15. Big Hero 6 (2014)
Big Hero 6is based on the Marvel comic book series and it reiterates the Marvel approach to origin stories: that the strongest of heroes often come from the nerdiest of people.
Hiro Hamada is a child prodigy who initially uses his smarts in underground robot matches, but later turns his life around when he starts aiding and upgrading his brother’s invention Baymax.
He also has teammates with their own quirks, like Wasabi’s precision turning into weapons and Go Go’s strength as her core power. When it’s time to save the day, they let loose and become the heroes they never thought they could ever be.
Related:The Best Movies About Nerds That Break Classic Nerd Stereotypes
14. Ready Player One (2018)
Ernest Cline’s classic novelReady Player Oneis chock-full of pop culture references and pure 80s nostalgia—and those nerdy obsessions were ideal for Steven Spielberg to translate onto the big screen.
In this case, the nerdiness serves an important purpose in Wade’s story. His life is defined by his pop culture knowledge and his worship of OASIS creator James “Anorak” Halliday, which equips him with the knowledge needed to win Halliday’s infamous contest.
In a contest founded on nerdiness, Wade is uniquely capable to break the system in fist-pumping sci-fi fashion.
13. BlackBerry (2023)
The founding of the mobile phone company BlackBerry was messy, to say the least. But it’s important to consider that the nerds behind BlackBerry stuck by their awkward selves and simply longed to chill! When they’re crossed, they’re capable of striking back harder.
We see this in the 2023 biopic with the character of Mike Lazaridis (played by Jay Baruchel), the most flexible person who can stand up to the aggressive Jim Balsillie (played by Glenn Howerton).
When Lazaridis picks up on Balsillie’s tenacity and shady dealings, he comes out of his shell and strikes back, even at the cost of his friends.
Related:The Best Movies About High Society
12. The Martian (2015)
Beyond just its A-list cast and its hard sci-fi elements,The Martianis a story about a group of scientists who are trained as NASA astronauts who must rescue a colleague stranded on Mars.
Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) is a botanist and engineer by profession. When he’s accidentally left behind on Mars, he applies his knowledge to survive the barren Martian landscape, producing his own food source and creating makeshift gear out of leftover NASA equipment.
The Martianis one of the purest and most realistic examples of the power of knowledge when combined with determination. It’s one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time and will be a classic.
Related:The Best Movies About Being Alone
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Ringsfilms are filled with badass characters who possess extraordinary skills and magical powers. And then you have the Hobbits. They’re small and relatively weak when compared to many of the other members of theLOTRworld.
In that sense, Frodo is one of the nerds of Middle-earth, and he’s the one who must shoulder the responsibility of carrying the One Ring and throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom.
Along the way, Frodo endures many trials and tribulations with the support of his best friend Samwise Gamgee, but it’s that iconic moment when Frodo steps up at the Council of Elrond that cements him as one of the bravest badasses in Middle-earth.
Related:Popular Nerdy Media Franchises That Shaped Geek Culture
10. Zombieland (2009)
Zombielandis a fantastic horror-comedy about a group of four survivors who never actually share their names, instead giving each other nicknames based on the cities where they were born.
The main character, who goes by the name Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg), is a full-blown geek who lives by a set of rules that are meant to maximize his chances of surviving the zombie apocalypse.
These rules end up turning him into a badass zombie killer who manages to survive in a post-apocalyptic world that few have made it through. He even gets the girl in the end!
Related:The Best Zombie Comedy Movies That Are Really Funny
9. Real Genius (1985)
Stereotypically, nerds are seen as meek, weak, and harmless. However, that’s what makes nerds so dangerous when they become wolves in sheep’s clothing! You never expect it.
That’s the case with the carefree Chris Knight (played by Val Kilmer) and the by-the-books Mitch Taylor (played by Gabe Jarret), who are innocent at first glance but dangerous if you ever cross them or impede them.
Both geniuses are assigned to design a chemical laser, which they soon find out has a nefarious purpose—so they do whatever they can to outwit their foes and save the day.
