Top 10 Baddest Badass Movie Dads of All Time

Written by Nix June 20, 2010 Posted In » Featured, Featured Movie Articles

World's Greatest Dad

Dads. What WON’T they do for us? Well if you’re like the dads on our list, then you’ll do just about anything and everything to make sure we’re safe and sound and tucked away in our beds at night. Failing that, they’ll probably end up killing lots of people at an outrageous pace. That’s one thing the Dads on our list have in common: they have the means, the know-how, and most of all, the cajones to do what is necessary to not only get their kids back, but to bury the sorry suckers that tried to harass them in the first place. So, in honor of Father’s Day, here is the Top 10 Baddest Badass Movie Dads of All Time.

10. Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (“The Incredibles”/Craig T. Nelson)

Let’s start off our list with an easy one: Sure he’s just a CG creation, but thanks to the usual Pixar excellence, Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible is probably as real as most of the badass dads on our list. You don’t get any tougher than an ex-superhero hiding out in the suburbs, just barely able to contain his need to smash things and break stuff. So when it comes time to kick ass and take names, no one does it better than an invulnerable superhero. Plus, he’s got able assist from a stretchy wife and two superpowered kids, giving him a clear advantage over any foe. Okay, so this is more of a “Don’t we all wish our dads were superheroes?” entry. Call it a Fantasy Dad instead of an actual Badass Dad.


9. Clyde Shelton (“Law Abiding Citizen”/Gerard Butler)

So pissed off when bad guys break into his house and kill his wife and kid, Clyde Shelton spent the next few years honing the skills to kill people for America’s shady intelligence agencies. But it didn’t take him long to return to Philadelphia and begin a campaign of terror not only against the two criminals responsible, but also the entire city for letting the bad guys get off in the first place. Just to make his point, Shelton blew up a dozen District Attorneys and kills a judge. And that’s just for starters. Talked about one pissed off dad!


8. Tom Mullen (“Ransom”/Mel Gibson)

When bad guys kidnap his son for ransom, self-made millionaire Tom Mullen thinks about paying — for a couple of seconds, then he goes on TV and puts a bounty on the bad guy’s heads! Now that’s what I call balls. Of course, soon after Tom regrets his decision, but you gotta admit, turning the tables on the bad guys took guts. Tell me you’d have the balls to do what he did, and I’m calling you a big fat liar.


7. John McClane (“Live Free or Die Hard”/Bruce Willis)

New York’s toughest cop John McClane didn’t get a kid until the fourth “Die Hard” movie, “Live Free or Die Hard”. Fortunately for New Yorkers, having a teenage daughter (and not to mention a computer nerd tagging along) didn’t slow down John McClane any as he battled high-tech terrorists this time around. Sure, eventually the daughter got captured by the bad guys and used as bait, as inevitably happens when your dad is basically unstoppable, but that’s all just part of being a supercop like John McClane.


6. Paul Kersey (“Death Wish”/Charles Bronson)

When bad guys invade his house, kill his wife and rape his daughter, mild-mannered New York architect Paul Kersey decides to pick up a gun and exact a little payback. Three hundred and fifty sequels later, Paul Kersey has dispatched enough bad guys to populate an entire country, and it all started because some punks decided to knock on his family’s home. Never, ever fuck with Paul Kersey’s family.

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  • z0r1n

    I think Samuel L. Jackson deserved a place somewhere !!!!! (Pulp fiction)

  • Elvis

    What about Micheal Douglas in Falling Down.. He rips a city apart just to give his child a birthday presant!!

  • ErickKwon

    Great list except no Jack Bauer?–what gives? But I think after “Ransom,” “Edge of Darkness,” “Mad Max,” and “The Patriot,” Mel Gibson's got this to himself.

  • http://www.originalgeekspodcast.com/ Dedpool aka Jiinx

    You have one pairing of Jet Li with Xie Mao (the badass little boy) but you don't have their first team up as father and son “The Legend of The Red Dragon.” Xie Mao was even younger.

  • http://www.beyondhollywood.com/ Nix

    Ahem. MOVIE dads.

  • http://www.originalgeekspodcast.com/ Dedpool aka Jiinx

    And why hasn't there been a remake of “Lone Wolf and Cub?” I'd love to see that remade with like Ken Watanabe, Chow Yun Fat or even Jet Li, or Donnie Yen. Or hell a re-imagining of it in like a post apocalyptic setting.

  • ErickKwon

    D'oh!

  • http://www.beyondhollywood.com/ Nix

    Never saw that one…

  • http://www.originalgeekspodcast.com/ Dedpool aka Jiinx

    Also known as “New Legend of Shaolin” it's a classic.

  • http://www.originalgeekspodcast.com/ Dedpool aka Jiinx

    When was Jules mentioned as a Dad?