There's no movie character out there quite like an action hero, but that said, as each crowd-pleasing sequel (or not, in the case of the latest Die Hard movie) arrives at our feet, it becomes increasingly more absurd that the central character is going to remain on their feet, or more to the point, alive. These characters should have been put down by the bad guys on countless occasions, but by virtue of their sheer badassery - scratch that, by virtue of studio greed - they keep plodding on, as driven by our nostalgia and admiration for the actors, we keep paying money to go see them kick ass and take names. Here are 10 badass movie characters who should most certainly be in the ground by now, and yet, we can't stop ourselves from watching them...
10. John Rambo
Alright, so in the first and best Rambo film, First Blood, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) isn't really that much of a badass, at least not intentionally. He's a put-upon Vietnam vet who just wants to settle back into society, but he's spat on by most everyone he interacts with, and catches the eye of the authoritarian local Sheriff (Brian Dennehy). There's little question that the weapons arsenal of even a small, sleepy town like this should have been enough to kill Rambo, but he managed to avoid several death-defying moments and just wind up...in custody at the end of the film. The various sequels see him taking up a number of causes either to rescue his precious Colonel or...because the girl in peril is pretty hot. What's clear throughout is that, even as Rambo has aged, his adept skill at reducing hardened soldiers to gibbering wrecks has never waned. Even in the fourth film, a less-mobile Rambo takes to an AA-gun and reduces the opposing side to piles of red slop, regardless of the fact that it should not be difficult to kill one man who is now old enough to be drawing his pension.