Tag Archives: Bane

Top Ten Movie Fights

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Alright, I think it’s finally time I made this list. A while back I made a list of my Top Ten Movie Gun Fights, but now it’s time for my list of the greatest fights in film. By fights I mean anything other than guns, whether that be swords, bats, rocks, or yes, fists. For most of the fights I tried to keep it to mano a mano, but I made some exceptions I felt I needed to. I also tried to keep it so a film could only make the list once even though things would slightly change otherwise. I wanted to make a definitive list that shows exactly how I feel about fights in film. These are the ones I love…

10. Oh Dae-Suh vs. Henchmen (Oldboy)

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In a work of tour de-force filmmaking, Chan-wook Park crafts one of the greatest fights in film. Our protagonist on a gritty journey of vengeance is trapped in a tight hallway with a number of heavily armed henchmen whom he does battle with single handedly. The camera never takes it’s eye off the action and never changes it’s shot as we venture down the hall through all the carnage. It quenches blood thirst and showcases truly great filmmaking.

9. Jake LaMotta vs. Sugar Ray Robinson (Raging Bull)

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Raging Bull is Martin Scorsese’s raw and brutal masterpiece of man, a boxer no less. Where his violent tendencies are helpful in the ring, the same can’t be said about his life outside of what he was born to do. The greatest scene in the film takes place between the protagonist Jake LaMotta and his boxing rival Sugar Ray Robinson. In their final fight Robinson may be announced the winner, but after seeing this brilliant scene, I leave it up to you. Who really won?

8. Rick Deckard vs. Roy Batty (Blade Runner)

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Rick Deckard is a Blade Runner who loses his gun and falls prey to the powerful and philosophical replicant, Roy Batty. Roy toys wit him the whole time before showing him the value of life. Who is Deckard to take it away? What makes a human a human? Roy delves into this after proving his worth over Deckard’s. Their final meeting in the rain on the rooftops is what makes Blade Runner the glorious and profound masterpiece that it is.

7. Maximus vs. Commodus (Gladiator)

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Gladiator takes it’s viewers on one of the most epic and satisfying journeys ever filmed. We follow Roman General Maximus as he falls into slavery eventually making his way into the Colosseum as gladiator. The climax of Maximus’ beautiful quest comes in form of a sword fight between the heroic gladiator, Maximus and the pretentious scum that is the Emperor of Rome, Commodus. It’s impossible not to love Maximus and hate Commodus. To see them finally clash swords is breathtaking.

6. King Kong vs. T-Rex (King Kong)

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In order to protect Ann Darrow, the mighty Kong does battle with a troupe of ferocious T-Rex. This is just a beautiful realization of the magic of movies. We feel for this giant ape and his character, he’s a protector here and we root for this mighty beast to conquer over these flesh-craving fiends. The scene is just awesome. It grabs hold of you and puts you in that theater again as a kid, a kid just sitting back and taking it all in. Peter Jackson’s King Kong is an unspoken epic and this moment is a testament to its excellence.

5. Arthur vs. Projections (Inception)

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Inception is one of the most memorable and fascinating movies ever made. You’d be hard pressed to find a moment in the film as memorable as the now classic hallway scene. Arthur is left to fend for himself in the second level of dreams and he’s very able to hold his own against Fisher’s trained projections. Fighting becomes an interesting task when you’re not only fighting on the ground, but on the ceiling, the walls and in the air. Christopher Nolan holds no punches in his reality-bending, science fiction masterpiece.

4. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)

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The Star Wars saga doesn’t particularly hold a special place in my heart. I enjoy Star Wars and I always will, but I’ll always be more of a Lord of the Rings man myself. My favorite Star Wars movie is actually Revenge of the Sith and the reason is this scene. This is far and away the greatest lightsaber fight ever filmed. Not only is it an extravagant action scene that thrills with every passing second, it also has the emotional gravity. This is a master and an apprentice fighting for their lives. It was all leading to this and the spectacular scene makes Revenge of the Sith the only redeeming quality of the atrocious new trilogy.

3. Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul (Batman Begins)

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Like slot number four, this scene also follows a fight between a master and an apprentice, but it’s far more beautiful here. Ra’s Al Ghul is personally responsible for the training of the warrior that would become Batman. Ghul believes in a less merciful brand of justice than Batman does and their differences lead them to a train and the greatest scene in Batman Begins. Ra’s Al Ghul is a fantastic character and the relationship between him and Batman is established flawlessly. It all culminates to their final confrontation and it is miraculous.

2. The Bride vs. Bill (Kill Bill)

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Kill Bill is Quentin Tarantino’s perfectly epic, blood-soaked and gorgeous tale of revenge. There is one thing that our protagonist needs and it’s in the title of the movie. A bloodlust drives our deadly hero and she will stop at nothing to accomplish her goal. As I said before I didn’t want to use two different fights from the same movie and take up two spots. If I had I certainly would’ve had the Showdown at the House of Blue Leaves on this list, but it’s basically just tied for the second slot of the greatest fights in film with the fight the entirety of the four-hour epic is leading to, The Bride’s confrontation with Bill. Like all brilliant Tarantino scenes, tension is built through dialogue and the payoff is extraordinary.

1. Batman vs. Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)

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There are two fights between Batman and Bane in The Dark Knight Rises that exemplify the war that is waged between these two titans throughout the entire movie. The two fights themselves represent the two greatest fights in film. If I had to pick one, I’d lean towards the beautiful war in the snow in which the stakes are made clear and hope triumphs over despair. Don’t get me wrong however, the scene in which Bane breaks the Bat far surpasses any movie fight I’ve seen, but as I said I would I choose one. Their first encounter is drawn out and brutal as Bane inflicts as much pain and damage on Batman as he can before literally breaking him (physically and mentally). When Batman conquers over Bane in the end, Batman doesn’t have that time. It’s a battle of efficiency and realism. Batman has faced this monster of a man before, he’s gone through a journey since and it’s the result of this fight that decides the fate of Gotham. It’s the greatest fight in all of film.

Top Ten Alfred Pennyworth Quotes

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Just recently, I made a list of Top Ten Batman Quotes and before that I made lists of Top Ten Bane Quotes and Top Ten Joker Quotes, I’ll probably make similar lists of characters from The Dark Knight Legend, but for now I decided to make a list of my favorite Alfred Pennyworth quotes. It was one of my easier lists to make. As with every character in the greatest story in existence, Pennyworth’s lines are meaningful, eloquent and completely riveting. As I began to appreciate his dialogue, I realized it wasn’t a difficult task to realize which quotes were more important to both me and the story. Alfred was the man responsible for the raising, care and love of Bruce Wayne, the man who would become Batman. The gentle and wise butler whose always been there as a friend and father-figure to the greatest hero in existence is quite the magnificent character.

10. “You have inspired good, but you spat in the faces of Gotham’s worse criminals. Didn’t you think there might be some casualties? Things were always going to get worse before they got better.”

9. “Rachel believed in what you stood for, what we stand for. Gotham needs you.”

8. “I’m so sorry. I failed you. You trusted me and I failed you.”

7. He’s not being a hero. He’s being something more.”

6. I’ve sewn you up, I’ve set your bones, but I won’t bury you. I’ve buried enough members of the Wayne family.”

5. “Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

4. “It means your hatred. And it also means losing someone that I have cared for since I first heard his cries echo through this house. But it might also mean saving your life and that is more important.”

3. “Endure, Mr. Wayne. Take it. They’ll hate you for it, but that’s the point of the Batman. He can be the outcast, he can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.”

2. “We burned the forest down.”

1. “I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I always knew there was nothing for you here, except pain and tragedy. And I wanted something more for you than that. I still do.”

