Top 20 movie villains of the 21st century - so far
HitFix staffers list their favorite post-millennial cinematic evildoers
Since the turn of the millennium, moviegoers have been treated to a number of memorable baddies, from over-the-top comic-book supervillains to just plain old evil human beings. Still, while there are lots of "greatest villains of all time" lists floating around the web, there aren't many that take into account only those cinematic evildoers introduced in our current century. Given that, we figured we'd go ahead and fill in the gap by making one of our own.
Check out all our selections by clicking on the embedded gallery. Did we miss any? Disagree? Share your thoughts below.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMike C
August 5, 2012 at 5:30AM EST Reply to CommentThis list isn't complete without Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus in "Gladiator."
ceggertsen He was on the initial list but didn't make the final 20...agree he was a great villain however.
August 5, 2012 at 6:44PM ESTBrian
August 5, 2012 at 5:32AM EST Reply to CommentBane should be on there. There is a sense of terror when you see him. And being brutal, is a key point. He killed more people than the joker did, and in the comics and in the movie, he was the only one to break batman down to the point where he could physically and mentally destroy him. Which is why he was able to break his back. So I think Bane should have been added onto that list.
ceggertsen Hmm...I personally feel Bane was an underwhelming villain, particularly as compared with the Joker, and he actually didn't even factor into our initial list (before breaking it down to a final 20).
August 5, 2012 at 6:46PM ESTTim
August 5, 2012 at 5:50AM EST Reply to CommentI would argue that the Mother in "Tangled" is a greater villain than Syndrome from The Incredibles. Also, Albert Brooks' character from Drive???
ceggertsen Albert Brooks from "Drive" was definitely someone we considered...unfortunately there are so many great villains from the last decade-plus we just weren't able to fit them all in.
August 5, 2012 at 6:47PM ESTOLS
August 5, 2012 at 6:31AM EST Reply to CommentNumber 14 - it's Michael Fassbender, not Matthew Fassbender.
ceggertsen We'll fix...thanks for the heads up.
August 5, 2012 at 6:48PM ESTClinton
August 5, 2012 at 9:27AM EST Reply to CommentHave to second Bernie Rose from Drive adding Kyung Chul from I Saw the Devil
ceggertsen Kyung-Chul from "I Saw the Devil" is probably someone I would've included on my own personal list, but he didn't make the final 20 on the staff list unfortunately.
August 5, 2012 at 6:49PM ESTKing Silva
August 5, 2012 at 10:20AM EST Reply to CommentYou missed Mary Jones played by Mo'Nique from Precious.
You seemed to love highlighting roles that eventually won Oscars yet you left her off which was odd.
Mo'Nique for sure deserved her Oscar because her performance was just so powerful.
Top 10 for sure maybe even top 10; that bitch was evil to Precious!
- King Silva
King Silva *I mean maybe even top 5..
August 5, 2012 at 10:21AM ESTceggertsen I agree...she would've been an excellent addition. We'll file that one away for a future list...
August 5, 2012 at 6:50PM ESTSinatra
August 5, 2012 at 10:27AM EST Reply to CommentGreat list. Stuntman Mike!! (well done) obviously I need to toss in a few: Chopper (Eric Bana), BANE - for sure, Bronson -Tom Hardy (again), Michael Myers (Rob Zombies take), Ben Foster as Charlie Prince in 3:10 to Yuma, the wicked humans (in King Kong), Ceasar (rise of the planet/apes), Xerxes from 300 and We mustn't forget Le Chiffre from Casino Royale.
ceggertsen All interesting choices (though I disagree on Bane and the new Michael Myers). Appreciate your thoughts!
August 5, 2012 at 6:52PM ESTBill
August 5, 2012 at 11:00AM EST Reply to CommentI believe American Psycho came out in 2000, so technically I don't think it should be on a list of the greatest villains of the 21st century.
tonyr 2000 was the first year in the 21st century. Duh.
August 5, 2012 at 11:46AM ESTDavey well since 2000 was the beginning of the 21st Century...calender nerd
August 5, 2012 at 11:46AM ESTTruth Wow. This is the problem with America. People see this guys (correct) post, don't think anything besides "but 2000 has to be 21st century", don't look it up, and then try to belittle the correct person. 21st Century started January 1, 2001, and ends December 31, 2100. Duh.
August 5, 2012 at 12:00PM ESTDavey actually Truth, you're fucking dumbass is the problem with America, feeding people stupid shit. God your fucking dumb, so 1930 was the end of the 1920's? And 1931 was the beginning of the 1930's? Think about it you fucking dumbshit.