Related:The Best Movies About Geniuses
8. WarGames (1983)
Speaking of nerdy students beating the government, who could forget the classic filmWarGames? This 1983 techno-thriller is a cautionary tale of cybersecurity threats and Cold War politics.
All of those threats arise from one youngster who taps into a high-level goverment program that he thinks is just a video game.
But David Lightman (played by Matthew Broderick) is more than just a nerd who can hack into complex programs from his bedroom. He’s quick to understand the situation he’s in, that the fate of the world is in hands.
Related:The Best Movies About Hackers and Cybercrime
7. Spider-Man (2002)
Despite the success of the MCU line of Spider-Man films, many fans—including yours truly—still consider the 2002 trilogy by Sam Raimi as the definitive Spider-Man films.
In this version, Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) is about as far from cool as you can get. At the same time, his superhero alter-ego is one of the toughest, coolest heroes in the Marvel universe.
Who says a geeky photographer can’t become one of the most badass superheroes in the world? And even in the MCU version, compared against other fan-favorites like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, Spider-Man still stands out as one of the most popular!
Related:The Best Cinematic Universes
6. The Goonies (1985)
The entire crew of kids inThe Gooniesare nerds in their own ways, but I’m specifically thinking of Data, whose gadgets and inventions end up being critical to the group achieving their goals.
At first glance, he seems like the least badass of the kids, but in end, his role in their success is undeniable. Plus, it’s not like any of the Goonies are particularly cool, so they’re all empowering for geeks like us!
Related:The Best Friend Groups in Movies
5. Fight Club (1999)
The Narrator inFight Clubis a sad, mundane everyman who’s tired of his life and whose biggest form of entertainment is pretending he has various illnesses in order to go to group meetings.
That all changes when he meets Tyler Durden on a flight. He goes from geeky nobody to badass fighter and member of Project Mayhem. Also, there’s the end of the movie to consider.
I don’t want to spoil it in case you still haven’t seen this classic film, but if you have, you know what I’m talking about!
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4. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Napoleon Dynamiteis the defining portrait of quirky in the indie world. Napoleon himself (played by Jon Heder) is never ashamed or self-conscious about his nerdy and judgmental self.
Napoleon Dynamite lives his life in Preston, Idaho as simply as he can, with his equally stiff brother Kip (played by Aaron Ruell) and his tryhard uncle Rico (played by Jon Gries).
But in all of that, Napoleon’s badassery shines in his friendship with Pedro (played by Efren Ramirez). When the latter runs for school president, Napoleon lets loose and dances onstage in front of the school to draw attention to Pedro’s candidacy. And it works!
Related:The Best Movies About Social Anxiety
3. The Matrix (1999)
Mr. Anderson (played by Keanu Reeves) isn’t necessarily what you’d consider cool. In the early parts ofThe Matrix, he’s clearly shown to be an antisocial hacker who doesn’t have very much personality.
But once he’s discovered by Morpheus and he becomes Neo, he turns into one of the coolest characters in the history of movies. If this isn’t an iconic example of a nerd glowing up into a badass, then what is?
Related:The Best Movies About Dystopia
2. Kick-Ass (2010)
Kick-Assis actually the movie that inspired this article, as the entire plot of the movie is centered around a nerdy kid named Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who decides he wants to be a superhero.
In his day-to-day life, Dave is anything but cool. But once he puts on his gear and assumes his identity as Kick-Ass, he becomes a badass superhero who can do almost anything.
Related:The Most Famous Movie Nerd Characters
1. Good Will Hunting (1997)
One of the most complex cinematic nerds of all time? Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon) inGood Will Hunting, a young custodian with a hidden gift for mathematics but a tough upbringing in Boston.
To help him get his life back on track, Will Hunting is supervised by Dr. Sean Maguire (played by Robin Williams), a therapist who takes his job seriously and challenges Will to overcome his trauma.
Despite the bleak drama, Will Hunting has lots of awesome moments that can be liberating for nerds watching. The most iconic is when he dunks on a preppy know-it-all in his “How do you like them apples?” moment, proving that nice guys don’t always finish last.
Related:The Best Movies Set in Boston
