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Twitter’s Favorite Action Hero Dads!
In celebration of Father’s Day, I posed the question on Twitter, “Who are some of the best action hero dads?” Overwhelmingly, the top three choices were John Matrix from Commando, John McClane from Die Hard, and Harry Tasker from True Lies. In addition to those three whom hundreds suggested, here are some more best action hero dads people on Twitter came up with:
- @Pegaso_Saint: Equilibrium , he turns into a good dad in the end.
- @Dave_Willford: More action films with fathers: Robocop, Death Wish, 300, True Lies, Mad Max. All arguably good fathers.
- @anglhededhpster: Jensen in death Race,
- @KellaKnits: #300. Because, seriously, if your dad doesn’t kick other kids’ dads into a bottomless pit once in a while…
- @nastyashman: Lethal Weapon films
- @reggieswing: The Last Boy Scout
- @ocularnervosa: Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) in Con-Air.
- @DSquirrel: Commando with @Schwarzenegger! Father and daughter are feeding a deer together when suddenly… Bam!
- @fangirlcantina: The Mummy 2
- @ninJaeS: Armageddon! Also known as the best action movie ever!
- @KrayzieBuffett: John McClane and Rocky.
- @valdezign: Oh, how about Signs? Man, Gibson was a good movie dad, apparently.
- @ThatSpiderDude: Commando, True Lies, Mad Max, Punisher, Robocop, Unbreakable and maybe Unforgiven.
- @SAssassian: Warrior, Wrath of the Titans, Kick-Ass
- @tom_howcroft: Jean-Claude Van Damme in Sudden Death
- @taziedevil: Better yet, Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk in Star Trek. As brief as it was
#noooooo - @mfbenson1: Finding Nemo, Pursuit of Happyness
- @Dok_Noe: ransom. The patriot.
- @QuesterMark: Charles Bronson, Death Wish movies?
- @James71982: Patriot Games with the ultimate action hero Dad Harrison Ford.
- @Infected_Pixie: Indiana Jones (3rd & 4th), The Mummy Returns, Tron Legacy, I’d say both Boondock Saints (Billy Connolly) But that’s just me!
Indy and his father might have gone years without seeing each other at times, but it’s not like they could text each other back then.
- @reyford1: delta force with chuck norris
- @Voleki: Patriot Games
- @MartindeBruin74: Hugh Jackman “Swordfish,” Johnny Depp “Nick of Time,” Clint Eastwood “The Outlaw Josey Wales”
- @wyldride: Does Kyle Reese in Terminator count?
- @AhmadChildress: ID4, The Rock, pacino in heat…
- @shigy_and_kanu: Jet Li’s My Father is a Hero & The New Legend of Shaolin.
- @valdezign: Nick Cage in Kick-Ass to a certain extent, but not for the majority of the film.
- @DCLascelle: The Jack Ryan movies.
- @clinton_o: True Lies, Superman Returns.. That’s all I can think of.
- @taziedevil: King Leonidas was a father and hero in 300! Mental blank other than that. #ThisIsSpartaaaa
- @Sardis_Oreily: Lethal Weapon. (Glover’s character)
- @mightyjoewhite: Robocop!
- @LeninCeb: It may not be an action film per se, but Finding Nemo kicks butt nonetheless
- @Sardis_Oreily: Equilibrium
- @kristenmchugh22: Unbreakable.
- @cohencide: it’s the father of father son action. There’s a Mummy sequel and 2 Indiana Jones sequels too.
- @PhilRedbeard: Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon(s). I wanted to be in that family.
- @ToryTwinkel: true lies!
- @valdezign: War of the Worlds (2005)
- @taziedevil: Taken is tops! All i can think of is 300, King Leonidas!!
- @VanAllenPlexico: Incredibles
- @KeefBoyd: Jean-Claude Van Damme in Sudden Death
- @cohencide: Return of the Jedi
- @valdezign: Ransom
- @Ps3y3Ops: The Patriot (Steven Seagal)
- @funkchild75: Oh yeah, Independence Day. :0)
- @amimoys: bruce willis’ character in armageddon
- @PtrsonsZOO: Hellfighters
- @funkchild75: Face Off, Armageddon, all of the Mummy movies…unless you consider the Mummy set more adventure than action. ;0)
- @davesdogmaggie: con air
- @tusharnene: taken should count 17 times
- @ActionCinema: Bronson/Death Wish, Seagal/Hard To Kill, Van Damme/Sudden Death, Cage/Con Air
- @SteveKuma: Slightly left field but what about D-Fens in Falling Down??
- @LittleJohn312: True Lies, Maximum Risk, and The Incredibles.
- @Sardis_Oreily: True Lies, Face-Off
- @BRW_549: True Lies, Collateral Damage, Last Action Hero, Bad Boys, & Bad Boys 2.
- @Apocalypse2001: #RevengeoftheNinja with #ShoKosugi & his son #KaneKosugi
- @Scoop_adw: A History Of Violence. Pretty sure that counts as an action flick.
- @Ballzy99: How bout Bruce again in Armageddon when he saves the planet for his daughter! Pretty Heroic!
Notice how often Bruce Willis turns up on this list.
- @Carlo_ThChThr: Lethal Weapon, Mad Max, Death Wish, 3:10 to Yuma…
- @davidhoang: John Mason in The Rock!
- @SteveKuma: Independence Day (Bill Pullman), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skulls (WHY OH WHY?)
- @MasterGio: death wish!!!
