And they would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re the most spine-chilling, reprehensible, and - in some cases - oddly likable movie villains of the 21st century thus far.
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00:00 "I am your redeemer! It is by my hand you will rise from the ashes!"
00:08 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down the most spine-chilling,
00:13 reprehensible, and in some cases oddly likable movie villains of the 21st century thus far.
00:20 We're leaving off animated villains because they could populate a whole other list.
00:24 "You could die, Joey."
00:28 Number 30. Raoul Silva - Skyfall
00:32 Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond arguably reached its creative apex with Skyfall,
00:38 thanks in part to Javier Bardem's deliciously evil turn as Raoul Silva. Despite not arriving
00:44 until around the 70-minute mark in a 143-minute film, Silva lights up the screen with such
00:51 devious showmanship that he casts a shadow over the rest of the picture.
00:55 "Chasing spies? Oh, so old-fashioned."
00:58 His winking devil persona effectively offsets Bond's poised demeanor. In this more grounded
01:05 era of 007, Silva harkens back to the age of clever quips and colorful bad guys. Yet he
01:11 doesn't feel out of place in a grittier environment, complete with a grim backstory.
01:15 "Look how hard you work, my love."
01:21 Prosthetics can conceal his warped face, but Silva's mind is beyond salvaging,
01:27 clouded by revenge. Bardem simply sinks his teeth into the role.
01:31 "All this jumping and fighting, it's exhausting."
01:35 Number 29. The White Witch - The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
01:42 Bringing C.S. Lewis's classic fantasy book into reality saw numerous challenges,
01:47 but casting the villain was fairly easy. From the get-go, the filmmakers eyed
01:52 Tilda Swinton for Jadis, aka the White Witch.
01:56 "Edmund."
01:57 "And how, Edmund, did you come to enter my dominion?"
02:01 Swinton immediately sends a chill throughout the theater as a cold, calculating villainess,
02:07 whose heart is most certainly frozen over, assuming she has one to begin with.
02:11 "Well, I suppose you're not a total loss then."
02:16 Despite her intense manner, the White Witch is a master of deception,
02:20 putting on a warm, nurturing act when she needs to.
02:24 In a story full of biblical parallels, Turkish delight is the forbidden fruit,
02:29 and the White Witch is the snake ready to bite. Whether using reserved subtlety or stern authority,
02:35 she'll make every hair on the back of your neck stick up.
02:38 "Think about whose side you're on, Edmund. Mine?"
02:43 "Or theirs."
02:45 Number 28. Megan. Megan. This film will have you laughing and jumping out of your seat
02:51 simultaneously through its titular killer doll alone.
02:54 "What are you?"
02:55 "I've been asking myself that same question."
02:58 Megan not only balances humor and horror, but the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence
03:09 as well. For much of the runtime, Megan is an infinitely more nurturing parental figure than
03:15 Katie's aunt Gemma. Whether it's a tablet or a sophisticated robot though, allowing a machine
03:20 to raise a child is bound to have repercussions.
03:23 "Have I done something to upset you, Gemma?"
03:25 "No, of course not."
03:27 In Megan's case, she soon takes her objective too far. When she feels unappreciated by Katie,
03:33 Megan's objective changes to self-preservation,
03:36 and she isn't playing around anymore. For all the cheeky one-liners, Megan encompasses a
03:41 cautionary tale for how quickly AI can turn on its creator.
03:45 "How could you do this? How could you kill someone?"
03:48 "I didn't kill anyone, Kurt."
03:51 Number 27. Magneto. The X-Men franchise. One could agree that Eric Lensherr is an anti-hero,
03:58 especially considering where he started from. It takes a monster to get to the top of the
04:03 list, but it's a monster to make a monster, however.
04:08 "You must be Wolverine. That remarkable medal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?"
04:15 In his pursuit to bend the world into a better place for mutants, Magneto becomes what he
04:21 claims to loathe. A fascist who views himself as a member of a master race, seeking to dominate
04:27 those he considers to be less evolved.
04:30 "Who will you stand with? The humans? Or us?"
04:35 Since Magneto has spent most of his life being feared, it's only natural he'd use it as a weapon.