 

Top Ten Movie Characters

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It’s no wonder I’m making this list, how could I not? Movie characters are my bread and butter. I love movies and without the the heart and soul of a movie’s characters, a movie would be nothing. This is my list and homage made for the greatest characters in film. It was one of the hardest I’v ever felt the need to make. Awhile ago I made a Top 50 regarding this theme, but things have changed and I wanted to make a new and definitive “Top Ten Movie Characters” list. Before I get into it, here are the four lists I made prior that helped in the creation of this list…

And here we go…

10. Kikuchiyo (Seven Samurai)

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When I say Kikuchiyo I mean Kikuchiyo as he is my favorite of the seven samurai who, for nothing, band together to protect a helpless village of farmers from ruthless bandits. However, I think if any one of these seven brave and powerful warriors is mentioned you have to at least mention the rest and all their heroism. Each samurai is unique in their own way, but there’s a special oddity that is the seventh samurai. He’s a confident and savage warrior and like any other samurai he’s wandered and seen the world. Unlike many samurai he doesn’t wearily look at the world with tired eyes, he looks at the world and laughs because what else can you do?

9. Django (Django Unchained)

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In most westerns you’ll find mysterious or violent antiheroes, but in Quentin Tarantino spaghetti southern you’ll find one of the greatest heroes in film. Django is a freed slave who sets out with his new found friend, Dr. King Schultz, to rescue his love from an evil plantation owner. As his journey progresses, Django establishes himself as a mighty warrior, a mythical avenger against the savagery of slavery in this fairy tale of a western. Django is just the epitome of cool, a badass who you want to stand up and cheer for.

8. William Munny (Unforgiven)

William Munny is an old western legend. He’s a vicious and feared killer, but he “ain’t like that no more.” He’s a good man and a loyal husband and father. His days of blood and gun fights took place long ago, but a life so grisly is hard to escape. In a world ruled by lawlessness and violence how else is a once dead-eyed killer to react to the brutality of it all. There’s no room for good men in the desolate west.”We all have it com in’ kid.” Can a cold-hearted killer be a good man?

7. Daniel Plainview (There Will Be Blood)

“I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.” There Will Be Blood examines the idea of the American nightmare and it does so through a character study of Daniel Plainview. Daniel Plainview is driven by greed, consumption and hatred. He’s a despicable basterd who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. What he wants more than anything is to be alone. It can never be denied that there are bad people in the world. There Will Be Blood tells a poetic and powerful story of one such man.

6. Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

Tyler Durden is a symbol for anarachy. He’s in a constant battle with conformity and all that is normal. It has been cited that Heath Ledger’s Joker is chaos, but The Joker is evil through and through. Tyler Durden isn’t good or evil, he is the personification of chaos. He was born out of a bored generation, but he won’t be white collar slave.  There’s a Tyler Durden in all of us who every once and a while has an understandable need to fight against the grain. Anyone who tries to ignore that fact or impulse could just as easily go insane.

5. Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)

No Country for Old Men is poetic magnum opus of morality and violence created by some of the greatest filmmakers to have ever graced the screen with art, the Coen Brothers. The villain of this blood-soaked tale could be looked at as death incarnate. Anton Chigurh is a heartless killer. He would sooner murder a person than hug them. He’s calm, he’s collected, he’s efficient, he’s disciplined, he’s intuitive, he’s soulless and he can’t be stopped. This theme of unrelenting malevolence is at the heart the Coen Brothers’ masterpiece.

4. Col. Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)

Col. Hans Landa, otherwise known as The Jew Hunter, is something far worse than a high ranking officer of the Third Reich. He’s crafty detective who is as wise as he is evil. He does the things he does for his own gain. He’s not a nazi officer because he believes Adolf Hitler’s poisonous lies. He’s efficient at hunting Jews because for the time being it’s in his best interest. Once the situation changes, the slimy basterd will do what he has to in order to insure his own survival even if that means the betrayal of his country. There’s a certain charm and eloquence to him, but at the same time he just oozes wickedness.

3. Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)

Bane is the most formidable opponent imaginable. He is the personification of despair to Batman’s hope in The Dark Knight Rises. The animosity that grows between these men is just breathtaking. “Let’s not stand on ceremony here, Mr. Wayne.” Bane understands their relationship before even the detective, Batman, does. They belong in the battlefield, not sharing pleasantries from across the room. One will triumph over the other and in the end, nothing will matter more to Bane than accomplishing that goal.

