This post is part of our Rambo Giveaway, scroll down to the end of the article or click here for details on how to win a signature-edition Rambo knife.
If you’re like me, you’ve undoubtedly wondered just what makes the quintessential knife warrior. That’s why we’ve taken the liberty of unscientifically analyzing all the great knife warriors throughout cinema history. In each of these knife-wielding heroes and villains, we managed to find five undeniable traits that helped them become great knife fighters. So, here are the five characteristics that make the ultimate knife warrior through the lens of cinema.
1. Insanity (ex. Die Hard With a Vengeance)
Let’s face it. It’s impossible to name a knife warrior from the movies who is completely sane and even-keeled. Everyone who wields a knife seems to have a few screws loose, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To be an expert with a knife and fearlessly wield it, you can’t have the capacity to think too hard about its ramifications. The perfect example of insanity with a knife is Sam Phillips in Die Hard With a Vengeance. She mercilessly does ballet while slicing people in her path to death. Pretty crazy.
2. Experience in the art of battle (ex. Rambo)
It’s not usually good enough to merely be skilled at knife fighting, but a true knife warrior needs to have seen some prior action, particularly in war. Veterans not getting the respect or medical attention they deserve is a common theme in many movies and is seen most clearly in the first Rambo. John Rambo is a Vietnam vet who is pushed too far by a small town cop. It’s his time experience seeing too much war that pushed him over the edge. Here’s a little tease of Rambo’s knife.
3. Being badass (ex. Rebel Without a Cause)