Banana Scoop

Villains are essential in making any movie worth its while.  We can either love them or hate them, usually for the same reasons: whether it be for their disillusioned sense of morality or ingenious methods of putting our heroes in a pinch.  For this we have to thanks the great writers who came up with them and the actors who brought them to life.  So here’s a list of my favorite villains in movies and the actors who did a great job portraying them.  Spoilers below.

Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight

This is a no brainer.  Heath Ledger’s late performance as the Joker breathed new life and raised the bar for the word ‘villain’.   He alone has made this movie as memorable and as significant as it is today.  That’s not to say Christopher Nolan and the rest of the team didn’t do a good job, but Ledger’s Joker has delivery and personality that’s so well conveyed as a psychotic killer that it’s just impossible to ignore.

Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard

After 20 years, no film has left a bigger impact in the action genre as 1988’s Die Hard.  It has had a brilliant story, a likable hero, satisfying action, and best of all: a memorable villain.  Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber is a German terrorist who seems to have a major corporation tied up around his finger when the good old fashioned American hero John McClane comes in to save the day.  But we wouldn’t be liking John McClane or the movie so much if we didn’t love the cat and mouse game Gruber sets up and the memorable back and forth they create.  Hans Gruber is known to be one of films most memorable villains and he has plenty of reason to be so.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs

Do we consider Hannibal Lector as a villain in The Silence of the Lambs?  It’s difficult to say in all honesty.  It’s a classic case of whether or not Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange is the protagonist or not.  Regardless, he’s definitely not the good guy because he technically eats someone’s face off and puts it over his.  Regardless, there’s something classy and likable about this psychotic cannibal.  It might his charm or the his ingenuity.  He’s got enough of both to make my list.

Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects

Haven’t seen The Usual Suspects?  Well maybe you shouldn’t be be reading about it shouldn’t you?  Have you scrolled to the next one yet?  Okay well if you haven’t then maybe you’ve seen this movie then.  I guess we’ll just leave it at that so the culturally ignorant don’t get any funny ideas. 🙂

Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men

The above picture is the man himself.  What is he seemingly smiling about?  Well he just so happens to be choking a policeman with handcuffs on.  Is he enjoying it?  A little bit too much I think.  Anton Chigurh is as mesmerizing as he is crazy.  He’s got a strict philosophy on how he chooses his victims, similar to Dexter’s code.  He’s a murdering, rampaging monster who even at the end of the movie is technically still on the run.  When I want to scare my children at night, I will tell them that Chigurh is on the loose and will blow a hole in their head with a captive bolt pistol if they’re not good.

Cristoph Waltz  as Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds

In the first seven minutes of the movie, Col. Hans Landa Sherlock Holmes the sh*t out of some Frenchman who’s hiding stowaways.  And for the rest of the movie, he uses his caniving skills as a Nazi to worm his way into the best position.  Like many of his other peers as best villains, Cristoph Waltz won an Oscar for his crazy portrayal of the Jew Hunter.  And well deserved too.

As always, let me know who I missed or who your favorites were!