The 10 Most Underrated ’90s Movie Heroes!

Robert Vaux came up with his list of the 10 Most Underrated ’90s Movie Heroes.  Vaux’s list is an interesting one, although we only had one hero in common.  Before you click over, below is my list and rationale for my choices of the 10 Most Underrated ’90s movie heroes.

10. Frank Horrigan from In the Line of Fire (1993): Horrigan was a young Secret Service agent who was part of the team assigned to protect President Kennedy the day he was assassinated.  Now he’s older, guilt ridden and determined to save the current President from a clever psycho.  Horrigan could be retired on a beach somewhere, but he’s still willing to give his life to protect the leader of the free world.  Yeah, that’s a hero.

09. Butch Coolidge from Pulp Fiction (1994): Although Butch accepts money to take a dive, he gets two chances to redeem himself (and does both times).  Butch doesn’t follow-through on the set-up.  Later Butch and the a man who wants to kill him are captured by two sadistic rapists.  Butch has a chance to escape but puts his life on the line to save the man who wants him dead.  Wouldn’t you say that qualifies as a hero?

08. Samantha Cain (Charly) from The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996): Samantha begins the movie as a small town school teacher.  We could stop right there since most teachers are heroes.  But if that isn’t enough for you, by the end of the movie the President offers Samantha a chance to return to the CIA.

07. Lornette “Mace” Mason from Strange Days (1995): Mason is a bodyguard who puts her life on the line repeatedly to save a friend.  Hero?  Check.

06. John Patrick Mason from The Rock (1996): Despite being held without a trial for 30 years, Mason agrees to help take down an elite military unit threatening to kill untold thousands.  Qualifies as a hero in my book.

05. Cameron Poe from Con Air (1997): is a former Army Ranger which by itself makes him a hero.  Then when three men attempt to assault his wife, he takes them on.  Hero again, right?  Well, since Poe accidentally kills one and is sent to prison, maybe not.  But when Poe is on a flight of convicts who take over the plane, Poe works to assist the police.  So, hero again, right?

04. William Wallace from Braveheart (1995): William Wallace led the battle to free his Scottish countrymen from the rule of the tyrant King Edward I of England.  Anyone willing to give their life for the greater good is a hero.

03. Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan from The 13th Warrior (1996): Ahmed is a lover and poet.  When he is banished to the North, Ahmed ends up traveling with Viking warriors.  Ahmed, despite his fears, joins the warriors to defend a small village from bearlike human cannibals.  John Wayne said, “The definition of a hero is someone who is scared but saddles up anyway.”  Ahmed qualifies.

02. Freddy Heflin from Cop Land (1997):  When Heflin learns of the corrupt police living in his community, he risks his life to save another cop and expose the criminals.  Heflin does this despite the NY Detective shutting down his investigation and no other cops willing to take a stand.  Heflin is a hero.

01. Hawkeye from Last of the Mohicans (1992): Hawkeye risks his life repeatedly to save others, even people who have wronged him.  Hawkeye even offers his life in exchange for the life of another.  Hawkeye is recognized as an honorable man by his friends and enemies.  If only all heroes were as worthy of the title “HERO” as Hawkeye.