Action cinema got a facelift in the 2010s. The intense fight choreography of movies like Lowering and John Wick forced action filmmakers to step up their game and push the boat out in their portrayals of violent spectacles. The action movies of the 2010s brought in some of the biggest villains in the genre.
Hateful gangsters like John Wickis Iosef Tarasov and Dred‘s Ma-Ma to cunning evil geniuses like celestial fallis Raoul Silva and the avengers Thanos from the movies, the action movies of the 2010s were filled with memorable antagonists.
ten Marissa WieglerHanna
Joe Wright’s Hana is a unique take on the hit-man thriller in that its titular assassin is a teenage girl. Played by Saoirse Ronan, Hanna was trained from birth to be an unstoppable killing machine.
She was specially trained by secret agent Erik Heller, played by Eric Bana, to protect him from senior CIA officer Marissa Wiegler. Cate Blanchett plays Wiegler as a cold-hearted government bureaucrat.
9 Iosef Tarasov (John Wick)
Iosef Tarasov is the main villain of John Wick and the son of crime lord Viggo Tarasov. He thinks he’s a badass gangster, but he’s really just a spoiled brat. Brilliantly played by Alfie Allen, Iosef is truly detestable.
He kills John’s puppy and beats him to a pulp after he refuses to sell him his vintage car, providing unique motivation for cinematic revenge. The public will root more for revenge for an adorable little dog than any number of human family members.
8 The train (unstoppable)
Tony Scott’s thrilling latest film, unstoppablestars Denzel Washington as a seasoned railroad engineer and Chris Pine as a young train conductor, who reluctantly team up to stop a runaway freight train.
There is no evil human in unstoppable, but the train looks like a character from the movie. It is a dangerous and relentless force that smashes its way towards creating an unmanageable disaster.
7 Minister Mason (Snowdrop)
At Bong Joon-ho’s snowdrops is a dystopian sci-fi gem set in a future ravaged by a new Ice Age in which the sole surviving humans are confined to a high-tech train that circles the arctic wastelands that remain of Earth.
Tilda Swinton plays villainous Minister Mason – the train’s second-in-command and spokesperson for her leader, Wilford – as a dictator with a quirky personality. She’s goofy, but pops in and out of her monstrous side in no time.
6 Raoul Silva (Skyfall)
Javier Bardem became the first in a string of Oscar winners to play James Bond villains with his turn as Raoul Silva as Sam Mendes. celestial fall. Bardem’s chilling portrayal of Silva shared captivating chemistry with Daniel Craig’s 007.
Most Bond villains are driven by delusions of grandeur, but Silva’s motivation is refreshingly personal: he wants revenge after being betrayed by Mr.
5 Dr. Olivia Octavius (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
As well as a litany of multiversal Spider-Men, the animated masterpiece Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduced moviegoers to Dr. Olivia Octavius, a female version of Doc Ock voiced by the great Kathryn Hahn.
Characterized as the science advisor to the Kingpin, Liv is funnier and crazier than her multiversal male counterpart. Hahn would go on to put on a memorable turn as fellow quirky Marvel villain, Agatha Harkness, in the MCU.
4 Bernie Rose (conduct)
Ryan Gosling is in the spotlight for most Nicolas Winding Refn’s slick neo-noir To drive in the role of a brooding, anonymous getaway driver of few words. But Albert Brooks gives an unforgettable supporting performance playing wildly against type as the villainous Bernie Rose.
Brooks usually plays endearing neurotic men in light-hearted satirical comedies, but in To drivehe plays a sadistic mobster and cold-blooded killer who cuts off Bryan Cranston’s arm without batting an eyelid.
3 Ma-Ma (Dredd)
Karl Urban gave a definitive performance as the gruff titular jurist in Dredthe criminally underrated dystopian sci-fi actor adapted from the 2000 AD comic books. The plot sees Judge Dredd and a rookie infiltrate a skyscraper controlled by a drug lord. game of thrones‘ Lena Headey gives a haunting spin as drug lord Madeline “Ma-Ma” Madrigal.
Ma-Ma takes great pleasure in doing terrible things, like giving people a dose of her signature (time-slowing) drug before throwing them off the roof of the skyscraper. Headey stars as a punk rocker in the mold of Patti Smith.
2 Immortan Joe (Mad Max: Fury Road)
George Miller’s Fourth madmax the movie was in development for years and years, but when it finally hit theaters, road of fury did not disappoint. Starring Tom Hardy in the title role, the madmax requel is basically a feature car chase.
Hugh Keays-Byrne, who previously played the villainous Toecutter in the first film, plays road of furythe main antagonist, Immortan Joe, the totalitarian ruler of the post-apocalyptic wasteland.
1 Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)
After six years of accumulating scenes and post-credits subplots, Avengers: Infinity War had the daunting task of presenting Thanos – a giant purple alien – as the nemesis of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. The Russo Brothers took the interesting approach of telling the whole story from the Mad Titan’s perspective, with different Avengers moving in and out of his purview.
Against all odds, Thanos has become one of the most memorable movie characters in recent memory – thanks in large part to Josh Brolin’s surprisingly likable performance. Thanos is a classic example of a villain who sees himself as the hero.
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