04:41 Magneto also has charisma on his side, amassing a brotherhood of followers who share his mentality.
04:47 While Magneto isn't beyond reason or empathy for some of his enemies, his unyielding prejudice
04:52 and vengeful instincts continually bring him back to villainy.
04:56 "Charles always wanted to build bridges."
05:04 Number 26. Howard Stambler - 10 Cloverfield Lane
05:12 Few characters from this century kept us guessing like bunker dweller Howard Stambler.
05:18 Is he a paranoid survivalist, a possessive villain, a complete lunatic, or all of the above?
05:24 "What are you gonna do to me?"
05:25 "I'm going to keep you alive."
05:31 The fact that he's on this list might tip you in one direction, but even as the credits roll,
05:36 Howard isn't easy to categorize. John Goodman wears many masks in a powerhouse performance,
05:42 the most prominent being the antagonist. Even at his most well-intentioned,
05:46 Howard frequently leaves you on edge, especially in a confined underground area.
05:53 "Crazy is building your ark after the flood has already come."
05:57 There comes a point where you're better off taking your chances outside the bunker,
06:01 assuming Howard will let you go. We wouldn't want him as an enemy,
06:05 although we're not sure we'd want this wild card as an ally either.
06:08 "After I saved you and kept you safe, this is how you repay me."
06:14 Number 25. Commodus - Gladiator
06:18 Joaquin Phoenix does an impeccable job molding Commodus into one of cinema's most
06:22 slappable villains. Chances are, if you did slap him, he'd go down without much of a fight.
06:28 "Don't get too comfortable. I'm a colonel for now."
06:32 Being the Roman emperor though, the consequences would be dire. Commodus is every bit as powerful
06:38 as he is pathetic, which is largely what makes him so amusing to watch.
06:42 "The world has changed. It takes an emperor to rule an empire."
06:47 He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, even when his own flesh and blood is on the receiving end.
06:52 No amount of backstabbing will change the fact that he isn't worthy of the throne where Maximus
06:57 should rightfully be. Commodus nonetheless puts himself on the highest of pedestals,
07:02 seemingly beyond reach. Any pedestal can be knocked down, however. The taller, the harder the fall.
07:14 #24. Vincent - Collateral
07:17 We're used to seeing Tom Cruise as an action hero, but Collateral reminds us he can be equally
07:22 entrancing as a villain. Little is learned about the enigmatic Vincent, including his last name.
07:27 "You killed him." "No, I shot him. Bullets in the fall killed him."
07:32 All we need to know is that he's been tasked with taking out five targets,
07:36 although his killing spree isn't limited to that number per se. This leaves cab driver Max
07:41 on constant edge, as he's forced to drive Vincent from job to job.
07:46 "Okay." "What are you talking about? Sure you can, man."
07:49 It's fitting that Cruise is allowed to play against type, as Vincent doesn't immediately
07:53 strike Max or the audience as a killer. The silver fox seems like such a charmer at first glance,
07:59 but Vincent can switch gears with a sudden pull of a trigger.
08:02 "I'm not playing."
08:09 #23. Frank Costello - The Departed
08:12 Jack Nicholson and Martin Scorsese are such an obvious pairing that one can only wonder why it
08:17 took them so long to collaborate. We couldn't have asked for a more appropriate character to
08:22 unite them than Frank Costello. "School's out."
08:25 Scorsese excels at crafting hot-headed criminals whose greed only matches their ambition.
08:32 Likewise, Nicholson has practically built his career around playing menacing yet humorous
08:37 characters. Although the role was tailor-made for him, Nicholson never veers into self-parody
08:42 as Costello, turning in one of his most intimidating performances.
08:47 "Are you still a cop?" "No! No!"
08:49 "Swear on your mother's grave, you're still not a cop!"
08:53 Beyond money and power, Costello values his legacy with the hope that one of his
08:58 protégés will keep his name alive. Unfortunately for Frank, he finds himself surrounded by rats.
09:04 Of course, loyalty isn't one of Costello's strong suits either.
09:08 "You got something you wanna... ask me?"
