Sunday, October 3, 2021

My Favorite/Least Favorite James Bond Villains

 





James Bond Month continues with my favorite (and least favorite) James Bond villains. I'm not just going to rank the main villains here--I'll also be dealing with the henchmen....or should I say henchpeople? Or supporting villains?

One thing you will notice on these Bond lists is how much I favor things from the earlier films in the series. There's more to that than me being a whiny old white guy. Much of the ingredients that we take for granted in every Bond film were developed and established in the very first 007 entries. That especially holds true for the villains. Every major Bond villain owes something to Dr. No and Goldfinger, and every minor Bond villain owes something to Oddjob. 

So here's my favorite major--and supporting--Bond villains. 


MY FAVORITE JAMES BOND MAJOR VILLAINS: 

Gert Frobe as Auric Goldfinger in GOLDFINGER

An easy choice, but Frobe's characterization still influences the Bond series to this very day. 

Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No in DR. NO

Wiseman, a fine actor, doesn't get enough credit for making Dr. No a serious, realistic threat. 

Telly Savalas as Blofeld in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

The best movie Blofeld, although in all honesty, I wouldn't call any of them great. Telly's Blofeld gets extra points for getting out from behind a desk and actively participating in the mayhem. 

Adolfo Celi as Largo in THUNDERBALL

Christopher Lee as Scaramanga in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

He's in an underwhelming movie, and it has to be said that his character wasn't showcased properly, but you know I gotta put C. Lee on this list. 

MY LEAST FAVORITE JAMES BOND MAJOR VILLAINS:

Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene in QUANTUM OF SOLACE

The main reason he gets the top spot here is that I barely remember him, or anything his character did. 

Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves in DIE ANOTHER DAY

The Pierce Brosnan Bond era saw plenty of mediocre villains. 

Jeroen Krabbe as General Koskov in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

Charles Gray as Blofeld in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

Gray was an always interesting performer, but he was totally miscast as Blofeld. And did we really need to see his Blofeld in drag??

Christopher Walken as Max Zorin in A VIEW TO A KILL

Walken as a Bond villain seems like a great high-concept idea on paper, but.....

MY FAVORITE JAMES BOND SUPPORTING VILLAINS:

Robert Shaw as Red Grant in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

How many people can you say actually stole a James Bond film from James Bond? Shaw would have made a great 007 himself. 

Harold Sakata as Oddjob in GOLDFINGER

See my comment above about Gert Frobe. 

Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe in THUNDERBALL

The most memorable of the classic Bond bad girls. 

Caroline Munro as Naomi in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME



Of course I'm going to put Caroline on this list.

Dave Bautista as Hinx in SPECTRE

The Daniel Craig era hasn't had a lot of impressive supporting characters period, but Bautista brought a lot of no-nonsense screen presence to the role. 

MY LEAST FAVORITE JAMES BOND SUPPORTING VILLAINS

Grace Jones as May Day in A VIEW TO A KILL

The fact that Jones was featured on the main poster of this film says a lot about the state of the Bond series in the mid-1980s. 

Goldie as Bull in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

Apparently Goldie was some sort of British street music "personality". He wasn't much of a Bond villain. 

Robert Carlyle as Renard in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

Technically you could say that Carlyle was the major villain in the movie, but really Sophie Marceau was. Carlyle was only a major disappointment. 

Joe Don Baker as Brad Whitaker in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS

Now, I know what some of you are going to say...."What about Richard Kiel as Jaws??" He's certainly one of the most remembered Bond villains, but even in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME he was a basically a cartoon character. I could have put Kiel on both my favorite and least favorite Bond supporting villains lists. 


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