Hans Gruber
Hans was one of the greatest. I also think Jeremy Irons playing his brother, Simon, in #3 was an excellent villain. He played it to perfection.
Told the wife the other night that the three greatest villains were Hans Gruber, Darth Vader and Chet from Weird Science
The greatest villain is ...ack ack guhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
To go serious on you, Benny...
Reverend Harry Powell, played by Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter.
Bane or Goldmember
Has to be Heath Ledger's Joker in 'Dark Knight'. Eerie, hilarious, and somehow relatable.
In the opening scene of Dark Knight Rises, I love when they pull the hood off of Bane and he's staring, unblinkingly, directly in that chump's eyes.
Ledger's Joker was pretty great and incredibly original. It went beyond creepy and I don't think anyone anticipated that kind of performance from him.
But- I have a very unpopular take on TDK - it sucks. I think it's incredibly overrated and Ledger really saves it.
oof.
Very unpopular hot takes are usually unpopular for a reason. That said, props for standing your ground.
Yes - but hear me out. I loved it when I first saw it but I've liked it less and less upon subsequent viewings. There are some hammy performances and some bad scenes (the prisoner ferry thing in particular).
But, the dialogue is what really bothers me. Some of it is awful: in the opening scene, a banker for the gangsters says to the Joker "Criminals in this town used to believe in things. Honor. Respect. What do you believe in?" and I was like 'wtf, how did that line make all the way to the final cut?' (I just watched it the other night when I couldn't sleep).
There are some great scenes though: the opening bank robbery is pretty cool, the Hong Kong scene is awesome and so is the underground chase scene. I shouldn't say it sucks, it is pretty fun in parts, but I stand by statement that its overrated.
I thought the Joker’s whole “I’m a psychopath and I’m going to show how everyone is actually a twisted psychopath by putting them in these awful situations” bit was kind of lame.
The film acted like the fact that, when their lives or loved ones are in danger, people will sometimes make immoral choices, was some kind of groundbreaking revelation. Self preservation and protecting your loved ones are two of the most basic human instincts, even if it means you hurt or kill others as a result.
Just because you chose to save yourself or loved ones, it doesn’t automatically make you an evil psycho like that film implied.
I think those parts are more trying to hold up a mirror...like everyone knows most people would blur lines for the safety of loved one but it’s not like we in society think about that everyday, not until we are out in those situations.
It's supposed to be over the top corny, what that gangster banker says. The joker is a departure of every type of norm in the film, he's the guy that "just wants to watch the world bourn." This scene establishes that even the criminals in Gotham have rules and routine, people you can't touch and actions that are taboo (each criminal is shocked as he's betrayed even though they're fine with betraying). But all of it is phony. The protagonists - the police, Batman - will ultimately cover up and lie to further their own aims. Criminals with codes, Protectors who lie and subvert rights. These norms are quite preposterous and the Joker smashes through the middle of all of it.
It's supposed to be over the top because the movie wants you to see crime so prevalent that the gangster is a fist-shaking reactionary, so it can introduce the total departure of a villain that the Joker represents.
That's an interesting take because I never really thought the line about criminals having honor respect was a bad line. Maybe not a great one it might sound illogical and even a bit corny... But hear me out 1) the bank $ was actually money from criminals which is why the guy said you know who you're robbing? 2) it was a fairly decent line to lead up to the better line "I believe what doesn't kill you only makes you stranger"... But a fair take none the less it wasn't great dialogue I suppose.
I love the 'makes you stranger' line - that's great, right when he takes the mask off and his face absolutely terrifying - scarier than the mask itself. I think that's the thing about TDK - so much of it is so good - but there's also so much of it that is bad.
The "Honor, respect" line has a lot more built into it but my immediate reaction is still always "What criminals believe in honor and respect? Isn't that why they're criminals?!?" There's a cool concept behind this: this is ill-gotten gangster money and the Joker is the only one crazy enough to rip these guys off. But, I don't think its abundantly clear that they're stealing from the mob (it seems like an ordinary bank robbery at the time, unless I missed something) nor is it evident that there's a code among Gotham's criminal cartels to not fight with or steal from each other. I don't think that that bit of dialogue adequately gets those points across though.
I have too much time on my hands and I've thought about this way too much.
Agreed. Ledger, and to a lesser extent, Eckhart, are the only interesting parts of that movie.