- @arrville: Star Wars, Lion King(yes I said it), Indiana Jones
- @KeithAllGamer: Any of the earlier Tom Clancy movies featuring Jack Ryan. He was a father in all but the last one.
- @schmoo69: I always loved Roy Scheider (sp?) in Jaws.
- @bsletten: The Road, Lethal Weapon, True Lies, 3:10 to Yuma.
- @listerart: Kill Bill 1 & 2
- @1nickeverhart: The Last Boyscout
- @darc_oso: Oh, Last Action Hero.
- @Kez_Darksun: More antihero, but Unforgiven.
- @TheRealSpiffy01: What about Over the Top?
- @collectionstash: The most important, The Last Crusade.
- @Zombieionism: no one saying patriot w Mel Gibson?
- @listerart: Lone Wolf McQuade
- @whiskeypants: Con Air!
- @Lunachique: Independence Day as well.
- @moviesbybowes: If the protagonist’s wife gives birth, the sequel to THE RAID will.
- @WasteOfChances_ : My Personal Favorite, TRUE LIES!
- @listerart: True Lies, Commando, Lethal Weapon
- @Drakeo2point0: Edge Of Darkness even though it began with a tragedy
- @AEWrites: Will Smith in Independence Day.
- @jeffcouturier: Patriot Games
- @BungleNoMore: John Matrix, Kyle Reese
- @Lunachique: ConAir
- @mrbluelouboyle: Nic Cage in Kick Ass!!!
Ah, Hit-Girl! How many other little girls get to play with real guns and knives for recreation and sport?
- @RustedMecha: Hugo Weaving/Liv Tyler in “Lord of the Rings”; Viggo Mortensen/Son in “The Road”.
- @MartindeBruin74: Tony Goldwyn “Last House on The Left,” Mel Gibson “Mad Max”
- @Furbysbadday: Arnold in Commando, 6th Day and True Lies.
- @FTKL: DMX in Cradle 2 The Grave.
- @ImALegendKiller: Die Hard. Superman Returns!
- @PG_Lee_80s_Baby: the First Terminator movie.
- @RPGOrbit: Star Wars?
- @rickswift: Commando – they took Alysa Milano, big mistake when daddy is Arny.
- @tromboneforhire: Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. That was love, man. That makes him a hero.
- @Nightfly_69: The Last Boy Scout sprang to mind.
- @Quoylette: Jack Ryan
- @SuperbadLarry: Shatner in StarTrek 2&3
- @MartindeBruin74: J.C. Van Damme ”Sudden Death”
- @Rockapotamuss: Donnie Yen in Ip Man 1 and 2
- @johnny_williams: Van Damme is a father in Sudden Death, Hugh Jackman is a father in Swordfish, Bad Boys & Bad Boys 2. Martin’s Lawrence’s character has a few kids.
- @SuperbadLarry: Eric Roberts in Best of the Best
- @LeninCeb: Harrison Ford’s James Marshall character in Air Force One
- @GigawattConduit: Fast Five (technically). Um…that’s about it.
- @IRATEFILMS: Most obvious for me, Red Dawn – “Remember when you were kids and I was hard on you, now you know why.”
- @SuperbadLarry: Harrison Ford in Patriot Games (I think) and in Indy4. Sean Connery in Indy3
- @mangetout: Face/Off manipulates the father theme really nicely
- @DieselBT: If you wanna get technical: Shoot Em Up.
- @DrinkerX: John McClane, Roger Murtaugh, Benjamin Martin
- @SuperbadLarry:Donnie Yen in IronMonkey, Stallone in Rocky III-VI/Over The Top,
- @GaryHamrick: Would Mel Gibson’s character in Ransom qualify? I mean even though it IS Mel Gibson.
- @whitneyd: Air Force One!
- @plcraig: The Incredibles.
- @SuperbadLarry: Arnold in Commando/TrueLies/LastActionHero, Travolta in FaceOff, Wesley in Rising Son, Will in IAmLegend,
- @Darmoth85: I’d say Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) in Death Sentence (2007) was pretty good, though definitely more an anti-hero.
- @AUChief: Every Harrison Ford character after 1992.
- @Thunderbattle: Mel Gibson, for all his faults, totally did not suck in The Patriot.
- @RealKareemAli: Gladiator, Russell Crowe.
- @Saturnsonic: Arnold in Jingle All the Way
- @tomiwk: Indiana Jones!
- @VanAllenPlexico: Air Force One.
- @TheTomNix: Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds count?
- @elorfinthendt: John McClane in Die Hard. Jack Ryan in Patriot Games.
- @justinruff: Schwarzenegger in Commando, Lone Wolf and Cub series
- @OriginalScoreBy: Frequency is a great example of the reverse. Son becomes more of a Hero than even his highly awarded father firefighter.
- @sitnuok: Ford in Indiana Jones had a dad (Sean Connery) and a son Shia LeBuff or whatever his name is.
- @PeterDNinefold: Mel Gibson in Edge of Darkness
- @Zeke_Pinheiro: no one should respond Indiana Jones ( crap I guess I just did). John McLane, Murtaugh, John Matrix.
- @VonGormanArt: Arnold in Commado! Get to DA CHOPPA!
- @CandiedWalnuts: Schwarzenegger does it frequently from Commando to true lies to Collateral Damage(?)
- @SigmaRue: That guy from The Mist? His name escapes me.
I compiled this list of “Action’s Most Ass-Kicking Dads.” Can you think anyone who isn’t on this list but should be?
This is the Action Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!
Twitter: @ActionChick
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