Some great villains outshine the heroes, and they deserve better than the mediocre movies they are a part of. A good villain should test the protagonist in interesting ways, and they should be just as complex. However, there are a few cases where the scales tip too far in the villain’s favor, and they become far more compelling than their on-screen counterparts. This can damage a movie, since audiences don’t connect with the hero as much.
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There are a few villains who are so compelling that they become extremely memorable even when their movies are easy to forget. This often happens in long-running franchises that come up with new villains every few years, like James Bond or Star Wars. A great actor can help make their villain characters stand out, even if the plot, the hero and the dialogue is distinctly below average.
10 Francisco Scaramanga
The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
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The Man With the Golden Gun usually falls toward the lower end of James Bond movie rankings. This is a little unfair, since it certainly has a lot more going for it than some of the franchise’s weakest efforts. A lot of the criticism focuses on Roger Moore’s performance as Bond, the cheeky dialogue and the return of Louisiana lawman J.W. Pepper. Critics often praise Christopher Lee and the character of Scaramanga, however.
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What makes the eccentric assassin so interesting is that he reflects the darkest parts of Bond’s soul.
Christopher Lee is famous for his villain roles, having played Count Dooku in Star Wars, Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, and Dracula many times. He’s just as compelling as Scaramanga, one of the best Bond villains of all. What makes the eccentric assassin so interesting is that he reflects the darkest parts of Bond’s soul. Both men are trained killers who have turned the passion into their profession. The difference is that Scaramanga can admit this to himself.
9 Rodney Alcala
Woman Of The Hour (2023)
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Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour has an impressive 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences have been overall less enthusiastic than critics. The Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter – which measures audience reaction – sits at 68% for Woman of the Hour, with some people criticizing the movie’s uneven pacing. One thing that critics and audiences have generally been able to agree upon is Daniel Zovatto’s performance as Rodney Alcala.
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Woman of the Hour is based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who claims to have murdered 130 women and children. Daniel Zavotta makes him into a terrifying villain, even for people who might not know the full weight of his real-life crimes. Zavotta’s Alcala often puts on a smile to lure in his victims, but this just creates an excruciating dramatic irony, in which the audience pleads with the women to get as far from Alcala as possible.
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8 Owen Davian
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
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The Mission: Impossible franchise has generally been getting better and better. This trajectory isn’t necessarily a straight line, but the big turning point for the franchise came with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the fourth entry. Mission: Impossible III is a little muddled, and its action sequences generally lack the explosive impact that has become customary in later entries. One positive is that it arguably has the best Mission: Impossible villain of all, Owen Davian.
The cold-blooded arms dealer has an unshakable temperament that runs counter to the violence and manipulative chaos of his actions.
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It should come as no surprise that Philip Seymour Hoffman is the most fascinating part of Mission: Impossible III. His cold-blooded arms dealer has an unshakable temperament that runs counter to the violence and manipulative chaos of his actions. While nobody really knows what the mysterious “Rabbit’s Foot” is, Owen is compelling enough for it not to matter. He would be just as fun to watch chasing after any MacGuffin, whether it’s a biological super-weapon or a bag of rocks.
7 Darth Maul
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
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The Star Wars prequel trilogy is generally considered to be a let-down when compared to the original trilogy. The problems start in The Phantom Menace, which shows a young Obi-Wan Kenobi meeting Anakin Skywalker for the first time. The Phantom Menace has been criticized for its heavy focus on galactic politics and trade disputes, as well as the introduction of the divisive Jar Jar Binks. What makes The Phantom Menace‘s shortcomings so frustrating is that it could have been a great Star Wars movie if it had given Darth Maul a bigger role.
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Darth Maul doesn’t have an awful lot to do in The Phantom Menace, but he makes his mark. It helps that he has a striking character design, complete with his iconic double-ended lightsaber. He makes good use of this in the so-called “Duel of the Fates” against Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, which ranks among the best lightsaber fights that the Star Wars franchise has ever produced. Darth Maul is a mysterious character, even though the extended universe has revealed a lot more of his story.
6 Dante
Fast X (2023)
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The Fast and Furious franchise has had many ups and downs, but it has generally been getting bigger and louder for the last two decades. Fast X suggests that the franchise is finally running out of road. Dom and his crew have been through so much that there doesn’t seem to be any new and exciting ground to cover. Before Fast and Furious 11 wraps up the franchise, fans can at least look forward to another appearance by Jason Momoa’s flamboyant villain Dante Reyes.
Momoa offers a surprising performance as an eccentric, energetic character who can make the audience laugh.
