Mastermind Villains

I don't know about you, but when it comes to villains, I strongly believe that a movie's lasting impression owes much to a well-developed and impressive negative character. Either as antagonist or protagonist, the villain often manages to imprint a greater impact on the storyline and the viewer than the forces of good who try to stop them. It's not about condemning or condoning their acts, it's about exploring eccentric personalities which are often so skillfully shaped and then shown to us by the filmmakers.

In this post, I want to focus on a particular category of villains. At first, I thought I could only come up with singular examples, but after reviewing the list of films I've watched throughout the years I realized that's not the case. I'd describe this type of villain as the one whose two greatest assets are intelligence and charisma; they are highly manipulative and often act according to an extremely well-thought plan in order to pursue their clear goal. The defining trait, however, is again a recurrent pattern in many movies: at some point, they willingly surrender to their adversaries, a cunning move that is later revealed to be in fact an essential part of their plan. It's the highest form of deceit, feigning the loss of control just to strike harder than before, when the enemy is off guard. This awards them the status of mastermind, highly cerebral personalities, placing them among some of the most memorable villains in the history of cinematography.

Until recently, I thought this was a trademark of Christopher Nolan, the director whose already iconic "Joker" character has had a resounding impact in modern cinema. While I do believe Nolan definitely has the merit of perfecting this type of antagonist and taking it to the next step, he's not actually the one to invent it - even though more recent films give away his strong influence. I made a list of such villains, in no particular order and most probably not exhaustive, showing at the same time some of my favourite movie characters ever. Needless to say, there are spoilers ahead, so be aware if you wish to find out about a character from the movie itself and not from here! As usual, suggestions for new entries in the list are greatly appreciated. Also, what's your favourite type of villain and why?

Skyfall (2012)

Raoul Silva

Image source: James Bond Wikia

Notable deeds: Hacks into the British MI-6 network and sets himself free after being deliberately captured. Brings about the death of the head of the Secret's Service Foreign Intelligence wing.

Character's fate: death.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Bane

Image source: Villains Wikia

Notable deeds: puts into practice an intricate crash and escape plan while on an airplane, in one of the most memorable sequences of its kind; seizes full control over Gotham City's downtown and temporarily overthrows the social class hierarchies. 

Character's fate: death at the hands of Batman's ally, Selina Kyle.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Anton Chigurh

Image source: Villains Wikia

Notable deeds: murders in cold blood the police officer that takes him into custody and then sets in motion a brutal killing spree in rural Texas while ruthlessly hunting down a war veteran carrying a large amount of money.

Character's fate: gets away, with serious injuries however, sustained in a car crash.

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Joker

Image source: Batman Wikia

Notable deeds: cleverly manipulates several individuals in order to escape and wreak havoc on a police department; inflicts panic and terror in Gotham city as an agent of pure chaos and nihilism; corrupts one of the city's brightest crime-fighters and brings him down to his level.

Character's fate: incarceration in an institute for the criminally insane.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Keyser Soze

Image source: EmpireOnline.com

Notable deeds: makes up a convincing story while being interrogated by a detective, completely deceiving him about the identity of the prime suspect.

Character's fate: successfully gets away before the police realizes his true identity.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Dr. Hannibal Lecter

Image source: Villains Wikia

Notable deeds: manipulates, as an inmate, law enforcement agents while cooperating on a serial killer investigation, culminating with his escape.

Character's fate: escapes from prison.

Se7en (1995)

John Doe

Image source: Villains Wikia

Notable deeds: murders people guilty of any of "the seven deadly sins" and then surrenders to a detective that will fall victim to his plan.

Character's fate: revenge execution, as planned by his own self.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille

Image source: themoviedb.org

Notable deeds: uses his superior olfactory sense to create a perfume so powerful that it makes an entire town fall at his feet and claim him innocent, right after being incarcerated and awaiting execution.

Character's fate: suicide, using his own creation.

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

Clyde Shelton

Image source: Deadliest Fiction Wikia

Notable deeds: surrenders and gets incarcerated after a revenge murder, while systematically eliminating the actors of a corrupt and inefficient justice system.

Character's fate: death, after his plans get overturned.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)

Raul Menendez

 Image source: Call of Duty Wikia

Notable deeds: hacks into the US army network infrastructure, all while being deliberately captured, and cripples the entire USA's defense by forcing all aerial drones into self-destruction.

Character's fate: assassination / incarceration / suicide, depending on player's actions.

State as the Ultimate Oppressor

Carrying on on the same note as in my previous post - corporations as powerful antagonists in films -, I'd like to point out another "nemesis pattern" that has been given much attention in recent films (and not only) and which I can mark as one of my favourites: the state as the ultimate oppressive force and one of the most powerful adversaries imaginable. Not necessarily rigid in definition, state as a non-individual entity, an either limited or extended group of actors that in most cases hold a firm, over-authoritative control over a larger, subdued group, whose many of the human rights are severely jeopardized or brutally violated. A totalitarian regime, that is, which can go far beyond the political scope, as we'll see in some examples further on.

There are basically two types of movies that use the state as the instrument for creating the antagonist: on one side, movies based on real totalitarian regimes (including documentaries) or extensions of those regimes that can still be placed on the realm of non-fiction, while on the other side are movies that depict fictional regimes, many of them based on George Orwell's vision of a "perfect" totalitarian society and which, not surprisingly, have a strong presence of the science-fiction element, taking place in the future. 