09:12 #22. Captain Vidal - Pan's Labyrinth
09:17 If we were ranking this list purely based on how much we hated the villain,
09:20 Captain Vidal would place even higher. There's nothing redeemable about this ruthless phalangist,
09:26 other than the fact that he's played brilliantly by Sergi López.
09:30 "Garces is right. You're gonna tell us everything, right?"
09:35 Aside from hunting the rebels in the area, Vidal only cares about his soon-to-be-born son.
09:41 Even then, that's because his son is an extension of himself, and if he was having a daughter,
09:46 Vidal would treat her with the same disdain he shows young Ophelia.
09:50 "It's the other hand, Ophelia."
09:54 For all the grotesque foes that Ophelia comes across, no character is more frightening than
09:59 Vidal, who laughs in the face of mercy. When he isn't delighting in the torment he inflicts,
10:04 he's indifferent to it, which is just as heartless.
10:08 "Has discovered my weakness. My pride."
10:13 #21. Davy Jones - The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise
10:18 Captain Barbossa returned from the grave as an ally, but Davy Jones more than filled the villain
10:23 void. Long before his swashbuckling series, we had all heard the name Davy Jones.
10:28 "Do you not fear death?"
10:32 After he stormed onto the scene in Dead Man's Chest, though, it was as if we were being
10:38 introduced to this legendary figure for the first time. Part of that can be attributed to his
10:42 instantly recognizable design, brought to life through effects that are state-of-the-art years
10:47 later. "You will watch this."
10:52 Behind the tentacle beard and motion capture technology is an arresting performance by
10:57 Bill Nighy, who has a ball in the role while bringing a sense of dignity to Jones that
11:02 commands respect. His face is the last anyone wants to confront on the seven seas.
11:07 "You're a cruel mind, Jack Sparrow."
11:11 #20. Bane - The Dark Knight Rises
11:15 "No one cared who I was till I put on the mask."
11:18 It was incredibly hard to follow up Heath Ledger's Joker, but Tom Hardy managed to do
11:23 it with his brilliant portrayal of Bane. Hardy gained 30 pounds of muscle for the role,
11:27 crafting a certifiable and physically imposing brute of a villain. It also helps that his
11:33 physique and costume stayed within the realm of realism, as it allowed us to see Bane as a
11:38 threatening revolutionary rather than a goofy comic book villain. Looking at you, Batman and Robin.
11:43 "This bomb is mobile, and the identity of the Trigger Man is a mystery."
11:50 And let's be honest, that mask and voice are now iconic. Who amongst us hasn't done the Bane voice
11:56 at least once since 2012? "You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it."
12:03 Too bad about his crappy anticlimactic death, though.
12:05 #19. Terrence Fletcher - Whiplash
12:09 While our previous entry is a larger-than-life character,
12:13 Terrence Fletcher is not. He's just a music teacher and conductor.
12:17 He doesn't weave any diabolical plots or have ambitions of world domination.
12:21 And that's part of what makes him such a standout villain. He's the sort of antagonist that any one
12:26 of us could encounter in our own academic or professional careers. "Rushing or dragging."
12:31 "So you do know the difference!" As Fletcher, J.K. Simmons plays a
12:35 master emotional manipulator, preying on the vulnerability and ambitions of his students
12:40 on his quest for musical perfection. He's cruel and violent, and yet he's fundamentally human
12:46 and not without sentiment or honor. Like so many real-world villains, he doesn't see himself as one.
12:52 "I earned that part!" "You never earned anything! God, you are a self-righteous prick!"
12:56 #18. Patrick Bateman - American Psycho
13:00 We love a great villain protagonist, and Patrick Bateman is among the best of the best.
13:05 "There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me."
13:12 Many academics and literary critics view Bateman as a social critique of consumer culture and
13:18 capitalism. He's shallow, rooted in physical appearances and surface-level observations,
13:23 and flaunts his materialistic wealth. "Look at that subtle off-white coloring.
13:27 The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my god. It even has a watermark."
13:33 Oh, and he's also an insatiable serial killer, a rather bloody but apt metaphor for the unquenchable
13:39 hunger of consumerism. "Most people probably don't listen to the lyrics, but they should,
13:44 because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of friends,
13:47 it's also a personal statement about the band itself. Hey, Paul!"
