Friday Fives - The Most Badass Villains of 2012

A couple of days ago I wrote a short review of Men In Black 3 as part of my Mini Movie Review for October. One of the best parts of MIB3 was its bad-guy, Boris the Animal. Earlier in the week I also watched Skyfall, which is another film featuring a great baddie.

My lizard brain started pondering - what other badass villains has 2012 produced and which ones have been the best? As there's no Oscar category for Best Villain or Best Supporting Villain, consider this a more low-key but just as important substitute. It's about time our favourite movie antagonists got the recognition they deserve!

So here we have it, my personal favourite movie bad-guys of 2012. These aren't in a particular order, each one of them is just as villainous as the next.

Yayan Ruhian as Mad Dog

  

Movie: The Raid

Specialty: Mixed martial arts

Weapon: Every part of his body

Never has a character's name been more apt than Yayan Ruhian's handle in The Raid. Ruhian more than lives up to the name 'Mad Dog' with an impressive performance as the nimble, fast-fisted henchman. Although he's the right-hand man of evil drug lord Tama, Mad Dog's sheer dedication to protecting his boss's business is admirable. You can't help but love his tenacity, even if he poses a significant threat to our hero.

Most villainous moment: Mad Dog squares up to a character with a gun in his hand only to throw the weapon away in favour of an old-fashioned punch-up. To quote him, "pulling a trigger is like ordering take-out". You can't get more badass than that. 

Guy Pearce as Charlie Rakes

Movie: Lawless 

Specialty: Verbal intimidation

Weapon: Thompson Sub-machine Gun 

With his overly-oiled haircut and effeminate driving gloves, Charlie Rakes isn't your typical bad-guy but don't let this well-dressed businessman deceive you because he's one mean bastard if you cross him. He's a selfish, manipulative villain who will do anything in his power to get what he wants. If verbal intimidation and black-mailing doesn't work for Rakes, he isn't afraid to get his gloves dirty either.

Most villainous moment: One intense scene in Lawless see's Rakes beat Shia LaBeouf's character, a boy at least half his age, black and blue without breaking a sweat.

 

Tom Hardy as Bane

Movie: The Dark Knight Rises

Specialty: Hand-to-hand combat

Weapon: His giant hands

Although Bane is a villain, his tragic back-story and tough upbringing gives him an excuse for his devastating actions. There was much doubt over the casting of Tom Hardy but his menacing performance is easily the highlight of the film. I just wish Nolan had given him more of a send-off because his death was disappointingly underplayed. Still, his sheer stature and power makes him a phenomenal threat to Batman and Gotham.

Most villainous moment: There are so many to choose from as Bane destroys Gotham in a matter of hours. However, the ease in which he breaks Batman's back during their first encounter sends a shiver down the spine.

Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva

Movie: Skyfall

Specialty: Hacking/Technology

 Weapon: His intelligence

With his ambiguous sexual preferences (is he the first gay Bond villain?), peroxide blonde hair and careful articulation, Raoul Silva isn't your everyday Bond bad-guy. He does, however, have an evil lair - an island which he convinced everyone to flee when he faked a poisonous gas leak. Combine his former MI6 combat training with his hacking expertise and you have an extremely dangerous villain.
 
Most villainous moment: Silva recounts a near-death experience he had with cyanide capsules, resulting in him showing us the extensive plastic surgery he had to fix the damage. Let's just say, the doctor did a very good job!

 

Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal

Movie: Men In Black 3

Specialty: Time-traveling

Weapon: The Weasel

Lastly, the villain that made this list possible. Boris the Animal is the last known survivor of the Boglodite race - an extremely ugly and powerful set of aliens. Amongst his arsenal is a pet named 'the weasel'; an insect-like alien that he shoots out of his hand like a dart. Portrayed by Flight of the Conchords funny-man, Jemaine Clement, Boris is a fantastic edition to the MIB universe.

Most villainous moment: In the opening scene of the film, Boris breaks out of a purpose built high-security prison in space. After easily dispatching hundreds of guards, he leaps out of the supposed 'inescapable' prison and looks down upon Earth.

Honourable Mentions:

Charlize Theron as Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman
Tom Hiddlestone as Loki in Avengers Assemble
Chris Cooper as Tex Richman in The Muppets
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Clas Greve in Headhunters
Joseph Gilgun as Hydel in Lockout