The Rundown: The Anti-Hero List

Sometimes in movies, the good guy isn't really a good guy; they can actually be bad guys or just regular guys and that's fitting, because life isn't always black and white enough to clearly delineate the good guys and bad guys.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of these kinds of characters - flawed individuals that you route for regardless of the situation. Whether they remind us of ourselves or are simply too compelling to truly despise as clear cut antagonists often are, there is something more enjoyable about a quality anti-hero than a cookie cutter good guy. At least in my books.

On that note, welcome to today's Rundown.

Top Five Cinematic Anti-Heroes

5. Rob Gordon, High Fidelity

John Cusack took Nick Hornby's record store owner and gave him life on screen, creating a first rate anti-hero out of the relationship sabotaging Rob Gordon.

No one caused Rob's problems; he brought them unto himself by being afraid of his relationship and unhappy with his station in life. Raise your hand if you know what that's like.

For the record, my hand is raised... and I'm guessing at one point or another in your life, you should have been raising your hand too.

4. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Let's get one thing clear: robbery is against the law and in the real world, those who commit these crimes are not the type of people you openly route for.

That being said, it's damn hard to not cheer fro Paul Newman and Robert Redford in these titular roles when the chemistry and charisma they exhibit ranks right up there with the best in movie history.

3. Nick Naylor, Thank You For Smoking

Aaron Eckhart's character in this way too under-watched flick is the chief lobbyist for the tobacco industry, a villain if ever there was one. He's the guy who tries to convince people that there is no actual proof that smoking causing cancer and things like that.

The problem is that he's so damn charming and easy to like that you can't help but root for him, even though he spends half of the movie (and the book from which it was adapted) looking for ways to promote smoking, like having movie stars smoke more in their films.

You want to beat the hell out of the anti-smoking guerrillas who kidnap him at one point (sorry if I just spoiled part of the movie, but you should have seen it already) despite the fact that we all dislike the real life version of Naylor, the guy who spins research into a favorable light for "Big Tobacco" to help them make money off misery, addiction and possible death.

2. Hannibal Lector, The Silence of the Lambs

He is a murderous cannibal who eats his victims, yet we're still completely enthralled with Anthony Hopkins' on screen creation. Admittedly, I laugh at the brilliance he displays in escaping confinement so that he may go out, kill and consume Dr. Chilton, the arrogant and off-putting asylum director.

Creating a monster that audiences can become at the very least ambivalent to incredible, and Thomas Harris accomplished just that in the novel, while Hopkins more than did the same in the film.

In fact, he did it so well he took home an Oscar for the role.

1. Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Can a figment of your imagination be an anti-hero? I would say he can when that figment is as entertaining and enjoyable as Brad Pitt's frantic fantasy character from Edward Norton character's mind.

He does deplorable things that we laugh at, like pissing in the lobster bisque and splicing shots of big hair nutsacks into kids movies. Ultimately, he serves as the vehicle for what would be the destruction of the entire financial system the country operates on.

And we love him the entire time.

Who is Tyler Durden? The greatest anti-hero of my cinematic generation...

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