006 definitely, can't beat a bit of Sean Bean! But at least we see more sides of his character than the usual, stereotypical "dr evil" style villain like drax, blofled or stromberg.
Also a strong mention for Robert Carlyle's Renard, besides Carlyle being a top actor and fantastic in pretty much everything he is in, we definitely see more of a human side to the character compared to said villains above. And of course roul silva deserves a mention, played superbly by mr. Bardem.
I have a couple issues with 006, namely how he abruptly starts behaving badly with Natalia after it's revealed that he's a "villain"
(He tries to like semi-rape her on the train)
Also, if what 007 says is true about him being nothing more than a petty thief, a bankrobber…..well, that's a bit disappointing as well.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Also, if what 007 says is true about him being nothing more than a petty thief, a bankrobber…..well, that's a bit disappointing as well.
He was pointing out what Alec has ended up being after all his railing against the 'establishment'. What he'd devolved into. Doesn't make his character less complex, just nailed down to the end result of his failing...
I like how we get to know Sanchez thru Bond trying to become his friend. We almost admire Sanchez for his loyalty and fear him for his brutality. Great villain. Good choice Blackleiter.
Thank you, my friend. And you make a good point about how we really get a bead on Sanchez through his interactions with Bond.
I think Silva is quite well written and certainly well acted, but I assume that's been mentioned in the thread already.
Not sure if people have mentioned this one yet, but Mr. Big/Kananga is a good example as well. There might be a bit of skepticism on the well written side of the coin for him, but good writing doesn't always mean thorough character examination that gets to the core of their history and motivation. It can also mean well placed dialogue that is perfectly tailored to suit a character. Most, if not all, of Kanaga's lines could only be said by him. His writing is not interchangeable and in that way I find him to be a well written character. And the acting - forget about it! Yaphet Kotto is amazing!
He was pointing out what Alec has ended up being after all his railing against the 'establishment'. What he'd devolved into. Doesn't make his character less complex, just nailed down to the end result of his failing...
Let me strongly second this. Firemass, you also point out out he's behaving badly with Natalia. Okay...and? His character was strongly implied to be like that from the get-go ("James and I shared everything. Absolutely everything."). And canonically, Bond forced himself on Pussy Galore.
I'm going to go vote for Robert Shaw as Red Grant and Telly Savalas as Blofeld.
Both were well written by Fleming, and interpreted by Maibaum; not to mentioned both were acted by two heavyweight actors. And for me, they were the only two who IMO posed a real physical challenge to Bond and exuded menace (something few of the other actors playing villains achieved).
The best acting was surely from Christopher Walken. That guy could own any character in front of a camera. Honourable mentions go to Mads Mikkelsen and Christopher Lee. Those guys embody a graceful evil.
I'd say the best written may have been Sanchez or possibly Blofeld or Kananga.
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.” - Carl Jung
Red Grant , Goldfinger , Blofeld , Zorin , Sanchez......prolly one of those , sometimes it's difficult to chose just one.
Others :
Dr No (Achilles-hands)
Oddjob (smarter than Jaws but got cocky/careless during FK fight , in a sence that's what killed him)
Kananga (I can totally imagine him being into violence and sadism , perhaps not quite on the scale of Zorin , but still)
Scaramanga (the evil Bond , obviously)
Drax (I think there's more to him than meets the eye , I've talked about the gay theory in the past. He wants to kill people that don't live up to his image , deep down I think he feels he doesn't live up to his own perfect image , as weird as that sounds)
Loque (incredibly underrated , his presence comes across despite no dialogue)
Dario
Klebb & Grant - Goldfinger - Largo - Mr. Big - Sanchez - Le Chiffre - Silva.
The others for me were either not cast right for me (Wiseman - he's a wonderful actor but his character changed too much physically from the novel; Blofelds - none fit Fleming's character for me; Lee - again good actor, wrong casting, etc.), the actors played the characters too over the top or just weren't menacing enough.
And the acting - forget about it! Yaphet Kotto is amazing!
+1
+2
Kotto can do such an amazing range. Seems like in every scene of his we get a new side of his character. We get the powerful and clever and controlling at the start then maybe veering into the unhinged, psychotic and paranoid in the New Orleans Fillet of soul then ending with the amazing self-confidence and vanity in the climax. Take a bow Yaphet sir.
Red Grant of FRWL is incredible. Menacing, brutal, cold. Robert Shaw is amazing.
Robert Davi is absolutely spot on as drug lord Sanchez. His performance is nuanced; he's brutal, but also tender at times, and occasionally shows vulnerability. Very much like Dalton's Bond.
And the acting - forget about it! Yaphet Kotto is amazing!
+1
+2
Kotto can do such an amazing range. Seems like in every scene of his we get a new side of his character. We get the powerful and clever and controlling at the start then maybe veering into the unhinged, psychotic and paranoid in the New Orleans Fillet of soul then ending with the amazing self-confidence and vanity in the climax. Take a bow Yaphet sir.
+3
Perfectly summed up. I think Dr. Kananga would be my No. 1 choice. Max Zorin is my personal favourite -- and likely the best acted -- but it's entirely Christopher Walken selling a ho-hum script with his unique presence. Silva was also great, although I hesitate to give Skyfall credit for anything.
