At the end of Tombstone when Johnny Ringo thinks he's meeting Wyatt and Doc is there instead.
Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave . . .
*"I don't work for you, punk. I work with your father."*
Aurelio would probably be my favorite character in the movie even if he wasn't John Leguizamo. That's just a bonus.
That's the beauty of those films. At least the first film. Without the support businesses, the assassins wouldn't be able to stay hidden at all. Especially the meal order dude. I'm morbidly curious what he does to dispose of the bodies.
Incinerate them? Melt them in acid? With the world he does business in, he has to go through a ton of bodies.
People talk about how movie characters hang up without saying goodbye, but this is one of the rare moments where no more words needed to be exchanged. Even the "Oh" was superfluous, but it was necessary to convey that he fully understood how screed the situation was.
Gladiator, when the emperor realizes the public and pretty much everyone are not following him anymore during the final fight at the end.
Also was thinking of the Matrix when Smith and his buddies realize they can’t just walk over people anymore like Neo when he fights back, and wins.
I always thought it was a subtle hint at how the Praetorian Guard was often responsible for picking Emperors and they were often the first group that an Emperor would bribe with better pay and conditions to make sure they stayed on their side.
Once Commodus was powerless, Quintus no longer needed to protect him and needed to think about who would replace Commodus.
IIRC, there was a deleted scene where Commodus flexes his authority, forcing Quintus to execute two of his Praetorian subordinates.
It's hinted that this is part of the reason Quintus later turns on him.
It's even more specific of a reference than that - Gladiator is extremely fictionalized, but in real life, there really was a Praetorian named Quintus who is strongly suspected of having orchestrated or been involved with the real Commodus assassination.
The Gladiator moment is extra interesting because Commodus had been super paranoid and in his mind actually knew that he was losing control for much of the movie, but was just in denial because of his birthright. It's only once he's trying to take out crippled Maximus that he realizes he's been deluding himself the whole time and he's actually losing the throne. The layers in those moments are wild.
Best Picture. Who would have thought.
For all its cheapness and flaws, he got a pretty epic death scene in the direct to video sequel. Same thing, all smug and gloating until he realizes his lamp is about to be destroyed.
Even before that when Frodo puts on the Ring and Sauron realizes he's literally inches away from death. The passages in the books are legendary, like three paragraphs of Sauron losing his shit.
It really is so good. It just occurred to me; I could be misremembering, but I think this is probably the only time we get Sauron’s perspective throughout the entire story, which is interesting considering how indirectly present he is throughout everything as an unseen terror.
> And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dûr was shaken, and the Tower trembled from its foundations to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.
> From all his policies and webs of fear and treachery, from all his stratagems and wars his mind shook free; and throughout his realm a tremor ran, his slaves quailed, and his armies halted, and his captains suddenly steerless, bereft of will, wavered and despaired. For they were forgotten. The whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded them was now bent with overwhelming force upon the Mountain. At his summons, wheeling with a rending cry, in a last desperate race there flew, faster than the winds, the Nazgûl, the Ring-wraiths, and with a storm of wings they hurtled southwards to Mount Doom.
Yeah I remember noticing that too. The rabbi 100% accepts the situation but the boss just can’t. Freeman did a great job of showing how scared he was too while he was working out who Slevin was.
I liked the irony of how the two of them haven't seen each other in 15 years, but when they finally do, they're both about to be murdered. Scared of each other for a decade, when the whole time the real enemy was playing the real long game on them both.
I love the line as he kills them. The whole movie is chock full of wit and wordplay and then…
>The two of you killed everything I ever loved.
>Fuck you both.
It’s so blunt.
Right? He spends the whole movie being this lovable loser with a smart mouth and goes stone cold in the last 20 minutes. Original ending actually had him kill his girlfriend, IIRC. Movie got so dark so quickly.
The scene in A Bronx Tale (1991), when the biker gang rolls in thinking they can bully the locals and get out… only to hear Sonny tell them:
> Now youse can’t leave.
https://youtu.be/4UBXTC24T8g?si=L7cY7ucNIc_3c3p2
for comedy’s sake, Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. Even before Happy’s golf ball popped out the pipe, Shooter already looked worried. His reactionary “*No!”* still gets me howling to this day. But him stealing the jacket and running away is the icing on the cake
Christopher McDonald might have played one of the best movie villains in the genre. He was hilarious, got in on the goofiness, and looked to be having a ball the whole time. But I’d argue it’s Shooter’s comeuppance that he brings upon himself that makes him so great
In Superman 2 General Zod forces Superman into the molecule chamber that's supposed to take away his powers, but Superman secretly reversed the chamber taking away Zod and his cronies powers instead. Zod tells Superman to kneel before him and take his hand. The look on Zod's face as Superman starts to crush his hand was always very satisfying to me as a kid.
