Know Your Family: 5 Movies That Use the Secretly Badass Parents Trope

Generally, children tend to think of their parents as the dullest people on Earth. But sometimes our families have a lot of interesting things hidden in the past. These five movies prove that this 'badass parent' trope works.

Hook (1991, 6.8 on IMDb)

Available on: Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video

Steven Spielberg's classic fantasy adventure film, starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts, tells the story of Peter Banning, a successful lawyer with a wife and two children who leads an uninteresting life. Obsessed with his work, Peter neglects his children, who don't think much of their father, until one day they are kidnapped by Captain Hook, who forces Mr. Banning to return to Neverland and reclaim his Peter Pan past.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996, 6.8 on IMDb)

Available on: Paramount+, Apple TV+

Starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, this classic action thriller centers on Samantha Caine, a seemingly ordinary schoolteacher from Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Before having her now eight-year-old daughter, Samantha suffered from amnesia that led her to forgive her past. So the two characters lead an ordinary and boring life until one day Samantha starts having flashbacks and finds out that she's a trained CIA agent with blood on her hands. And the problems start to pile up.

True Lies (1994, 7.3 on IMDb)

Available on: Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video

James Cameron's action comedy stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker, a seemingly normal man who leads a double life. To his family, Harry is a business software salesman who travels extensively for work. In reality, he's a trained special agent for a top-secret US government agency charged with preventing terrorist attacks and conducting counterterrorism operations. The cover seems to be working perfectly until one day Harry and his family are kidnapped by terrorists who don't realize how tough a situation they've created for themselves.

Secondhand Lions (2003, 7.5 on IMDb)

Available on: Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video

The classic comedy-drama centers on Walter, a fourteen-year-old boy who is sent by his mother to spend the summer with his great-uncles, Garth and Hub, on a farm in Texas. Unimpressed by the shabby appearance of the place and the antics of his great-uncles, Walter prepares for the worst summer of his life, until he discovers that his newfound relatives may have led fascinating lives and amassed tons of wealth during their not-so-legal adventures.

Taken (2008, 7.7 on IMDb)

Available on: Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix

Written by Luc Besson and starring Liam Neeson, the movie follows two teenage friends, Kim and Amanda, who are kidnapped by sex traffickers while on vacation in France. The story could have a very grim ending, but Kim's father, Bryan Mills, turns out to be a former CIA officer who sets out to find and rescue them from captivity.