The Best Revenge Movies Of All-Time

Léon: The Professional

Release Date 1994

Rating : 8.5 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Gaumont Director: Luc Besson, Camille Lipmann, Eric McGinty Stars: Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman

Summary: Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Unforgiven

Release Date 1992

Rating : 8.2 Production Companies: Malpaso Productions, Warner Bros. Director: Bill Bannerman, Grant Lucibello, Tom Rooker Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman

Summary: William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.

Gladiator

Release Date 2000

Rating : 8.5 Production Companies: DreamWorks SKG, Universal Pictures Director: Annie Penn, Nada Pinter, Ali Cherkaoui Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen

Summary: In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

The Equalizer

Release Date 2014

Rating : 7.2 Production Companies: Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures Director: Antoine Fuqua, Deirdre Horgan, Betsy Kuehn Stars: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz

Summary: McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

Den of Thieves

Release Date 2018

Rating : 7 Production Companies: Atmosphere Entertainment MM, Diamond Film Productions Director: Carmen Soriano, Mari Wilson, Christian Gudegast Stars: Gerard Butler, Dawn Olivieri, O'Shea Jackson Jr.

Summary: A gritty crime saga which follows the lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.

Peppermint

Release Date 2018

Rating : 6.5 Production Companies: STXfilms, Lakeshore Entertainment Director: Pierre Morel, Keith Woulard, Milos Milicevic Stars: Jennifer Garner, John Gallagher Jr., John Ortiz

Summary: A grieving mother transforms herself into a vigilante following the murders of her husband and daughter, eluding the authorities to deliver her own personal brand of justice.

Widows

Release Date 2018

Rating : 6.8 Production Companies: New Regency Pictures, See-Saw Films Director: Steve McQueen, Eva Z. Cabrera, Brad Robinson Stars: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki

Summary: A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Release Date 2003

Rating : 8.2 Production Companies: Miramax, A Band Apart Director: Martin Kitrosser, Sherrie Liu, Liu Yi Jun Stars: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox

Summary: An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.