In order to feed the people of Gotham hope to “poison their souls”, Bane rebels for the oppressed and against corruption in Gotham. He’s a revolutionary tyrant, he’s his own General and he’s his own greatest soldier. His true agenda is the torture and destruction of Batman and everything he loves. In the end, we find that part of the beauty to Bane, as one of the greatest villains and characters ever created, is in the way that everything this monster of man has done has been for love.

2. Batman (The Dark Knight Legend)

The icon that is Batman is the greatest hero ever created in story and the realistic adaption of Batman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Legend (or Trilogy if that tastes better going down) makes for one of the greatest characters of all time. In what is the greatest story ever told we watch as three tales unfold charting the growth of the greatest hero to have ever existed. Batman Begins is the perfect hero’s journey as we see exactly how a man became the hero, Batman. In The Dark Knight Batman must become the pure good to The Joker’s pure evil In The Dark Knight Rises, we see the solidification of a legend as a weathered Bruce Wayne must dawn the cape and cowl once again to triumph over utter despair. Batman is the greatest hero ever crafted in a story.

1. The Joker (The Dark Knight)

Movies would be nothing without villains. It could be argued more so that movies would be nothing without conflict, but villains are just conflict personified. I placed four movie villains on this list and they all made it into the top 5. I couldn’t help myself. Villains make for some of the best characters and the best villain and character in film can be found in The Dark Knight. The villain in The Dark Knight and the antithesis to Batman is The Joker.

The Joker is colorful while Batman is black, The Joker wears make up while Batman wears a mask, The Joker is killer while Batman is a savior,  The Joker is a villain while Batman is a hero, but most importantly The Joker is symbol for evil while Batman is a symbol for good. You’ll not find a character as purely evil as The Joker. Whereas Batman is good for the sake of being good, The Joker is evil for the sake of being evil.

The Joker is completely lacking in motives, plans and empathy. He’s just one of those rare men who “want to watch the world burn.” He is a twisted and sadistic force for malevolence who would literally die laughing for all that is evil. Due to a flawless utilization of the character by director Christopher Nolan and the greatest performance of all time (portrayed to perfection by the late-great Heath Ledger), The Dark Knight’s Joker is a legendary character that won’t soon be forgot. The Joker isn’t just the greatest character in movies, The Joker is the greatest character stories have ever had to offer.

Top Ten Dark Knight Legend Characters

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The story that Christopher Nolan has told with The Dark Knight Legend (or The Dark Knight Trilogy) is the pinnacle of storytelling. It is the greatest ever told and no great story is complete without rich and vibrant characters. The Dark Knight Legend easily offers some of the most incredible characters ever realized. The agenda of this list is simple, to pay respect to the awesome characters that make up the greatest story ever told. Here are my favorites.

10. Talia Al Ghul

Upon first meeting Miranda Tate you come to realize what a kind soul she is and how fitting it is for her to be Bruce Wayne’s love interest. By the end when hope prevails and Batman triumphs over the monstrous Bane. All hope is lost when the vindictive villain, Talia, reveals herself to the now heart-broken Bruce Wayne. She is daugher to Ra’s Al Ghul and wants nothing more than her fathers legacy fulfilled and Batman to perish.

9. Alfred Pennyworth

If you’re looking for the heart and soul of this entire dark and emotive legend, look no further than Bruce Wayne’s wise butler, Alfred J. Pennyworth. For whenever Bruce Wayne’s journey seems perilous, Alfred does what he can to keep our hero on the right path. It must be difficult for Alfred to watch someone he cares for like his own child go out and sacrifice himself every night. He deals with every situation as it comes with wisdom and grace.

8. Harvey “Two Face” Dent

The Dark Knight tells a flawless tale about good and evil. The prominent backbone of this powerful story is one of a man. Harvey Dent’s journey from charming and brave “White Knight” into the vicious killer “Two Face”. By the end of this story were made to believe that this hero goes on a murderous rampage and it completely works. Dent is broken down as a man and consumed by evil. He’s given every reason to turn wicked so it only makes sense that he does.

