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* ''Film/AFarOffPlace'': Colonel Theron, the rifle-wielding head of the anti-poaching patrols, regularly tracks down dangerous poachers (shooting two who draw guns on him in the opening scene) and leads the rescue efforts for the kids. He advocates a hard, no-nonsense approach to dealing with poachers that is at least partially vindicated by the murders of his more peacful associates.
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* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character John Matrix takes this trope to an utter extreme in the movie ''Film/{{Commando}}''. Although his character is a retired Special Forces colonel, Arnie still manages to kick enough ass for several movies.
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* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character John Matrix takes this trope to an utter extreme in the movie ''Film/{{Commando}}''.''Film/Commando1985''. Although his character is a retired Special Forces colonel, Arnie still manages to kick enough ass for several movies.
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* ''Film/AFarOffPlace'': Colonel Theron, the rifle-wielding head of the anti-poaching patrols, regularly tracks down dangerous poachers (shooting two who draw guns on him in the opening scene) and leads the rescue efforts for the kids. He advocates a hard, no-nonsense approach to dealing with poachers that is at least partially vindicated by the murders of his more peacful associates.
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* Colonel Miles Motherfucking Quaritch of ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. He's [[DesignatedVillain obviously]] the [[GeneralRipper villain]], but that doesn't stop him from modding his [[AMechByAnyOtherName AMP suit]] with a gigantic ''combat knife'', or running out into Pandora's toxic atmosphere, guns blazing, without bothering to put a gas mask on. In one instance, it takes him about 11 seconds to react to the fact that he is, in fact, ''on fire''. Quaritch is in fact, so badass he inspires major RootingForTheEmpire.
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* Colonel Miles Motherfucking Quaritch of ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. He's [[DesignatedVillain obviously]] the [[GeneralRipper villain]], but that doesn't stop him from modding his [[AMechByAnyOtherName AMP suit]] with a gigantic ''combat knife'', or running out into Pandora's toxic atmosphere, guns blazing, without bothering to put a gas mask on. In one instance, it takes him about 11 seconds to react to the fact that he is, in fact, ''on fire''. Quaritch is in fact, so badass he inspires major RootingForTheEmpire. For a time, it was ''his'' image [[TropeCodifier that appeared on this trope's main page]].
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* Colonel John Marlowe (Creator/JohnWayne) in ''Film/TheHorseSoldiers''. A railroad construction engineer in his PreWarCivilianCareer, Marlowe is selected to lead a raid behind Confederate lines to destroy a railroad and supply depot at Newton Station.
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* Col. Benjamin Martin in ''Film/ThePatriot''. Single-handedly killed a platoon of Redcoats, including at least three with a tomahawk. Colonel Tavington is an EvilBrit version, kicking the butts of Creator/MelGibson's ragtag Rebel militia.
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* Col. Benjamin Martin in ''Film/ThePatriot''.''Film/ThePatriot2000''. Single-handedly killed a platoon of Redcoats, including at least three with a tomahawk. Colonel Tavington is an EvilBrit version, kicking the butts of Creator/MelGibson's ragtag Rebel militia.
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* Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Does he sit behind and command his troops from the command post? Fuck no! He takes on the Film/{{Transformers}} with them head-on!
** Though he's not a Colonel until the third film.
** Though he's not a Colonel until the third film.
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* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'': Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Does he sit behind and command his troops from the command post? Fuck no! He takes on the Film/{{Transformers}} Decepticons with them head-on!
**head-on! Though he's not a Colonel until [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon the third film.film]].
**
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* In ''Film/TopGun'' the soft-spoken, gruffly avuncular Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, cigar-chomping Commander Tom "Stinger" Jordan provide contrasting, but equally classic, examples of this trope.
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* In ''Film/TopGun'' the soft-spoken, gruffly avuncular Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, cigar-chomping Commander Tom "Stinger" Jordan provide contrasting, but equally classic, examples of this trope. Maverick himself is this in [[Film/TopGunMaverick the sequel]], holding the rank of Captain, which is the Navy's equivalent to a full bird Colonel.
