Assassins may appear to be simple-minded, one-dimensional individuals who have no clear conscience over their brutality. However, the interesting element about an assassin is that they could be classified as a hero or a villain, depending on that person's allegiance and behavior towards humanity.
Thanks to characters such as John Wick, James Bond, and Jason Bourne, assassins have become appealing in action pictures due to various fighting techniques, use of weaponry, and their personal histories. Along with the action and physicality, these assassins also have deep internal emotions and motivations pushing them to kill and/or battle their enemies. These in particular make for fascinating characters.
Vincent — Collateral
In Michael Mann's action thriller, Collateral, Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a contract killer who uses a cab driver named Max (Jamie Foxx) to locate and eliminate five targets. Vincent is a cold, calculating villain who has a bleak view of the world, and believes that people need to adapt and improvise in order to survive (referencing Darwin's theory of evolution, "survival of the fittest"). He initially appears like a nice, friendly guy during his initial conversations with Max, but when there are complications in completing his job, Vincent places Max in extreme situations — for example, forcing him to meet other criminals to retrieve information, or he'll kill Max's mother in the hospital.
Vincent is quick and tactical, especially when using a handgun and/or a pistol with a suppressor. He kills his targets by aiming for the center of the body, and then the head. Vincent is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat, which is displayed in a chaotic nightclub scene involving a scuffle between the F.B.I. and one of Vincent's targets (a crime boss protected by several henchmen). Cruise typically plays the hero in his films, but as a lethal killer without remorse, he is the real deal.
Robert McCall — The Equalizer Films
Denzel Washington's Robert McCall perfectly defines "cool," due to the way this character presents himself. He cares about supporting people who feel helpless, from a call girl who's badly mistreated by the Russian mob, to a coworker at a hardware store who wants to become a security guard. The best part about Robert is that he never reveals his true identity to anyone, even though it's evident that he has a military record and special ops training. During fight scenes, Robert likes to time his movements with his stopwatch, perhaps to see if he can still operate at a quick pace.
The Equalizer films led to the reunion of Denzel and director Antoine Fuqua after their powerful work on Training Day, understanding that a character like McCall can be both a good Samaritan and a deadly, enigmatic killer. McCall can hide in plain sight, use various firearms, and sneakily take down groups of enemies. One of McCall's best showdowns occurs at the end of the first film in which he lures villains into his hardware store, using tools and sharp objects to trap and kill them. McCall may be an older assassin, but his efficiency, his deadly stare, and his ability to use every resource at his disposal make him very dangerous.
James Bond 007
Bond is arguably the greatest secret agent of all time (although Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt is close), with twenty-seven films spanning six decades. What makes Bond special is his ability to get himself out of any situation, whether the global threat is by land, air, or sea. Sean Connery has been hailed as the best Bond, which is a fair argument since he made the Walther PPK a great weapon of choice, along with his fighting abilities (flipping guys over and taking on big villains like Oddjob and SPECTRE assassin Donald "Red" Grant). Roger Moore, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton used similar tactics as Connery, while Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig heightened the intensity of the action in their iterations of Bond.
From Russia With Love, Goldeneye, The World Is Not Enough, and Skyfall are prime examples of Bond going up against rogue agents who are just as strong as he is, leading to some physical combat sequences. Along with the fighting and the use of firearms and knives, Bond also effectively uses gadgets and special technology, such as a wristwatch with a laser, an exploding pen, and a high-tech vehicle to distract and surprise his opponents. In recent years, Brosnan, and especially Craig, brought a personal touch to Bond by forcing the character to understand his identity and his flaws, making him more human and caring towards those closest to him.
John Wick
Even in his 50s, Keanu Reeves proves that he can still carry the physical weight of a character like John Wick. He does a majority of his own stunts, making his fight scenes and gunplay as authentic as possible. Wick can use a wide range of weapons, from pistols like the Kimber and Colt models to assault and sniper rifles, as well as sharp objects like knives and a pencil. Similar to Vincent from Collateral, Wick aims for the center and the head when quickly eliminating his targets. Even when Wick has no weapons at his disposal, he uses his martial arts skills to beat guys down and confiscate their guns.
Wick can handle gunshots and stab wounds, and still have the power to fight off his opponents. While killing used to be about money and gold coins, his mission in each film is about vengeance against those who have wronged him, and protecting his personal property (car, house, dog, etc.). Wick's property is important to him because they symbolize special, peaceful memories of the past, including moments with his late wife. When people mess with Wick's life, he'll put a reckoning on them.
Jason Bourne
While John Wick may appear to be the clear-cut favorite in terms of a lethal assassin with a massive body count, no one tops the speed and agility of Matt Damon's Jason Bourne. He doesn't have an arsenal of guns and weapons like Wick, but he is very efficient with only a handgun (and a sniper rifle or larger guns on occasion). Bourne is at his best during hand-to-hand combat, especially when battling other elite assassins, and using a variety of ordinary objects (a pen, a magazine, or a book) to defend himself. His car chases (and crashes) are very intense and some of the best in film history.
Every fight is personal, because everyone is trying to kill him. Bourne desperately wants to understand his identity, and the sins he committed as an assassin in the past. Bourne doesn't ask for forgiveness, but he does everything he can to remember what he did and the people he killed, and to bring down the corrupt agency that trained (and wronged) him. From the original trilogy to the more recent 2016 film, Bourne has had an admirable run and still looks physically strong for another sequel.