James Bond is one of the most recognizable characters in all of cinema. The theme music, composed by Monty Norman, is synonymous with Bond's perfect mix of danger, intrigue and a well-tailored suit. The character of Sir Arthur Fleming has been played on screen by seven actors who each got to try out the role of Britain's top secret agent, complete with bespoke gadgets and a sleek sports car.
Aside from a consistent, riotous British charm, there's something every James Bond movie needs: a villain with a larger-than-life plan. Over the course of their 50-year history spanning 25 films, the Bond villains have proven to be one of the most enduring depictions of evil on screen. From Connery to Craig, every Bond has faced a nemesis with a grand purpose, from old-fashioned revenge plots to waging war between nations. The villains on this list and their maniacal schemes will leave you shocked (not moved).
Lyutsifer Safin - No time to die
2021 No time to die was Daniel Craig's final appearance as MI6's most famous super spy. In his final appearance, Craig's grizzled retired James Bond takes on Lyutsifer Safin, played by Academy Award winner Rami Malek. The disfigured Safin kills the leaders of the global criminal enterprise SPECTRE. Malek's villain also threatens to release a programmable DNA bioweapon, codenamed Heracles, stolen from MI6 to exact revenge on the world. Safin programs his weapon to take out people with specific genetic profiles, including some very important to Bond. His genocidal plan is reminiscent of Drax's plot in Moonraker. The idea that Safin can only commit mass murder to certain people is chilling, and Malek's icy calm performance makes it all the more disturbing.
Emilio Largo - Thunderball
Adolfo Celi is the ruthless Emilio Largo, second-in-command to Blofeld, the mysterious head of SPECTER in 1965. Thunderball. Largo is meticulous and exacting in his plans to steal nuclear warheads and hold the major world powers for ransom in exchange for not detonating them. He will kill anyone who gets in his way, even his own henchmen through a pool full of hungry sharks. In one scene, a fellow SPECTER member is murdered during a board meeting by Blofeld and Largo sits across the aisle, barely batting an eyelash in utter indifference before standing up to continue the meeting while every other member is in complete shock sit. In the final confrontation, Largo demonstrates just how powerful and physically a villain he is, engaging in rough hand-to-hand combat with Sean Connery's Bond.
Elliot Carver - Tomorrow never dies
Elliot Carver, played with smugness and arrogance by Jonathan Pryce, is a media mogul hungry for attention and power in Tomorrow never dies. His grand plan in the film revolves around fomenting a war between China and the West so that he has news to report, leading to the expansion of his media empire. Carver's plan to create, report on, and monetize the conflict, all in favor of starting World War III, is still terrifying today because of how timely and realistic it is. Released in 1997, it seemed like a remote impossibility, but in the current age of political disinformation on the Internet and news media, Carver's plot could elicit nervous chuckles from an audience that recognized the horrors of his megalomania and hunger for power.
Live and Let Die - Mr. Big/Dr. Kananga
Yaphet Kotto is the culprit in 1973 Live and let die, the eighth Bond film and the first of Roger Moore's tenure as the iconic character. In the film, Kotto plays a drug dealer named Mr. Big who plans to give away free heroin, bankrupt his competitors, then charge exorbitant amounts for his drugs and create a monopoly. Mr. Big also turns out to be Dr. Kananga, the brutal dictator of a fictional Caribbean nation called San Monique, where he grows opium poppies. In the final fight sequence, Kananga meets a rather explosive ending at the hands of Bond. Kotto is menacing in the role, portraying Kananga as a man willing to go to any lengths to maintain his grip on the drug trade and create a legion of heroin addicts, all in the name of undying greed.
Moonraker - Hugo Drax
Hugo Drax is a wealthy industrialist who plans to fire a nerve toxin from outer space at Earth from a stolen space shuttle, killing everyone on the planet except a specially selected group of people of his choosing. Those humans would remain safely on a space station before returning to repopulate the world and start a new master race. Michael Lonsdale plays Drax in the 1979 Bond film, the eleventh in the long-running series, pitting him against Roger Moore's Bond. lunar rocket deviates from previous Bond entries and leans towards sci-fi elements (Drax's space station is vaguely reminiscent of something out of Star Wars). Drax's plot is very over the top, but its implications are really bad. Lonsdale plays Drax as calculated and cold, making him a disturbing nemesis to Bond.