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* ''Film/AFarOffPlace'': Colonel Theron, the rifle-wielding head of the anti-poaching patrols, regularly tracks down dangerous poachers (shooting two who draw guns on him in the opening scene) and leads the rescue efforts for the kids. He advocates a hard, no-nonsense approach to dealing with poachers that is at least partially vindicated by the murders of his more peacful associates.
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* There is a Russian movie named ''The Apocalypse Code'', one of the better Russian action movies, actually, whose protagonist is an ActionGirl serving in the Russian special forces. Obviously, she is a colonel. Which is revealed just before she gets ''serious'', [[RuleOfCool topping all her previous stunts]].
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' features two Colonel Badasses. The first is Colonel Kurtz, who had the credentials to be a general but chose a life in the shit. While fighting in Vietnam, he goes kill-crazy and creates an army of zealots who worship him like a god. The other is [[ColonelKilgore Lt.Col. Bill Kilgore]], a bulletproof badass who surfs in warzones and enjoys the aroma of napalm like a nice cup of joe. In the Redux edition, however, he's taken down a peg after his surfboard is stolen and he broadcasts messages begging for it back.
* ''Film/Armageddon1998'':
** Colonel Willie Sharp, pilot of the space shuttle. [[ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics Can disarm nine-foot-long nuclear weapons with only 20 seconds and minimal assistance]]. Also the only guy trusted with a firearm on the whole vessel (making him the only one badass enough to bring a gun onto a spaceship), and the only guy with enough balls to disobey a ''Presidential order'' for the greater good of the planet.
** Colonel Lev Andropov (Creator/PeterStormare) also qualifies: not only does he save AJ (Creator/BenAffleck) when the space station blows, he also [[PercussiveMaintenance restarts a FREAKIN' space shuttle]]. He also gets most of the best lines in the movie:
--->'''Lev:''' I AM THE ONLY CERTIFIED ASTRONAUT HERE, AND I AM SAVING YOUR AMERICAN ASS!!!
* Colonel Miles Motherfucking Quaritch of ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. He's [[DesignatedVillain obviously]] the [[GeneralRipper villain]], but that doesn't stop him from modding his [[AMechByAnyOtherName AMP suit]] with a gigantic ''combat knife'', or running out into Pandora's toxic atmosphere, guns blazing, without bothering to put a gas mask on. In one instance, it takes him about 11 seconds to react to the fact that he is, in fact, ''on fire''. Quaritch is in fact, so badass he inspires major RootingForTheEmpire.
** So badass that [[spoiler: James Cameron has promised that Quaritch is coming BackFromTheDead to reappear in all the sequels]].
* Lieutenant Colonel Danny [=McKnight=] in ''Film/BlackHawkDown''. He casually walks from a convoy of Humvees to a building, through the open, while Rangers all around him are diving for cover and flinching. He ignores a gunshot wound to his throat that would have opened his carotid artery if it had been a millimeter to the right. After that injury, one of the Rangers tells him he doesn't need to go back out to save the rest of his men. He just smokes his cigar, looks at the guy like he's an idiot, then rides out with the 10th Mountain Division to get the rest of his men.
* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character John Matrix takes this trope to an utter extreme in the movie ''Film/{{Commando}}''. Although his character is a retired Special Forces colonel, Arnie still manages to kick enough ass for several movies.
* Colonel Nicholas Alexander, played by Creator/LeeMarvin in his final performance, was the only man who could possibly give Creator/ChuckNorris' Major Scott [=McCoy=] orders in ''Film/TheDeltaForce''.
%%* Col. Stewart in ''Film/DieHard2''.