13:52 It works well on paper, and Christian Bale brings Bateman to a terrifying life for the movie.
13:57 While other A-list actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were considered for the role,
14:02 we think Bale was a truly inspired bit of casting. He's just got that creepy look about him.
14:08 "You're my lawyer, so I think you should know I've killed a lot of people. Some escort girls
14:11 in an apartment uptown. Uh, some homeless people, maybe five or ten, um."
14:17 Number 17. Killmonger - Black Panther. "Nah, I'm your king."
14:22 It's not the first time we've said it, but the MCU, for all its strengths, has really struggled
14:27 to bring compelling villains to the big screen. With Killmonger, however, they absolutely hit it
14:32 out of the park. Black Panther was the first comic book superhero movie to be nominated for Best
14:37 Picture at the Academy Awards. And while there were many contributing factors, Killmonger felt
14:42 like a key part of the equation. "I lived my entire life waiting for this moment."
14:47 Played expertly by Michael B. Jordan, Killmonger is a fully fleshed-out villain,
14:52 who, despite his lethal methods, has relatable and sympathetic motivations.
14:56 "You would destroy the world, Wakanda included!" "The world took everything away from me!
15:00 Everything I ever loved!" He's a character with real emotional depth, and a powerful backstory.
15:06 And when you add that to his physicality, you've got a villain worthy of our hero in every regard.
15:12 "Just bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships.
15:16 'Cause they knew death was better than bondage."
15:21 Number 16. Saruman, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
15:25 Sauron is certainly an imposing and terrifying figure. But you can't go wrong with Christopher
15:30 Lee. J.R.R. Tolkien often pointed to Saruman to defend the criticism that The Lord of the
15:35 Rings is too black and white in its characterizations. "You did not seriously think
15:40 that a hobbit could contend with the will of Sauron." And we have to agree. Saruman is a
15:45 wonderful villain, and a brilliant example of a tragic fall from heroism into villainy. He's the
15:50 Gandalf that fell in with Sauron, the pure good who was swayed by the lore and promises of power.
15:55 And the casting of Christopher Lee was genius. We couldn't imagine another actor better suited
16:00 for the role, and we saw one of modern literature's most popular villains brought to vivid
16:05 life through his genius. "Save your pity and your mercy! I have no use for it!"
16:10 Number 15. The Armitage Family. Get out. Picture this. You meet the girl of your
16:18 dreams and everything seems to be going great. After a few months, she asks you to meet her
16:23 parents, and you go along with it. The next thing you know, they're trying to sell your body to the
16:27 highest bidder. The Armitage family is deeply racist, take the term manipulative to sickening
16:33 new heights, and can only be described as evil through and through. "You can't stop the inevitable.
16:39 And who knows? Maybe one day you'll enjoy being members of the family."
16:47 Theaters saw no shortage of memorable villains over the last decade, but what really makes the
16:52 Armitages stand out is that for all intents and purposes, they're just your average family next
16:57 door. They pose as open-minded and progressive, but behind closed doors, they indulge in humanity's
17:03 darkest, cruelest, and most selfish of impulses. "Fire. It's a reflection of our own mortality.
17:11 We're born, we breathe, and we die." Number 14. Koba. The Planet of the Apes reboot series.
17:18 Koba is arguably one of the most sympathetic movie villains of the century, and his character
17:23 arc has been widely lauded by critics and fans alike. "Caesar loved humans more than apes."
17:32 Koba serves as the perfect foil to Caesar. Whereas Caesar is thoughtful and diplomatic,
17:37 Koba is bloodthirsty and hell-bent on revenge. His character development is fluid and natural,
17:42 and we understand how and why Koba became such a ruthless tyrant. It's easy to make a character
17:48 like that one-dimensional, but the writing, direction, and Toby Cabell's wonderful mo-cap
17:52 performance provides Koba a surprising amount of depth. He is a villain, but a tragic villain,
17:58 and those always make for fascinating characters. "Caesar, weak.
