wrote:Add to list:

Pitch Black's Richard B. Riddick

<a href='http://imageshack.us' target='_blank'>Image</a>

Congratulations. I now hate you.
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steampunk
Posts: 132
Joined: 16 Sep 2004 00:55

Post by steampunk » 28 Oct 2005 03:02

I'll see you Clint Eastwood in almost any western he has starred in (not to mention his Dirty Harry flicks):

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly / Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Pale Rider
Unforgiven

And I'll raise you Harrison Ford in both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies and George Clooney playing the classic anti-hero, Ulysses, in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Last edited by steampunk on 28 Oct 2005 03:05, edited 1 time in total.
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AngelBaby
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Post by AngelBaby » 28 Oct 2005 09:55

<span style='color:blue'>All of Mao's are good, especially Doc Holliday. :wub:

I'll throw these out there...

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Dr. Hannibal Lecter
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Tony Montana
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Mr. White
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Snake Plissken
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Rick Deckard
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Faith the Vampire Slayer (yeah, I know she's on TV, but I wanted props for my fave girl anti-hero...sue me)
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The Colonel
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Joined: 17 Jun 2004 12:02

Post by The Colonel » 28 Oct 2005 11:44

Image
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Jacked
Posts: 12
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 13:14

Post by Jacked » 28 Oct 2005 13:17

Smash wrote:
Jacked wrote:Add to list:

Pitch Black's Richard B. Riddick

<a href='http://imageshack.us' target='_blank'>Image</a>

Congratulations. I now hate you.
okay........
Last edited by Jacked on 29 Oct 2005 17:13, edited 1 time in total.
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