* He may have been a PsychoForHire, but Col. Koobus of ''Film/{{District 9}}'' was also incredibly badass. He was consistently shown to be a supremely competent leader of his men, never lost his cool in the heat of battle ([[spoiler:though he did start to lose it when he was bragging to Wikus about killing him]]), showed bravery even in the face of overpowering alien weaponry, and when he [[spoiler:was surrounded by all sides by Prawns, who were going to tear him apart regardless, he ''still'' went down fighting.]]
* Thoroughly averted in ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Group Captain (RAF for Colonel) Mandrake is a bit of a wimp and fails to properly stand up for himself when around other domineering American officers, while US Army Colonel "Bat" Guano does not even understand his own mission, and is instead obsessed with eliminating "preverts."
* Colonel Günther Reza of ''Film/DuckYouSucker'' a SilentAntagonist and ImplacableMan who survives having a bridge dropped on him, a train explosion, and having half a machinegun clip emptied into him before finally going down.
* ''Film/EveOfDestruction'': Colonel Jim [=McQuade=] to a realistic degree. An army veteran, expert marksman and counter-terrorism expert, he's the guy the government calls in to take down a rogue killer android, but he does get pretty banged up over the course of the film.
%%* Col. Nathan R. Jessup, as played by Creator/JackNicholson in ''Film/AFewGoodMen''.
%%-->"You want me on that trope. You ''need'' me on that trope!"
* Colonel Douglas Mortimer in ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'', a former Confederate Army colonel who carries a veritable arsenal with him wherever he goes, and has a personal score with BigBad El Indio.
%%* Lt. Col. Barnsby (played by Creator/HarrisonFord) in ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''.
* Col. Thursday in ''Film/FortApache''... well, sort of... [[spoiler:at least until he orders the infamous Thursday's Charge, which results in the [[SuicidalOverConfidence utter destruction of half the regiment]].]]Thursday is an Expy of George Armstrong Custer, a real-life Colonel Badass, who would be remembered as a great cavalry leader except for one mistake...
* In the movie ''Film/{{Glory}}'', Matthew Broderick plays a RealLife ColonelBadass; in this case Col. Robert Gould Shaw the son of Boston abolitionists who commanded the Union Army's first black troops in the Civil War.
* Col. Andrea Stavros in ''Film/TheGunsOfNavarone'' movie adaptation, the best hand-to-hand fighter in the group.
* In ''Film/IAmLegend'' Will Smith's character is Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville. A brilliant scientist who also managed to survive being badly outnumbered by cannibalistic hordes. It wasn't because he was a punk...
* Col. Hans Landa, a.k.a. the Jew Hunter, from ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''. The epitome of both MagnificentBastard and WickedCultured.
** He does [[spoiler:end UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by helping the Basterds kill the German High Command]].
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' we learn Indy attained the rank of colonel during World War II while working as an agent for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA). Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko most definitely counts too.
* Averted in ''Film/IpMan'', where Japanese Colonel Sato is a SmugSnake who only hits people when they're in no position to fight back. Preferably from safe up high behind a gun.
%%* Film/JamesBond holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy.
* Col. [[MeaningfulName Hardy]] from ''Film/ManOfSteel'' possibly outdoes Quaritch in terms of sheer badassitude, taking on a Kryptonian enemy with a combat knife --and ''no robot suit''-- and managing to [[spoiler:pull a no-score draw, losing his life but banishing the villain back to the Phantom Zone in the process]].
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Lt. Col. (full Colonel as of ''Film/IronMan3'') James Rhodes, who has [[ComicBook/WarMachine a suit of powered armor]].
** Col. Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD and architect of the Avengers. Extra badass props for Fury being portrayed throughout the Marvel Cineverse by none other than Creator/SamuelLJackson.
** Col. Chester Philips, who lead the Strategic Scientific Reserve in WWII, the precursor to SHIELD, and commanded Captain America.
* Colonel James Braddock, from the ''Film/MissingInAction'' film series. Played by none other than Creator/ChuckNorris, it's a given he's able to kick as much [[DirtyCommunists Viet Cong]] butt as he does.
* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandExpedition Colonel Packard]] has been through it in Vietnam, and he goes through much worse on the island and still survives for quite a while through the film. Unfortunately, he also becomes a GeneralRipper due to his Vietnam-instilled ColonelKilgore.
** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Colonel Diane Foster]] leads Monarch's military force the G-Team, at one point getting into a firefight with the [[EcoTerrorist eco-terrorists]] looking to release Ghidorah and killing Asher, Jonah's second-in-command. Had she not prioritized Asher because of his advance on Mark, she could have killed Jonah there and then.
* Colonel [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Vincent "Killer" Kane]] in ''Film/TheNinthConfiguration'' is a legendary soldier during the Vietnam War. Before the film starts, he suffers a breakdown after chopping a ChildSoldiers [[OffWithHisHead head off]] with a wire garrote. He dedicates himself to healing instead of harming, but ultimately a bar full of bikers learn that it's still not a good idea to [[BullyingADragon bully his patients]].
* Colonel Dax in ''Film/PathsOfGlory''. Try not flinching when enemy shells are exploding randomly less than 20 yards away from you. Go on, try. We'll wait.
* Col. Benjamin Martin in ''Film/ThePatriot''. Single-handedly killed a platoon of Redcoats, including at least three with a tomahawk. Colonel Tavington is an EvilBrit version, kicking the butts of Creator/MelGibson's ragtag Rebel militia.
** You gotta give it up for Tavington when his troops are caught with their pants down by a bunch of angry rebels, his soldiers are getting shot all around him. He just stands there, calmly reloading his pistol (which takes a good 20 seconds) and shooting one rebel after another.
* Colonel Graham from ''Film/{{Posse}}'' is the evil version. Losing an eye just makes him more determined than ever to hunt down the heroes and retrieve his gold.
* Col. Sam Trautman, the former trainer and commander of none other than John Franchise/{{Rambo}}. He's more of the mentor in the movies than ColonelBadass, but he gets this status because of his line in [[Film/FirstBlood the first movie]]:
-->'''Sheriff Will Teasle:''' Where in God's name did this Rambo come from...
-->'''Col. Trautman:''' ''God'' didn't make Rambo. ''I'' made him.
-->''(Cut to a shot of the tent's entrance. A silhouette of a bereted and {{Badass LongCoat}}ed individual is standing there.)''
* Colonel Pembroke (Creator/JamesCoburn) in ''Film/AReasonToLiveAReasonToDie''. He escapes from a Confederate POWCamp and makes his way back into Union territory, despite being branded a coward and wanted as a traitor. He then [[GetIntoJailFree gets himself arrested]] to be taken into a Union fort commanded by an old friend of his. He then assembles his own team of {{Boxed Crook}}s to undertake a SuicideMission to [[StormingtheCastle retake the impregnable fort he surrendered]], and [[ItsPersonal kill the major he surrendered to]].
* Colonel Cord [=McNally=] in the first quarter or so of Creator/JohnWayne movie ''Film/RioLobo'' is introduced as a seasoned officer, who personally leads the pursuit for a band of confederate train robberies, tracks them for miles cross country and doesn't' hesitate to go riding after about a dozen men alone as his command is gradually forced to [[LetsSplitUpGang split up]]. After being captured he still manages to turn the tables on his captors. In the post-war sections of the movie, he has left the army to track down the men who betrayed him during the war, and shows signs of becoming a fairly competent gunslinger.
%%* Commander Anderson, United States Navy [=SEALs=], played by Creator/MichaelBiehn, in ''Film/TheRock''.
* Lt. Col. Frank Slade from ''Film/ScentOfAWoman''. He does the tango with a beautiful stranger who's waiting on her boyfriend, drives a Ferrari BLIND, and completely and utterly owns snobby schoolmasters. Plus, he's played by Creator/AlPacino, which doubles his badassitude.
