1. The Whole Damn Cast Hot Fuzz
It might be seen as a cop-out (terrible pun, I know) to include so many people for the position of most surprising bad-ass on the list, but Jesus Christ, have you seen Hot Fuzz? If you have, youve probably seen it multiple times its just that sort of film. Yet remember back to the first time you watched it did you expect
that final act to happen? If you said yes, youre a liar. Nobody expected what eventually happened, when Britains finest country-bumpkin actors took up their boomsticks to take on super-cop Nicolas Angel and sidekick Danny Butterman. Up until that point, Hot Fuzz had been a parochial comedy with a dark underbelly. But suddenly, it went hell for leather as it turned out everyone in Sanford was capable of wielding deadly weaponry. It was just so damn sudden, and absolutely awesome to boot. You found out the Hotel proprietor was carrying heavy ordinance, that the pub couple kept working rifles above the bar (awesome Shaun Of The Dead in-joke, by the way) and the friendly priest was carrying revolvers up his sleeves. Edgar Wright served up an action sequence to sit up there with some of the greats, and managed to do it with a smattering of pensionable actors, While the finale, featuring Timothy Daltons transformation from uproariously villainous supermarket manager to formidable boxer seriously, he beats the snot out of Angel doesnt quite match the surprise of the village shoot-out, everythings just so brilliant here that you dont care. Frankly, any film that allows Jim Broadbent to become a completely mental town sheriff replete with gunslingers belt and revolvers and hands cannons to Paddy Conisidine and Olivia Colman must be considered a winner. Its completely stark raving mad, and utterly glorious to boot. Plus, the whole thing ends with a swan attack, and I can guarantee that never happened in Bad Boys II, never mind Point Break. Agree or disagree? Can you think of any more? Feel free to comment!