18:04 Koba, weaker." Number 13. Calvin Candy, Django Unchained. "Well, come on over. We got us a
18:17 fight going on that's a good bit of fun." Like Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio is considered
18:22 among the most talented actors of his generation. Who else could take a role like Jordan Belfort and
18:28 simultaneously make him both reprehensible and so magnetically charming? As DiCaprio had already
18:34 proven a year earlier, however, he's every bit as capable of turning off that charm. "Lay your palms
18:39 flat on that tabletop! If you lift those palms off that turtle shell tabletop, Mr. Pooch is gonna
18:45 let loose with both barrels of that sawed-off!" Playing against type as 19th century slave owner
18:50 Calvin Candy, DiCaprio wholly commits to the sadistic, hate-filled, and thoroughly repulsive
18:55 villain. His bigotry and racism know no bounds, but as detestable as Candy is, the manner,
19:01 swagger, and quirks with which DiCaprio imbues the character makes him the sort of villain we
19:06 love to hate. "You do not have anything to drink. Can I get you a tasty refreshment?"
19:11 "Yes, I'll have a beer." "Wonderball." Number 12. Loki, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
19:17 The MCU was the biggest movie event of the 2010s, and Loki was at the heart of it. Well,
19:25 for a while, anyway. "I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."
19:32 Loki was first introduced in 2011's Thor, before transitioning to the series' main antagonist in
19:39 The Avengers. Luckily, he's not just relegated to basic comic book villainy, as he goes through an
19:44 interesting character arc and takes on more anti-heroic traits as the series progresses.
19:49 Actor Tom Hiddleston has described Loki as a delusional autocrat and compares him to Edmund
19:55 from King Lear, an apt description concerning his family lineage and immoral plots for power.
20:00 Maybe we'll still be talking about Loki in 400 years' time? "I won't touch Barton, not until I
20:06 make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just
20:14 long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull." Number 11. Alonso
20:20 Harris - Training Day Police dramas and corrupt cop characters are a dime a dozen, but no movie
20:26 has managed to do it quite like Training Day. "Put your pants down. Put them down.
20:32 Which nut you want?" Alonso Harris inhabits many of the corrupt police officer traits,
20:38 including a preference for violence and a willingness to ignore standard and lawful
20:42 procedures. "You get the picture?" But he also takes his immoral dealings further than any other,
20:48 which includes robbing and murdering suspects, blackmailing his rookie partner with PCP-laced
20:53 marijuana, and paying to have him killed. He is a horrible, hateful person, and Denzel Washington
20:59 brings him to thrilling life, earning himself an Academy Award for his efforts. He's the corrupt
21:04 cop to end all corrupt cops, and watching him scheme makes for tantalizing drama. "King Kong
21:10 ain't got shit on me!" Number 10. Pennywise - It and It Chapter 2
21:16 It is a terrifying cosmic being who most commonly takes the form of a sinister clown.
21:29 Need we say more? Okay. It is a shapeshifter and a reality manipulator who knows how to appeal to
21:35 the good-natured sympathies of children so that he can eat them, but only after seasoning their
21:40 meat with fear. "Well, Fodeldi, yes, would you?" We never dreamed that someone could hold a candle
21:50 to Tim Curry's take on the titular terror, but Bill Skarsgård has turned in the performance of
21:55 a lifetime to make a whole new generation of cinema-goers terrified of this monstrous villain.
22:00 The horror genre isn't short on horrific creatures, but with his unique quirks and
22:04 the clear joy he takes in his work, Pennywise is cut from a different cloth. "Hello."
22:11 Number 9. Amy - Gone Girl There are so many ways in which this film
22:16 could have gone wrong. The manipulative, crazy woman is a tired trope and often serves as a lazy
22:23 stand-in for actual character development. Amy checks a lot of the boxes traditionally associated
22:28 with this archetype, but she's anything but two-dimensional. "I've killed for you. Who else
22:34 can say that?" Despite all the mystery initially surrounding Amy's disappearance, this film takes
22:39 us deep inside her mind, inviting us to understand what makes this character tick. The fact that she's
22:45 an unreliable narrator only adds to her appeal. "Start with the fairy tale early days. Those are
22:51 true and they're crucial. You want Nick and Amy to be likable. After that, you invent."
