Top 10 Action Heroes with the Highest Kill Counts
#10: John Matrix
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“Commando” (1985) Released at the height of Arnie’s cultural dominance, “Commando” is one of the most gonzo action movies of the ‘80s. The action star plays John Matrix, a retired Special Forces Colonel who must rescue his kidnapped daughter from a team of mercenaries. This set up gave Schwarzenegger permission to blow things up and kill people for ninety minutes. While Matrix drops a lot of bodies along the way, he really ramps up his count when he attacks the enemy base solo. Matrix's body count is a little difficult to gauge due to the sheer amount of carnage near the end. However, many sources put it in the 80s. Either way, it’s a great number for a one-man army.
#9: John Preston
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“Equilibrium” (2002) “Equilibrium” stars Christian Bale as John Preston, a martial arts expert who leads a resistance movement in a dystopian future. The totalitarian city-state of Libria suppresses its citizens’ emotions with psychoactive drugs. Preston eventually sees to its destruction with lots of fancy hand-to-hand combat and gun play. The film contains a staggering 236 deaths, which is about two deaths per minute of screen time. Of course, Preston himself is responsible for a good chunk of the movie’s body count, accounting for 118 of its 236 deaths. We guess a peaceful revolution is out of the question.
#8: Mr. Smith
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“Shoot 'Em Up” (2007) With a title like that, you can bet that Mr. Smith has a high body count.“Shoot ‘Em Up” stars Clive Owen as the enigmatic Smith, a quiet drifter who protects a baby from a team of assassins. “Shoot ‘Em Up” packs lots of gunplay and very creative kills during the movie’s brisk 86 minutes. Smith kills 141 people throughout the film, accounting for about one and a half deaths per minute. He gets to this staggering amount with a bunch of bullets and at least one carrot. If you need a babysitter that will give over 100 people a one way ticket to the grave to protect a kid, you might want to hire Mr. Smith.
#7: James Braddock
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“Missing in Action” Franchise (1984-88) Chuck Norris shines as Colonel James Braddock, a man who very violently rescues POWs from Vietnam war camps. The first movie bears many resemblances to “Rambo: First Blood Part II”. But the film managed to dodge the comparisons and earn both a prequel and a direct sequel. Norris certainly gets to work taking down bad guys throughout the trilogy, and by the time the credits roll on “Missing in Action III,” Braddock has killed 146 bad guys. It’s a solid average of about fifty kills per movie. Taken as a whole, it’s very obvious that Braddock is one deadly dude.
#6: Frank Castle
“The Punisher” Franchise (1989-) Frank Castle is definitely not as forgiving as most of the Marvel superheroes. Rather than knocking goons out or breaking their bones, Castle commits to filling them with lead. Between three movies, The Punisher has killed just around 173 people. Thomas Jane’s version of the character managed to remove 23 people from planet earth. Years earlier, Dolph Lundgren’s Castle took out an impressive 70 baddies. To date, Ray Stevenson is the deadliest cinema Punisher. He managed to dispatch more than 80 people throughout “Punisher: War Zone.” Thanks to a combination of guns, fists and at least one rocket launcher, Stevenson ensured the antihero was one of the deadliest in the genre.
#5: John Wick
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“John Wick” Franchise (2014-) Thanks to “John Wick” and its sequels, we got to see Keanu Reeves reemerge as one of the best action stars. Although he starts the franchise as a retired assassin, a brutal attack brings him back into the field to enact deadly vengeance. The first three movies see Wick kill anywhere from 299 to 306 people. Admittedly, numbers vary on the first movie’s body count, with some sources claiming 77 and others 84. The sequels have a more agreed-upon toll, with “John Wick 2” scoring a series high 128 deaths, and “John Wick: Parabellum” coming up a little shy with 94. They don’t call him Baba Yaga for nothing.
#4: Ogami Ittō
“Lone Wolf and Cub” Franchise (1972-74) The early 70s saw the release of the “Lone Wolf and Cub” franchise, which consisted of six movies. These movies were based on a popular Japanese manga about a deadly assassin and his young son. Tomisaburo Wakayama starred as Ogami Ittō, the titular lone wolf who does battle against the Yagyū clan. The sixth and concluding chapter, “Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell,” sees Ittō killing an unbelievable 150 people, which was a world record for many years. Throughout all six films, Ittō took the lives of well over 500 individuals, making him the deadliest action movie protagonist with a sword.
#3: John Rambo
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“Rambo” Franchise (1982-) Sylvester Stallone portrayed the iconic action hero throughout much of his career. And unlike many, he actually got deadlier as he got older. Throughout all five movies, Rambo killed 490 people on screen. Basically, this one-man army has killed his own small army. Rambo’s death toll increases throughout the franchise. He kills just one person in the first movie, 75 in the second, 115 in the third, and a head-shaking 254 in the fourth. He slowed down a bit in the fifth and final movie, killing “just” 46. His “Rambo” death toll of 254 is a current record for the highest kill count for a character in a single movie.
#2: James Bond
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The “James Bond” Franchise (1962-) For a secret undercover spy, James Bond is not subtle about the enormous trail of bodies he leaves behind. Let’s break it down. Connery’s Bond killed 68 people, with 21 of them coming from “You Only Live Twice.” Lazenby killed six in his singular movie. Roger Moore, despite being quite goofy, racked up a kill count of 121. Timothy Dalton held his own with 20 kills, and Pierce Brosnan followed this up with 103. Finally we come to the deadliest Bond of all in Daniel Craig, who killed just over 300 people throughout his tenure. “Spectre” is easily his most violent outing, as he dispatched 235 bad guys. All told, Bond has killed an estimated 663 people throughout his half-century on screen.
#1: The Expendables
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“The Expendables” Franchise (2010-) This franchise was made to honor the glory days of the action genre - that is, the 1980s. All the big stars are here and in top deadly form, including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even Jean-Claude Van Damme. Unsurprisingly, this incredible cast kicked up a massive and unprecedented body count. Throughout the first three films, the Expendables took the lives of approximately 1,190 people. Both the second and third movies averaged about 480 kills. Even the relatively tame first entry contained an eye-popping 221. When these legends united, they truly outdid themselves and created a count that’s hard to top.
