Movie where the victim actually ends up being more skilled than the killer/abductee/criminal?

Hey all,

So I recently rewatched John Wick, and had seen The Equalizer shortly before that. This got me to start thinking, anyone know of any movies similar to these (and say, Taken), where the supposed victim actually ends up being extremely skilled and takes out their assailants?

Is there a genre/style name for this type of film? Revenge flick doesn't seem quite right.

To be clear, it doesn't have to be a shootout movie or anything, but generally any movie where a serial killer, kidnapper, or otherwise other criminal basically ends up choosing "The Wrong One", who ends up beating the shit out of them.

Any suggestions on this is appreciated.

Edit: This can also be stuff like "Final Girl", where a slasher victim ends up being kick-ass. I would just prefer it to not be terrible like "Final Girl" was.

Sequential edit: I'm compiling these to basically make a list of films to watch throughout the end of the year. Preferably good, if possible.

Double edit - Suggestions so far, now edited for how well it fits the ideal. I've seen a lot of these, but it doesn't mean I won't watch them again:

Perfect fit or near it

• John Wick
• Harry Brown
• You're Next
• Man on Fire
• Hobo with a Shotgun (friend suggested this external to GB)
• Taken
• Sin City - The entire Marv story
• Dredd (Mama made a poor decision as soon as she locked Dredd in)
• Mad Max: Fury Road (or mostly any of the Mad Max films, but the most recent (and the original) are the closest to this type of story)
• A History of Violence

Pretty close

• Leon (The Professional) - Almost made it into perfect fit, but the crime/come-uppance isn't really the main part of the movie.
• Crank
• The Transporter (3 probably most closely fits, as someone abducts Statham's kid friend/ward/whatever)
• Enough
• Hard Candy
• Drive
• Point Blank
• Payback
• Death Sentence
• Death Wish
• I Saw the Devil
• The Long Kiss Goodnight
• Point Blank
• Kung Fu Hustle
• First Blood (Rambo 1)

Kinda close or at least with the right ideas in place

• Commando
• Running Man
• Double Jeopardy
• They Live (friend also suggested this)
• Kill Bill
• Batman Begins (This only barely occurred to me, but the entire arc is about Bruce becoming "The wrong one" to commit a crime against from the start of the film)
• Predator (Although this almost inverts this, as all of the main characters are extremely skilled and still get demolished)

Keep them coming if you got them.

Man on Fire is a great one.

Death Sentence

I also really like Edge of Darkness

I think there is some bleedover with revenge flicks, at least for what comes to mind.

Death Wish, Harry Brown, I Saw the Devil

I know what you mean though and sadly can't think of anything that fits the criteria more specifically.

@nime: I totally forgot about Harry Brown. That movie was awesome.

You're Next is literally the exact movie you wanted from Final Girl - according to film critics, anyway. I didn't think it was very good and revolutionary, but critics fucking love that movie.

I suppose it's more of a conventional revenge flick than anything since it takes quite a long time plot- and character development-wise to get there, but Enough with Jennifer Lopez was the first thing I thought of. Say what you want about that movie, she beat the shit out of that scummy dude.

I Saw the Devil isn't quite exactly that (the protagonist's fiancee is the victim) but I've heard great things about it. I need to take the time to watch it.

I've heard it described in a review as the protagonist basically giving the killer blue balls by intervening just before he commits his crimes and never killing or turning him in, which sounded both kind of darkly funny but also interesting.

Edit: oh shit, there's also You're Next which is a fantastic movie, and this is coming from a guy who's not that interested in horror.

Double Jeopardy is also a pretty fun thriller where the tables are turned on the bad dude. It's based on a factually incorrect understanding of the law, but dude just ignore that, it's fun as hell.

Strange that you're speaking so conclusively about a movie you haven't actually seen. The question is ultimately about the bad guy getting in way over his or her head because of the victim they chose, and the OP uses The Equalizer as an example, which is a movie about a skilled killer enacting vengeance for their offenses against another person. I Saw the Devil has a few key scenes that absofuckinlutely fit that bill.

You're Next is probably the most 'on the nose' when it comes to a Final Girl who ends up as a kick ass survivalist. Scream is the other one, though besides some neat spins on genretropes and a great villian it isn't nearly as precious as some people say it is. Mostly I'm pissed off that it taught people that 'virgins-can't-die' is a slasher trope when it isn't. Otherwise Friday The 13th Part VII (New Blood I think is the subtitle) has a pretty great last half our which is basically Carrie against Jason. The hour up until that point is real bad, especially because of cutaways from nearly all of the kills, but if you're looking for great final showdowns in slasher films, this is the one. Well that and Part 3 also has a very iconic beatdown between the final girl and Jason.

If we're talking action films Die Hard would be my go-to average-man takes out bad guys movie, Predator my man-against-impossible-odds film.

Ah, the old "you have no idea who you're fucking with" genre. Yeah, those movies can be pretty fun. If you'd like something a bit older, I'd suggest Commando, Payback, or The Long Kiss Goodnight. They don't quite fit the genre as well as something like John Wick, but all have a lot of underestimating someone's abilities.

You're Next! is what you get when you put an actual competent and intelligent person in a home invasion film.

I thought it was pretty good.

I Saw the Devil is a real rough movie. It isn't funny, it isn't satisfying, and that's the point. It's a very dark revenge tale and the final shot is one of the most haunting and memorable I've ever seen in a film. It can be summarized by the old adage: He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves; one for his enemy, and one for himself.

HIGHLY recommend that movie though.

Yea "you're next" is kinda the only example that comes to mind. The premise is clearly rare since for the victim to be more skilled than the assailant the initial concept is unlikely to happen.

