Thursday, March 3, 2016

Favorite Movie Villains, Pt 2

<< 50-41  30-21 >>
Possible spoilers for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, GoldenEye, and Terminator 2.






















40. PETER PETTIGREW
He’s often referred to as a stupid character, but Wormtail is underestimated.  He managed to outsmart the whole Wizarding World by faking his death while framing Sirius Black for it (as well as the deaths of some innocent bystanders that he also murdered).  He then spends fourteen years living as a pet rat to hide from reprisal.  All this started because he betrayed his friends when threatened by Voldemort.  Cunning yet pathetic, Pettigrew shows how far a coward is willing to go to preserve his own life.  In a rare flash of intelligence, Voldemort recognizes that Pettigrew only helps him out of cowardice and uses a magical failsafe in case of betrayal.  Still, it would have been nice if the Dark Lord had put some effort into inspiring actual loyalty from him, as opposed to encouraging his less competent followers to mistreat him.
 

 39. ALEC TREVELYAN
Sean Bean, GoldenEye (1995)
A former friend and comrade of Bond, Trevelyan (named after an infamous British censor) almost died as a result of Bond’s focus on accomplishing a mission.  Trevelyan made a good nemesis against Bond because of this vendetta as well as his having a similar skill set to 007’s.  Being played by the great Sean Bean helps, too.  However, his motivation could have made more sense.  As a spy he should have been more sensitive to his duty to sacrifice his life for queen and country.  He has no right to hold a grudge against Bond considering he told Bond to “finish the job.”  Still, he has more complexity than most Bond villains and was the best antagonist in the franchise for a while.


 38. STUNTMAN MIKE
Kurt Russell, Death Proof (2007)
Stuntman Mike is charming and witty, which is disarming to his potential victims.  In reality, he’s a pervert who preys on women in a particularly creative way.  After stalking them for a period, he kills them by crashing into their vehicles with a death-proofed muscle car for his sexual pleasure.  This results in some memorably graphic deaths that don’t shy away from how gory car crashes can be.  In a refreshing twist on the slasher genre, Mike turns out not to be an invincible force.  When a group of women turn the tables on him, he immediately turns into a whimpering pansy, and predator becomes prey.  It’s nice to see a movie acknowledge that these types of killers, like most predators, are nothing more than cowards.


 37. GENERAL GRIEVOUS
Matthew Wood, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
He’s not quite as cool as he is in Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars, but I feel Grievous is an underrated villain.  A military genius with one of the best designs ever and also a pretty good leitmotif.  I’m not a prequel fanboy, but I seem to disagree with most people on this character.  One of the main complaints is that he’s a coward (because heaven forbid a villain have a character flaw), which is only disappointing if you’ve seen Clone Wars before this movie (Clone Wars even explains this).  A rather odd criticism is that he is too much like some mustache-twirling Snidely Whiplash character (which was kinda the point).  Considering Star Wars has always been an homage to serials, it makes sense to have a character like this.  Contrast this with how Star Wars fans seem to like Jabba the Hutt.  I mean, a fat moron is a better villain than a capable military leader with an awesome character design who knows how to choose his battles?  Well, makes perfect sense to me.  My one problem is that, unlike Jabba, he wasn’t effectively integrated into the trilogy unless you watched a spin-off cartoon not everyone watched.  Episode III just immediately introduces you to the character and expects you to accept his presence. 


 36. KIM JONG-IL
Trey Parker, Team America: World Police (2004)
Being based on a real person doesn’t stop him from being one of the most hilarious comedic villains ever.  He is amusingly foulmouthed and loud, but he also has a truly horrifying plan to nuke all developed countries in order to turn the entire world into a third world country.  To make matters worse, he’s actually a sapient alien cockroach in a fake human body.  The one problem with this character is his generic and tedious villain song, which contrasts dramatically with the fun soundtrack of the rest of the movie.


 35. CLARENCE BODDICKER
Kurtwood Smith, RoboCop (1987)
Despite his nebbishy appearance, Boddicker is a brutal,sadistic criminal and a competent combatant.  He also knows how to make connections with powerful executives. 


 34. ROY BATTY
Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner (1982)
On a quest to save himself and his friends from their own shortened lifespans, Batty is willing to murder any human standing in his way.  You can’t really blame him too much either.  He’s bred to be a killing machine and has no reason to show mercy when society doesn’t even recognize his personhood.  When all his comrades are dead, he toys with Deckard while giving him some perspective to our “hero” before sparing him.  Before passing, he imparts some of his own knowledge for some attempt at a legacy.  Batty is cunning, powerful, fierce, and creepy, but he’s tragic anti-villain if there ever was one.


 33. THE THIN MAN
Crispin Glover, Charlie’s Angels Series (2000,2003)
Not much to this guy, but he’s my favorite mute henchman.  This guy just oozes style.  He dresses fine and even manages to make smoking look cool.  Crispin Glover really did a great job with his interpretation of this character, and the Thin Man is the only thing that makes these mediocre films worth checking out.


 32. JULES AND VINCENT
Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, Pulp Fiction (1994)
Already amusing because of their witty banter, Jules Winfield and Vincent Vega contrast with each other quite well.  While Jules is a genuinely skilled hitman, Vincent is a subtly incompetent and petulant one whose calm demeanor is mostly a result of his being high on smack most of the time.  When they escape death in a seemingly miraculous way, Jules takes it as a sign from God that he must give up a life of crime while Vincent stays on his path.  In darkly comic irony, Vincent manages to survive these insane situations until his luck eventually runs out and he is killed in an absurdly coincidental way.  While Jules redeems himself, Vincent lives by the sword and dies by it. 


 31. T-1000
Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
A liquid metal creature that’s nearly unstoppable even against a T-800, The T-1000 has the same cold demeanor as the original Terminator in a more unassuming form.  He’s clever enough to take the form of a cop, which people might trust.  He occasionally shows some personality when he expresses impatience and annoyance.  He can perfectly imitate any human, but he can’t form much simpler mechanical devices with moving parts, which doesn’t make a lot of sense.  Although it’s universally known that he’s the villain, the beginning of the movie does a pretty good job disguising this until the reveal.






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