7. Ra’s Al Ghul

I could not comprehend better renditions of these characters and the same goes for Liam Neeson’s astounding portrayal of the leader of The League of Shadows, Ra’s Al Ghul. Even though he ends up being the prime antagonist in Bruce Wayne’s journey into becoming the greatest hero the world has ever known, he is the man responsible for training man who would become Batman. Where the two men differ is in the ways the choose to dispense justice.

6. Robin “John” Blake

From the moment he walks on screen to the final shot and defining shot of the legend, Blake epitomizes the idea of a man who can take up the cape and cowl of Batman. “You should use your full name. I like that name, Robin.” From that moment on it was fully realized that Nolan had done with the character, Robin, what he had done with every character he adapted from Batman lore. He captured the essence of the character while realistically applying him to his own legend as man who could take up Batman’s mantle.

5. Catwoman

Selina Kyle is the perfect love interest for Batman and though she’s never given the nomenclature in the film but, Selina Kyle is Catwoman. A thief by necessity, Catwoman loves this dark persona she’s created for herself and the life she leads, but the ground is shrinking beneath her. She needs a way to start her life of crime over, but Bruce Wayne sees the good in her and it’s love that proofs he’s right. She tries so hard to show this mysterious darkness in her, but at the end of the day she can’t deny the undeniable fact that she’s a hero.

4. Commissioner Jim Gordon

Since long before Bruce Wayne became the now legend that is Batman, James Gordon was fighting the good fight in a war on injustice. And ever since Batman Began, Gordon has been there with him on the battlefield. He is law and order personified and we watched him grow as we watched Batman grow, in Gordon’s case from Sergeant to Commissioner. Gordon was recruited by Bruce Wayne even before the man that would become Batman put on the cape and cowl and he’s been there since the end. Gordon and Batman represent a friendship based solely on two mens need to turn fear on those who prey on the fearful.

3. Batman

In becoming the legend known only as Batman, Bruce Wayne is the greatest hero ever crafted making him one of the greatest characters in film.”Anyone could be Batman, that was the point.” Not only as Batman, is Bruce on a quest against evil. He’s also a symbol for hope in a world filled with injustice and despair. Batman is good for the sake of being good and he does the right thing because it’s the right thing do and not only that, he will do everything in his power and battle until his last breath to do just that. This entire legend is a tale of heroism and though the journey was arduous the hero at the centre of this masterpiece is a knight and legend known as Batman.

2. Bane

Bane completely envelops the idea of despair and his name is incredibly fitting as he is the Bane of Batman. While The Joker is pure evil fighting against all that is good, Bane is battling to torture and extinguish the hero of our story who fights for all that is good. He was born in darkness and by the end of a battle between our hero he is consumed by animosity towards the hero of the story even to the point of denying the dying wish of the only person he’s ever loved. “We both know I have to kill you know. You’ll just have to imagine the fire,” he says before putting a shotgun to Batman’s head. Bane is an intimidating and emotionless brute force, one the greatest villains in film and one of the greatest characters in existence.

1. The Joker

The twisted, dark and chaotic anarchist, The Joker, is like Batman in the way that he is a symbol. There is an undeniable balance between Batman and The Joker in the way the way that while both fight for something, they are polar opposites. Whereas Batman fights to his last breath for all that is good, The Joker fights for and would die for all that is evil. Batman is a symbol for good and The Joker is a symbol for evil and the continuos battle between the two is poetic and beautiful.

The Joker is the epitome of evil and the greatest villain ever created. What Christopher Nolan has done is crafted a perfect and definitive story of an icon. With Heath Ledger at the helm, what is fully realized in The Joker is the greatest character of all time.  A story is nothing without a conflict overcome and more often than not conflict is personified in one character we call a villain. Behind the quirks, charisma, entertainment that The Joker offers as the clown he is, no villain could ever be as purely evil as The Joker.