* ''Completely'' averted (as to be expected) in the film ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', in the figure of Colonel [[PunnyName Sandurz]]. Whassa matter, Colonel Sandurz ...CHICKEN?!
** Considering that he's [[Film/ANewHope Grand Moff Tarkin]] if Tarkin were stupid rather than evil, this is to be expected.
* Colonel Rhumbus in ''Film/SpiesLikeUs''. He knocks out his own squad of [[ConservationOfNinjutsu elite ninja soldiers]] and then takes our heroes through [[TrainingFromHell accelerated GLG20 training]]. His salutes are so snappy that you can ''hear'' his gloved hand [[AudibleSharpness cutting through the air]].
%%* Johny Rico is a Colonel in ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder'' (he was a Lt. by end of [[Film/StarshipTroopers the first one]]).
* In the film adaptation of ''Film/StreetFighter'', Guile has the Colonel rank (he is a Major in the games' continuity), and goes against the Allied Nations' orders to lead a strike team and raid Bison's base to rescue kidnapped AN troopers and relief workers. He's also the one to take on Bison himself, beating him even after he starts using his PsychoElectro powers. This also holds true to the [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter cartoon]], which is a direct sequence of the film.
* Colonel Min Se-hoon, the InspectorJavert character in the Korean film ''Film/TheSuspect''. His introductory scene involves him dropping one of his men out of a plane without a parachute in order to save another man's life, then coolly picking up a spare chute, diving after the falling guy, catching him in mid-air, slapping him back to life when they hit the ground, then swaggering away [[SmokingIsCool smoking a cigarette]]. He then puts on a leather jacket and shades and spends the rest of the film ripping apart a secret government conspiracy while simultaneously hunting down a North Korean master assassin.
* In ''Film/TopGun'' the soft-spoken, gruffly avuncular Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, cigar-chomping Commander Tom "Stinger" Jordan provide contrasting, but equally classic, examples of this trope.
* Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Does he sit behind and command his troops from the command post? Fuck no! He takes on the Film/{{Transformers}} with them head-on!
** Though he's not a Colonel until the third film.
* Colonel Stryker in ''Film/X2XMenUnited''.
-->'''Stryker''': I was pilotin' Black Ops missions in the jungles of North Vietnam while you were suckin' on your mama's tit at Woodstock, Kelly. Don't lecture me about war. This already is a war.
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' features two Colonel Badasses. The first is Colonel Kurtz, who had the credentials to be a general but chose a life in the shit. While fighting in Vietnam, he goes kill-crazy and creates an army of zealots who worship him like a god. The other is [[ColonelKilgore Lt.Col. Bill Kilgore]], a bulletproof badass who surfs in warzones and enjoys the aroma of napalm like a nice cup of joe. In the Redux edition, however, he's taken down a peg after his surfboard is stolen and he broadcasts messages begging for it back.
* ''Film/Armageddon1998'':
** Colonel Willie Sharp, pilot of the space shuttle. [[ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics Can disarm nine-foot-long nuclear weapons with only 20 seconds and minimal assistance]]. Also the only guy trusted with a firearm on the whole vessel (making him the only one badass enough to bring a gun onto a spaceship), and the only guy with enough balls to disobey a ''Presidential order'' for the greater good of the planet.
** Colonel Lev Andropov (Creator/PeterStormare) also qualifies: not only does he save AJ (Creator/BenAffleck) when the space station blows, he also [[PercussiveMaintenance restarts a FREAKIN' space shuttle]]. He also gets most of the best lines in the movie:
--->'''Lev:''' I AM THE ONLY CERTIFIED ASTRONAUT HERE, AND I AM SAVING YOUR AMERICAN ASS!!!