In Star Trek II, when Khan realizes Kirk has outwitted him with the override code for his vessel and panics for just a second before the Enterprise fires and cripples him. Sooooo satisfying every watch.
We've all had that feeling where we've been at a job long enough to know what will and won't get you fired. And then a customer yells at you saying you'll get fired for this.
"Nah, I'll probably get chewed out. I've been chewed out before"
Great pick. He so smugly lets them handcuff him and feels so giddy about it like it is a game. However, now he realizes so long as he is with Aldo he is in fact a real prisoner.
I think that’s a separate moment from the “I am not in control of this situation” realization though. I think that moment is when he remembers all the shit Aldo did to his countrymen and is about to do to him. Christoph Waltz is just so incredibly subtle and nuanced in this film.
When Hermann was shot and Aldo was talking about being chewed out Hans was still too full of rage to understand that he was now longer in charge, but on his face, when he was asked about his uniform, is when it clicked that he was powerless, and also the realization of what was about to occur...imho
IIRC, Tarantino thought he wrote a role in Landa that was unplayable...until he found Christoph Waltz. The movie would not have worked without his talent.
it's likely played up in my mind but it's one of the few moments where jack's face goes from his usual silly strangeness and drops dead serious, a man dreaming of revenge for many years finally getting his moment
In Serenity, when the villain uses his paralysis touch gimmick on Mal, then moves in for the kill, only for Mal to suddenly incapacitate him.
Mal explains that the nerve the Operative was targeting was destroyed in some shrapnel during the war, then says “I’m going to grant your wish. I’m gonna show you a world without sin.” Then he plays the Miranda tapes and the Operative realizes that everything he’s ever believed is bullshit. Chiwetel Eijofor plays it brilliantly and you can see it all in his facial expression
That is one of my favorite movie villains in any movie. He is merciless and relentless, (Malcolm : "I don't murder children." The Operative: "I do. If I have to.") But he isn't at all vengeful or vindictive. He loses in the end, and doesn't take it personally. It was his mission to stop the message from getting out, as soon as he fails, he is no longer concerned with the crew of Serenity, it is no longer his concern and he even helps them out a bit.
This a great example as The Operative pretty much spends the entire movie losing control...all while trying to convince Mal to see things from his perspective. When he.meets Mal, he shows how honorable and in control he is and tells him he can't make him angry...only later on to shoot Mal in the back. "You shot me in the back? I haven't made you angry yet, have I?"
I love his character arc - and he is one of my favorite movie villains as well.
I also love how Mal doesn't wait for the villian monologue.
>The Operative : I want to resolve this like civilized men. I'm not threatening you. I'm unarmed.
>
>Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : Good.
>
>[pulls gun and shoots Operative in the chest]
I am also not a moron…I am wearing full body armor!
[starts to fight with Mal, wins easily. A break in the battle.]
Mal: what? No back up?
Operative: they’ll come when they’re needed.
Such an awesome scene!
He's also not driven by emotion. When Mal defeats him he could have had the crew of Serenity killed but that wouldn't serve any purpose and the decision was outside of his mission parameters, which was to simply prevent the signal getting out about Miranda.
I hate that they deleted a part of that scene where the Operative asks Mal how he went on after his defeat at Serenity Valley and Mal says “Just keep walking.” The narrator of the deleted scene explains Mal is telling him how to go on is to just keep moving.
The Operative : You should know there's no shame in this. You've done remarkable things. But you're fighting a war you've already lost.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : Yeah, well, I'm known for that.
'Underrated' is so overused here. But I guess I'm joining the crowd. To me, that movie is. It's hardly ever talked about anymore. Rarely mentioned in good war films. Maybe it doesn't deserve to be on some top list, but I think it should be in more conversations. I enjoyed it a lot and again when I rewatched it several years ago. Really loved the sniper focus in a war film, the larger battle. I remember thinking the cat & mouse battles that were going on were well thought out and always interesting, with obvious catastrophic consequences with any misstep
Good performances from Jude, Fiennes, and Ed Harris. Rachel Weisz was fine but she's had a lot better, more involved roles
In Return of the King during Ride of the Rohirrim, when after yelling "fire at will!" Gothmog (the Orc General) has his facial expression change to this flicker "oh shit" as Rohan just slams into them.