Many of the films in the first category have become landmarks in cinematography and will probably remain so for decades to come: "Schindler's List", "The Pianist", "The Killing Fields", "The Lives of Others" are all examples of great movies that show what real fascism and communism looked like. The filmmakers' attitude is sharply pronounced, not hesitating to show the horrors endured by the victims in some of the most memorable scenes of all times. The usual outcome of the stories in these movies is rather grim, there's rarely any heroic action from the protagonists that induce severe blows to the regime (except perhaps in Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds", which can be placed in a genre of its own). Instead, the characters take part in a survival story, in a world of helplessness, where the truth is that you, as an individual, have no chance of taking down the regime and fixing all the injustice that has been done and instead you're forced to hide and survive in whatever ways possible. This lack of "vendetta" and the inability to make things right, to punish and get rid of the evil, leaves a profound feeling of revolt in many viewers. I am myself one of those viewers, for whom this kind of films stir the most powerful emotions - and, leaving aside the financial aspect, what's the most sought-after trait that a film can hope to achieve, if not that?

As if to make up for this induced frustration, movies in the second category - fictional regimes - have a different outcome. Although not a general rule, their stories revolve around one or a few exceptional individuals who, after surpassing enormous obstacles, manage eventually to defeat the regime or at least to ignite a powerful spark that will irreversibly lead to its downfall. Two shining examples of such stories can be found in the "Star Wars" and "The Matrix" series. Both focus on a protagonist unaware of its potential but who will become, aided by rebel factions, an essential element in destabilizing the ruling structures. Although "Star Wars" features a political, human-ruled regime (a galactic empire), "The Matrix" puts in charge a much darker and subtler ruler in the form of advanced robots that keep almost the entire human race in a completely docile state, unaware of its fate. What's even more fascinating about this story is shown in the complementary "Animatrix": the robots themselves had been slaves for humanity but eventually emancipated and took their turn as rulers.

A significant influence for the fictional totalitarian regimes is George Orwell's book, "Nineteen Eighty-Four", published back in 1949. If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend you to do so: you'll be amazed, shocked, furious and mind-blown at the same time. It's almost a textbook for implementing a truly dehumanizing totalitarian society, one which some filmmakers were eager to follow. There are even two film adaptations of the book, released in 1956 and 1984, respectively. My favourite two films inspired from the "1984" universe are "Brazil (1985)" (widely regarded as a classic masterpiece) and "V for Vendetta (2005)", the latter emphasizing once again Wachowski brothers' (who directed "The Matrix" as well) fascination with slavery and other forms of societal oppression. Other good examples in this category are "Equilibrium", "Dark City" and "THX 1138". These stories do not always have a happy ending: sometimes, the main character is a victim of their own delusions or futile efforts in overthrowing the system and escaping the society they hate so much, a pessimistic outcome which adds to the image of the totalitarian state as an inescapable monster which leaves no hope for the common citizen entrapped by it.

To conclude, I'd like again to list the movies that have been mentioned throughout this post and others that fit this topic. I'll split the list in two sections, real and fictional regimes. For each entry, I'll mention the character focus (whether the protagonist fighting against the regime is an individual or part of a group) and the final outcome (whether the regime is defeated or not as a result of the protagonists' actions). Since this may be my favourite movie topic, I would greatly appreciate any other suggestions, both as entries that should belong on the list and movies to watch.

Movie Title	Character Focus	Outcome
Real Regimes
Schindler’s List (1993)	Individual	Regime undefeated
The Pianist (2002)	Individual	Regime undefeated
The Killing Fields (1984)	Group	Regime undefeated
The Lives of Others (2006)	Group	Regime undefeated
The Grey Zone (2001)	Group	Regime undefeated
Shogun Assassin (1980)	Individual	Regime undefeated
The Tunnel (2001)	Group	Regime undefeated
Europa Europa (1990)	Individual	Regime undefeated
Defiance (2008)	Group	Regime undefeated
Valkyrie (2008)	Group	Regime undefeated
Train of Life (1998)	Group	Regime undefeated
La vita è bella (1997)	Group	Regime undefeated
Apocalypto (2006)	Individual	Regime undefeated
Braveheart (1995)	Individual	Regime undefeated
Fictional Regimes
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1956/1984)	Individual	Regime undefeated
V for Vendetta (2005)	Group	Regime overthrown
“Star Wars” series	Group	Regime overthrown
“The Matrix” series	Group	Regime overthrown
Brazil (1985)	Individual	Regime undefeated
Dark City (1998)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Equilibrium (2002)	Individual	Regime overthrown
The Hunger Games (2012)	Group	Regime undefeated
TRON: Legacy (2010)	Group	Regime overthrown
THX 1138 (1971)	Individual	Regime undefeated
They Live (1988)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Cloud Atlas (2012)	Group	Regime overthrown

Last but not least, video games too have their say when it comes to this topic. Many of them can rival films and books in terms of storytelling, especially since the story unfolds through the eyes of the main character, which is you, the player; it's more or less an interactive movie. Of the games in the "totalitarian state" topic that I've played, "Half-Life 2" truly stands out as one of the most beautiful and inspiring stories of its kind. The list below contains only games that I've played, so I'm sure there are plenty of other titles that belong there. As usual, your help is greatly appreciated!

Game Title	Character Focus	Outcome
Half-Life 2 (2004)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Dishonored (2012)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Fallout 3 (2008)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Rage (2011)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Outcast (1999)	Individual	Regime overthrown
Fable III (2010)	Individual	Regime overthrown
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)	Individual	Depends on player’s actions
Mirror’s Edge (2008)	Individual	Regime undefeated