Despite the conversation coming up every time a new film releases, we’re still very much in the superhero era of blockbuster entertainment. Believing in people with extraordinary abilities is still something very appealing to most people. But sometimes it’s fun to take a step back and appreciate when someone who saves the day isn’t a superpowered, benevolent billionaire.
Here are some of the best movies where the hero is just a normal person.
Alien
'Alien' Credit: 20th Century Fox
Ridley Scott’s original 1979 masterpiece is about as chilling a piece of contained sci-fi horror that you can hope to find. The story is a tale as old as time, really. Put half a dozen or so people in a confined space, and let a big scary monster kill them all. Well, almost all of them.
At the center of the film, of course, is iconic action heroine Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. Her portrayal of the character is so important to the modern monster movie that she even earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the character in the film’s sequel, Aliens. While she is far from superpowered in that film, the far more claustrophobic, chamber piece-esque nature of the original film is what fully allows her everywoman persona to shine right through.
She’s a natural leader; she’ll do whatever it takes to survive, and she beats the heck out of a mean AI robot. What’s not to love about Ellen Ripley?
Die Hard
'Die Hard' Credit: Fox
There are very few people out there that could play an action hero as nonchalantly and as ordinarily as Bruce Willis did during his iconic run of roles. As fantastic as performers as they were in their prime, there was always something about Schwarzenegger and Stallone that still felt somewhat physically unattainable. Willis, on the other hand, was in great shape, but you still felt like you could actually be put into the situations he found himself in. Without question, his most iconic action role is John McClane in the Die Hard franchise.
Even though some of the later entries in the franchise leaned a little (or a lot) too much into exaggeration to try and raise the stakes, the first film was built entirely around the fulcrum of “what if a perfectly average guy dealing with perfectly average problems was just forced into the wrong place at the wrong time?” Imitation is the most finest form of flattery, and given the amount of copycats we’ve gotten over the years to the original Die Hard, it’s safe to say that it’s resonated with people far beyond its initial release.
Rear Window
‘Rear Window’Credit: Paramount Pictures
The classic master of suspense and the classic performer of the everyman teamed up more than once during both of their illustrious careers, but Rear Window is arguably the most succinct fusion of both Jimmy Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest artistic strengths.
Much like Die Hard, the appeal of Rear Window stems greatly from being able to single out a fantasy most everyone has found themselves pondering, and making it real without any extra overzealous glitz and glamor. Much like every wannabe macho man has thought about saving their wife from a group of bad guys, basically every person has thought about seeing a crime through a window and solving it on their own. And if Jimmy Stewart can do it in a wheelchair with a broken leg, then by golly I can probably do a pretty good job of it myself!
Collateral
'Collateral'Credit: DreamWorks
I actually watched Collateral for the first time within the last year or so. And my perception of it prior to viewing it was just “the cool action movie where Tom Cruise plays a bad guy”. And while that description is certainly accurate, I don’t want to minimize how moving a film it really is. And so much of that is thanks to Jamie Foxx’s wonderful performance as Max, an ordinary cab driver who finds himself stuck in an impossible situation and forced against his will to save the day.
Where a lot of the other films on this list rely on some form of romanticization of the characters to achieve the connection, Collateral makes it clear that this situation is a burden for Max, and while he certainly learns and grows from it, he does not want to be stuck in it any longer. Aside from the facade of one-liners and cool choreography, it’s still a deeply traumatizing event for him. He definitely earned himself that tropical destination afterwards.
One Battle After Another
‘One Battle After Another’Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Leo is the lead of the film, obviously. But what separates One Battle After Another from many films like it is that it relies on a true ensemble of everymen and women to accomplish their revolutionary goals. DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Chase Infiniti, and many more are equally responsible for the eventual successes and failures of the group.
It’s not like all is magically fixed by the time the film ends, either. But the journey of the ensemble learning to more concretely understand their place amongst the revolution is what is most moving about it. The progress we don’t see is what gives us the most hope for the characters.