With Momoa’s muscular frame and action movie pedigree, it would have been easy for him to play another one of the Fast and Furious franchise’s macho villains. Instead, he offers up a more surprising performance as an eccentric, energetic character who can make the audience laugh. This makes Dante seem much more volatile, and it’s hard to predict his next move. Whatever happens next, Dante is one of the most exciting aspects of the franchise.
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5 David
Alien: Covenant (2017)
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Prometheus kicked off the Alien prequel trilogy with a lot of promise, but Alien: Covenant took a big step down in quality. One major criticism of the sequel is that it failed to provide answers to the intriguing mysteries set up by Prometheus. Ultimately, it made things even harder to understand, and it failed to innovate within the framework of the franchise. Michael Fassbender’s performance as David is one of Alien: Covenant‘s saving graces.
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There had been villainous androids before in the Alien franchise, with Ian Holm’s Ash in the first movie being the prime example. Fassbender does a lot to distinguish David from Ash. David isn’t just an emotionless android following company orders. He’s struggling with his nascent human-like feelings, and he’s motivated by rage, jealousy and bitterness. This tension between the artificial and the organic makes David fascinating, but Alien: Covenant otherwise misses the mark.
4 John Milton
The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
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Al Pacino brings his A-game to The Devil’s Advocate, although the rest of the movie doesn’t meet his usual standards. The Devil’s Standards stars Keanu Reeves as a lawyer who discovers that his boss is Satan himself, walking the Earth in human form. The Devil’s Advocate is always entertaining, but reviews at the time criticized the movie’s confused philosophy and the way its lofty ambitions are hampered by a silly tone.
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Pacino is definitely overacting, but he makes overacting into an art.
Retrospective evaluations of The Devil’s Advocate have singled out Pacino’s performance. He’s definitely overacting, but he makes overacting into an art. A movie about the fate of all mankind with allusions to Paradise Lost, Faust and Dante should be a little melodramatic. While other characters appear to be in an ordinary legal thriller, John Milton has the bluster of an opera star.
3 Jürgen Voller
Indiana Jones & The Dial Of Destiny (2023)
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny seems content to replay the franchise’s greatest hits for its encore. This is why Indy is once again fighting the Nazis for a powerful ancient artifact, despite The Dial of Destiny taking place over 20 years after the conclusion of World War II. The Indiana Jones franchise refuses to embrace the possibilities of an older Indy in a new era. One reason The Dial of Destiny almost gets away with it is that Mads Mikkelsen is so compelling as the villain.
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The Dial of Destiny could have been more interesting if it had focused more on the relationship between Indy and Jürgen Voller. Although they have clear differences, both men are trying to return to their glory days by any means necessary, even if that means destroying the life they have in the present. Voller is an intriguing villain, and Mikkelsen is always captivating when he gets to play the bad guy, but The Dial of Destiny doesn’t make the most of him.
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2 Rumpelstiltskin
Shrek Forever After (2010)
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After the critical acclaim of the first two movies, the Shrek franchise swiftly fell off a cliff. With Shrek 5 now confirmed, the franchise might want to salvage the best parts of Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After, starting with Rumpelstiltskin, the duplicitous villain in the franchise’s fourth entry. Shrek Forever After was an unnecessary sequel that sought to plunder the earlier Shrek movies, but Rumpelstiltskin is an interesting and original villain.
Shrek Forever After
was an unnecessary sequel that sought to plunder the earlier
Shrek
movies, but Rumpelstiltskin is an interesting and original villain.
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The Shrek franchise often finds inventive ways to reinterpret classic fairy tale characters. Just as it does with Prince Charming, the Big Bad Wolf, the Magic Mirror and more, Shrek puts a spin on Rumpelstiltskin that makes him funnier than ever, but he’s also a powerful trickster who can bend reality to his will. This makes him the most powerful Shrek villain, but he has enough personal flaws to keep him grounded.
1 Rasputin
The King’s Man (2021)
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The King’s Man is a bit of a mess, ripping up a history textbook and gluing it back together with some pages from an adventure comic thrown in for good measure. The King’s Man‘s warped version of World War I history takes in the major players and the key events of the era, but it lacks coherence and, more importantly, a compelling human story that ties global politics to the espionage plot.
The mythical aura surrounding Rasputin gives him an impervious sheen, as if he’s a creature from beyond the grave sent to wreak havoc on Earth.
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The King’s Man is at its best when it slows down for a moment to focus on some key characters, with Rasputin being the most compelling of the many antagonists. The portrayal of the dark monk seems to have been lifted directly from anti-Tsarist propaganda of the era, but this makes him a great villain. The mythical aura surrounding Rasputin gives him an impervious sheen, as if he’s a creature from beyond the grave sent to wreak havoc on Earth. His balletic fight scene is the highlight of a movie that otherwise doesn’t hit the heights that the Kingsman franchise previously showed.