Favourite Characters in cinema.

1. Rocky IV

Rocky Balboa - The Prizefighter with a heart of gold who taught invaluable lessons about determination and compassion to millions! The personification of the word 'underdog'. Someone who would never admit defeat and stop at nothing to show the world what he could do.

2. Collateral

Vincent - The ice cold assassin who never loses control. Cruel, calculating and deadly, any emotions he may have are brutally repressed as he mercilessly prowls the city as a ruthlessly efficient contract killer.

3. Blade Runner

Rick Deckard - The bounty hunter who hides his vulnerability behind a sea of dead pan and a huge side arm. Called out of retirement for one last job, he faces a morality crisis as he comes to terms with his own ambiguous origins and morally dubious occupation.

4. Die Hard

John McClane - Everyone's favourite wise-cracking renegade cop! The classic all-American anti-hero who is seemingly blighted with bad luck throughout his entire life. Goes to extraordinary lengths to protect what is close to him in the most unorthodox and highly quotable way possible.

5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

The T-800 - The indestructible machine that I idolised from a very young age. Sent from the future to protect mankind's only distant chance of survival, the machine manages to learn some distinct human traits and better understand the species that he was originally intended to destroy.

6. Saving Private Ryan

Captain John H. Miller - Tom Hanks as his very best as the soft-spoken squad leader sent on an unimaginable mission across occupied France. He barely manages to hold it together and his fragility makes the battle scenes all the more intense. Never loses his humanity in the brutality of conflict.

7. The Terminator

Kyle Reese - It's good to know that even in the future, there are still legends like Kyle Reese fighting the good fight. Having the unenviable task of defending a hapless woman from the ultimate future killing machine, Reese performs admirably to the death.

8. Desperado

El Meriachi - The wondering enigma who is about as legendary as it gets. Stealthy, slick, stylish and extremely competent with a vast array of firearms, El Meriachi is pretty much a man we all want to be, and not just because of his ability to snare beautiful Mexican honeys.

9. The Truman Show

Truman Burbank - A man whose ignorance and innocence endear him to the whole world. The way he tries to come to terms with what is going on around him is hilarious. From his laborious daily routine to his heroic last stand, Truman is a lovable character throughout.

10. Groundhog Day

Phil Connors - The network weatherman who is a rain-cloud made of comedy gold! Bitter and cynical in everyday life, Connors is punished for his miserable personality and has to relive the same day over and over and eventually transforms from reckless rogue into hero of the town.

11. Seven Samurai

Kikuchiyo - The runt of the samurai litter, but the one member of the troupe who you sympathise with most as he takes the challenge to heart and ends up honouring his reputation.

12. Oldboy

Oh Dae-Su - Driven by an interminable desire for revenge, Oh Dae-Su transforms himself from a worthless drunkard and terrible family man into a lethal weapon hell bent on finding the man who imprisoned him without explanation for 15 years.

13. Angel-A

Andre - The down and out bum whose smart mouth only seems to get him into more trouble. Flitting between utterly hopeless and inspired genius, his life gets turned upside down, and even then he continues to push his luck.

14. Akira

Kaneda - Cocky and heroic in a world that has fallen apart around him. Growing up in a world of utter violence and commercialism, he has wisdom beyond his yeard. Seeing him mop up after the entire city had failed was one of my favourite parts.

15. American Beauty

Lester Burnham - Fuelled by a mild psychosis, Lester manages to blackmail his boss and quit his job with a years salary. He heads right back down the food chain, where he intends to spend the rest of his life without responsibility or stress. The ultimate mid-life crisis.

16. Howl's Moving Castle

Howl - Everyone's favourite moody magician who, behind a veil of flamboyance and over-confidence, is really just a spoiled sulky young man. Being voiced by another hero amongst men aids him in his cause. Definitely a man after my own heart.

17. The Fly

Seth Brundle - A passionate scientific genius who inspires my sympathy. I even empathised with him during his transformation into a hideous beast. Such a tragic character who does his best to maintain humanity to the very last!

18. The Last Samurai

Ujio - One of the fiercest and most loyal of all the samurai following Katsumoto. Quick to anger and utterly determined, he does not make friends easily, but is thoroughly steadfast in his beliefs and honourable in his alliances.

19. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Alistair Hennessey - The smug and ultra-rich rival of Steve Zissou never fails to get the laughs throughout the film. Their bitter feud is comedy gold, and he certainly gets his comeuppance at the end of the film, but we all still love him anyway.

20. Sin City

John Hartigan - The beleaguered noir detective in played to absolute perfection by Bruce Willis. Even with a dodgy ticker and his advancing years, he still rids the world of a vile pervert in style.

21. Carlito's Way

Carlito 'Charlie' Brigante - Al Pacino portrays the street smart and insanely charismatic reformed gangster who just wants to earn an honest living so he can escape his past. His fierce loyalty eventually drags him into increasingly sinister scenarios resulting in a tragic finale. A legend to the end!

22. The Bourne Supremacy

Kiril - The Russian super agent who goads Bourne out of hiding with an attempt on his life and the accidental assassination of his girlfriend. Spends the rest of the film in the company of exotic dancers, before critically wounding Bourne and chasing him through Moscow upon his return to Russia.

23. Battle Royale

Kazuo Kiriyama - A tour de force of sadistic, merciless killing. Kiriyama is warped enough to volunteer for the inhumane and brutal survival contest and in turn, is responsible for the majority of the deaths. Aided by the fact that he looks like the Devil incarnate, some people would kill for that hair!

24. Falling Down

William 'D-Fens' Foster - D-Fens loses it one day when stuck in traffic and embarks on a city-wide rampage as he attempts to make it home to his estranged wife and child. The grime of a broken society stand in his way, sickening him to the point of murder and contributing to his mental downfall.

25. Full Metal Jacket

Animal Mother - An unhinged loon who finds his calling as a heavy machine gunner in the Vietnam War. Unpredictable and angry, he is the most disconcerting member of the platoon, though he is always willing to fight for his friends. His imperious use of the HMG is the stuff of legend.

26. Hero

Broken Sword - In a movie filled with raw beauty, Broken Sword is easily the most beautiful character. Calm, collected and utterly adept with a blade, he is the only character strong enough to plant the seed of doubt in the mind of the unnamed hero - one that ultimately leads to united peace for China.

27. Gladiator

Maximus - Russell Crowe portrays a character that epitomises manhood. Battling through the adversity of a murdered family and a disgraced reputation, he rises the ranks of the gladiatorial arena in search of revenge against Commodus, the unlawful ruler of Rome.

28. The Departed

Dignam - Portraying the explicit, foul-mouthed detective, he was always going to get the laughs; but as the story progresses into a serious and complex plot, he eventually ends up performing the most agreeable execution of the whole film, a killing that makes you thankful that he exists.