August 5, 2012 at 12:20PM ESTBill Look I wasn't trying to stir anything up. I was simply pointing out a minor factual error. But there is no sense in arguing over something that is readily verifiable. If you think I'm wrong, please use the 30 seconds it would take to call me an idiot to instead look up when the 21st century began. There's no sense in getting worked up over this.
August 5, 2012 at 12:34PM ESTCaptainCanada People don't consider 1930 to be the final year of the 1920s. The 20th century ended, in the common conception, in 1999; that's our modern understanding of how decades/centuries work. If you want to go *really* far back, that's thrown off by the absence of a year 0 AD, but that's essentially irrelevant.
August 5, 2012 at 1:25PM ESTiwontrememberthis Decades work differently, because they're based on names, not counts. It's "the 20s", not "the 193rd decade". For centuries, you can easily count the years, starting from 1 AD. The first set of 100 is filled once you include 100 AD. Add 2000 (20 complete centuries) on, and you'll see the 21st century block runs from 2001-2100 AD.
August 5, 2012 at 2:02PM ESTDavey Honestly, I could not care less if the Gragorian calender or whatever its called, did not have a year "zero" and 2001 begins the 21st Century. Nobody with a normal lifestyle cares, most normal people think of 2000 as the beginning because honestly, 1990-2000 the 90's? No. You can throw all your weird mumbo-jumbo my way, but like CaptainCanada said, its irrelevant guys. Nobody cares that you others study calenders with a thin-toothed comb.
August 6, 2012 at 7:03AM ESTPlayhouse I always thought of him as more of an '80s villain.
August 6, 2012 at 10:40AM EST...
CaptainCanada That's only a "fact" if you start counting from the year 1 and assume that people care that it all lines up perfectly. People don't do that. A century in the popular conception is made up of decades, and decades end with the ninth year. Hence, 1990-1999. Like I said (months ago), the absence of the year zero throws this off somewhat, but nobody cares about that. Decades and centuries are a popular measure, not scientific, so it doesn't matter if the math is entirely consistent going back 2000 years.
December 20, 2012 at 11:48AM ESTShawn
August 5, 2012 at 11:43AM EST Reply to CommentReally? The Chick from The Help makes it but no Commodus or any of the actual villains from other movies. And I don't know how much I agree with putting characters like Chigurgh, or Joker or Magneto on this. Those arn't movie villains, they are book and comic villains who appeared in a movie, not the same.
velocityknown That doesn't mean their interpretations of the character don't deserve any credit. That's like saying "No Country for Old Men" can't be called one of the best movies of all time because it was a book first.
August 5, 2012 at 1:38PM ESTceggertsen I agree with VelocityKnown..."the chick from The Help" is not a "traditional" movie villain, but that's what makes her an interesting choice I think.
August 5, 2012 at 6:54PM ESTshawn Well, She's not really a villain per se, more of an antagonist, seriously with a film like The Help, it's to justify that the characters are actually heroes or villains, even though I know solidly who were are suppose to like throughout the movie, and the women who helped write the book were definitely heroic if you want to call it that.
August 6, 2012 at 6:57AM ESTShawn @VELOCITYKNOWN
August 6, 2012 at 7:27AM ESTI'm not trying to discredit No Country, I am saying that those characters in particular were not birthed from movies, but other media. So I would have liked more villains from "movies"
CaptainCanada
August 5, 2012 at 1:26PM EST Reply to CommentThe mother from "Precious" really should be on here over someone like Hilly (or, really, about half these people; that lady was terrifying).
ceggertsen Hilly was actually quite terrifying in her own right...though I agree Mo'Nique's "Precious" character also would've made a great choice.
August 5, 2012 at 6:59PM ESTJohn G.
August 5, 2012 at 1:59PM EST Reply to CommentLil Ze from City of God
ceggertsen He was on our initial list...and probably would've made my own personal top 20. Truly monstrous.
August 5, 2012 at 6:56PM ESTBloody Phantasm
August 5, 2012 at 7:52PM EST Reply to CommentThe Zodiac Killer in David Fincher's "Zodiac" was a great villain. He was only completely seen in a single scene (the lake scene), but it's a terrifying scene and his presence/actions create an atmosphere of dread that is felt throughout the whole movie.
ceggertsen I agree...the scene you're talking about is absolutely horrifying, and he would be a worthy addition to a larger list.