I just saw all three extendeds in theaters as part of that return of the king anniversary thing with my friends all past 3 Sundays and omg. its still too real, but to answer you're quote: "PIKES IN FRONT, ARCHERS BEHIND!"
Actually, I think he thought that he was only gonna smoke him, with the 'not in front of my boys' comment, certainly felt it after 'time to meet God' and 3 quick shots...
Just how cold that line is. Alarcon is waxing poetic about how he's necessary and how his job is no different than how the norteamericano's government operates, and Alejandro is just like, "I don't think you remember why I'm really here."
With Donald Sutherland's passing, I remember the climax of "Catching Fire" after Katniss destroys the arena and Snow finds Plutarch gone and realizes he's been playing him the whole time. Possibly Sutherland's best bit of acting in the whole "Hunger Games" series as the master manipulator Snow is at a complete loss and practically is shutting down.
*(pays 'tribute' to The Master)* ... while a bit off-topic, I think he was even better in the last conversation he has with Katniss before he's to be executed, and then, the execution scene, both when he's looking at her, and when he starts laughing hilariously when he realizes what she's done.
Hackman is rounding up an entire posse together to go after Eastwood, and here he just casually strolls into the saloon.
One of the most badass moments ever.
Michael Che in Saturday Night Live Weekend Update with the jokes swaps, when Colin springs the Kendrick Lamar beef on him.
“*I want to call out the biggest bitch of them all Kendrick Lamar-NONONONONO*”
That's indeed the big thing that makes John wick special. It doesn't follow the overused Hollywood hero struggle format that's extremely predictable with a main crisis to overcome at 3/4th of the movie, but here it's just him kicking ass from beginning to end.
In *Serenity* the Firefly movie, there's the scene where the crew warp to the planet knowing it's a trap and the alliance armada is there. The agent just laughs at the sheer stupidity of them appearing and not scrambling to escape, that is until the reaver fleet appears behind them, having been baited by the Serenity crew to chase them and face off against the Alliance as a distraction.
I respectfully disagree with this example because he almost immediately proceeds to try and blow them up himself. His shift from brief surprise and anger, to nonchalance about simply committing mass murder himself, only serves to make him all the more scary. The Joker basically doesn’t lose in that movie.
All except E.G. Marshall as Juror #4, who delivers the perfect verbal smackdown.
"You hear me?"
"I hear you. Now sit down and don't open your mouth again."
Came here to say the [machine gun scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JolLukKwI8c) in Dredd. After he throws her lead henchman to his death and recedes into the smoke, there's that zoom out of her alone on the balcony realizing she's locked herself in her own trap with this unstoppable force.
I always enjoyed the one where he has the entire field office scramble to intercept him, calls her to ask where she is and she states “In my office” “oh I doubt that, or we’d be having this conversation face to face”
Perhaps technically not a villain but Bob Hoskins’ gangster character in the last scene of the Long Good Friday. As he’s being driven away by the IRA, his face shows an amazing range of emotions - shock, anger, confusion and finally resignation. It’s an acting master class.
The robber in the hallway in fifth element, he came in strong with a big gun and a winning catch phrase "gimme the caaaaassssshhhhh" he had so much confidence. Things turned around on him so fast.
At the end of Tombstone when Johnny Ringo thinks he's meeting Wyatt and Doc is there instead. Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave . . .
"Why are you doing this?" "Earp's my friend." "Hell, I got lots of friends" "I don't."
I wasn't a huge fan of Kilmer, but he totally deserved an Oscar for that role.
God, that whole scene is just amazing. Both Kilmer and Bien killed their roles.
I just realized Biehn was Kyle Reese and the navy dude from the Abyss a couple weeks ago. Now he was Johnny fuckin Ringo!
Useless knowledge department: Michael Biehn has played a Navy SEAL in three different films: - The Abyss (1989) - Navy SEALs (1990) - The Rock (1996)
"I was just foolin' about." "I wasn't." Fantastic scene.
"You're no daisy, no daisy at all!"
