23 Awesome Movie Captains

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Captain America may be cool, but he's not the only awesome captain...

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Peter Pan (1953)

The Captain: Captain Hook is Peter Pan's enemy and the captain of his own ship. After Peter Pan comes back to Neverland, Hook decides to take revenge on him for chopping off his hand.

The Awesome: With a hook for a hand and a bumbling sidekick named Smee, he is the quintessential pirate captain. On the downside, he's scared of a ticking crocodile.

Hook (1991)

The Captain: Captain Hook is appearing twice, because Dustin Hoffman's Hook is a whole different kettle of fish. This time, Hook kidnaps a grown-up Peter Pan's children and challenges him to a duel.

The Awesome: This Hook is even more fearsome (and possibly even camper), hitting Peter Pan where it hurts by turning his son against him and killing the leader of the Lost Boys, Rufio.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

The Captain: Captain Jean-Luc Picard, the Next Generation captain played by Patrick Stewart, is normally used to being rational and sensible. Here he goes all action-star on the Borg.

The Awesome: One of the best Star Trek films, possibly because Stewart goes all bad-ass and fires a tommy gun at Borg drones, before unleashing a fearsome monologue on the Cenobite-looking cyborg sods. Assimilate that, you kitchen-drawer-faced lunatics.

The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn (2011)

The Captain: Captain Haddock is portrayed by Andy Serkis in the upcoming film. He is Tintin's best friend (other than Snowy of course) and is a multi-millionaire seafaring Merchant Marine Captain.

The Awesome: The film isn't out yet, but if the books, the trailer and the Comic-Con reception are anything to go by, he should be brilliant. The drunk captain is unstable and emotional, much like the vast majority of the Total Film staff.

Das Boot (1981)

The Captain: Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock commanded the U-96, and actually existed in real life. He commanded the German U-boat during World War II.

The Awesome: The man is a hardened veteran, he is openly anti-Nazi and he commands the ship through what director Wolfgang Petersen tried to show as "what war was all about."

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949)

The Captain: John Wayne plays Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles, an aging US Cavalry captain sent on one last patrol to deal with a Native American breakout from a reservation.

The Awesome: It's John Wayne with John Ford in the American West, using amazing cinematography featuring Monument Valley. It was one of Wayne's best roles, and he had quite a few.

Pirates Of The Caribbean (2003-2011)

The Captain: Captain Jack Sparrow makes it known that he's the captain of the Black Pearl to anyone who'll listen. He's never just Jack Sparrow.

The Awesome: He's perpetually disappointed by the lack of rum, he's a scoundrel, he'll double-cross, but somehow he'll get it together and save the day. Oh, and Keith Richards is his dad.

Serenity (2005)

The Captain: Malcolm Reynolds, played by Nathan Fillion, is captain of the spaceship Serenity. The film continues after the final episode of the cancelled television series Firefly.

The Awesome: Avengers helmer Joss Whedon directs and Reynolds is cut from the same cloth as Star Wars ' Han Solo, as a space mercenary who just wants to get by.

Airplane! (1980)

The Captain: Capt. Clarence Oveur is the pilot of the ill-fated aeroplane, and he's struck down with food-poisoning alongside his co-pilot Roger Murdock.

The Awesome: Captain Oveur: "That's Clarence Oveur. Over." Tower voice: "Over." Captain Oveur: "Roger." Roger Murdock: "Huh?" Tower voice: "Roger, over!" Roger Murdock: "What?" Captain Oveur: "Huh?" Actual genius.