10. COLONEL HANS LANDA
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious
Basterds (2009)
While Inglourious
Basterds was a flawed movie, this brilliant scene ensures its villain is
one of the best I’ve seen. A Nazi
officer tasked with hunting down Jews, Landa is extraordinarily crafty. He has a sixth sense when it comes to finding
people. Despite this, he harbors no
personal hatred for his quarry. He likes
to do what he’s good at regardless of the morality. In addition to his subtle wit, he can also
display brutality, like when he strangled Bridget.
Ian McDiarmid, Star Wars
Shitty Sheev outsmarted the whole galaxy while charismatically yukking it up the whole time. Good thing no terrible movie cheated him back to life.
8. VICE-CARDINAL FERDINAND DAXUS
Nick Chinlund, Ultraviolet
(2006)
This may seem surprising considering how cheesy a movie
this is, but then again I find the idea of a medical police state increasingly
relevant. The idea that medical
authorities should be deciding the basic morality over life and death because
they have a skill set that gives some power over it is remarkably similar to
the logic of a military dictatorship.
The medical community seems to have been infected by cold-hearted utilitarianism pure fucking evil, and Daxus seems to be a disturbingly accurate depiction of a
modern bioethicist. Even though he looks like the Jason Bateman's estranged brother, Nick Chinlund also
gives a good performance, and I love his voice.
7. T-800 MODEL 101
Anrold Scharzenegger, The
Terminator (1984)
Completely cold and emotionless. Single-mindedly focused on one goal: to kill its target. Nearly unstoppable killing
machine in the form of a human.
Especially memorable for the classic “I’ll be back” line. I also like the creepy effect of the
stop-motion endoskeleton at the end.
6. SCAR
Jeremy Irons, The
Lion King (1994)
Scar (real name Taka) may be shamelessly coded, but he’s
one of the most effective villains in Disney canon. He’s charismatic enough to get the hyenas on
his side while tricking his own family.
Thoroughly consumed by evil, he’s willing to murder his own brother and
young nephew to secure power for himself.
Watch the scene where he tells a grieving Simba he’s responsible for his
father’s death; he clearly has no soul.
In addition to all this, he sings the best song in Disney history. The hyenas may have understandable motivation
to overthrow Mufasa, but there’s a relevant lesson this movie teaches is us.
Just because you feel disenfranchised, it’s not justification to blindly follow
some ruddy sociopath who makes crazy promises he has no intention of keeping.
5. JACOBIM MUGATU
Will Ferrell, Zoolander
(2001)
Not only is Mugatu (real name Jacob Moogberg) one of the
funniest villains ever, he has the “goods” of any great villain. He has a flamboyant sense of style, is a
well-organized tactician, and he has truly evil goals. He is planning to murder a world leader in
order to maintain practice of child labor for cheap fashion goods. His backstory and brainwashing of Derek are
some of the funniest sequences I’ve seen in a movie. Even the disappointing sequel reinforces his
status as an evil genius.
4. LORD SHEN
Gary Oldman, Kung
Fu Panda 2, (2011)
A power-hungry villain who’s tortured by his own villainy
as well as his parents’ rejection of him.
Shen feels he’s destined to rule and believes he’s gone too deep into
depravity to turn back on his goals. He
shows warmth toward his family’s soothsayer (he pulled a knife on Po when he
insulted her), but he has no mercy for anyone else in his way. He's a witty foe and a pragmatic fighter. On top of that, he has a great character
design; who would have thought a peacock
would have made such a great villain?
3. MALEFICENT
Eleanor Audley, Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Maleficent is willing to curse a child to death and
intimidates everyone with her immense magical power. She’s a classic villain, and her sardonic
demeanor makes her even more endearing.
As if that’s not enough, she TURNS INTO A DRAGON. The less that’s said about the awful 2014 film, the better.
2. THE JOKER
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (2008)
Darkly humorous, stylish, and unpredictably brilliant,
the Joker is one the best interpretations of the Clown Prince of Crime, if not
the best. Heath Ledger’s performance was
amazing. The character is gritty and
down-to-earth in his tactics, but he’s true to the spirit of the character. What’s more, he actually has a point about
human nature. We may have the ability to
civilize ourselves, but we are savage animals at heart.
1. DARTH VADER
David Prowse, v. James Earl Jones, The Star Wars Trilogy (1977-83)
The obvious choice.
A tortured, yet terrifying villain with the best character design of all
time. Enough has been said about this
character’s appeal, but I have a few additions.
Despite his viciousness and doubt, he genuinely believes he’s a good guy
fighting for order. His reaction to
Princess Leia’s lying to him on the Tantive
IV reminds me of my own annoyance when people are disingenuous with
me. I also don’t think he gets enough
credit for sass. He can have a deadpan
wit which people ignore due to his intimidating presence.
No comments:
Post a Comment