Tangerine – In Cinemas Friday – Revenge Films
Oh, sweet revenge. There’s always been a fascination with revenge in movies, we all love seeing a hero finally get their payback or watching a villain finally pay for their crimes.
In the new movie “Tangerine” we follow Sin-Dee and her best friend Alexandra as they track down Sin-Dee’s cheating boyfriend and make him fess up to his mistakes.
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee (newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend (James Ransone, STARLET, “Generation Kill”) hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra (newcomer Mya Taylor), embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
To get ready for the juicy revenge to come, we’ve made a list of some of the best, most unique, and weirdest revenge films in movie history...
1. Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2
“Revenge is a dish best served cold”
Where better to start than Kill Bill? From the first shot of The Bride lying on the ground, beaten and in tears, to the final shot of Beatrix Kiddo and her child, finally free of Bill, this movie is truly a roller coaster of emotions. Playing out in non-chronological order, we see Uma Thurman go from victim to the being the ultimate downfall of everyone who betrayed her and stood in the way of her and her daughter. With Tarantino’s trademark dialogue and some heavy inspiration from a variety of genres like anime or the western, this film has jumped to the top of countless best revenge movie ever lists. The Bride slices her way through everyone, men and women of varying character, all to get to the man who put her in a coma, Bill. With some of the most stylish action ever put to the screen, Kill Bill is Tarantino unleashed, and no one is safe.
2. Oldboy
“Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone”
A classic that recently was given an American remake, Oldboy dives into darker places than any other film on this list would dare go. If you haven’t seen this film, be warned, it is an intense, harrowing experience. The story of a man who is imprisoned in a small room for 15 years without any reasoning from anyone, he is suddenly thrust back into the world, where he sets out to take revenge for his imprisonment. As the movie unfolds, we learn that this seemingly reasonless crime goes much further back is far more devastating than anything imagined. The film is based on a manga of the same name and sprung to notoriety in the early 2000s for its unapologetic violence and absolutely shocking twist ending.
3. Django Unchained
“Kill white people and get paid for it? What's not to like?”
Another incredible revenge flick from Tarantino, Django is actually considered a “southern” instead of a western because of both its location in the deep south and the way it deals with racial issues that aren’t usually dealt with in big action films such as this one. Django is a rare kind of film, able to be nasty and mean at one time, while a minute later being absurdly funny and weird. Have you ever seen any other movie that features a full shootout with 2pac music playing in the background only for the director to appear in a cameo a few minutes later doing possibly the worst Australian accent ever put to film? That’s the magic of Django, all tied together by a man given a rare opportunity to take back his freedom and take down a man with absolutely no regard for human life, the disgusting Calvin Candie (Leonardo Dicaprio). When Django finally manages to take his full revenge, it’s a triumphant moment that the entire film has been building to.
4. Nine to Five
“Well, I say we hire a couple'a wranglers to go upstairs and beat the shit out of him.”
A far less violent instalment in this list than previous examples, Nine to Five is one of the classic workplace comedies. The film follows Judy (Jane Fonda), a woman who is forced to go back to work after her husband leaves her for his secretary. Judy gets a job as a secretary for a man who’s sexist behaviour drives three of the women in his employ to collude to exact revenge on him. The movie is a series of increasingly absurd scenarios in which the girls have to use their combined wits to stay out of trouble while also making life easier for everyone at their office. The film is a riot and thanks to some excellent performances from not just the classic pairing of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin but also the addition of Dolly Parton, the movie is able to rise above the ranks of other workplace comedies to become a true classic of its genre.
5. The Princess Bride
“Hello, My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Featuring what is arguably the most memorable revenge line of all time is just another amazing quality to this classic film. The Princess Bride features a young boy being told a fantastical story by his grandfather: A story of “fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chase, escapes, true love, and miracles”. One of the characters in this story is Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). A swordsman who has dedicated his life to tracking down and killing the six fingered man (also known as Prince Humperdink), who put an end to his father’s life. In his travels he meets up with many characters including hero and dread pirate Wesley (Cary Elwes) as well as friend and giant Fezzik (Andre The Giant). The Princess Bridge is renowned the world over for being a warm funny and romantic film watchable by anyone, and the revenge subplot provides some of the most rousing moments of all.
