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Quick Big Mi6 Main Villain Ranking Game

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Comments

  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited September 2021 Posts: 2,148
    Carver is #13 for me. He’s the main reason I consider TND the best Brosnan entry.
    Pryce is always a delight to watch. One of the rare actors who can make an over the top character seem truly believable.
  • SomethingThatAteHimSomethingThatAteHim
    Posts: 532
    #18 for me. He’s not very threatening and sometime’s Price’s performance goes *too* hard on the ham, like when he’s doing the mock Kung-fu, but it’s hard not to be entertained by the guy as he’s clearly going all out with the scenery chewing. Definitely a highlight in a movie that for me is pretty boring otherwise.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    #23 for me. I love Pryce as an actor but he's not remotely threatening in any way, shape or form in this one and a good bit of his dialogue borders on cringe for me. Still, he's animated and lively enough (that ridiculous fake-typing on the keyboard is always a treat) to avoid last place.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited September 2021 Posts: 1,711
    20 for me. And that's giving a couple extra spots because I love Jonathan Pryce.

    I think after this one, or maybe the next one (Elektra?), we'll see somewhat substantial jumps in points. This looks like the end of the consensus low-tier.

    EDIT: Ah, I forgot Max Largo. He may not get out of this tier....
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    25th for me for similar reasons as @Creasy47 ... There's no menace... He's simply a caricature.

    And Pryce is an incredible actor, which made/makes his performance that much more disappointing to me.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 7,427
    Echo what peter and Creasy47 say. Pryce is an excellent actor, but Carvers a terrible villain, i cringe when I hear him make that speech about all the news coverage he wants ("there's no news like bad news!")
    No. 24 for me!
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    I had him in the 12th spot myself. Pryce is just too damned entertaining for me to place him any lower! He takes such fanciful delight in concocting his evil schemes. A very 90's version (cable news and newspapers) of a media mogul who manipulates events to his liking, but it was accurate for the times.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    "Wasted potential"

    Could be the tag line of the Brosnan era.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    We are two of a kind.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Pryce, as many have said already, is an excellent actor. But they fed him a lot of cheese and camp to work with. When he does the faux karate chops, my jaws are never not on the floor.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Pryce, as many have said already, is an excellent actor. But they fed him a lot of cheese and camp to work with. When he does the faux karate chops, my jaws are never not on the floor.

    That bit is rough, for sure - or I guess you could say "pa-thet-ic."
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Pryce, as many have said already, is an excellent actor. But they fed him a lot of cheese and camp to work with. When he does the faux karate chops, my jaws are never not on the floor.

    That bit is rough, for sure - or I guess you could say "pa-thet-ic."

    Right. :)>- See, and that's my issue. Pryce himself is "de-li-cious" in this film. He's got a permanent smile on him that suggests he knows that he's playing the closest thing to a cartoonish, moustache-twirling supervillain. Sadly, they weren't playing to his strengths. Still, I love him as a propagator of fake news, a prophetic twenty years before the world would see real Elliot Carvers ignite nationalistic rage in Europe and the USA. Somehow, TND has grown even more relevant in its politics than most other Bond films.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Pryce, as many have said already, is an excellent actor. But they fed him a lot of cheese and camp to work with. When he does the faux karate chops, my jaws are never not on the floor.

    That bit is rough, for sure - or I guess you could say "pa-thet-ic."

    Right. :)>- See, and that's my issue. Pryce himself is "de-li-cious" in this film. He's got a permanent smile on him that suggests he knows that he's playing the closest thing to a cartoonish, moustache-twirling supervillain. Sadly, they weren't playing to his strengths. Still, I love him as a propagator of fake news, a prophetic twenty years before the world would see real Elliot Carvers ignite nationalistic rage in Europe and the USA. Somehow, TND has grown even more relevant in its politics than most other Bond films.

    TND has an evergreen plot it seems. Carver seems rather restrained compared to his real life counterparts!
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    Here is my controversial Carver ranking: #8
    I have a great time with this guy. I even like the mock Kung-fu.
  • Quantum_of_TomorrowQuantum_of_Tomorrow
    Posts: 508
    I had Carver at #7. He shakes up the formula, by being someone wanting as much popularity as possible. Great in my opinion.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    Quantum_of_Tomorrow wrote: »
    I had Carver at #7. He shakes up the formula, by being someone wanting as much popularity as possible. Great in my opinion.

    He is unique in that regard, I'll give him that.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    I too think Carver's one of the best. What a fun villain and delicious performance by Jonathan Pryce. Carver's insanity and egomania remind me of Stromberg and Drax, but in a more jovial and over-the-top version. Delightful! At the same time, Pryce is just threatening enough to make his villain effective within the film (and particularly against Brosnan's Bond), so that even with his over-the-top nature, the film doesn't end up feeling like a joke. We can feel there's something serious at stake here. This is of course also aided by the fact the film itself has a sufficiently serious tone.

    That moment when Carver tells Stamper to make sure Bond gets to see his own heart stop beating... terrific.

    As is the kung fu!

