While there are many cinematic visions of the future that tease a bright utopia, it’s far easier to find dystopian movies that explore the darkest parts of society in a world struggling to rebuild after an apocalypse or rebelling against a totalitarian ruling class. These movies highlight our own fears of how far society could fall, which make the unique brand of dystopian heroes shine even brighter.
There are a number of dystopian and post-apocalyptic movies that have introduced heroes that are perfectly suited for their time, who have likely fought for survival at every step of their lives. These are a few of the strongest heroes who have appeared in dystopian movies who are the best at making a bad situation better.
10 Ben Richards Was Framed And Forced To Survive For Entertainment In The Running Man
1987’s The Running Man starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as a former military captain named Ben Richards, who was framed for a massacre after he refused the orders to kill innocent civilians from a corrupt government police state that was controlled by the media.
Richards briefly escaped from imprisonment, only to be caught again and forced to fight for survival in a televised game that served to entertain and distract the general public. Richards and his fellow escapees were pitted against over-the-top gladiators in an arena under the remains of Los Angeles while the resistance attempted to expose the show’s lies and the government’s corruption.
9 Waterworld’s The Mariner Was An Aquatic Mutant Fighting To Survive Ecological Devastation
Kevin Costner starred as the nameless Mariner in 1995’s Waterworld, which was set on an Earth that had been flooded after the polar ice caps melted. The survivors of the cataclysmic event adapted over time to either sail the endless oceans or form together on floating atolls, while some like the Mariner began to mutate and evolve to better suit the world.
The Mariner had gills and webbed feet that allowed him to live both above and below the water, giving him an edge in battle with the destructive nomads known as the Smokers who threatened the last way of life left in the flooded world.
8 Katniss Everdeen Used Her Archery Skills To Help Lead A Rebellion Against A Fascist Ruler
The Hunger Games franchise introduced Katniss Everdeen to the big screen as a contestant in a new wave of televised survival games held by the fascist government to keep the various struggling districts of the dystopian world in line while the elite wager on the games in luxury.
Katniss was skilled with a bow and arrow, giving her an edge against some of the other competitors in the games, though her true strength came in the ability to inspire others to fight against the corrupt Capitol and free the districts that suffered under the rule of President Snow.
7 The Book Of Eli’s Titular Hero Was A Skilled Survivor With A Mission In A Post-Apocalyptic Future
In a post-apocalyptic society struggling to rebuild after a nuclear holocaust decimated the world, a man with a mission worked his way across the country in 2010’s The Book of Eli. The titular hero was the caretaker of a prized book that was revealed to be a copy of the Holy Bible, which was sought by a criminal warlord who hoped to use it to extend his control over the decimated world.
Eli (played by Denzel Washington) was a highly-skilled fighter who was capable of taking on the roving gangs of survivors, which was made all the more impressive when it was ultimately revealed that he was blind. Eli’s strength of character, belief in his convictions, and the faith that drove him were all strong qualities that allowed him to persevere in the dystopic society.
6 Max Rockatansky Survived The Fall Of Society To Become The Legend Known As Mad Max
Mel Gibson starred as Max Rockatansky in the hit Mad Max franchise that followed the former police officer as he dealt with the collapse of society, the loss of his family, and the resulting post-apocalyptic society. Tom Hardy later took over the role for 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road from franchise director George Miller.
He became a road warrior who wandered the wasteland, his legend building as he begrudgingly helped the various encampments he encountered in his travels. While Max didn’t have any enhanced abilities, his skills as a survivor and his brilliant tactical mind gave him an edge in the dry and barren world that had turned savage after the fall of society.
5 Snake Plissken Was Forced To Take On Multiple Missions By The Corrupt Government He Abandoned
John Carpenter’s Escape From New York introduced fans to Kurt Russel’s Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces operative who turned his back on the corrupt government who hunted him down. He was frequently forced to undertake missions whenever he was recaptured, which usually resulted in him entering closed-off cities that were turned into lawless prison colonies.
Plissken was highly trained and skilled with advanced tech and weaponry, which allowed him to not only survive the deadly cities like Manhattan Los Angeles that he was forced to escape but also outwit the military and expose the corrupt presidency.
4 Dredd Was The Next Generation Of Law Enforcement In A Crime-Ridden Mega-City One
While the original 1995 adaptation, Judge Dredd, captured the comics’ cramped, dangerous, and overpopulated streets of Mega-City One a bit more accurately than the 2012 remake, Dredd, there’s no doubt that Karl Urban brought the titular Judge Dredd to life the best.
The futuristic law enforcement officer represents a simplified system of justice that allows the officers to act as judge, jury, and executioner, and Judge Dredd is a legend among his other Judges. He’s well-trained, brutally dedicated to the law, and has a steel resolve that keeps him fighting for justice in a world so filled with crime that he is barely scratching the surface.
3 RoboCop Was The Corporate Answer To Police Strikes And Rising Crime Rates In OCP’s Detroit
Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic, RoboCop, explored a not-too-distant future where the city of Detroit had been forced to allow a megacorporation known as Omni-Consumer Products to privatize the police and other government operations. This was in direct response to the rising crime rates that led to a police strike, which also inspired the creation of OCP’s RoboCop program.
Fallen officer Alex Murphy was rebuilt using advanced technology that greatly increased his strength and durability while also upgrading his marksmanship ability using computerized targeting systems to further increase his threat level. Murphy was able to break free from OCP’s programming and worked to help the police and the people fight against OCP’s dark plans for Detroit.
2 Battle Angel Alita Was An Advanced Cyborg Fighting To Bring Down An Elitist Floating City
2019’s Alita: Battle Angel adapted the classic manga series and introduced the powerful and deadly cyborg named Alita, who was found in a scrapyard of the ruined Iron City, which lived under the shadow of the floating city of Zalem. Alita is rebuilt and gains a powerful military-created body that she uses first to become a bounty hunter in order to take out other modified humans.
She is an incredibly skilled fighter with a high-tech body that makes her both fast and strong, which she uses to play in the violent Motoball game in order to win public support in her battle to bring down the elitist Zalem society that capitalized on Iron City’s labors.
1 Neo Gained The Ability To Control The Machines’ Artificial World In The Matrix’s Dark Future
Keanu Reeves first starred as a computer programmer named Thomas Anderson in 2001’s The Matrix before he was awakened to the real post-apocalyptic world. Neo was freed from a human battery compound that was created by the sentient machines that had managed to take over the surface of the Earth after it was destroyed in a war with humanity.
He was prophesied as the One, which meant he was able to control and manipulate the code that ran through the virtual reality used by the machines to keep humanity under control. Neo had enhanced strength, the ability to fly, and access to every fighting style that could be downloaded into his brain. He also began to develop the ability to control machines while in reality.
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