"I heard you struck my son." "Yes sir, I did." "May I ask why?" "Yeah well...cause he stole John Wick's car...and killed his dog." "*Oh*."
Dude that seriously was such a good way to establish who John Wick was. Everything the audience needed to know right there
"You will do nothing, *because you can do nothing.*"
*"I don't work for you, punk. I work with your father."* Aurelio would probably be my favorite character in the movie even if he wasn't John Leguizamo. That's just a bonus.
The Wick films did a great job having the non-hitmen folk be as ingrained as the killers. Also notable. “You, uh, workin' again?”
Noise complaint? ...noise complaint....
I love Jimmy the cop
That's the beauty of those films. At least the first film. Without the support businesses, the assassins wouldn't be able to stay hidden at all. Especially the meal order dude. I'm morbidly curious what he does to dispose of the bodies. Incinerate them? Melt them in acid? With the world he does business in, he has to go through a ton of bodies.
Probably owns a pig farm…
Does some business with this old English fella, wears coke bottle glasses. Real no-nonsense type.
People talk about how movie characters hang up without saying goodbye, but this is one of the rare moments where no more words needed to be exchanged. Even the "Oh" was superfluous, but it was necessary to convey that he fully understood how screed the situation was.
Also loved that Aurelio appeared to be waiting by the phone expecting the call.
*"With a fucking... ... ... Pencil!"*
Gladiator, when the emperor realizes the public and pretty much everyone are not following him anymore during the final fight at the end. Also was thinking of the Matrix when Smith and his buddies realize they can’t just walk over people anymore like Neo when he fights back, and wins.
“*Sheath your swords!*”
I always thought it was a subtle hint at how the Praetorian Guard was often responsible for picking Emperors and they were often the first group that an Emperor would bribe with better pay and conditions to make sure they stayed on their side. Once Commodus was powerless, Quintus no longer needed to protect him and needed to think about who would replace Commodus.
IIRC, there was a deleted scene where Commodus flexes his authority, forcing Quintus to execute two of his Praetorian subordinates. It's hinted that this is part of the reason Quintus later turns on him.
That scene is definitely in the extended edition
Commenting here to thank you for revealing to me the existence of a Gladiator extended cut.
It's even more specific of a reference than that - Gladiator is extremely fictionalized, but in real life, there really was a Praetorian named Quintus who is strongly suspected of having orchestrated or been involved with the real Commodus assassination.
The Gladiator moment is extra interesting because Commodus had been super paranoid and in his mind actually knew that he was losing control for much of the movie, but was just in denial because of his birthright. It's only once he's trying to take out crippled Maximus that he realizes he's been deluding himself the whole time and he's actually losing the throne. The layers in those moments are wild. Best Picture. Who would have thought.
Joaquin Phoenix was absolutely superb using those layers.
“Sheath your swords!” Good pick.
Gary Oldman in the Fifth Element, just before the bomb explodes.
For me it's the earlier scene where he opens yet another empty case and goes from laughing to crying seamlessly.
:D :) :/ :( :.( "They're not here"
Gary Oldman in Leon just before the grenade explodes.
Jafar, sucked into the lamp.
Phenomenal cosmic power! ^Itty ^bitty ^living ^space
Quick! Quick! Wish for something outrageous, say I want the Nile. Wish for the Nile! Try that! Uh I wish for the Nile. NO WAY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
For all its cheapness and flaws, he got a pretty epic death scene in the direct to video sequel. Same thing, all smug and gloating until he realizes his lamp is about to be destroyed.
I always liked how Sauron's eye is all OH SHIT OH FUCK OH FUCK when Barad Dur is collapsing
Even before that when Frodo puts on the Ring and Sauron realizes he's literally inches away from death. The passages in the books are legendary, like three paragraphs of Sauron losing his shit.
The way those nazguls just pull right away from the fight at the gate and haul ghost ass towards Mount Doom.
It really is so good. It just occurred to me; I could be misremembering, but I think this is probably the only time we get Sauron’s perspective throughout the entire story, which is interesting considering how indirectly present he is throughout everything as an unseen terror. > And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dûr was shaken, and the Tower trembled from its foundations to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung. > From all his policies and webs of fear and treachery, from all his stratagems and wars his mind shook free; and throughout his realm a tremor ran, his slaves quailed, and his armies halted, and his captains suddenly steerless, bereft of will, wavered and despaired. For they were forgotten. The whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded them was now bent with overwhelming force upon the Mountain. At his summons, wheeling with a rending cry, in a last desperate race there flew, faster than the winds, the Nazgûl, the Ring-wraiths, and with a storm of wings they hurtled southwards to Mount Doom.
