The “Lone Wolf” Subgenre

by Rose Mccullough

The “Lone Wolf” subgenre, as I like to call it, is a subgenre of action/crime films that stars a male lead who comes out of the woodwork and can essentially eliminate anything or person in his way. HE is the savior of all people; man’s biggest fear and woman’s biggest desire.

To describe this sort of character I like to refer to a quote from the first John Wick (2014) when they first reveal who “John Wick” is: “He is not the boogeyman. He is the man you send to kill the boogeyman.”. This “lone wolf” subgenre has gained more and more popularity; emphasizing hypermasculinity in both subtle and obvious tones. This male-dominated genre can also be credited as the center of the art vs. entertainment debate… but that’s a whole other conversation. So, action films are male dominated – this we know.

And the “Lone Wolf” subgenre not only dominates the screen with men, but enforces masculinity, toxicity, violence, crime, and overall relatively vulgar behavior. Most of the time, in the likes of a woman (ie. John Wick, Die Hard, The Equalizer… etc.). These movies typically revolve around one man; he is unstoppable and indestructible – and why is that?

What makes him so strong-willed and powerful? It ALWAYS comes back to the woman in his life.

In John Wick (2014) his deceased wife is the reason he gets back in the game and gives him the power of having “nothing to lose”, Die Hard (1988): New York city police officer attempting to save his wife, James Bond (every single one) always centers around a woman, The Equalizer (2014): the plot revolves getting revenge for his female friend… These are just a few examples of the films from the “Lone Wolf” genre whose plot exists solely in the likes of a woman.

All of these films that fall into this subgenre seem to be about one single man, but really, these movies are about the women in these men’s lives. Without the women, these men would be nothing.

Did the filmmakers do this on purpose? Or are we as audiences finding meaning behind these stories that the male filmmakers did not consider? I like to think this is being considered, especially when making films that are white, male-dominated. I like to think filmmakers are considering the context and reason behind these men’s choices, and I like to think they are giving some sort of credit to the women in every person’s lives.

Overall, the “Lone Wolf” genre, in my opinion, can be super entertaining and fun to watch. As a film girlie, I’m not out here on Letterboxd giving any of them 3+ stars – don’t get me wrong. But, sometimes it’s fun to let my brain turn off and watch some dudes throw knives at each other.