"The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
For me, the best villain of the series – both in terms of writing and performance – is Sean Bean’s Alec Trevalyan in GoldenEye. He has a depth and nuance rarely seen in any film villain, and his pathos is not only unmistakable but somewhat understandable. And the fact that he was a Double-Oh agent, and is therefore a shadowy version of Bond himself (Bond turned rogue, essentially), is fascinating, right down to little things like him knowing what buttons to push on Bond’s watch. And the “six minute” timer at the beginning is great, because it causes a very interesting debate: Did Bond betray him? Did ANYone betray him? Is he justified in his anger?
I also love that the traditional “Bond villain disfigurement” this time serves a dramatic and thematic purpose: this is a man who literally wears his scars, both on the inside and outside.
A lot of these ideas are revisited in Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva in Skyfall, and I think it’s noteworthy that two of the most fascinating villains of the series are ex-MI6 agents.
My gripe with Scaramanga is that, well, he is not even trying to kill Bond for most of it, we (and Bond) just think he is, cos of the golden bullet (sent by Anya).
My gripe with Scaramanga is that, well, he is not even trying to kill Bond for most of it, we (and Bond) just think he is, cos of the golden bullet (sent by Anya).
Hmm...I don't think this EVER occurred to me before. I'm planning on watching TMWTGG soon, so I'll have to keep this fact in mind. Interesting observation, Napoleon!
Comments
Also a strong mention for Robert Carlyle's Renard, besides Carlyle being a top actor and fantastic in pretty much everything he is in, we definitely see more of a human side to the character compared to said villains above. And of course roul silva deserves a mention, played superbly by mr. Bardem.
(He tries to like semi-rape her on the train)
Also, if what 007 says is true about him being nothing more than a petty thief, a bankrobber…..well, that's a bit disappointing as well.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Thank you, my friend. And you make a good point about how we really get a bead on Sanchez through his interactions with Bond.
Not sure if people have mentioned this one yet, but Mr. Big/Kananga is a good example as well. There might be a bit of skepticism on the well written side of the coin for him, but good writing doesn't always mean thorough character examination that gets to the core of their history and motivation. It can also mean well placed dialogue that is perfectly tailored to suit a character. Most, if not all, of Kanaga's lines could only be said by him. His writing is not interchangeable and in that way I find him to be a well written character. And the acting - forget about it! Yaphet Kotto is amazing!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/skyfall-bluray-doesnt-match
+1
Let me strongly second this. Firemass, you also point out out he's behaving badly with Natalia. Okay...and? His character was strongly implied to be like that from the get-go ("James and I shared everything. Absolutely everything."). And canonically, Bond forced himself on Pussy Galore.
Both were well written by Fleming, and interpreted by Maibaum; not to mentioned both were acted by two heavyweight actors. And for me, they were the only two who IMO posed a real physical challenge to Bond and exuded menace (something few of the other actors playing villains achieved).
I think Sanchez, Grant and Goldfinger would also be in the running.
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Of Drax, was a white beard and hair.
I'd say the best written may have been Sanchez or possibly Blofeld or Kananga.
Others :
Dr No (Achilles-hands)
Oddjob (smarter than Jaws but got cocky/careless during FK fight , in a sence that's what killed him)
Kananga (I can totally imagine him being into violence and sadism , perhaps not quite on the scale of Zorin , but still)
Scaramanga (the evil Bond , obviously)
Drax (I think there's more to him than meets the eye , I've talked about the gay theory in the past. He wants to kill people that don't live up to his image , deep down I think he feels he doesn't live up to his own perfect image , as weird as that sounds)
Loque (incredibly underrated , his presence comes across despite no dialogue)
Dario
Rosa Klebb
Red Grant
Goldfinger
Scaramanga
Franz Sanchez
Alec Trevelyan
Electra King
Le Chifre
Raoul Silva
The others for me were either not cast right for me (Wiseman - he's a wonderful actor but his character changed too much physically from the novel; Blofelds - none fit Fleming's character for me; Lee - again good actor, wrong casting, etc.), the actors played the characters too over the top or just weren't menacing enough.
4. Zorin
3. Le Chiffre
2. Scaramanga
1. OO6
... with an honorable mention for Red Grant -{
+2
Kotto can do such an amazing range. Seems like in every scene of his we get a new side of his character. We get the powerful and clever and controlling at the start then maybe veering into the unhinged, psychotic and paranoid in the New Orleans Fillet of soul then ending with the amazing self-confidence and vanity in the climax. Take a bow Yaphet sir.
James Bond- Licence To Kill
Robert Davi is absolutely spot on as drug lord Sanchez. His performance is nuanced; he's brutal, but also tender at times, and occasionally shows vulnerability. Very much like Dalton's Bond.
but I'd like to add Raoul Silva to that list.
+3
Perfectly summed up. I think Dr. Kananga would be my No. 1 choice. Max Zorin is my personal favourite -- and likely the best acted -- but it's entirely Christopher Walken selling a ho-hum script with his unique presence. Silva was also great, although I hesitate to give Skyfall credit for anything.
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
I also love that the traditional “Bond villain disfigurement” this time serves a dramatic and thematic purpose: this is a man who literally wears his scars, both on the inside and outside.
A lot of these ideas are revisited in Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva in Skyfall, and I think it’s noteworthy that two of the most fascinating villains of the series are ex-MI6 agents.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Hmm...I don't think this EVER occurred to me before. I'm planning on watching TMWTGG soon, so I'll have to keep this fact in mind. Interesting observation, Napoleon!
Which actor?
" I don't listen to hip hop!"