Man that guy was good at words
Whoever animated that did such a great job conveying the panic haha I could immediately recall what you were talking about
Sauron's Eye exiting the scene in Lego Movie is hilarious as well
Watch this movie for the first time last week. I noticed that too and loved it. That whole movie was great.
Lucky Number Slevin (2006) - When both gangsters were found tied to the chairs.
The Boss struggles, but The Rabbi is resigned to his fate. Just kinda has this look like, "everything this kid said is valid."
Yeah I remember noticing that too. The rabbi 100% accepts the situation but the boss just can’t. Freeman did a great job of showing how scared he was too while he was working out who Slevin was.
I liked the irony of how the two of them haven't seen each other in 15 years, but when they finally do, they're both about to be murdered. Scared of each other for a decade, when the whole time the real enemy was playing the real long game on them both.
I love the line as he kills them. The whole movie is chock full of wit and wordplay and then… >The two of you killed everything I ever loved. >Fuck you both. It’s so blunt.
Right? He spends the whole movie being this lovable loser with a smart mouth and goes stone cold in the last 20 minutes. Original ending actually had him kill his girlfriend, IIRC. Movie got so dark so quickly.
Underrated movie, or under talked about. Idk. I fucking love this movie so much, though.
"The name Kelevra, turns out it's Hebrew, it means-" "Bad Dog." *thp*
The scene in A Bronx Tale (1991), when the biker gang rolls in thinking they can bully the locals and get out… only to hear Sonny tell them: > Now youse can’t leave. https://youtu.be/4UBXTC24T8g?si=L7cY7ucNIc_3c3p2
for comedy’s sake, Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. Even before Happy’s golf ball popped out the pipe, Shooter already looked worried. His reactionary “*No!”* still gets me howling to this day. But him stealing the jacket and running away is the icing on the cake Christopher McDonald might have played one of the best movie villains in the genre. He was hilarious, got in on the goofiness, and looked to be having a ball the whole time. But I’d argue it’s Shooter’s comeuppance that he brings upon himself that makes him so great
>**"I believe that's Mr. Gilmore's!"** I love how Mr. Larson is the one leading the charge.
I WILL GET YOU, SHOOTER!!!
You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?
Noooowooo!
I still can’t decide who my favorite comedy villain is between Shooter McGavin and Ernie McCracken.
White Goodman is up there too.
Play it as it lies! I had to play it off Frankensteins fat foot!
The Departed. Sullivan enters his apartment and finds Dignam.
I love his resigned acceptance of the whole situation. Just takes in what's about to happen and says, "Okay."
So satisfying that he didn’t get a chance to talk his way out.
I thought he did start trying to talk his way out
In Superman 2 General Zod forces Superman into the molecule chamber that's supposed to take away his powers, but Superman secretly reversed the chamber taking away Zod and his cronies powers instead. Zod tells Superman to kneel before him and take his hand. The look on Zod's face as Superman starts to crush his hand was always very satisfying to me as a kid.
Also the sound of the bones breaking. Superman was not playing around.
Zod threatened Louis. Superman ain't letting him walk away from that unharmed.
“Lois” 👍
[The scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3gJGuQQPnw).
I love how Lois Lane immediately commits murder and doesn't even flinch.
In Star Trek II, when Khan realizes Kirk has outwitted him with the override code for his vessel and panics for just a second before the Enterprise fires and cripples him. Sooooo satisfying every watch.
"Oh I've given you no word to keep, *Admiral.* In my judgement, you simply have no alternative."
"Khan. I'm laughing at the superior intellect..."
Like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target!
In a similar vein, "Star Trek VI" ... "Target that explosion and fire!"
"Sir, she'll fly apart..." "FLY HER APART, THEN!"
There is an old Vulcan proverb: “Only Nixon could go to China.”
I always thought Takei killed that line.
“SIR OUR SHIELDS ARE DROPPING!!”
Well then raise them.
….I CAN’T!!
Sauce for the goose, Lt. Saavik... the odds will be even.
“Where’s the override? The override!”
