posted
We've covered those we've thought were the 80s best; now which ones did you like best during the following decade? In no particular order, I especially like:
-Howard Payne. In a dead heat with Hans Gruber in my book as the very best action film villain. He's utterly cold and unconcerned with human life, as long as he gets what he feels is rightfully his. The fact he leaves dozens of bodies littered throughout the picture makes him genuinely threatening, and thus we feel the world is a safer place once Travan makes sure he can no longer get ahead in life, so to speak
-Dr. Evil. He does it the old fashioned way, and with style. Too bad he does indeed surround himself with you-know-what idiots.
-Darth Maul. Say what you will about Phantom Menace, but Maul is definitely one of the picture's brightest spots. He's genuinely intimdating, and fights strong to back it up. It's no wonder Lucas now openly wishes he'd kept him around to Revenge of the Sith (or at least I think that's what he said in the interview in question)
-the Wet/Sticky Bandits. Sure, they're not terribly good at their chosen profession. Sure, they fit the "smart short guy/dumb tall guy" cliche to the T. Sure, they're quite good at self-incrimination. But I love these guys. That they can take what they do and keep going makes them intriguing. Plus, usually lost in the madcapness is the fact that they are two greedy, selfish men who don't care who they hurt as long as they get rich--not to mention that Harry does have a rather nasty cruel streak, evidenced by how he always kicks Marv around when things go wrong ("How do ya like gettin hit, huh? Ya jerk!!! Get the kid, will ya, just get the kid!!!!")
-Switchblade Sam. Another great Hughesian bad guy, Christopher Lloyd gives him a cold menace and confident swagger that's hard to find these days with the executives intent on fatally toning down all films earmarked for family viewing. Lest we forget, he comes close mutliple times to physically harming Dennis before misfortune painfully befalls him again and again
-Judge Alvin Valkenheiser. There's just something oddly appealing about a murderous 106 year old backwards judge who executes everyone who steps one toe out of line in his jurisdiction, and has apparently bribed out every elected official in 3 states to continue his vindictive practices
-General Sarris. He's a genocidal nut, and, as he aptly points out before he lets the Protector have it, not nearly as stupid as he is ugly. Just the mere descriptions of some of the horrors he perpetrates against the Thermian race can curl the blood; scenes where we see him personally torture prisoners to get the information he wants are somewhat disturbing for a PG picture. But what else would you expect from a military man, even an intergalactic one
-Scar. You know an animated character crosses the line when they commit open murder on screen. It seems likely that he might have committed even more during his time in charge of Pride Rock (and I've read more than one fan fiction story where he does even worse--so much so I can't say what here) with anyone who dissented with him. A perfect example of why pursuing power for its own ends is a poor way of leading one's life
-Amon Goeth. A real person of course, to be sure, but that doesn't diminish the frigidly cold sadism of the character. The horrible fact is just how random he is; you never know who he's going to shoot next or even if he has a rational reason to
-the Penguin. While a bit of a departure from the comics' Oswald C. Cobblepot, I happen to like Danny DeVito's take on the Fowl Feathered Fiend. And you feel just a tinge of sympathy for the guy for having been so casually thrown away (and by Paul Rubens too; that makes it doubly irritating), which mostly does counterbalance the revulsion you simultaneously get for his ruthless tactics, especially his going after innocent children
-Rasputin. Don Bluth's best attempt at a major memorable villain, and again Lloyd pulls it off wonderfully. If you know the real life story of the end of the Romanov dynasty (there are a number of inconsistancies in the film for dramatic purposes, but it's fairly close all in all), you would in the context of this picture know that this version of Rasputin committed basically class genocide against them with his curse (one thing you can say about Bluth, he's never been afraid to get gruesome if he needs to, as with the cold fates of both Nicodemus and Littlefoot's mother). Lloyd perfectly gives him a lighter side, with his laments over his too premature (in his mind) demise and his constant habit of ending up beside himself, so to speak, and his cruel determination to finish his genocidal quest; even in the film's brightest moments you feel his presence breathing down the necks of Anastasia and company, ready to crush all in his path.
And who do you like best?
Posts: 2561 | From: Pennsylvania | Registered: Aug 2004 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
posted
Nice choices. I'm glad you chose the cartoon villains that you did, because I love children's movies that don't dumb things down and that actually do some dark things with their villains.
All right, how about...
The Hessian from Sleepy Hollow. Not only because it's Christopher Walken, but the villain is interesting and also designed well (not that his head is seen much, but the demonic contact lenses and the filed teeth were nice touches).
Evil Ash from Army of Darkness. C'mon, dude. It's an Evil Dead film.
The T-Rex in Jurassic Park 1 and 2. Not a "villain" per say, but nice CGI and some genuinely frightening moments in the films. The Raptors are also pretty scary.
Oogie Boogie in Nightmare Before Christmas. It's a pillow case full of bugs. Pretty scary, and he gets the best song of the film. Too bad he didn't do much more in the film.
Nancy in The Craft. Fairuza Balk is creepy enough looking in this film, but the character can be downright psychotic at times (and, well, she is). I still get creeped out at the "bug" scene.
Posts: 1830 | From: Land Under the Bed | Registered: May 2004 | Site Updates: 0
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I'm glad you chose the cartoon villains that you did, because I love children's movies that don't dumb things down and that actually do some dark things with their villains.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
