(Chronicles of Riddick Trilogy, Babylon A.D. (coming out soon), Knockaround Guys, A Man Apart, Saving Private Ryan, Boiler Room, Strays, The Pacifier)

This man was born B.A., the deep, gravely voice and the muscular physique meshed perfectly in every role he has appeared in. He exudes the mindset of a man who doesn't give a rip about the law or society and what they think. Every role he's played has been B.A., heck he was even a Bad A. in a children's movie! In which he broke down doors, dodged traps, and fought ninjas, let's see the Rock do that in his Disney movie.

Brad Pitt

(The Ocean's Trilogy, Troy, Fight Club, Se7en, Spy Game, Snatch, Mr. & Mrs. Smith)

I've been told by too many girls that Brad Pitt is what every girl dreams of: he's suave (Ocean's), he's strong (Troy), and he can take a punch and not look like a puss (Fight Club). Granted he's had some roles that are not so manly especially his upcoming movie with him aging backwards, looks like a heart warming tale of crap, but like Gerald Butler further down the list his B.A. movies and general style more than make up for it.

Mark Wahlberg

(Max Payne (coming out soon), Four Brothers, Shooter, We Own The Night, The Departed, Invincible, The Italian Job)

Now here's a guy who might not always get a coo from the lady folk, but whenever a guy hears that name they know it's gonna be an action packed movie. Forget The Happening, we'll act like it never happened (corny joke), but take a look at his resume and tell me he isn't B.A. He is starring in the upcoming Max Payne movie which is based on a video made by Rockstar Games, in this movie he portrays the main character who is gritty and B.A. to the core. It could end up being the most B.A. movie to come out for a long time (unless it's running against Babylon A.D. Vin Diesel's movie).

Clint Eastwood

(Dirty Harry Movies, and countless westerns)

One of the first B.A. actors, he made everyone's day as the unforgettable Dirty Harry who shot first and asked questions later (which is the way I like it). His famous western roles as Josie Whales and the Stranger With No Name, are the epitome of don't care attitude mixed with the strength and ruthless to exact revenge.

Gerard Butler

(300, Beowulf & Grendel, Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, Dracula 2000)

Even though he almost ruined any chances of being considered B.A. by starring in P.S. I Love You, he managed to be so amazing in 300 that the testosterone eminated from that movie wiped away all the estrogen that came out of other movies he was in. He will forever go down in history as King Leonidas, ripped, furious, and savage with so many B.A. quotable lines that I could write a whole other article focused on that.

Jason Statham

( Death Race (coming soon), Transporter Series (#3 coming soon), Crank (#2 coming soon), The Bank Job, War, Chaos, Dungeon Siege, The One, Snatch)

Though he has an English accent that most love to hate, no one can hate his balls to the wall demeanor or I'll just punch my way through tactics. A few years ago most people had never heard of him, but now his name is synonymous with B.A. and action, and his B.A. rating is only increasing with 3 extremely B.A. looking movies coming out in the near future to only solidify the fact.

Karl Urban

(Doom, Path Finder, The Chronicles of Riddick, The LOTOR Trilogy)

His codename from Doom says it all: Reaper. I can't really think of a better B.A. name then the very name that personifies death incarnate. He takes on Vikings single handedly, and battles thousands of orcs while barely breaking a sweat. Plus he is the only person I've ever seen get in a fight with Vin Diesel and not end up dead (The Chronicles of Riddick).

George Clooney

(The Ocean's Trilogy, From Dusk Till Dawn, Batman & Robin)

He's a super smooth criminal with just the right right things to say (Ocean's) or he's a super smooth crminal who'll shoot you in the head (Dusk) or he's a super smooth ninja crime fighter (Batman & Robin), need I say more?

Denzel Washington

(American Gangster, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, Inside Man, Remember The Titans)

The first minute in American Gangster made my jaw drop, heartless, cold, and violent, and he bucks the traditional thought pattern, and defines a realistic B.A. Or he can be absolutely a monster in Man on Fire, doing whatever it takes to get the job done. And a bonus is that he's only ever been in one bad movie, Out of Time, don't see it, it's a waste of time.

Hugh Jackman

(X-Men movies (X-Men Origins: Wolverine coming soon), Van Helsing, Swordfish)

Everyone who has even remotely heard of X-Men is excited about Hugh returning to the silver screen to to play as Wolverine, the cigar chomping, claw slashing, sarcastic B.A. comic book character. And in Van Helsing he took on werewolves, a giant Mr.Hyde, and Dracula himself, let's see someone else do that.

Honorable Mentions: Bruce Willis, Daniel Craig, Mel Gibson, Matt Damon, Sean Patrick Flanery, Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris, and Sean Connery.

Whilst choosing to disregard anything to do with the “Newborn” creature and “Ripley 8” in Alien Resurrection as being a worthy addition to the franchise, and its attempt to outline a bond between human and Xenomorph; I prefer to investigate the connection between antagonist and protagonist beginning with the first movie.