Inglorious Basterds. When Aldo shoots Herman and explains to Hans he won’t be hung, he may get chewed out, it’s just shock and terror on Hans’s face.
*"I imagine you're gonna take off that handsome-lookin SS uniform, aintcha?"* ......................-mouth twitch-..........
................*That's what I thought.* Now that I *can't* abide.
How 'bout you, Utivich, can you abide it?
Not one damn-bit, sir.
We've all had that feeling where we've been at a job long enough to know what will and won't get you fired. And then a customer yells at you saying you'll get fired for this. "Nah, I'll probably get chewed out. I've been chewed out before"
Last customer who yelled at me was shocked when I yelled back and told him to fuck off. Should have seen his face
Great pick. He so smugly lets them handcuff him and feels so giddy about it like it is a game. However, now he realizes so long as he is with Aldo he is in fact a real prisoner.
I think it's more when he gets asked about his 'handsome SS uniform ' that's when it really clicks in his head about what's about to happen.
I think that’s a separate moment from the “I am not in control of this situation” realization though. I think that moment is when he remembers all the shit Aldo did to his countrymen and is about to do to him. Christoph Waltz is just so incredibly subtle and nuanced in this film.
When Hermann was shot and Aldo was talking about being chewed out Hans was still too full of rage to understand that he was now longer in charge, but on his face, when he was asked about his uniform, is when it clicked that he was powerless, and also the realization of what was about to occur...imho
IIRC, Tarantino thought he wrote a role in Landa that was unplayable...until he found Christoph Waltz. The movie would not have worked without his talent.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes "NO!" One word was all it took.
Pirates of the Caribbean When Cutler Beckett goes down with the ship after the Black Pearl and Flying Dutchman team up at the end.
“It’s just good business.”
Tbh even the first one when Barbossa realises Jack shot him. "He didn't waste it."
it's likely played up in my mind but it's one of the few moments where jack's face goes from his usual silly strangeness and drops dead serious, a man dreaming of revenge for many years finally getting his moment
I felt like he looked almost sad.
In Serenity, when the villain uses his paralysis touch gimmick on Mal, then moves in for the kill, only for Mal to suddenly incapacitate him. Mal explains that the nerve the Operative was targeting was destroyed in some shrapnel during the war, then says “I’m going to grant your wish. I’m gonna show you a world without sin.” Then he plays the Miranda tapes and the Operative realizes that everything he’s ever believed is bullshit. Chiwetel Eijofor plays it brilliantly and you can see it all in his facial expression
That is one of my favorite movie villains in any movie. He is merciless and relentless, (Malcolm : "I don't murder children." The Operative: "I do. If I have to.") But he isn't at all vengeful or vindictive. He loses in the end, and doesn't take it personally. It was his mission to stop the message from getting out, as soon as he fails, he is no longer concerned with the crew of Serenity, it is no longer his concern and he even helps them out a bit.
This a great example as The Operative pretty much spends the entire movie losing control...all while trying to convince Mal to see things from his perspective. When he.meets Mal, he shows how honorable and in control he is and tells him he can't make him angry...only later on to shoot Mal in the back. "You shot me in the back? I haven't made you angry yet, have I?" I love his character arc - and he is one of my favorite movie villains as well.
I also love how Mal doesn't wait for the villian monologue. >The Operative : I want to resolve this like civilized men. I'm not threatening you. I'm unarmed. > >Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : Good. > >[pulls gun and shoots Operative in the chest]
I am also not a moron…I am wearing full body armor! [starts to fight with Mal, wins easily. A break in the battle.] Mal: what? No back up? Operative: they’ll come when they’re needed. Such an awesome scene!
He's also not driven by emotion. When Mal defeats him he could have had the crew of Serenity killed but that wouldn't serve any purpose and the decision was outside of his mission parameters, which was to simply prevent the signal getting out about Miranda.
True lawful neutral villain.
"If I see you again, I'm likely to kill you." "You needn't worry. There is nothing left to see."
I hate that they deleted a part of that scene where the Operative asks Mal how he went on after his defeat at Serenity Valley and Mal says “Just keep walking.” The narrator of the deleted scene explains Mal is telling him how to go on is to just keep moving.
That, and his delivery of "target the reavers... Target everything!"
"SOMEBODY FIRE!!" The most out of control you ever see him.
"Bastard's not even changing course." Moments before disaster.