22:57 Conniving, unflinching, and brilliant, Amy is a villain worthy of a greater hero than she ever
23:03 faces, and so in the end, she wins. This is undeniably Rosamund Pike's career-defining role.
23:09 "When two people love each other and can't make that work, that's the real tragedy."
23:14 Number 8. Kylo Ren - The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy "Show me again the power of the darkness."
23:22 No one will ever top Darth Vader in terms of iconic Star Wars villains,
23:26 but since he only made a brief, albeit badass, cameo in Rogue One, it would feel like cheating
23:31 to include him on this list. In Kylo Ren, however, Vader has a worthy heir and successor.
23:37 "There's too much Vader in him." Ben Solo feels like Vader's internal struggle between the dark
23:41 and light sides of the Force personified. He's a slave to his emotions, both positive and negative.
23:47 In many ways, he feels like the sort of complex, tortured character that George Lucas was trying
23:52 to craft with Anakin Skywalker in the prequels. "No."
23:56 A powerful Force user, played with nuance by Adam Driver, Kylo Ren does the franchise proud,
24:10 without feeling like a retread of old ground. "The Sith, the Jedi, the Rebels, let it all die."
24:17 Number 7. Bill the Butcher - Gangs of New York
24:21 We didn't think Daniel Day-Lewis could be scary, but Gangs of New York proved us wrong.
24:26 "Somebody steals from me, I cut off his hands. He offends me, I cut out his tongue.
24:31 He rises against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike."
24:36 This movie was considered a disappointment by some, but even its most ardent critics agreed
24:41 that Bill the Butcher made for an intriguing and relentlessly terrifying villain. Bill is the leader
24:46 of the Natives, an aggressively patriotic New York gang opposed to immigration and willing to
24:51 kill for their true American values. "To defeat my enemy, I extinguish his life,
24:57 and consume him as I consume these flames." The story takes place in the mid-19th century,
25:03 but is proving eerily topical, especially in today's turbulent and tribalist political
25:08 atmosphere. Bill is a brilliantly written and brilliantly performed character who transcends
25:13 his story to say something larger about America and democracy. "Now you're tasting my mutton,
25:18 how do you like it, huh?" Number 6. Arthur Fleck - The Joker - Joker
25:23 "When you bring me out, can you introduce me as Joker?"
25:27 The Joker is one of the most iconic villains of any medium. With this film, he proved that he
25:32 doesn't need Batman to maintain that status. Though 2019's Joker had its detractors,
25:37 few critics could find fault with Joaquin Phoenix's brilliant performance. "He don't
25:42 listen to you." Now, mental illness is a tough subject to tackle, especially when the character
25:47 in question is supposed to be a villain. There's always a fear of demonizing mental illness. "When
25:51 I was a little boy and told people I was going to be a comedian, everyone laughed at me." But
25:57 Phoenix and director Todd Phillips did a solid job of making this character at once sympathetic
26:02 and someone who lives up to his villainous legacy. When Arthur Fleck gives in to his
26:07 worst inclinations and embraces his Joker persona, he becomes an agent of chaos and evil.
26:13 And an unforgettable one at that. Number 5. Voldemort - The Harry Potter Franchise
26:19 Before he was brought to the big screen, Voldemort had already been established as
26:27 one of the greatest villains in modern literature. As such, the risk of the live-action interpretation
26:33 of the character falling short of fan expectations was incredibly high. But Ralph Fiennes pulls it
26:38 off magnificently. "From this day forth, you put your faith in me." For many fans, it was as if the
26:47 Dark Lord had stepped right off of the page and onto the screen. In the final installment of this
26:53 epic series, Fiennes holds nothing back, fully inhabiting the role. His Voldemort is cruel and
26:58 imposing. There's danger behind every word he delivers, an inherent volatility that's terrifying
27:04 to behold. "You've been a good and faithful servant, Severus. But only I can live." And yet,
27:12 he's also charismatic in a way that makes you understand how he's seduced so many to his side.
