Top 5 Cinematic Gunslingers

From the Wild West to Outer Space, cinema is littered with amazing gunslingers. Cold-eyed, and steel jawed, these gun toting characters usually operate on the wrong side of the law, but soon win the audience over with their talent with a firearm. Some are the quickest draws, others can dance their way through a room, and some make their signature weapon as iconic as them. The similarity is they all look effortlessly cool whilst doing it. The gunslinger has become a cinematic main stay, and in honour of this I have chosen my top five gunslingers in cinema. Let me know what you think of my list. Have I missed out your favourite? What would your top five be? 

5. Han Solo

Yes, I know, Han shot first, but that's what makes him such a great gunslinger. He doesn't wait to be on the opposite side of the blast. The first Star Wars character to get his own movie. I'm in the camp that really enjoyed Solo, a chance to see how this cocksure pilot became the coolest man in the galaxy. Never far away from his iconic blaster, Han could have been plucked straight out of a western, and is played with such charm and swagger by both Harrison Ford and Alden Ehrenreich,  that every Star Wars fan grows up wishing they could be him. Many films have tried to replicate his success with a Han like character, hell Chris Pratt has made a career out of it, but none measure up to the original. 

4. John Wick

No one makes clearing a room full of hostile look as good as Keane Reeves does as John Wick. When people use the term bullet ballet they're usually not referring to the 1999 Taiwanese film, but to the way gun fights are now shot with a rhythm and pace. No one exemplifies this more than John Wick, who moves and operates his weapon with such precision and grace, it is easy to compare him to a dancer. It's this winning combination that makes him so dangerous. Elegantly dealing out headshot after headshot. 

3. Doc Holliday

Looking like death warmed up, Doc Holliday is a gunslinger in the classic sense of the word. Throughout cinematic history, Doc has been portrayed by many actors, but it's Val Kilmer who gets my vote. Drinking himself stupid, and on the verge of death by tuberculosis, he swaggers through Tombstone knowing that no other man can get the better of him, and proves it time and time again with his quick draw and impressive marksmanship.

2.The Lady

The Quick and The Dead might not be the greatest western ever made, but Sam Raimi's homage to the spaghetti western did give us one truly iconic character in Sharon Stone's The Lady. Stone gives one of her best performances to date, and shows the boys how it's done. She is a classic gunslinger in every sense of the word as she sets out to avenge her fathers death. Hollywood should take note, female gunslingers are bad ass. 

1.The Man With No Name

Who else was it going to be? As soon as you think gunslinger, as soon as you describe cold eyed, and steel jawed, your mind jumps to Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leon's Spaghetti Western trilogy. Every character on this list is inspired by him in some way, with Sharon Stone's The Lady practically being a female version of him. His impact is felt all over pop culture Stephen King's Gunslinger is based off of him, and we wouldn't have Rick in The Walking Dead without him. looking both deadly and cool at the same time, Eastwood proved that little dialogue was no obstacle on the way to becoming iconic. Many have tried to follow in Eastwood's shoes, but none quite manage to look as good as him whilst holding a gun. 

I hope you've enjoyed my list of Top Five gunslingers. Agree with me, or disagree with me, I'd love to know what your top five is. 

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