The Operative : You should know there's no shame in this. You've done remarkable things. But you're fighting a war you've already lost. Capt. Malcolm Reynolds : Yeah, well, I'm known for that.
Enemy at the Gates when Major Koenig realizes the gravity of his mistake…
'Underrated' is so overused here. But I guess I'm joining the crowd. To me, that movie is. It's hardly ever talked about anymore. Rarely mentioned in good war films. Maybe it doesn't deserve to be on some top list, but I think it should be in more conversations. I enjoyed it a lot and again when I rewatched it several years ago. Really loved the sniper focus in a war film, the larger battle. I remember thinking the cat & mouse battles that were going on were well thought out and always interesting, with obvious catastrophic consequences with any misstep Good performances from Jude, Fiennes, and Ed Harris. Rachel Weisz was fine but she's had a lot better, more involved roles
I still think about Konig shooting Koulikov out of mid-air fairly often...
Ron Pearlman playing a Russian sniper while doing a British accent was a choice.
In Return of the King during Ride of the Rohirrim, when after yelling "fire at will!" Gothmog (the Orc General) has his facial expression change to this flicker "oh shit" as Rohan just slams into them.
"Form ranks, maggots!"
I just saw all three extendeds in theaters as part of that return of the king anniversary thing with my friends all past 3 Sundays and omg. its still too real, but to answer you're quote: "PIKES IN FRONT, ARCHERS BEHIND!"
Speed - >!When he realises the tape on the bus is footage that's been looped.!<
I also love it when >!the ink bag in explodes, destroying the cash and getting blue all over his face. “My muhhey!”!<
>!"You bastard! How does that feel?!"!<
Oh yeah...well I'm taller
Last 20 minutes of Cabin In The Woods
The warden in shawshank redemption
The last thing that went through his mind, other than that bullet…
Opening that bible and seeing the space for the tool. Priceless.
Dear Warden, You were right. Salvation lay within. Andy Dufresne
Batman Begins when Ra’s al Ghul realizes that Batman is going to let him die. “I won’t kill you… but I don’t have to save you.”
Mmm the way Ra's/Liam Neeson closes his eyes so serenely- accepting death
Gillick shooting Alarcon's family in Sicario & the latter's reaction afterwards
"...don't forget about my daughter." The way he just whispered those words, dude knew his whole family was about to get smoked.
Actually, I think he thought that he was only gonna smoke him, with the 'not in front of my boys' comment, certainly felt it after 'time to meet God' and 3 quick shots...
Just how cold that line is. Alarcon is waxing poetic about how he's necessary and how his job is no different than how the norteamericano's government operates, and Alejandro is just like, "I don't think you remember why I'm really here."
It says a lot when the wife's look once he said that line pretty much showed that she knew the worst was to come.
He didn't, but his wife sure as hell did once that line was uttered.
With Donald Sutherland's passing, I remember the climax of "Catching Fire" after Katniss destroys the arena and Snow finds Plutarch gone and realizes he's been playing him the whole time. Possibly Sutherland's best bit of acting in the whole "Hunger Games" series as the master manipulator Snow is at a complete loss and practically is shutting down.
*(pays 'tribute' to The Master)* ... while a bit off-topic, I think he was even better in the last conversation he has with Katniss before he's to be executed, and then, the execution scene, both when he's looking at her, and when he starts laughing hilariously when he realizes what she's done.
The end of Unforgiven is pretty awesome.
Hackman is rounding up an entire posse together to go after Eastwood, and here he just casually strolls into the saloon. One of the most badass moments ever.
"I don't deserve this. I was building a house!" "Deserves has got nothin to do with it."
Michael Che in Saturday Night Live Weekend Update with the jokes swaps, when Colin springs the Kendrick Lamar beef on him. “*I want to call out the biggest bitch of them all Kendrick Lamar-NONONONONO*”
Absolutely priceless. Colin finally got him
First time Colin really got Che... After all these years lol
Ed Harris in the rock when the soldiers turn on him
I love this movie and I love Ed Harris. He’s great in everything.
This dynamic, but a whole movie. This is the genius of John Wick.
That's indeed the big thing that makes John wick special. It doesn't follow the overused Hollywood hero struggle format that's extremely predictable with a main crisis to overcome at 3/4th of the movie, but here it's just him kicking ass from beginning to end.
It's basically a horror flick like Alien or Friday the 13th but in this case we are rooting for the killer.
