Humorous Villains

MilleniumForce

Despite the villains being the most important part of a Bond film bar Bond himself, I am surprised that there have been no real humorous villains. Sure, some may have a funny line or two, but there has never been a villain who is known for being humorous. Even during the Moore films, there was no such villain; despite the light hearted nature of Moore's films, they all have villains that are played straight and sinister. Even in Moonraker, essentially a self parody, the villain is played completely serious. It's surprising considering that many other iconic heroes of the screen have faced off against a humorous villain; Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is played with a lot of comedy, as is Jim Carrey's Riddler. Many of Marvel's current villains are played light heartedly, and even Kylo Ren in Force Awakens has a few genuinely funny scenes, despite the dark nature of the character.

So, why hasn't Bond had one? Even in the Craig era, Bond is allowed to have one liners and funny lines, yet most of the villains have been played seriously. I guess the closest we have got maybe Carver, who had some campy fun moments, but we've never had a villain that is known for the humour.

So, would having one be good? It doesn't have to be in your face comedy, but I feel it could be nice to have a villain that can be dark and sinister but have humorous scenes that inject some fun into their films. Give some villains a one liner or two. And not every villain has to be like this, but it would create even more variety in the long list of iconic villains.

heartbroken_mr_drax

MilleniumForce wrote:

It doesn't have to be in your face comedy, but I feel it could be nice to have a villain that can be dark and sinister but have humorous scenes that inject some fun into their films. Give some villains a one liner or two. And not every villain has to be like this, but it would create even more variety in the long list of iconic villains.

IMO this is Sanchez. More of that? Maybe, but only if it wasn't a cliche.

MarcAngeDraco

Wint and Kidd are hilariously sadistic and darkly comedic.

I'd also say that Carver, Sanchez, Zorin, (Gray's) Blofeld and even Goldfinger were amusing yet threatening.

hehadlotsofguts

I've always found Brad Whittaker to be funny. There is some funny scenes like the pool scene. There is a big table full of food (all for him, it looks like) and you see him tearing open a lobster claw like a wild animal.

The climax is funny. He wanted to crush Lee's army, but he is literally crushed by the Duke Of Wellington statue. He's like a child, basically.

Gassy Man

A "funny" villain would steer the series even closer to camp. What the series really needs is better writing -- now and for a long time it's just been there to service the plot and going through the motions. But truly good writing would get to the heart of character and find places where he or she could be both menacing and even funny or more.

heartbroken_mr_drax

hehadlotsofguts wrote:

I've always found Brad Whittaker to be funny. There is some funny scenes like the pool scene. There is a big table full of food (all for him, it looks like) and you see him tearing open a lobster claw like a wild animal.

The climax is funny. He wanted to crush Lee's army, but he is literally crushed by the Duke Of Wellington statue. He's like a child, basically.

Agreed, he is funny in his petulance. He gets a bad reputation as a villain but I think he's fantastic - you just probably have to think of him in a different category as the others.

Matt S

MarcAngeDraco wrote:

Wint and Kidd are hilariously sadistic and darkly comedic.

I'd also say that Carver, Sanchez, Zorin, (Gray's) Blofeld and even Goldfinger were amusing yet threatening.

Carver tried to be funny with his kung fu moves, but I can't say that was one of the film's better moments.

MarcAngeDraco

Matt S wrote:

MarcAngeDraco wrote:

Wint and Kidd are hilariously sadistic and darkly comedic.

I'd also say that Carver, Sanchez, Zorin, (Gray's) Blofeld and even Goldfinger were amusing yet threatening.

Carver tried to be funny with his kung fu moves, but I can't say that was one of the film's better moments.

It doesn't bother me like it does some, but I was thinking more about his conference call at the beginning of the film, the scene where Bond and Wai Lin visit him in his office, and his laughs when he says "we're on a stealth boat".

caractacus potts

Walken's a comedian, and plays his part funny, much like a Batman villain (in fact he once was a Batman villain)
but primarily its the henchmen's job to be the zany one

Herr Michael

I got a few laughs from Dr. Kaufman in TND. Funniest villain I've seen in some time.