* Colonel Miles Motherfucking Quaritch of ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. He's [[DesignatedVillain obviously]] the [[GeneralRipper villain]], but that doesn't stop him from modding his [[AMechByAnyOtherName AMP suit]] with a gigantic ''combat knife'', or running out into Pandora's toxic atmosphere, guns blazing, without bothering to put a gas mask on. In one instance, it takes him about 11 seconds to react to the fact that he is, in fact, ''on fire''. Quaritch is in fact, so badass he inspires major RootingForTheEmpire.
** So badass that [[spoiler: James Cameron has promised that Quaritch is coming BackFromTheDead to reappear in all the sequels]].
* Lieutenant Colonel Danny [=McKnight=] in ''Film/BlackHawkDown''. He casually walks from a convoy of Humvees to a building, through the open, while Rangers all around him are diving for cover and flinching. He ignores a gunshot wound to his throat that would have opened his carotid artery if it had been a millimeter to the right. After that injury, one of the Rangers tells him he doesn't need to go back out to save the rest of his men. He just smokes his cigar, looks at the guy like he's an idiot, then rides out with the 10th Mountain Division to get the rest of his men.
* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character John Matrix takes this trope to an utter extreme in the movie ''Film/{{Commando}}''. Although his character is a retired Special Forces colonel, Arnie still manages to kick enough ass for several movies.
* Colonel Nicholas Alexander, played by Creator/LeeMarvin in his final performance, was the only man who could possibly give Creator/ChuckNorris' Major Scott [=McCoy=] orders in ''Film/TheDeltaForce''.
%%* Col. Stewart in ''Film/DieHard2''.
* He may have been a PsychoForHire, but Col. Koobus of ''Film/{{District 9}}'' was also incredibly badass. He was consistently shown to be a supremely competent leader of his men, never lost his cool in the heat of battle ([[spoiler:though he did start to lose it when he was bragging to Wikus about killing him]]), showed bravery even in the face of overpowering alien weaponry, and when he [[spoiler:was surrounded by all sides by Prawns, who were going to tear him apart regardless, he ''still'' went down fighting.]]
* Thoroughly averted in ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Group Captain (RAF for Colonel) Mandrake is a bit of a wimp and fails to properly stand up for himself when around other domineering American officers, while US Army Colonel "Bat" Guano does not even understand his own mission, and is instead obsessed with eliminating "preverts."
* Colonel Günther Reza of ''Film/DuckYouSucker'' a SilentAntagonist and ImplacableMan who survives having a bridge dropped on him, a train explosion, and having half a machinegun clip emptied into him before finally going down.
* ''Film/EveOfDestruction'': Colonel Jim [=McQuade=] to a realistic degree. An army veteran, expert marksman and counter-terrorism expert, he's the guy the government calls in to take down a rogue killer android, but he does get pretty banged up over the course of the film.
%%* Col. Nathan R. Jessup, as played by Creator/JackNicholson in ''Film/AFewGoodMen''.
%%-->"You want me on that trope. You ''need'' me on that trope!"
* Colonel Douglas Mortimer in ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'', a former Confederate Army colonel who carries a veritable arsenal with him wherever he goes, and has a personal score with BigBad El Indio.
%%* Lt. Col. Barnsby (played by Creator/HarrisonFord) in ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''.
* Col. Thursday in ''Film/FortApache''... well, sort of... [[spoiler:at least until he orders the infamous Thursday's Charge, which results in the [[SuicidalOverConfidence utter destruction of half the regiment]].]]Thursday is an Expy of George Armstrong Custer, a real-life Colonel Badass, who would be remembered as a great cavalry leader except for one mistake...
* In the movie ''Film/{{Glory}}'', Matthew Broderick plays a RealLife ColonelBadass; in this case Col. Robert Gould Shaw the son of Boston abolitionists who commanded the Union Army's first black troops in the Civil War.
* Col. Andrea Stavros in ''Film/TheGunsOfNavarone'' movie adaptation, the best hand-to-hand fighter in the group.
* In ''Film/IAmLegend'' Will Smith's character is Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville. A brilliant scientist who also managed to survive being badly outnumbered by cannibalistic hordes. It wasn't because he was a punk...