H.R. Giger's refinement of the surreal Necronom IV lithograph, with the help of director Ridley Scott, portrayed the beauty and sexual overtones of the creature within the first film. It's loud hissing, provocative grin, and drooling fluids, had significant cultural impact upon its human predecessors.

Ripley's personal encounters with the alien, particularly towards the climax of the first movie, are almost erotic in places. As the viewer sees the protagonist strip down to her underwear, it is at that moment that the seemingly neglected alien creature springs out of hiding to intimidate Ripley further. The slow building tension between the female human and Xenomorph during this scene are evident when Ripley's respiratory levels increase, and her violent screams result from the advance off the alien towards her.

The alien's combination of sexually evocative physical and behavioral characteristics are guilty of being seductive when in the presence of the human being. Indeed, much of the Alien's looks and life cycle can be seen as a perverse sexual metaphor. The snapping metallic teeth are almost like the castrating vagina dentata, according to critic Ximena Gollardo, and are deliberate in design for creating an organic killing machine.

During the famous scene, where the chestburster explodes through Kane's ribcage on Nostromo, there is a distinct connection between sex and death. On first contact with the species, Kane had been subdued and made pregnant by the facehugger from the egg, and later on the embryo had developed and escaped via its host. It is a nightmare for the viewer to see the male gender desemated via the birth of another species in such a fashion. Indeed, when the ovomorph succeeded in planting the embryo, it was via the method of sexual assault.

Undoubtably, there is a blurring of human sexual dichotomy here. At the time Alien was released, Sigourney Weaver, who played Ripley, was a little known actress, and it was somewhat surprising for a film audience to see such a horrifying plot develop, with Ripley being the last remaining (female) character. Contrasting to Dallas, who was the more familiar lead role of the film, yet becomes one of the early captures of the Xenomorph along with Kane; then is later seen cocooned and helpess, being used as a host for the implantation process within the nest of the alien.

In this sense Ripley's role is challenging the ideology of gender stereotypes: she is the only (female) survivor of the Nostromo crew, and overhauls the threat of the Xenomorph and its propagation, ultimately by herself.

The breakthrough feminist themes about women in combat made Sigourney Weaver a cinematic icon. The “Female Action Hero” was a rare title given to actresses in the days of Alien, and it wasn't till the reprisal of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, that Ellen Ripley had any serious (human) competition.

The Iconic lone figure with a flame-thrower has been accepted and celebrated as pure cinematic magic, where Ripley, the heroine, triumphs over the alien species. Her strength and will to carry on through the suffering of her deceased crew makes her worthwhile to the female gender, yet truly iconic to the human race.

Furthermore, Ripley's character role is made significant by challenging the ideals of science with a human angle: it is her common sense, emotion, and will to survive that relates her to the best of us.

If only the crew would've listened to Ripley citing quarantine protocol; there would have been no knowledge of the extraterrestrial life form, and humanity would be safe from its threat (at least for the time being). Her attempts at persuading Science Office Ash and Dallas to get rid of the facehugger were also blatantly ignored.
The casting of Jones, the cat, is notable for influencing further Ripley's personality on screen. Despite being stalked by the alien, and with the self-destruct sequence of Nostromo rapidly counting down, Ripley is still desperate to get Jones out of there, under her wing, safely, after the crew has been completely diminished.

It is such characteristics that allow Ripley's role to overshadow even that of the alien, which is quite extraordinary, especially given that the title of the movie refers to the antagonist. Although the alien is most certainly billed as the “Perfect Organism”, leaving the audience intrigued to find out more about this highly aggressive, unfamiliar, extraterrestrial life form, it is the story of Ellen Ripley that keeps faith in human existence, and inspires further installments of the franchise.

Admittedly, I've had numerous nightmares of the chestburster ripping through my own rib cage, and I remain quite cynical when I hear about humanity's attempts to explore other species in space. I'm not paranoid (much), but you have to remember that “Science-Fiction” is an oxymoron, and a contradiction within itself.

Giger's obscene; insectoid form was not a result of evolution, but deliberate design. The vaguely human features of the Xenomorph, with its skeletal, biomechanical appearance, may well be the most perfectly formed organism we've have ever seen. Its erotic nature of reproduction- "an interspecies rape" according to O'Bannon -has haunted audiences for years, whilst the term "We are not alone" has rung through many of our minds.
Ripley not only installs pride within women, but gives faith to the whole of humanity's explorations, on film. In fact, it isn't till the 3rd instalment in the franchise that we learn Ripley has finally been “caught'”, and impregnated by the aliens; even then she was asleep when the attack took place.

Ripley fully deserves her rank as the 8th greatest hero in American Cinema History, at the very least; while Scott's Alien masterpiece must remain as one of the most significant sci-fi films of all time; with the award for the most grotesque surrealist artist going to H.R. Giger. Undoubtedly.