27:17 Number 4. Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men
27:21 Cormac McCarthy + Coen Brothers = glorious movie magic. "What business is it of yours,
27:27 where I'm from, friendo?" On the surface, Chigurh is a hitman who was hired to retrieve a suitcase
27:35 full of cash. But this being Cormac McCarthy, there is far more to Chigurh than these surface-level
27:40 observations. Speculation abounds regarding Chigurh's thematic relevance and his relation
27:46 to concepts of fate, death, morality, and justice. Of course, he's also super entertaining.
27:51 "If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?"
27:58 He carries some bizarre weapons, has a really goofy haircut, and has the skills of an unstoppable
28:04 Terminator. It's very difficult to bring a McCarthy villain to life, but the Coen Brothers
28:08 and Javier Bardem manage to pull it off with aplomb. We're still shuddering over that gas
28:13 station scene. "I can't call it for you." "Well, it wouldn't be fair." "I didn't put nothing up."
28:19 "Yes, you did. You've been putting it up your whole life. You just didn't know it."
28:24 3. Hans Landa - Inglourious Bastards
28:27 Quentin Tarantino has crafted some captivating characters throughout his career,
28:31 but Hans Landa might be one of the greatest of them all.
28:34 He's the very personification of evil itself. Unrelenting, unstoppable, but worst of all,
28:43 alluring and personable. It's this mesmerizing dichotomy between pure inner evil and
28:48 foe-friendly exterior that makes Landa such a tantalizing villain. And actor Christoph Waltz
28:54 pulls off the impossible by making Landa terrifying and charismatic, effortlessly interesting yet
28:59 unspeakably cruel. The first farm scene alone is a masterclass in both acting and writing,
29:06 and we truly believe that Landa will go down in history as one of film's most memorable villains.
29:11 "But you're aware of what they call me?"
29:12 "I'm aware."
29:17 Landa's forehead swastika may be Aldo's masterpiece, but Landa is Tarantino's.
29:22 "Ooooh, that's a bingo!"
29:25 "Is that the way you say it? That's a bingo?"
29:30 2. Thanos - Avengers Infinity War
29:34 Like many of history's greatest villains, he firmly believes that his devastating methods
29:39 are entirely justifiable from a utilitarian standpoint. He's the hero of his own story.
29:45 "Because you murdered half the planet."
29:47 "A small price to pay for salvation."
29:49 Thanos is a formidable physical threat, but his greatest strength is his unflinching resolve.
29:54 A complex and charismatic villain, Thanos raised the bar in multiple ways. The MCU is the most
30:01 ambitious world-building ever seen in film, and after looming over it for years, Thanos shook
30:06 this universe to its core. "I will shred this universe down to its last atom."
30:13 He's a villain without precedent, whose status is further elevated by the magnitude of the
30:17 cinematic event in which he appeared. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
30:23 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for
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30:36 Number 1. Society. Joker.
30:38 "For the society that abandons him and beats him like trash!"
30:42 We truly do live in a society. Okay, but seriously?
30:47 Number 1. The Joker. The Dark Knight.
30:49 And while Society created the Joker, nothing can top the Joker himself.
30:54 "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you a stranger."
31:02 While Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck is fantastic, we don't think anything can top
31:06 Heath Ledger's timeless performance in The Dark Knight. "I'm gonna make this pencil disappear."
31:11 Ledger's casting caused some initial controversy and doubt, but he silenced the haters with an
31:19 enthralling performance unlike anything seen in comic book movies at the time.
31:23 "It is between one life or the other. Your friend the district attorney,
31:27 or his blushing bride to be."
31:28 Ledger's astounding performance, the complex writing, and the Joker's embodiment of
31:34 anarchy and disorder helped elevate The Dark Knight above traditional superhero fare.
31:39 All Jokers will forever be measured against Ledger's, and we don't think any will top it.
31:44 "Some men just want to watch the world burn."
31:47 It's a legendary performance of a legendary character in a legendary movie.
31:51 "Well, you look nervous. Is it the scars?"
31:56 "You wanna know how I got 'em?"
31:57 Which villains do you think have defined the century so far? Let us know in the comments.
32:02 "I don't know what you're talking about, Patrick."
32:04 "Are you trying to insult me here in the shelter that I built that's keeping you alive?"
32:10 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,
32:14 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.