August 6, 2012 at 12:36AM ESTIKilledJennySchecter
August 5, 2012 at 11:50PM EST Reply to CommentTypically cliched list of the usual suspects. Boys lists of movies about boys made by boys for boys.
vinay
August 6, 2012 at 1:46AM EST Reply to Commentloved loved LOVED that you included Tom Cruise from Collateral...He was one of the few villains that was genuinely likeable...and "cool" almost made you wish he finished his tasks...i know this sounds terrible, but tom cruised nailed that role and I wish he got an oscar nomination for it.
vinay
August 6, 2012 at 1:48AM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...so happy you included tom cruise from collateral...great movie, great role...wished he got an oscar nomination for it. one of the few genuinely likeable villains on the list! ALMOST wished he completed his tasks! i know that sounds terrible but he was the definition of "cool"
vinay
August 6, 2012 at 1:49AM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...Write a comment...so happy you included tom cruise from collateral...great movie, great role...wished he got an oscar nomination for it. one of the few genuinely likeable villains on the list! ALMOST wished he completed his tasks! i know that sounds terrible but he was the definition of "cool"
Cody B
August 6, 2012 at 3:53AM EST Reply to CommentLOOOOOVE this list. Personal favorite is O-Ren Ishii. "
The price you pay for bringing up either my Chinese or American heritage as a negative is... I collect your fucking head. Just like this fucker here. Now, if any of you sons of bitches got anything else to say, now's the fucking time!"
Jan A
August 12, 2012 at 11:10AM EST Reply to CommentI loved the choices -- although I agree it leaned toward being a "boy's list of boys' movies," you also had a variety of selections including Kim Jong-il - 'Team America: World Police' (a hilarious movie) and the evil racist southern woman from 'The Help.'
Max
August 20, 2012 at 10:47PM EST Reply to CommentAlthough I thought the list was great, I feel a couple of great, classic villains were left out. Keven Spacey in S7ven, Kathy Bates in Misery, Gene Hackman in Unforgiven, and Gary Oldman in The fifth Element to name a few. Otherwise, great job.
Eray The list is 21st century villains.
August 21, 2012 at 1:40PM ESTDaniel P
October 16, 2012 at 1:07AM EST Reply to CommentI think this list isn't complete without Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. One of the best villians in cinema history. Who didn't get chills or have nightmares after watching that movie?
Brady
October 19, 2012 at 9:26PM EST Reply to CommentGood list, but I'd maybe substitute Mrs Lovett from Sweeney Todd (really anyone from Sweeeney, but lets go with Sondheim on who the true villain is) or the Scarecrow from Batman Begins in for Loki or Hilly (also Mo'Nique's character from Precious, but she's been mentioned already)
stanto
November 8, 2012 at 11:26PM EST Reply to CommentGeneral Greivous anyone???
Dayna
November 12, 2012 at 9:37AM EST Reply to CommentWhere is nurse Ratched?
cmv
December 5, 2012 at 10:21AM EST Reply to CommentAgent Smith - Matrix series ???
Mo
December 11, 2012 at 10:52AM EST Reply to Commentwhy is loki there all he did was lead a failed attack against the earth and he wasnt even the main villain because of his alien boss
Mo
December 11, 2012 at 10:54AM EST Reply to Commentloki was a terrible villain who led an alien boss's army to earth in a failed attack and when fighting one of the avengers was beaten every time
eko origin
December 20, 2012 at 6:33AM EST Reply to Comment1 century : 100 years
20 centuries means 2000 years, not 1999 years..LOL
lokilover123
January 10, 2013 at 3:10PM EST Reply to CommentLoki should be numer one or number two on the list. The dude syndrom from incredibles cfomes nowhere near Loki's awesomeness. No offence to anyone who dissagrees. I am a member of Loki's fangirl army and proud :) this websight should do a voting thing for a week and then put the villians in order from 1 haveing the most votes and 20 having the least ammount, lol. just a suggestion.
Anony-mouse
March 2, 2013 at 9:58AM EST Reply to CommentYou Americans are fucking nazis. What about foreign movies and not only your own?
Rettop Yrrah
May 15, 2013 at 2:55AM EST Reply to CommentI like that Voldemort was on this list, but I really think that Bellatrix should've been there too. Seriously. Torturing two people with a child, making them go crazy, and enjoying every second? Killing your own cousin and LAUGHING about it? Am I really the only one here who thinks that Bellatrix is pure evil?