Max Zorin - A look at a murder
In A look at a murder, Roger Moore's last appearance as 007, Bond takes on Max Zorin. Christopher Walken plays Zorin in the 1985 film, the psychopathic result of secret Nazi experiments to create hyper-intelligent children. Zorin is a former KGB agent who plans to create an earthquake along the San Andreas Fault that would destroy Silicon Valley, leaving him the only supplier of microchips. Walken does well in dark roles and his performance here is no exception. He has an exuberant joy as he plans to demolish an entire region of the country and kill millions of people. In one scene, Zorin sets off a bomb to flood the rift. As his construction workers desperately try to flee the rushing water, he shoots them all and cackles in the process.
Raoul Silva - Fall of Heaven
In Skyfall, the 23rd Bond film, 007 takes on Raoul Silva, played by Academy Award winner Javier Bardem. In the film, Silva is a cybercriminal with a deeply personal motive: he seeks revenge against M (Judi Dench) after she gives him up to the Chinese government in exchange for the safe return of other MI6 agents. He does this by hacking into MI6's computers and blowing up part of the headquarters before proceeding to play a game of cat and mouse with Bond until he finally succeeds in framing him. In a terrifying scene, Silva comes face to face with M and shows her the scars of the torture he endured in captivity. Silva van Bardem is one of the most unforgettable villains in the Bond series, played with a flamboyant panache and a barely contained rage.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld - You only live twice
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
In 1967, Blofeld, the hitherto unseen leader of the global organization SPECTRE, finally takes on a face. You only live twice. James Bond's bald, scarred, cat-loving nemesis is played with icy intensity by Donald Pleasance in the Cold War-era film. Connery's Bond races against time to stop Blofeld and SPECTER from starting World War III using stolen American and Soviet nuclear warheads.
With an army of henchmen, a secret underground lair complete with a piranha-filled moat, and a ghost that functions only to quietly intimidate those around him, Pleasance's Blofeld is the blueprint for movie villains. Blofeld's evil nature is matched only by his supreme intelligence. His performance as a SPECTER leader was the main inspiration for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies. Blofeld was also last played by Christoph Waltz in 2015 Ghostand that of 2021 No time to die.
Le Chiffre - Casino Royale
Mads Mikkelsen plays the intense Le Chiffre in 2006 Casino royale, who appears as the foil to Daniel Craig's Bond in his first film as the character. In the film, Le Chiffre tries to reclaim the millions of dollars in terrorist money he lost in a scheme to swindle an airline. In a desperate attempt to win back the money, he enters a poker game at the titular casino in Montenegro. Among his opponents? 007.
Le Chiffre also suffers from a condition called hemolacria, which causes him to produce tears of blood. This villain is unique in that his motivation is not greed, but fear of what the terrorists he double-crossed will do to him once they find him. Mikkelsen appears calm on the outside when the audience knows how panicked he is inside, like an animal backed into a corner.
Dr. Julius Nee - Dr. No
Dr. No, the first in the Bond film series, stars Sean Connery as Bond and Joseph Wiseman as the nefarious titular Doctor. The half-German, half-Chinese supervillain has robotic hands after losing his in a radioactive accident. He used stolen gold to fund his corrupt plans to impede a US space launch using a weaponized radio beam.
Dr. No is cunning and mysterious, with his master plan as revenge for having his scientific expertise rejected by both the US and Soviet governments. As the first Bond villain on screen, Wiseman's performance sets the tone for all who follow him. As he talks to Connery's Bond, his face and lips barely move, but his voice is coolly detached. Wiseman as No is quintessentially evil: a hyper-intelligent man with deep resentment, seemingly unlimited financial access, and a hauntingly calm demeanor.
Comments
Post a Comment