Top Ten Bane Quotes

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In honor of the ending of the greatest story ever told, I’d like to offer up my favorite Bane quotes from the film The Dark Knight Rises. The post on my site that has gotten the most views is https://moviesfilmsmotionpictures.com/2008/07/27/top-ten-joker-quotes/ so I’ve always thought it would be fitting to make this post. What  Tom Hardy have done with the epitome of despair in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight , Bane, is create the second greatest villain in history second only to Heath Ledger’s Joker. These are my favorite quotes from The Dark Knight Rises’ Bane. Honorables:

  • “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
  • “Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive as they learn to serve true justice. This great city, it will endure. Gotham will survive.”
  • “Calm down Doctor, now is not the time for fear. That comes later.”
  • “I’m necessary evil.”
  • “Crashing this plane with no survivors.”
  • “These have cost you your strength. Victory has defeated you.”

10. “But not as serious as yours, I fear.” 9. “You don’t fear death, you welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe.” 8. “Theatricality and deception, powerful agents to the uninitiated, but we are initiated aren’t we, Bruce? Members of the League of Shadows. And you betrayed us.” 7. “We will destroy Gotham, then when it is done and Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die.” 6. “So you came back to die with your city?” 5. “Let’s not stand on ceremony here, Mr. Wayne.” 4. “Oh, so you think darkness is your ally? But you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the light until I was already a man, by then to me it was only blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me.” 3. “I broke you. How have you come back?” 2. “Oh yes, I was wondering what would break first, your spirit or your body?” 1. “We both know I have to kill you now. You’ll just have to imagine the fire.”  

Top Ten Movie Villains

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Movie villains are the backbone of the entire art form. Too often villains go unrecognized for just how important they are. Without villains there are no stories, no conflict, no drama, you get the picture. Of course there are exceptions, but I love a good villain. Usually the case is, the better the villain the better the movie. This is a list of my favorite villains in all of film.

There are many cases where the antagonist of the story is actually more interesting than the protagonist and even when that’s the case, I’m a sucker for watching a hero triumph over a villain. I took a lot into account when I made this list, but I’d have to say the order and choices were mainly based on a combination of the enjoyment I have watching the villain on screen and the actual malevolence of the character. Well, here it is.

10. Ra’s Al Ghul (Batman Begins)

Ra’s Al Ghul is the leader of The League of Shadows and the mentor to the greatest hero in existence, Batman. In a way, they both want to save the world. Bruce Wayne studied under the tutelage of The League of Shadows because he was seeking the means to fight injustice. Where Batman and Ra’s Al Ghul differ is in the way Batman, as a hero should, sets himself apart from the villains whereas Ghul believes in necessary evil.

9. Bill the Butcher (Gangs of New York)

Martin Scorsese’s epic about the early remnants of a city focuses largely on one of the most intense and cruel figures in the history of cinema, Bill “The Butcher” Cutting. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the character flawlessly and with fervor.    His lust for  power is matched only by a love for his country and the freedom it represents. Gangs of New York is a vengeance story and to watch protagonist Amsterdam finally smite Bill the Butcher is incredibly satisfying.

8. Amon Goeth (Schindler’s List)

Never have the senseless and discouraging crimes against humanity performed by the Third Reich ever been more personified in film than with Ralph Fiennes’ portrayal of Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s magnum opus, Schindler’s List. This a film about the ability and will to do good. Amon Goeth represents the contradiction to this idea. He’s commanding, blood-thirsty and completely apathetic towards his actions.

7. Jack Torrance (The Shining)

I say Jack Torrance, but I more so mean the evil pumping through the veins of The Overlook Hotel that eventually forces sane writer/father, Jack Torrance’s transformation into a crazed/axe-wielding murderer. The first sequence in the bar where both Torrance and The Overlook Hotel show their true colors serves as a solemn warning for the horrific oddities that have yet to transpire. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy and one of the greatest villains in film.

6. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)

In a gorgeous performance, Anthony Hopkins supremely captures the essence and soul of an incredibly intelligent serial killer who not only murders his victims, but eats them. The grotesque violence that the character is capable of can only be spotted in a single scene of the film, but even during the moments where he’s only staring, you can still feel the gravity of just how despicable the character at hand actually is. He probably gets the least screen time of any villain on this list, but he is easily one of the greatest in the history of film.

