This Summer had its fair share of baddies, but who stands out from the crowd? Movies.ie looks at some of its favourite vile, villainous foes from Summer 2008.
Some of you Internet savvy
reader may have noticed news of a recent online poll for the best
summer movie villain. Of course Heath Ledger topped the charts with his
stellar performance in ‘The Dark Knight’ but Ledger is no by needs
alone. Summer 2008 has offered us plenty of great bad guys and gals to
love and hate. With this in mind, Movies.ie presents our favourite
summer villains.
1) THE JOKER (THE DARK KNIGHT)
There is no debate – ‘The
Dark Knight’ is Heath Ledger’s film, a fitting finale for an
all-too-short but enormously impressive career. The late actor took on
the daunting task of filling Jack Nicholson’s shoes but makes his Joker
one of the most memorable of all previous Batman baddies (and that
includes Jack’s). It’s a fearless performance, bitingly alive and
ironic–a clown on crack, as it were. This is the movie villain that
might even scare Hannibal Lecter. Ledger’s posthumous performance may
be headed toward the bittersweet moment of a certain supporting Oscar
nomination, if not the award itself.
2) PRINCE NUADA (HELLBOY 2)
The Elven Prince of the
Underworld with a love of martial art (and maybe just a bit too much
love for his sister). Former Bros boy Goss did not perceive Nuada as
evil, explaining, “It’s issues, his people, he’s part of what he truly
believes. I don’t think, really, he’s so deluded… [He] is driven by
an ethic that was instilled by the person he has problems [with] his
father, and inevitably, that leads into the conflict with him and
Hellboy.” Goss also noted that his character admired and revered his
twin sister, portrayed by Anna Walton. He said of the prince and the
princess, “There is an incestuous relationship that’s not maybe overly
obvious to everybody, but some people hopefully will pick up on the
fact, certainly from my direction towards her.”
3)IRINA SPALKO (INDY 4)
Say what you will about
elements of the script, Cate Blanchett was a welcome addition to the
Indy universe. Playing the role of Indiana’s chief nemesis, Blanchett
is Irina Spalko, the sword carrying soviet spy with an obvious love of
Louise Brook. According to Indy producer Frank Marshall, Spalko
continued the tradition of Indiana having a love-hate relationship
“with every woman he ever comes in contact with”.
4) EMIL BLONSKY (INCREDIBLE HULK)
A thoughtful and moving
superhero flick with enough action to keep our blood pumping and much
of this is due to villain Emil Blonsky (later to become
Abomination). A Russian-born officer from the United Kingdom Special
Forces loaned to General Ross. Recognizing he is past his prime, he
lusts after the Hulk’s power. Roth said he took the part to please his
sons, who are comic-book superhero fans. According to Hulk helmer
Leterrier he cast Roth because he felt it would be great “watching a
normal Cockney boy become a superhero!”
5) – OBADIAH STANE (IRON MAN)
Possibly a controversial
choice but we heart Jeff Bridges, who is ideally cast as an oily
combatant who oozes corporate greed–a great villain for the post-Enron
era in which this cinematic vision of Iron Man exists. Sadly things
take a turn for the worst when Stane becomes Iron Monger but ignore the
last ten to fifteen minutes and Iron Man remains one of this summer’s
best blockbusters.
Agree/Disagree? What made your top five summer 08 Villains? All comments welcome below!