I think TDK is an OK film, although I do agree it’s overrated and I think Batman Begins is way better. But personally I don’t think Ledger’s performance was the epic, iconic one that it has been portrayed as being. I actually found Aaron Eckhart‘s Two Face to be a more compelling villain and with they would have kept him alive at the end.
Don’t get me wrong, Ledger did a great job but, had he not died shortly after filming, I don’t think it gets elevated to the status it has achieved.
It’s like James Dean in Giant. Sure it’s a good film and he does a nice job on it, but if he lives IRL, it just goes down as a quality performance and nothing more.
Yep. The thing that makes him so great is never knowing an explicit motivation. He's not avenging someone or something, he doesn't have some grand cause that is almost admirable like a Thanos or a Killmonger.
He's just in it for the evil. He just wants to see the world burn. He's the purest evil, and he's got personality and intrigue. He's a perfect villain.
I'll give the Joker credit for being a very mobile and efficient psychopath. His ability to get things done in a hurry (wiring an entire hospital to blow up in, what, 10 minutes) is beyond ridiculous. Made the movie silly for me, couldn't muster up any sense of emotional commitment to it.
Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men.
yep. Scary dude for an entire movie.
He wasn't the bad guy, he was impartial. He was merely a natural force. The bad guy was Fate, Time could be construed as a substitute. Watch the 7th Seal, for reference.
Uncertain fate and fear done the Coen brothers style.
brilliant all the way around down to fan belts behind the poor cashiers head.
That might be the intent of the film, but using fate as an excuse to commit atrocities almost makes him worse in my opinion. It's one thing to do something bad. It's another to do something bad and claim you had no choice because you flipped a coin (where you set up the 50/50 murder rules). Chigurh is pretty close to the top of my list for that reason.
Agreed. I would also nominate the M. Emmet Walsh character from "Blood Simple."
Yeah, I was thinking about him and Dr. Lecter.
Dr Lecter gets my vote or Goldfinger / Oddjob.
I think Hans Landa from Inglorious Bastards is absolutely genius. Funny, witty, and absolutely controls that movie.
Agree although he loses his invinciblity at the end. I would go with the guy from No Country for Old Men. Intimidating from start to finish.
This. He was terrifying.
He was such a good character that it made the ending that much more frustrating.
"That's a bingo!"
I think Hans Landa from Inglorious Bastards is absolutely genius. Funny, witty, and absolutely controls that movie.
Christoph Waltz. He was great in Django Unchained as the bounty hunter
im with you, great performance. that dudes incredibly talented.
plenty of great villains - john doe in seven, nurse ratched, denzel in training day, deniro and mitchum in cape fear. some villains jump out thru the writing and the role, some come alive more due to top notch acting, some have both
A few for consideration:
1. Edward Longshanks from Braveheart - Cocky and sarcastic SOB
2. Banastre Tarleton from The Patriot - Extremely hateable for so many hideous acts
3. Commodus from The Gladiator - Twisted, evil, and sadistic to the bitter end
Agree with all, and I'll add two more:
1. Tim Roth's Archibald Cunningham, the foppish little bastard in "Rob Roy." He's also on the receiving end of one of the greatest "fuck you" endings in movie history, courtesy of Liam Neeson.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie in "Django Unchained." Should never have insisted on shaking Dr. Schultz's hand.
Darth Vader
Seconded.
The James Earl Jones voiceover clinches it. Makes me feel like Vader is an alum.
I didn't think he ever lived up to his badness until that corridor scene in Rogue One. People in the theater when I saw it were literally jumping up out of their seats when he started kicking ass.
I think Vader throttling two of his officers with the force, because they didn’t fulfill his expectations, was pretty badass.
We didn't get to see Vader after ROTS as legend told by Obi Wan, he hunted down the Jedi... That scene in Rogue One was the one we really felt the power, intensity and just plain bad assness of Vader.
Of the side stories disney could do with SW, I am really hoping for Lord Vader to happen. I'm sure it could be several of it's own films. But I thought they got Rogue One right...
There was that whole thing involving the destruction of Alderaan which he didn't seem to give two shits about because he was preoccupied with the destruction of every last rebel, murdering his mentor, and turning his son to evil.
The list should pretty much start here IMO
Hannibal Lecter or Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes' Nazi character in Schindler's List)
Keyser Soze