Poster Boqueronman made a good point here recently when the subject turned to the latest screen incarnation of Robin Hood. Sometimes the hero is less important than the villain – consider Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” as Exhibit A.
Will the new Ridley Scott version of “Robin Hood” provide similar evidence?
Apparently everyone misses the point on “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.” Yes, Kevin Costner was laughably miscast as the English icon Robin Hood. However, the factor that made this version of the Robin Hood story noteworthy was the unbeatable performance of Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham. Worth the price of admission all by itself. And this one? From the hints in the trailer, several villains distinguished only by their cliched dialog, dour looks, and occasional spit-flecked screaming. A movie such as this MUST have an arresting, over the top villain (or two) to root against. Looks like this version is going to come up leagues short in that department.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this discussion: The best movie villains and the actors who played them.
I have to agree with this comment. Kevin Costner’s version of Robin Hood was pitiful, but it was saved Alan Rickman portrayal of Sherriff of Nottingham. Let’s also consider these other examples….
Die Hard (notice the Alan Rickman trend here):
This was already a great movie on it’s own and thus part of my vast DVD collection. But it was made infinitely better by Alan Rickman’s performance as Hans Gruber (“Nice suit. John Phillips, London. I have two myself. Rumor has it Arafat buys his there.”) One of the reasons Alan Rickman is in my top five favorite actors.
Rob Roy:
Tim Roth as the villain, Archibald Cunningham, in this movie is classic. You really, really hate the character while at the same time, you love Roth’s performance. It was if Michael Caton-Jones (director) told him to just have fun being as bad as he could in this role.
Blade Runner:
Again, another movie that is sublime and near perfection on it’s own, and Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty is one of the major reasons why. Yes, he was a mad replicant and did very bad things, but he did so out of his fight to buy more time for him and his life with Pris (Daryl Hannah). Hauer did an amazing job portraying that internal struggle while grappling with the morality of his actions. (Side note: If you don’t have the ultimate blu-ray edition of this movie, you’re really missing out.)
Any action or comic book film needs good villains – case in point, the first two Spider-Man films versus the third. “The Dark Knight” better makes the case.
A major problem – who can be the villain? It’s always the older, rich white guy, with the same corporate motivations. Tired beyond tired.
JohnFNWayne: That actually crossed my mind upon seeing the “Kick-Ass” trailer, and when I read the comic. I thought, is the Italian mob a sufficiently terrorizing force to the world these days?
I don’t know if a movie HAS to have a strong villain. It definitely helps, but a strong hero can sometimes be enough, too. Anyone remember the villians from John Wayne movies? How about the villains from the Dirty Harry movies?
I think what people are looking for is something that is larger than life, and since action heroes are often played by wimpy, bland actors these days, then the villain must be the one who is larger than life. Denzel Washington has a larger than life screen presence, so his movies are memorable whether he’s the hero or the villain.