listomatic: i'm so bad i should be in detention
Underrated Movie Bad Guys
- Pyatt (Richard Bradford) in Legend of Billie Jean
- Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) in Fifth Element
- Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) in Aladdin
- Megatron (Frank Welker) in Transformers, The Movie
- Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man (himself) in Ghostbusters
- Biff (Thomas F. Wilson) in Back to the Future
- Coach Roy Turner (Vic Morrow) in Bad News Bears
- Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in Karate Kid
- David Lo Pan (James Hong) in Big Trouble in Little China
Comments
Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones) in Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Posted by: Shawn | May 20, 2005 11:05 AM
Lord John Whorfin (John Lithgow) in Buckaroo Banzai.
Another Lithgow baddie: Eric Qualen in Cliffhanger (best overacting evar)
Posted by: Broken Fiction | May 20, 2005 11:12 AM
Timothy (Craig Bierko) in The Long Kiss Goodnight, because he was simultaneously a cold bastard and a smartass ("Continue dying. Out.")
Also featured one of the great underrated hero performances, by Samuel L. Jackson ("The last time I got blown, candy bars cost a nickel.")
Posted by: Hubris | May 20, 2005 11:15 AM
Treat Williams in "The Phantom."
Easily the best part of that movie, a villain that seems like he just really, really, really likes being a villain.
Posted by: The Retropolitan | May 20, 2005 11:21 AM
Maynard and Zed from Pulp Fiction.
Posted by: kev | May 20, 2005 11:27 AM
"...and go off and rule the world from beyond the grave."
"Indeed!"
Ha! Lo-Pan roolz.
Posted by: Sekimori | May 20, 2005 11:31 AM
Hell yeah to Lo-Pan. But anything associated with Big Trouble in Little China should go on whatever top 10 list it belongs on. Like "Top Ten Silliest Looking Action Heroes Wearing Lipstick". Also, Top Ten Most Under-rated Movies EVAR!!!
Or Top Ten Unmade Sequel Inducing Cliffhanger Endings. Coincidentally, also in this category is Buckaroo Banzai and the World Crime League.
Posted by: Sherard | May 20, 2005 12:07 PM
Brewmeister Smith (Max Von Sydow) from Strange Brew
Posted by: mikey | May 20, 2005 12:24 PM
Roy Baty (Rutger Hauer) in Blade Runner.
Posted by: Britton | May 20, 2005 12:50 PM
Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) in The Crow.
Posted by: Johnny Catbird | May 20, 2005 01:15 PM
Major Toht (Ronald Lacey) - he who burns the image of the staff head into his hand in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Creepy little guy.
Posted by: Lee | May 20, 2005 01:34 PM
Not that he was a bad guy per se, but Senior Drill Instructor Gunnery Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) from Full Metal Jacket
man I loved that movie.
Posted by: coolrobc | May 20, 2005 01:42 PM
Indrid Cold in The Mothman Prophecies
Posted by: Trish | May 20, 2005 01:44 PM
My Under-Rated Baddies
1. Christopher Walken's rebel archangel Gabriel in "The Prophecy"
2. The aliens from the Brit sci-fi show, "UFO." (TV series, but work with me, here.)
3. The nasty Gremlins.
4. The alien ants with human faces in an "Outer Limits" episode I can't remember the name of. (Okay, more TV; But they were really cool and it was fun to watch the Army shoot them with carbines and .45s.)
5. The vampire Mr. Barlow in the 1970s TV mini-series, "Salem's Lot." (Counts as a movie.)
6. KHAAAAAN! (Maybe he's not so underrated.)
7. The Smog Monster (Best Godzilla movie ever.)
8. Saris in "Galaxy Quest."
9. Clarence Boddicker in "Robocop."
Posted by: MP | May 20, 2005 01:57 PM
Two of the greatest Disney villains that never get any respect:
1. Hades (James Woods) in Hercules. The evil twin to the Genie from Aladdin. A real asshole, but also charmingly sarcastic.
2. Frollo (Tony Jay) in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Cold and cruel, and convinced of his own righteousness. He's a villain who thinks he's the good guy, which makes him worse than the blatant villains.
Neither of these two get any respect or recognition, which is a shame. They're two of the best I've ever seen.
Posted by: Keith | May 20, 2005 02:01 PM
Jim Carrey (Count Olaf) A Series of Unfortunate Events...you actually feel the need to see him killed on screen.
Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman)in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves...perhaps the greatest portrayal in this oft told story.
Chet (Bill Paxton) in Weird Science....how about a nice greay pork sandwich served ina dirty ashtray is my favorite greeting to anyone hungover.
Also have to agree with Christopher Wlaken in the Prophecy...its unbeleiveilbe that he can be even creepier than usual but he is.
Cool Ethan (Jason Schwartzman) in Slackers if only because my freshman year in college we actually had a bizarre kid named Ethan on our floor whose nickname was "Bugout" (stoners will understand). He also liked to eat shampoo which is nearly as strange as hair dolls.
Posted by: Ryan | May 20, 2005 02:20 PM
I had Walken on the list originally, but took him off because I was going with offbeat, not-the-usual choices. Walken's turn as Gabriel is not underrated because I say HE RULES.
Posted by: michele | May 20, 2005 02:22 PM
Hell yes, Brewmeister Smith: "I could crush your head like a nut...but I won't...because I need you."
Posted by: Toren | May 20, 2005 02:36 PM
Tom Noonan as Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter.
Bruce Dern killing John Wayne in The Cowboys
Posted by: lucia | May 20, 2005 04:11 PM
[deleted by admin. Shut the fuck up, Donny]
Posted by: Don Myers | May 20, 2005 05:37 PM
Ben Affleck, Mallrats.
Posted by: Ian S. | May 20, 2005 05:57 PM
Dean Wormer (John Vernon)
Robert Carlyle in Trainspotting.
Posted by: Chrees | May 20, 2005 06:22 PM
Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) in Spaceballs
Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) in the Naked Gun
Posted by: bigpapachiop | May 20, 2005 06:45 PM
Also, the Warlock (Julian Sands) in Warlock
And Hatcher (the great Christopher Walken) in the Rundown
Posted by: bigpapachiop | May 20, 2005 06:50 PM
Ooh, yeah. I second Hatcher. One of the all time great Walken speeches in that film.
Posted by: Ian S. | May 20, 2005 07:20 PM
Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) Murder by Numbers (he seems to be the "good" one)
Emiliano (Sergio Calderon) The Missing
Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton) Primal Fear
Posted by: Anna | May 20, 2005 09:42 PM
The warden in Shawshank
...and whomever the hell the bad guy was in Memento
Posted by: RobO | May 20, 2005 09:50 PM
I second Clarence Boddicker.
Posted by: Britton | May 23, 2005 03:17 PM