The 10 greatest post-kill puns

5. James Bond - Thunderball (1965)



The Set-up: In a typically convoluted plot for a Bond film, Thunderball sees 007 (Sean Connery) up against his traditional foe, SPECTRE, when he happens upon a plan involving exotic locations and, in this case, atomic bombs. When SPECTRE assassin Vargas follows the super-cool spy and his Bond girl, Domino, in a bid to kill them, 007 shoots him with a harpoon gun, pinning him against a palm tree.

The Line: "I think he got the point!"

Verdict: A casual, callous line from a casual, callous Connery. It doesn't even make too much sense, given that no point was being made at the time, but we always forgive Bond as long as he shows us his quick wit and a cheeky disregard for the victim.
4. Max Walker - Timecop (1994)



The Set-up: When futuristic cop Max Walker (Van Damme) discovers that Senator Aaron McComb (Ron Silver) is using the widely-acknowledged time-travel technology to make wise investments and help fund his campaign to become the US President, he vows to stop him. At one point, Van Damme spouts the bon mot "Have a nice day" before roundhouse-kicking a henchman, causing him to fall into a vat of liquid nitrogen. When Walker then catches up with McComb, he realises his missed chance.

The Line: "I should have said freeze!"

Verdict: We've all been there - thinking of the perfect thing to say just a moment too late. The casual, apologetic shrug that goes with this line perfectly undermines all the great post-kill puns that have gone before this film, as Van Damme essentially says "I know I messed up the punchline, but at least I killed him - you can't always have both."
3. John Matrix - Commando (1985)



The Set-up: Schwarzenegger stars as John Matrix, a retired special commando, who has his daughter kidnapped by Bennett, a disgraced member of his former team, in a movie that elevated the idea of the post-kill pun to legendary status. In the final showdown between the two uber-sized soldiers, a defeated Bennett reaches for a gun, but not before Matrix tears off a giant gas pipe and runs it through Bennett's chest. Rather inexplicably, the pipe then releases a stream of high-pressured vapour.

The Line: "Let off some steam, Bennett!"

Verdict: In a film littered with utterly ridiculous moments, this really lowers the levels of plausability - and yet it somehow still seems like a fitting ending for the combatting ex-soldiers, given the ludicrously high tolerance for pain that has been shown before this scene. The line itself is so corny that, despite it being said with a high degree of malice, it can surely only prompt laughs and whoops from its audience rather than any genuine investment in the moment.
2. James Bond (again) - Goldfinger (1964)



The Set-up: Goldfinger is widely-regarded as the best Bond film of the series because it contains the most memorable characters, gadgets and scenes. But, most importantly, this was the movie which successfully established the archetypal Bond formula. Part of this was finding the right mix of humour and action, perfectly demonstrated in a fight scene which culminates in Bond throwing an assassin into a bathtub of water and then pushing an electric heater in with him, electrocuting the assailant.

The Line: "Shocking...positively shocking."

Verdict: In different hands, this line could have sounded too cheesy, but Connery delivers it with genuine disappointment, as if all he has witnessed is the henchman's inappropriate behaviour, which, quite frankly, is simply beneath him. This also just happens to be possibly the easiest line you can say whilst doing a Connery impression.
1. John Matrix (again) - Commando (1985)



The Set-up: Proving that, when it comes to post-kill puns, Commando pistol-whips all other films into submission, it takes both the Number 3 AND the Number 1 spot. In this, the first main kill of the film, Matrix enacts revenge on smart-ass henchman Sully by holding him off a cliff by the leg (with his "weak arm"), toying with him, and then coldly dropping him to his death. Matrix then calmly walks back to female companion, Cindy, who asks "what happened to Sully?"

The Line: "I let him go!"

Verdict: A brilliant pun because, not only does it provide Cindy with an adequate answer to her question, but the double meaning in these words protects her from knowing the horrible truth, thus proving that Matrix is a brutal, killing gentleman. This line gets extra points for following the classic pre-kill build-up: "Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last?... I lied." There's just no comeback to a burn like that.