Your inclusion of The Equalizer has thrown me off a bit and I feel like I'm casting a very wide net but here goes:

Kill Bill

The Transporter

Hard Candy

First Blood

I Saw The Devil

Fulltime Killer (this is a stretch but you should still watch this movie - Exiled too)

The Killer (John Woo)

Drive

You're Next

Point Blank

Thanks all. So far the only films suggested I've not seen are You're Next and I Saw the Devil. I'll check those out. Keep the suggestions coming if you have them.

I've edited the OP with a list of everything I've seen suggested so far.

@technician: Thanks for these. First Blood and The Killer might be pushing it a bit. Hard Candy is a bit of a weird pick, but I'd say yes, that definitely fits. The Transporter 3 is actually probably closer to fitting the bill. I don't know about Kill Bill, the opening scene may count, but the rest of it is much more revenge flick. I'll throw these up there.

Hard Candy. I used a spoiler block for the movie title because just being mentioned in this thread is a spoiler. It is a movie that is worth watching once though.

"Charley Varrick," a really good Don Siegel movie with Walter Matthau. Come to think of it, "Hopscotch" with Matthau also kind of fits. Don't screw with Walter Matthau.

And, of course..."Home Alone."

@silver-streak: I feel like the the beginning of John Wick and the beginning of Kill Bill are very similar, although the circumstances in Kill Bill are more serious for the protagonist.

I haven't seen The Transporter movies in a while but doesn't he get set up at the beginning of all three movies?

Does predator count?

@kcin: I'm really not. His main point was about victims turning on their assailant and besting them in every way. I was simply saying it wasn't "quite" like that. I'm not making any qualitative or definitive judgment on any of it. The Equalizer is also not exactly what he's asking for, but that's fine too.

Preservation. It's on Netflix. I've been singing it's praise to deaf ears mostly. It's got similarities to You're Next, I'd say.

He literally cites The Equalizer in his post.

@kcin: Yes I know that. What I'm saying is, he's also not exactly respecting his request. Not saying that's bad, everybody here is giving loosely what he asked for. He might have mentionned The Equalizer, but what he asked is literally "[...] where the supposed victim actually ends up being extremely skilled and takes out their assailants?" and "[...] any movie where a serial killer, kidnapper, or otherwise other criminal basically ends up choosing "The Wrong One", who ends up beating the shit out of them." Denzel Washington isn't quite a victim in that movie. In fact, he's kind of the one who starts shit, not the bad guys.

When it comes to I Saw the Devil, I don't need to see the movie to know the premise, in which the protagonist isn't the victim, his fiancee is. You could argue that it also makes him a victim, but that's beside the point.

Deliverance feels that way to me.

Aja's version of The Hills Have Eyes kind of ends up being that way. I think it's underrated too.

Martyrs and Audition both play on similar concepts, though I wouldn't be sure that they fit exactly in what you asked for.

Anyway, all a bunch of fun films.

Like others in this thread, I cannot recommend I Saw The Devil enough. Easily one of the best movies of the 2010's.

Fair enough. I just think this is too literal of a reading, and will yield fewer results from a selection of movies where the execution is ultimately the same regardless of whether or not the protagonist is personally the victim or is instead affiliated with a victim. In the end, all of these movies are about the bad guy suddenly facing a break in their pattern of dominance because someone they didn't expect is now wrecking their shit, and being a personal fan of movies like this, I don't personally feel that the impetus for the startling swath of vengeance is as important to the movie as the vengeance itself.

Isn't that like every movie?

Old Boy, Death Proof, First Mad Max, pretty much every revenge movie. You're, basically, asking for a list of revenge movies.

In particular, even some Disney movies fit this. Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians, Lion King...though maybe not what the OP is looking for.

I think Lion King did it best.

Just thought I would throw this out there as a really great example of the opposite of what you are talking about. Blue Ruin is an amazing revenge thriller where the guy getting revenge feels like a regular person with regular person skills. An amazing edit from the movie that illustrates this point(Spoilers): The main character has an arrow in his leg. He dumps a disinfectant on it to a lot of pain. He moves pliers to the arrow to start yanking it out. Just as he starts to pull, cut to hospital.

Home Alone

I came in here to post this and was shocked that it wasn't like the first thing mentioned.

Has anyone mentioned Death Proof?

Busta Rhymes in Halloween H20

Under Siege.

Home Alone.

Any Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Rambo 4 is kinda like this

PREDATOR

Thanks everyone. updated the list again, and added some suggestions I thought of and local friends made. Can't believe I didn't think of the entire Marv story in Sin City. That's nearly the epitome of this type of thing beyond John Wick.

....Rambo?

Also, A History Of Violence.

Malice is a good example of a neo-noir that meets your criteria.

Also, lots of classic film noir could fit, but I'm not sure if you're interested in older films.

@sweep: First blood was suggested, I just forgot to throw it up there. A History of Violence is a good suggestion.

Edit: now that I think of it, that's a great suggestion. It's also an awesome movie. Viggo Mortensen plays an awesome not-quite-good guy (even in The Prophecy)

SALT? That movie is dumb but it kinda starts off with you thinking that Angelina Jolie is falesly accused of being a spy and then holy shit she is a Russian spy. I can't remember how it resolves though.

Wouldn't the title to this post legitamately be the plot for every single action movie? If the main character victim sucked they'd probably would of been killed off in the first 10 minutes.

The Last House on the Left ...also RIP Wes Craven

@sweep: William Hurt was the true underdog saving an otherwise mediocre movie.

Law Abiding Citizen sounds up your alley.

What a weird request.

The Crow, lol?

Denzel's The Equalizer was pretty boring. There was never a point when he was in any danger.

Silance of the lambs. Hannibal was much smarter than the cops.