    Speaking of Carver, it took me many watches to really pay attention to this shot. Perfectly cast, distinctive-looking actors around Pryce.

    Tomorrow-Never-Dies-0439.jpg

    I've always thought I would have loved (and would still love) to see Anthony Hopkins as a Bond villain, but not at the cost of losing Pryce. Top-notch.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    Up to our number 17, just over the 100-point mark we find:

    KLAUS MARIA BRANDAUER
    as Maximilian Largo
    in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN

    12046.jpg

    Two top 10’s for Largo 2.0: one 6th and one 10th place. On top of that 9 more spots between 11th and 15th were acquired by the inventor of “Domination”.

    Not everyone’s a fan though, there were also three bottom 5’s, of which one was a bottom finish.

    Maximilian Largo was awarded a total of 106 points.

    I didn’t go back to check it out but I think this is the first instant that anything non-EON has collected more than 100 points.

    He’s also the second-highest rated Austrian on this list, beating his countryman Christoph Waltz by quite some distance. There is one other yet to come though.
  • SomethingThatAteHimSomethingThatAteHim
    Posts: 532
    I had him at 13. Now it’s been a good number of years since I’ve seen NSNA so I could definitely be overrating him, but he’s also one of the few things I even remember about the movie so that has to count for something! He exudes big psychopath energy which made for a wonderfully threatening and neurotic screen presence. I prefer him to the other Largo, in fact!
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,148
    #12 for me. Love Brandauer's performance.
    He's not the most threatening or physically imposing villain, plus his friendly disposition kind of reminds me of Koskov, one of my least favorite baddies.
    But he's got this mad glow in his eyes and his quirkiness manages to instil a sense of uneasiness every time he's on screen.
    I could easily imagine Klaus Kinski playing this version of Largo, probably to even more disturbing effect.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,711
    Number 11. I love a functional psychopath. Lots in common with Dominic Greene, another favorite of mine.
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    I could easily imagine Klaus Kinski playing this version of Largo, probably to even more disturbing effect.

    There's no "probably" about that!

  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    edited September 2021 Posts: 2,148
    ProfJoeButcher wrote: »
    Number 11. I love a functional psychopath. Lots in common with Dominic Greene, another favorite of mine.
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    I could easily imagine Klaus Kinski playing this version of Largo, probably to even more disturbing effect.

    There's no "probably" about that!
    You're right, I stand corrected 😬
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,483
    It was refreshing to see a completely different kind of Largo for TB 2.0
    He has some memorable moments (mainly due to his behaviour in otherwise mediocre scenes) like the “domination“ duel and the moment he explains Domino that he would kill her when she would betray him.
    I ranked him as #20.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    He came in at #25 for me, as I have way more affection and familiarity with all the official villains, not having seen NSNA until at least five or so years ago, but in hindsight I could've easily ranked him higher. He's slimy, jealous, flamboyant in some ways, and his hand movements and mannerisms really stand out to me. He's very solid, regardless of how low I have him ranked.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    R1s1ngs0n wrote: »
    I could easily imagine Klaus Kinski playing this version of Largo, probably to even more disturbing effect.
    That would have been terrific, though Brandauer was very good as well.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    I also had him in the 17th spot, so no complaints here. He's a big reason why NSNA works as well as it does.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    Klaus Maria Brandauer is one of my favourite actors. You should see the man in Mephisto, it’s impressive.

    Naturally Max Largo is a top 10 Bond villain for me. Charming on the outside, I can imagine he can easily win people over, total nutter on the inside.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Two of the most entertaining and most eccentric villains! Brandauer is simply a delight with his deadpan threats and psychotic giggling. On the commentary, Kershner mentioned Brandauer's predilection for improvisation and how he had to be carefully controlled for optimal results. As far as I'm concerned, Kershner succeeded in getting just what the film needed out of this loose cannon on set. Brandauer's Largo has never cracked my top 10, though he's constantly fire-axing the door to get in, and that just speaks for the quality of Bond's foes. He placed one spot ahead of Celi's Largo for me in this ranking.

    As I mentioned at the start of all this, I surprised even myself when Carver took 6th place in my ranking. I can find no fault with Pryce's brilliant, heaving, mad-eye-twinkling turn as media mogul Elliot Carver. Between his opening speech to his golden retrievers, his party banter, his moment with Paris, his threat to remove Bond's heart and show it to him still beating, and his standoff with Bond aboard the stealth ship, he's given more moments to shine than most of the competition, and shine he does. Somehow Pryce managed to make the role both campy and a force to be reckoned with, delivering a positively delicious over-the-top megalomaniac perfect for turn of the century audiences and beyond.
  • ShakenNotStirredShakenNotStirred
    Posts: 1,398
    I had Max Largo at #18 and Carver at #22, fairly close with the pack here.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Klaus Maria Brandauer is one of my favourite actors. You should see the man in Mephisto, it’s impressive.

    Naturally Max Largo is a top 10 Bond villain for me. Charming on the outside, I can imagine he can easily win people over, total nutter on the inside.

    I placed him last here, but I like Brandauer very much in The Lightship.
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