* Col. Hans Landa, a.k.a. the Jew Hunter, from ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''. The epitome of both MagnificentBastard and WickedCultured.
** He does [[spoiler:end UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by helping the Basterds kill the German High Command]].
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' we learn Indy attained the rank of colonel during World War II while working as an agent for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA). Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko most definitely counts too.
* Averted in ''Film/IpMan'', where Japanese Colonel Sato is a SmugSnake who only hits people when they're in no position to fight back. Preferably from safe up high behind a gun.
%%* Film/JamesBond holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy.
* Col. [[MeaningfulName Hardy]] from ''Film/ManOfSteel'' possibly outdoes Quaritch in terms of sheer badassitude, taking on a Kryptonian enemy with a combat knife --and ''no robot suit''-- and managing to [[spoiler:pull a no-score draw, losing his life but banishing the villain back to the Phantom Zone in the process]].
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Lt. Col. (full Colonel as of ''Film/IronMan3'') James Rhodes, who has [[ComicBook/WarMachine a suit of powered armor]].
** Col. Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD and architect of the Avengers. Extra badass props for Fury being portrayed throughout the Marvel Cineverse by none other than Creator/SamuelLJackson.
** Col. Chester Philips, who lead the Strategic Scientific Reserve in WWII, the precursor to SHIELD, and commanded Captain America.
* Colonel James Braddock, from the ''Film/MissingInAction'' film series. Played by none other than Creator/ChuckNorris, it's a given he's able to kick as much [[DirtyCommunists Viet Cong]] butt as he does.
* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandExpedition Colonel Packard]] has been through it in Vietnam, and he goes through much worse on the island and still survives for quite a while through the film. Unfortunately, he also becomes a GeneralRipper due to his Vietnam-instilled ColonelKilgore.
** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Colonel Diane Foster]] leads Monarch's military force the G-Team, at one point getting into a firefight with the [[EcoTerrorist eco-terrorists]] looking to release Ghidorah and killing Asher, Jonah's second-in-command. Had she not prioritized Asher because of his advance on Mark, she could have killed Jonah there and then.
* Colonel [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Vincent "Killer" Kane]] in ''Film/TheNinthConfiguration'' is a legendary soldier during the Vietnam War. Before the film starts, he suffers a breakdown after chopping a ChildSoldiers [[OffWithHisHead head off]] with a wire garrote. He dedicates himself to healing instead of harming, but ultimately a bar full of bikers learn that it's still not a good idea to [[BullyingADragon bully his patients]].
* Colonel Dax in ''Film/PathsOfGlory''. Try not flinching when enemy shells are exploding randomly less than 20 yards away from you. Go on, try. We'll wait.
* Col. Benjamin Martin in ''Film/ThePatriot''. Single-handedly killed a platoon of Redcoats, including at least three with a tomahawk. Colonel Tavington is an EvilBrit version, kicking the butts of Creator/MelGibson's ragtag Rebel militia.
** You gotta give it up for Tavington when his troops are caught with their pants down by a bunch of angry rebels, his soldiers are getting shot all around him. He just stands there, calmly reloading his pistol (which takes a good 20 seconds) and shooting one rebel after another.
* Colonel Graham from ''Film/{{Posse}}'' is the evil version. Losing an eye just makes him more determined than ever to hunt down the heroes and retrieve his gold.
* Col. Sam Trautman, the former trainer and commander of none other than John Franchise/{{Rambo}}. He's more of the mentor in the movies than ColonelBadass, but he gets this status because of his line in [[Film/FirstBlood the first movie]]:
-->'''Sheriff Will Teasle:''' Where in God's name did this Rambo come from...
-->'''Col. Trautman:''' ''God'' didn't make Rambo. ''I'' made him.
-->''(Cut to a shot of the tent's entrance. A silhouette of a bereted and {{Badass LongCoat}}ed individual is standing there.)''