6. John Wick
“You can either hand over your son, or you can die screaming alongside him!”
A more recent entry into the pantheon of all time great revenge films, John Wick is thought of as being the film that put Keanu Reeves back into the public spotlight after a string of box office bombs. In the title role of John Wick, Keanu plays a grieving ex-hitman who is drawn back into his old life when his new puppy is killed and his car is stolen by the son of his former partner. John sets out with only one goal: get revenge. In John’s quest, we gain access to an entirely fascinating underground world of criminals involving gold coins, underground secret nightclubs, and a hotel catering exclusively to assassins. With humour, clean action and style for days, John Wick has redefined the revenge thriller and reawakened the public’s love for Keanu Reeves.
7. John Tucker Must Die
“Dude, I'm deep. I'm dating the poetry club.”
A modern classic revenge film, this movie also has the benefit of being so squarely of its time that it works as a relic of mid 2000s America. After starting school in a new town, Kate (Brittany Snow) notices that town heartthrob John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) has been dating three different girls at the same time. When the girls become aware of their predicament, they decide to team up to make John Tucker’s life a living hell. After convincing him he has herpes and pumping him with estrogen, the girls decide the best way to break John is to break his heart, so they decide to use Kate as their inside man. In the end, John Tucker becomes a changed man, and is exposed to the entire community.
8. Rocky IV
“I must break you”
In what is commonly referred to as “The one where Rocky ends communism”, Rocky IV is the instalment where the series goes full loony, but that’s not a bad thing. The film begins with a shocking event: In an exhibition match, Rocky’s best friend and rival, Apollo Creed, is killed in the ring by Russian monster Ivan Drago. To avenge both his friend and his country, Rocky agrees to fight Drago in an unofficial match in Russia on Christmas Day. This movie has everything, servant robots, James Brown, a bearded Sylvester Stallone climbing a mountain, and lines such as “I must break you”. The real kicker has to be at the conclusion when, after beating the unbeatable man on Christmas Day, Rocky tells the people of Russia “If I can change, you can change. Everybody can change!” and thusly ends the cold war. This film is the apex of 80s action movie craze and still is remembered fondly by those who saw it as kids for its absolute insanity. Rocky IV can’t be described as a great movie, but it’s surely one of the most memorable revenge films ever made.
9. Taken
“If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.”
The movie that turned Liam Neeson from indie film darling to the most badass man on the planet, Taken follows ex CIA officer Brian Mills as he tracks his daughter, who has been kidnapped while following U2 in Europe, through a disturbing underworld filled with crime and sex slaves. Originally, Taken was intended to be a minor film, Neeson was positive that it would just be a small detour in his career and would go straight to DVD. No one could have anticipated the success the film would achieve and what a major impact it would have on Neeson’s career. Taken created a renaissance for the “older man on a mission” genre that is still going strong to this day, with actors like Sean Penn or Denzel Washington attempting to show off their moves. The Taken franchise is still going strong, with Tak3n coming out earlier this year and a Taken prequel series recently being announced, Taken is showing no signs of slowing down.
10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
“At last, my arm is complete again”
A return to form for the legendary pairing of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeny Todd tells the story of a barber (Depp) who seeks revenge on the man who had him falsely imprisoned (Alan Rickman). Returning many years after his imprisonment, Todd returns a changed man. He strikes up a partnership with piemaker Mrs. Lovett and together, they resolve to bring in the richest and most deserving of death in London to sit in Todd’s chair. Before this film, Johnny Depp had never sung in a film before, and refused to get formal lessons, instead he would sing on the set of Pirates of The Caribbean 3. While the film has an undeniable Burton feeling, it’s notable that Stephen Sondheim, the original writer of the musical, considers Sweeny Todd one of the only adaptations of his work that he enjoys watching. A cultural touchstone for an entire generation of goth kids, Sweeny Todd has proven it’s staying power as both a film and a play.
TANGERINE IS IN CINEMAS FRIDAY
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