5. Silva (Skyfall)

Raoul Silva (formerly Tiago Rodriguez) is the most sinister and formidable opponent James Bond will ever acquire. This isn’t some cackling, conniving or cat-petting villain bent on world domination. Silva wants one thing and one thing only, M. He’s a former MI6 agent, M’s “favorite” at his time of service before he was betrayed. He loves M if only because she gives him purpose and hates her for what she’s created in him. He’s a showman and he has fun doing what he does and he’s one of them, he knows all the tricks. Silva is a mastermind, he’s flamboyant, he’s malevolent and he’s completely deranged.

4. Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men)

Confident, cold, calculating, silent, creative, determined and soulless. These are just a few words that can be used to describe the brutal killer, Anton Chigurh. His weapons of choice are a cattle gun and a sawed-off shotgun fit with a foot-long silencer, but a pair of hand cuffs would do just fine for this man who will stop at nothing to reach his goals. “People always say the same thing” Chigurh says to a young woman who tells him he doesn’t have to kill her. This is a situation he’s been in before and it’s one he’ll be in again. Killing for him is just as easy as waking up. He is death incarnate in the Coen Brothers’ poetic masterpiece of crime and violence.

3. Col. Hans Landa (Inglourious Basterds)

Col. Hans Landa is Nazi Officer, but he is so much more depraved than any other member of the Third Reich. Unlike the officers and foot soldiers who whole-heartedly believe Adolf Hitler’s poisonous words, Col. Landa is merely a Colonel of the S.S. because he knows it’s in his best interest. He’s a sly detective and easily earns himself the nickname, The Jew Hunter. At the end of the day however, he doesn’t care about the Third Reich’s plot for world domination. He cares about his own personal gain and if that means betraying his entire country than so be it. He just bleeds malevolence whether he’s drinking a glass of milk or strangling someone to death. Hans Landa isn’t evil because he’s a Nazi, he’s a very evil man who happens to wear a Nazi uniform.

2. Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)

Bane can be looked at as the absence of hope. A meeting with Bane, let alone a fight with Bane, would result in anyone’s demise. He’s strategic, tactical, he speaks with intelligence and eloquence, but at the same time he is a complete brute. The mask he wears makes it so he can survive an unbearable pain, but it also serves as a signature look and a reminder of how emotionless and inhumanly evil this man can be.

In order to exact his torture of Batman and the city of Gotham, Bane places himself in a seat of power. He’s a revolutionary warlord, he’s his own General and he’s his own greatest soldier. This is a highly demanding performance and not just physically. Tom Hardy plays the character to perfection. Bane is supremely fearsome, intimidating and though he has a strict regiment and plot, there is no denying his admiration for death and destruction.

1. The Joker (The Dark Knight)

The Joker is unlike any other movie character and villain in the way that he epitomizes pure evil. The Joker is always smiling because there is never a dull moment where he is not doing exactly what he wants, instilling evil into the world. As the dark, crusading, creature of the night Batman is good for the sake of being good. The Joker, a gleeful and colorful clown, is evil for the sake of being evil.

The Joker burns a mountain of money just show exactly how much he doesn’t care about the idea of a motive. “Do I really look like a guy with a plan?” he says to the White Knight, Harvey Dent. Even when faced with opportunities to kill the heroes of the story, he instead attempts to reveal their true colors by giving them opportunities to kill him. He would gladly die doing what makes him happy.

Heath Ledger gave the greatest performance of all time as the darkest and most “unstoppable force” ever portrayed. Despite the fact that The Joker is so fiercely evil, he is very charismatic in the way he is also a clown. Ledger utilizes this trait in creating not only the greatest villain, but the greatest character in all of film. There didn’t need to be some kind of origin story or flashbacks to when The Joker was young. All there was in The Dark Knight was a showcasing of the constant battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Anything less or more would have taken away from the perfection.