4 movies where the villain is the best character

Generally, when you watch a movie you want the protagonist to win, right? Not here. These are four of the bad guys that people like more than the heroes.

I defy you to find a Schwarzenegger movie where the villain has more charisma. Mr. Benedict is smarmy, menacing, and pretty much one giant head nod to Hans Gruber. But "Jack Slater", the hero of the flick, is no "John McClane". So we find ourselves hoping that Benedict gets away in every scene where they tangle.

And he does escape! Every time except for, like, this one time at the end.

It should come as no surprise after you realize that Benedict is played by Charles Dance, who would go on to play Tywin Lannister himself in HBO's Game of Thrones. It's also kind of a thrill to see the development of Dance's 'quiet calculation' act so often seen in Game of Thrones.

31 words of dialogue. Zero backstory given. Coolest fight challenge in cinema history.

I was a kid when 'Menace was in theaters. People were elated that there was a new Star Wars movie out after so long, but I remember feeling the anxiousness build in the room as people got more and more impatient for it to be good. You could see people's smiles go from genuine in the beginning, to forced as Jar Jar Binks put his tongue in a podracer engine, to gone as they realized that there wasn't much movie left.

This was before we were openly saying that the prequel trilogy was awful. This was when a lot of people had to ask themselves if the reason that they weren't having as much fun was that they were older now, and maybe 'Star Wars' just wasn't for them anym-

"Ya thought this movie was going to be boring, but not my parts!" -How I imagine Darth Maul usually sounds.

Then we got the real hero of the movie. Darth Maul showed up, gave us a heck of a scrap, and exited in pieces. The dude gave us the one really good moment in Phantom Menace, and showed a whole generation what Star Wars could be. Personally, I think Darth Maul (and maybe just a bit of Dooku) are why we have Finn, Rey, and the trilogy we're currently enjoying.

Thank you, Maul. You evil, evil Zabrak.

Okay, Tarantino films can be murky, but it's hard to say that the Nazi colonel Hans Landa is anything but a villain in this. Sure, he winds up working with the heroes to complete their Reich ending mission, but if being responsible for Hitler's downfall was enough to redeem an otherwise unrepentant Nazi, we'd have a moral feedback loop on our hands.

No, people don't love Hans Landa because they think he was secretly a decent fellow, people love Hans Landa because Christoph Waltz is the greatest gift Hollywood has given us since the recipe for movie theater popcorn butter.

Tarantino knew he had a great character on his hands, but he also knew he had the perfect actor. Waltz is delightful in every scene he's in, and once he's joined forces with the good guys (albeit for selfish reasons) you dread seeing him get his very-much-deserved comeuppance.

Man, was I bummed when I heard that Heath Ledger was going to be The Joker. I was in Dane Kelly's family computer room, and when Dane read that hot Hollywood gos' about Heath Ledger being cast in the 'Batman Begins' sequel I was so let down.

Dane, however, brought up that no one thought Michael Keaton would be a good Batman, twenty years prior. Or that people laughed when Bruce Willis was cast in an action movie.

And Dane Kelly was correct.

Let's face it; Christian Bale has about as much charisma as a bowl of lettuce, but we didn't really notice in the first movie because we were just happy to see a Batman movie that wasn't embarrassing.

"Pardon me, SIR, but how EXACTLY is this embarrassing?" - Man wearing a suit with nipples.

Heath Ledger exploded into that movie with an energy that marked the high point of the whole franchise. He made bold character choices, and every one paid off. Remember when he's sitting a holding sell, and he gives a sarcastic round of applause to Jim Gordon? That was improvised, and that was terrifying.

By the end of the movie, there are lots of people who were cheering for The Joker. That, my friends, is great villain performance.

Jake Draugelis currently has James Bond locked in a room with only a single guard at the door, but he also writes for 1d4 every day! Also check us out on Facebook and Twitter.