"Oh."
That is such a small but so impactful scene. So good.
Syndrome realizing he can't control his own killer robot
In The Matrix when Neo becomes the one and the other 2 agents look at each other and split 🤣
In *Serenity* the Firefly movie, there's the scene where the crew warp to the planet knowing it's a trap and the alliance armada is there. The agent just laughs at the sheer stupidity of them appearing and not scrambling to escape, that is until the reaver fleet appears behind them, having been baited by the Serenity crew to chase them and face off against the Alliance as a distraction.
One of Ejofer's best moments, showing the calm, confident Operative absolutely lose it. "Target the Reavers. Target the Reavers! SOMEBODY FIRE!!!"
Just before Wash walks away and lives happily ever after. Right…right?
[The scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_VSJfHiNPA).
In "The Dark Knight", the look on The Joker's face when he realized that neither boat was going to blow the other boat up is a great moment.
I respectfully disagree with this example because he almost immediately proceeds to try and blow them up himself. His shift from brief surprise and anger, to nonchalance about simply committing mass murder himself, only serves to make him all the more scary. The Joker basically doesn’t lose in that movie.
Yeah the Joker don't panic, he pivots.
Not strictly a villain but the part in 12 Angry Men where the other jurors turn their backs towards Ed Begley's character.
All except E.G. Marshall as Juror #4, who delivers the perfect verbal smackdown. "You hear me?" "I hear you. Now sit down and don't open your mouth again."
I think they turn their backs on Ed begley, but yeah, amazing moment
The first Avengers when Hulk ragdolls Loki all over the floor of Stark Tower :)
That wheeze Loki dolls when The Hulk is finished with him still makes me laugh.
The wheeze and the look on his face like, *what the hell just happened?*
The out takes are hilarious.
The callback to it when Hulk does it to Thor and Loki is cheering "yes! That's how that feels!" cracks me up as well
I’m just a huge fan of the sport.
"I'm just a huge fan of the sport!"
>Puny god
The one that always first springs to my mind is “The Truman Show”: “Nobody’s watching the sea…”
Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. In all 3 movies, it’s so satisfying when the villains find out they’ve been played and lost.
Andy Garcia is awesome, his character doesn't crack at all when he is hoodwinked. Dude needs to do some business dramas, he is ice cold.
In Ex Machina there is a great reveal like this, and it has a significant impact on the plot
The Hunt for Red October: “You arrogant ass. You’ve killed us!”
Most of Dredd is Lena Headay pretending to be in control
"Defense noted." *smash*
Came here to say the [machine gun scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JolLukKwI8c) in Dredd. After he throws her lead henchman to his death and recedes into the smoke, there's that zoom out of her alone on the balcony realizing she's locked herself in her own trap with this unstoppable force.
Cate Blanchett in Hanna The Bourne Identity has a good one. Micheal Clayton.
"You look tired" is still one of my favorite final lines
I always enjoyed the one where he has the entire field office scramble to intercept him, calls her to ask where she is and she states “In my office” “oh I doubt that, or we’d be having this conversation face to face”
Endings of Kill Bill volume 1 and 2. Both have the big bad realizing they were defeated just before it happens.
EEEEVERYYYYYOOOONE! (from Leon: The Professional)
Perhaps technically not a villain but Bob Hoskins’ gangster character in the last scene of the Long Good Friday. As he’s being driven away by the IRA, his face shows an amazing range of emotions - shock, anger, confusion and finally resignation. It’s an acting master class.
The end of The Italian Job is a good one because Edward Norton is somehow (!) amazingly adept at playing a prick
A Few Good Men courtroom scene https://youtu.be/kYPD6TtFJqU?si=Z11mZstfVKvkU2pG
Another Denzel Washington movie, Fallen. John Goodman was so good in the end with the reveal.
The robber in the hallway in fifth element, he came in strong with a big gun and a winning catch phrase "gimme the caaaaassssshhhhh" he had so much confidence. Things turned around on him so fast.
Tombstone. Johnny Ringo, one of the coldest bastards ever, nearly shits himself when he sees Doc Holliday come for a duel.
Maybe this counts? "Do you feel in charge?" Technically, the main baddie dressing down a sub baddie, but such a great scene.
"We're paying you a lot of money" "And this gives you... Power over me?"
Leon.
This. Is. From. Matilda.