Heroes get all the hype, but deep
down, we all love a good villain. I can take or leave the square-jawed boy
scout, the do-gooder who gets the girl and saves the day; but the villain is a
different kettle of genetically modified laser wielding fish altogether.
Funny Villain have more fun and get
most of the best lines. Movie history is littered with fiendish foes, evil
overlords and malevolent masterminds we loved to hate. The summer blockbuster
is the perfect breeding ground for evildoers and this year s pageant of box
office behemoths provides rich pickings, from robots out for revenge to
muggle-hating wizards.
Cinema is filled with memorable
villains. Whether it's the sardonic cheer of Gert Fr be's Auric Goldfinger, or
the
sneering oiliness of Die Hard's Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), the movies are
full of superb, loveably evil performances. Michael Mann's 1986 adaptation of Thomas
Harris' novel Red Dragon was the first movie to bring cannibalistic academic
Dr. Hannibal Lecter (in this instance spelled Lecktor due to rights issues) to
the big screen.
Robert De Niro chews both characters and
scenery in a manic performance as Max Cady, an ex-convict who terrorises lawyer
Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) for apparently failing to defend him effectively in
court fourteen years earlier.
An indifferent and Funny movie
villains can be threatening as a villain with an almost cartoon-like evil
uniform like Jason Vorhees from Friday the 13th. The all-powerful emotionless
villain is portrayed excellently in the X-Files TV series by William B. Davis
as the Cigarette Smoking Man. Throughout the series he is constantly in control
of the heroes and any attempts to kill him are deemed self-destructive or
futile. On the opposite end of the scale are the villains that are emotive,
excitable and with exaggerated personas as demonstrated by Heath Ledger's
villain in the most-recent Batman film, The Joker. The latest incarnation of
the Clown Prince of Crime perfectly conveys his lack of empathy and
almost-humorous contempt for human life. The most prominent aspect of The Joker
is his colourful clothing and unusual physical appearance, with white face
make-up, dyed green hair and smudged red lipstick.
