My favourite heroes and villains - pt2

Hopefully you read my first piece on the finest TV heroes of the 21st century.If not, it is linked here.

https://vocal.media/geeks/my-favourite-heroes-and-villains-pt1

In this, I will dive into some of my favourite movie villains, and what makes them such a fascinating watch.

Villains are a little trickier than heroes. For a truly world class bad guy, there needs to be a realistic threat to the hero, but that also needs to matched by a charisma that makes you want to keep watching. A ruthlessness and chilling nature, combined with the skills to back it up are what is called for here, not an easy task but let's try.

1. Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

One thing that media seems to forget is that Pirates aren't sexy. They're violent and scary and evil. But they can be charismatic. And not since Dustin Hoffman's over the top portrayal of Captain Hook have I been as entertained by a pirate. Barbosa could have been just another generic bad guy, albeit a zombie pirate bad guy, if not for the life breathed into him by Geoffrey Rush. Rush absolutely chews scenery and stands out against some of the most popular actors of the early 2000's in Depp, Bloom and Knightley.

So why isn't he my favourite villain? Barbosa is the best part of a really fun movie. He is an out and out pirate, and makes a genuine threat to the heroes of the piece. The film just is too theatrical to take the spot at the top of my list. It's enjoyable and easy watching, but that's all it is.

2. Thanos (Josh Brolin) - Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame

Loki and Eric Killmonger are considered the more popular villains in the MCU, but none have offered anything close to the threat of the Mad Titan. In the movies, Thanos is driven by a purpose to cure the universe of overpopulation and a lack of resources. In the comics, Thanos is in love with the incarnation of death, and plans to kill half the universe to make her happy. Either way you look at it, Thanos is the guy that you thought could (and did) take down the Avengers. He might not have the charm of the guys listed above, but Josh Brolin brings a gravitas to the role with his presence, and also could take any Avenger in a 1 on 1 fight, and had the tactical skills to lead the strongest force in the galaxy.

Why isn't he my favourite villain? Thanos manages to do something that not many villains, especially not superhero villains, get to do, and that's win. From the very first scene of Infinity War, Thanos provides not only a credible, but near insurmountable threat. The end of Infinity War was a shock to so many people, but unfortunately you knew it couldn't last.

3. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) - Inglorious Basterds

I can never really tell if Hans Landa enjoys what he does because he believes in the cause, he's a straight up psychopath, or if he just really enjoys being good at his job. Either way, Landa is good at his job, and a chilling villain. Playing a high-ranking Nazi in WWII can't be an easy task, but Waltz has proved over and over that he is oscar bait, and this is his finest performance. There some fun parts with Brad Pitt and others, but Waltz is the star of the show.

Why he isn't my favourite villain? Landa is intelligent and ruthless, and is extremely dangerous. But that only stands when he has the full backing of the Germany army behind him. Once separated from that, he is easily dispatched.

4. Frank Butterman/Simon Skinner (Jim Broadbent/Timothy Dalton) - Hot Fuzz

You may think that there are better installments of the cornetto trilogy, but you'd be wrong. Hot Fuzz only really has one joke in it, but it's hilarious. A fully fledged action flick, as Hollywood produce every year, but instead of being set in New York or Los Angeles it is set in a tiny village of the West Country of England. And their goal isn't drugs or money, it's winning Britain's best village competition. I've put both Broadbent and Dalton because although Broadbent was technically the "big bad" of the film, both make it to the traditional final showdown, and quite honestly Dalton steals the show.

Why neither are my favourite villain? This film is a laugh all the way through, and easily a personal favourite, but it is truly difficult to take a supermarket manager and a small village policeman seriously as the greatest threat in the history of film.

5. Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet) - Never Back Down

If you've never seen the film, it is pretty much a shot for shot remake of The Karate Kid, only with MMA instead of karate. Now why would I add such a blatant copy onto this list? Because The Karate Kid is a really good film, and this follows all the parts of the story that make it so good. Including the high school bully, Ryan McCarthy. Gigandet plays an irredeemable pain in the neck with aplomb. You really get to hate him over the film's runtime, and watching him get what's coming to him is truly satisfying.

Why is he not my favourite villain? Because at the end of the day he's just a kid. He's a terrible person, who deserves a beating, but he's a product of the environment that he grew up in. Like Johnny Lawrence before him, McCarthy is just doing what he has been conditioned to do, and at the end of the film tries to be slightly less of a tool.

So we come to the end of our list. Above are some great and charismatic villains, all for different reasons, but there can only be one number one. And that is...

Khan Noonian Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) - Star Trek Into Darkness

Yep that's right. Cumberbatch takes both top spots on my list.

To a certain breed of Star Trek fan, Khan will always be the ultimate bad guy. The original series, and accompanying films are treated with reverence. Me? I'm not that kind of Star Trek fan. I prefer the series that came after. So I watched the first film with the new cast with a little interest, it was good but nothing special. Enough to make me go watch the second one. That would also have been unspectacular barring one thing, and that was Cumberbatch as Khan. His performance was inspried. The deadpan delivery that was on display as Sherlock Holmes was used to chilling effect as Khan, playing off the frenetic energy Chris Pine brought to the Kirk role, the simplest lines left chills watching the sinister delivery.

So that is my top tip for the creation of a truly world-class villain. You need a character well written enough to be a threat to the hero, and an actor playing them that has the skills to be able to make that character truly menacing.

Feel free to let me know what you think.