Thursday, October 15, 2009

Villains: Face-off

I'm not going to lie to you...I love movies!! I hear you mumbling, "Duh! Who doesn't?" Are you done? Ok, let me continue.
I love certain kinds of movies, but today, Ima talk about ze action sci-fi genre.
Now, these are characterised by not-so-musclebound lead actors with lots of toys at their disposal. So, it's usually a battle of wits rather than brute strength.
I have learnt that in these flix, the villain makes the movie hot. I can hear the cogs squeaking as they turn in some brains. In simple terms, the badder (read suave) the villain, the better the flix, even if the protagonist is a half-wit.

Presenting three case studies:
Who can forget the enigmatic, ruthless, smooth operator known as 'Agent Smith' of the Matrix trilogy? Villainy can hardly have a better benchmark! Not just strong, but a schemer as well, to be dealt with by running away, not facing him.
I would be glad to have had the opportunity of fleeing from that guy!



There's the unforgettable, mysterious, happy-go-lucky, pragmatic Clown Prince of crime...The Joker (The Dark Knight). This one redefined the elusive villain. No brawn, all brain. The Batman sure had a hard time with this one. 'He can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with.'



But this year was the year of the Doctor/Cobra Commander (G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Man, that guy's demeanor is as imposing as it is terrifying. His cold, matter-of-fact voice was the killer! Such a green snake in the grass, indeed a symbol of lethal purpose, unseen until he strikes! Even if the movie were to lack depth, that guy's scenes were my favourite.



Of course there are others, but feel free to make you're own list. These are the ones who have my slice of the cake. For those in contention, it's not up for discussion.

7 comments:

  1. You are forgetting Col Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds.

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  2. you forget Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, Captain Barbossa from Pirates o the Caribbean, Sirius the Virus from Con-Air, Gollum from Lord of the Rings and Kevin Spacey in Superman Returns. guy was chilling, actually Kevin Spacey in anything and anywhere, Usual Suspects, Seven....
    we also have(did you hear that!) the sheriff in the Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner funny but tooo baad! Dr Evil in Austin Powers(yeah i said it!) Michael Madsen i think in ordinary life... half the cast of Snatch esp Boris the Blade and the guy who used to feed his pigs with dead people.

    villains are mob. the villain actually make the movie to me. there are some guys i am yet to see, like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. (meanwhile that guy represented in The Departed, fo sho!)

    some actors have so much to work with and then just fuck things up. consider if you will, the wankage of the guy who did Voldemort.


    tsup safyre.

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  3. this streetsider has knowing the villains down to an art...Captain Barbossa was something. a villain from the dead

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  4. Oh, I almost forgot one more guy...
    Are you ready?
    'Verbal' Klint (Kevin Spacey) from The Usual Suspects...

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  5. lol @ streetsider!

    Joker and that G.I. Joe guy, do it for me

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  6. wel im impressed at how great this is

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