Villains, Anyone?
My hubby just rented The Scorpion King. My ever loving great grandmother, The Rock makes me drool.
That, my friends, is a Thundering Breastplate.
And I bet his protuberances are sharper than his sword.
But one thing bothered me after I watched the
movie again- I found myself ten times more fascinated with the villain than with the hero.
Stephen Brand spoke with that English accent (there's no menace like civil British menace) and smiled and I was like, "Rock? Rock who?"
What's wrong with me? I started thinking about it, and I usually root for the villains under my breath. In Robin Hood?
Forget Kevin Costner. Alan Rickman was Snidely Whiplash on speed and I loved him.
[the Sheriff has said he'll cut out Robin Hood's heart with a spoon]
Guy of Gisborne: Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe?
Sheriff of Nottingham: Because it's DULL, you twit, it'll hurt more.
The Patriot. As much as I love Mel Gibson, Jason Isaacs owned me. "Burn the town? No, no. Burn the church." OOO! He was evil. And I couldn't wait for him to come back onscreen.
Die Hard. Alan Rickman again. Bruce Willis was shirtless but grimy, bloody, and foul-mouthed. Alan was smooth, charming, and absolutely ruthless. I couldn't take my eyes off of him.
Lest you think it's only Brits- well, okay, it is mostly- remember Highlander? Christopher Lambert was totally drool-worthy. He had the best pick-up line in the world- "I am Conor MacLeod of the clan MacLeod, and I cannot die."
But Clancy Brown as the Kurgen...oh, he was no misunderstood anti-hero. He was a villain who reveled in his villainy. From growling at little old ladies in church "Happy Halloween, Ladies!" to singing "New York, New York" to the kidnapped heroine while driving like a maniac to his best line:
"It's better to burn out! Than fade away..."
How about you? Do you find villains more appealing? And what does that say about us?
posted by Robyn | 6:41 PM
12 Comments:
heh I agree, the villans are often more hott than the hero. Except for John Isaacs in the Patriot. I disliked him. Except for those really blue, blue eyes of his. Those are nice. When he shot the kid that when I started disliking him. I think if I saw him in another movie I'd automatically dislike him. Definitely was routing for Mel throughout the movie. His son wasn't too bad either ;) unfortunately he died! ACK. That's why I hate war movies most times, why must they kill off the charming characters?!
--Jo
There'a a neighbour down the street who looks exactly like the Scorpion King - from the neck up.
I giggle whenever I see him taking his kids to the school bus.
Hair and everything?
I loved the Mummy movies which of course led into the scorpion king. Oded Fahr *drool*
Then I saw him on the stupid show he did, don't even remember the name of it, but it ruined him for me. Hair cut short, dressed in regular clothes...I wanted the Magi back *g*
Yes, hair, at least to his shoulders.
Yeah, why do villains sometimes appeal more than the heroes? I've got a Snape thing going on, myself... but I blame it all on Alan Rickman. I never liked the book Snape, only the movie Snape.
I guess Alan Rickman does the kind of villain we hate to love.
Oh, definitely agree with the Alan Rickman thing. Watch Sense & Sensibility and see him as a hero for a change. Who needs Hugh Grant when you can have Col. Brandon saying, "Give me a task lest I go mad." Sigh. Pitter-patter goes my little heart.
I even liked ole Alan in Galaxy Quest as the bitter, tormented, Shakespearean actor who was reduced to playing a kindler gentler Vulcan/Klingon guy. "By Grabthar's Hammer, his is a cutiepie!"
I meant to say, He is a cutiepie. Duh. Too much worky make Missie kooky. Waaaaah. I want my mommy.
Oh, Jason Isaacs was horrible in the Patriot. Wicked, wicked villain. So compelling.
I like good villains to increase the tension, but I like a good hero who can best him even better.
Evil is intrinsically more interesting than good. Let's say you have a preacher who goes through the whole book/movie doing nothing but good works. BORING. But let him kick ass a bit (a la From Dusk Till Dawn") and now you have a watchable character. George Clooney's character in that movie is another good example but he approaches hero-dom from the other end of the spectrum.
Always, always make your good guys at least a little bit wicked. (I wish I could take my own advice . . .)
Jessica and I had lunch today and discussed this topic and we have come to the conclusion that the accent can make anyone sexy...except Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. Eww. Blechk. Barry Gibb is the hotness of that particular gene pool. (Not that we were discussing musical stars, but it's my blog and I can do what I want to.)
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