* Colonel Pembroke (Creator/JamesCoburn) in ''Film/AReasonToLiveAReasonToDie''. He escapes from a Confederate POWCamp and makes his way back into Union territory, despite being branded a coward and wanted as a traitor. He then [[GetIntoJailFree gets himself arrested]] to be taken into a Union fort commanded by an old friend of his. He then assembles his own team of {{Boxed Crook}}s to undertake a SuicideMission to [[StormingtheCastle retake the impregnable fort he surrendered]], and [[ItsPersonal kill the major he surrendered to]].
* Colonel Cord [=McNally=] in the first quarter or so of Creator/JohnWayne movie ''Film/RioLobo'' is introduced as a seasoned officer, who personally leads the pursuit for a band of confederate train robberies, tracks them for miles cross country and doesn't' hesitate to go riding after about a dozen men alone as his command is gradually forced to [[LetsSplitUpGang split up]]. After being captured he still manages to turn the tables on his captors. In the post-war sections of the movie, he has left the army to track down the men who betrayed him during the war, and shows signs of becoming a fairly competent gunslinger.
%%* Commander Anderson, United States Navy [=SEALs=], played by Creator/MichaelBiehn, in ''Film/TheRock''.
* Lt. Col. Frank Slade from ''Film/ScentOfAWoman''. He does the tango with a beautiful stranger who's waiting on her boyfriend, drives a Ferrari BLIND, and completely and utterly owns snobby schoolmasters. Plus, he's played by Creator/AlPacino, which doubles his badassitude.
* ''Completely'' averted (as to be expected) in the film ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', in the figure of Colonel [[PunnyName Sandurz]]. Whassa matter, Colonel Sandurz ...CHICKEN?!
** Considering that he's [[Film/ANewHope Grand Moff Tarkin]] if Tarkin were stupid rather than evil, this is to be expected.
* Colonel Rhumbus in ''Film/SpiesLikeUs''. He knocks out his own squad of [[ConservationOfNinjutsu elite ninja soldiers]] and then takes our heroes through [[TrainingFromHell accelerated GLG20 training]]. His salutes are so snappy that you can ''hear'' his gloved hand [[AudibleSharpness cutting through the air]].
%%* Johny Rico is a Colonel in ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder'' (he was a Lt. by end of [[Film/StarshipTroopers the first one]]).
* In the film adaptation of ''Film/StreetFighter'', Guile has the Colonel rank (he is a Major in the games' continuity), and goes against the Allied Nations' orders to lead a strike team and raid Bison's base to rescue kidnapped AN troopers and relief workers. He's also the one to take on Bison himself, beating him even after he starts using his PsychoElectro powers. This also holds true to the [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter cartoon]], which is a direct sequence of the film.
* Colonel Min Se-hoon, the InspectorJavert character in the Korean film ''Film/TheSuspect''. His introductory scene involves him dropping one of his men out of a plane without a parachute in order to save another man's life, then coolly picking up a spare chute, diving after the falling guy, catching him in mid-air, slapping him back to life when they hit the ground, then swaggering away [[SmokingIsCool smoking a cigarette]]. He then puts on a leather jacket and shades and spends the rest of the film ripping apart a secret government conspiracy while simultaneously hunting down a North Korean master assassin.
* In ''Film/TopGun'' the soft-spoken, gruffly avuncular Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, cigar-chomping Commander Tom "Stinger" Jordan provide contrasting, but equally classic, examples of this trope.
* Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Does he sit behind and command his troops from the command post? Fuck no! He takes on the Film/{{Transformers}} with them head-on!
** Though he's not a Colonel until the third film.
* Colonel Stryker in ''Film/X2XMenUnited''.
-->'''Stryker''': I was pilotin' Black Ops missions in the jungles of North Vietnam while you were suckin' on your mama's tit at Woodstock, Kelly. Don't lecture me about war. This already is a war.
