Desperation can reveal a lot about characters, and people who seem like tough badᴀsses might turn out to be scared, cowardly and insecure. It’s often the case that these movie characters only seem so strong when they’re in total control, but they can’t handle things when the heat is turned up.

This is especially true when characters are on the brink of certain death, as their desperation to survive drives them into unfamiliar territory. They might burst into tears, bargain for their lives or try to trick their foes. Whatever happens, it can be immensely satisfying to see a smug villain being put in their place.

10

Robert Muldoon – Jurᴀssic Park (1993)

Muldoon’s Raptors Turn Against Him

Robert Muldoon has an important role in the security of Jurᴀssic Park, but his hunting experience isn’t enough when he discovers that the velociraptors have escaped from their enclosure. He lines one up in his sights, only to be ambushed by another waiting over his shoulder. His dying words, “Clever girl“, are one of Jurᴀssic Park‘s best quotes.

His dying words, “Clever girl“, are one of Jurᴀssic Park‘s best quotes.

Muldoon’s pained screams show that there’s no noble way to be torn apart by a velociraptor. After he advocates for triggering the Lysine Contingency, which would kill all the dinosaurs in the park, there’s a sense of karmic justice to his death. He could have been the story’s biggest hero, but his life is cut short instead.

9

Carson Wells – No Country For Old Men (2007)

Carson Wells Forgets His Own Advice

Woody Harrelson has a small but memorable role in No Country For Old Men. He plays just one of several men fighting over a bag of cash in the Coen brothers’ classic crime thriller. Carson Wells is a straight-talker who seems to have a lot of experience doing what he does, but this counts for nought when he comes face to face with Anton Chigurh.

When Carson visits Llewelyn Moss in hospital, he says that Anton has principles which don’t account for money, drugs or anything else that can be bargained for. He ignores this wisdom when he and Anton meet in his H๏τel room, as he tries everything he can to bargain for his life. The intensity of their exchange sums up why No Country For Old Men is considered one of the best Coen brothers movies.

8

Captain Phasma – Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

Captain Phasma’s Death Comes As A Shock

The Force Awakens introduces Captain Phasma as an enigmatic and imposing new villain. She represents an interesting change of pace to the Storm Troopers that the Star Wars franchise had previously had, so it’s a little underwhelming to see her story ending abruptly in The Last Jedi.

A famous deleted scene gives Captain Phasma a slightly more momentous send-off, but it’s still odd to see such an interesting character cut down before the end of the trilogy. There’s a flicker of fear in her eye as she’s about to plummet to her death, showing that she might have more humanity than she lets on.

7

Beria – The Death Of Stalin (2017)

Beria’s Tough-Guy Act Crumbles Under Pressure

The Death of Stalin is a hilarious dark comedy with a great ensemble cast, but the broad strokes of the story are true. Lavrentiy Beria was one of Stalin’s most trusted allies, as the chief of the secret police. While it’s hard to call a man who hides behind power a badᴀss, Beria certainly carries himself with a certain swagger, as if he believes himself to be a tough customer, at the verty least.

Beria’s true nature is revealed when the other contenders to succeed Stalin band together and execute him. He’s a sacrificial lamb in some ways, but if anyone’s worthy of such cruel punishment then it’s him. He loses his cool and starts screaming for his life, showing who he really is without Stalin or his secret police to back him up.

6

Koba – Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

Koba Tries One Last Act Of Deception

Koba is probably the most interesting villain in the Planet of the Apes prequel movies, because his philosophy directly challenges Caesar’s rule over the apes. Koba advocates for an exclusionary society, in which humans are treated as enemies and repelled with violence.

Koba conspires to drum up his own support behind Caesar’s back, and he soon launches a coup to oust the leader. When this fails, he begs for mercy by using Caesar’s “ape not kill ape” mantra against him. This is another act of subterfuge, tantamount to cowardice, but Caesar decides that he has given Koba enough chances to redeem himself.

5

Byron Hadley – The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Captain Hadley’s Defeat Happens Off Screen

When Andy first arrives at Shawshank, he learns that Captain Byron Hadley is the one prison guard who should be feared above all others. Hadley runs the penitentiary with an iron fist, dishing out brutal beatings to keep the prisoners from trying to rise up. He also seems to derive some sick pleasure from his authoritarian acts of violence.

Although Hadley’s downfall is never shown on screen, Red states in a voiceover that he cried like a baby when the police came to arrest him for his part in Warden Norton’s corrupt scheme. Hadley knows that he’ll have a target on his back in prison, and it’s satisfying to know that his tough guy persona cracks when the shoe is suddenly on the other foot.

4

HAL 9000 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

HAL Becomes Desperate When Dave Survives His Trap

Stanley Kubrick revolutionized the sci-fi genre with 2001: A Space Odyssey. There have been countless movies that have taken aesthetic cues from the movie’s slow-moving ships and orchestral score, but the villain has also had a huge impact on other movies, especially those about the perils of artificial intelligence.

HAL-9000 has intelligence, but no empathy and no concern for human life. After killing the rest of Dave’s crew and trying to lock him out of the ship, HAL’s plan is thwarted. His last resort is to try to manipulate Dave into thinking that he has been reset. It’s hard to call a computer program cowardly, but HAL’s desperation marks a stark contrast from his cool, even-handed actions earlier.

3

Scar – The Lion King (1994)

Scar Is Nothing Without The Hyenas To Support Him

Scar is one of Disney’s best villains, thanks partly to a great voice performance by Jeremy Irons. He brings the appropriate level of gravitas to a Shakespearean villain in The Lion King‘s warped retelling of Hamlet. Ultimately, Scar’s conniving nature proves to be his undoing, as he tries to appeal to Simba by turning his back on the hyenas.

Scar will say anything and do anything to тιԍнтen his grip on power. Although the hyenas are instrumental in his rise to the top, he’s quick to sell them out when he thinks that it’s what Simba wants to hear. There’s a cruel irony to his death, as the hyenas ensure that his lies eventually catch up with him. He pleads for clemency to the very end, but he’s run out of words that can help him.

2

Tai Lung – Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Po Reduces Tai Lung To A Whimpering Wreck

Po has faced some great villains in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, but Tai Lung is arguably still his fiercest foe. Tai Lung also has a personal connection to Master Shifu and the Furious Five, which gives his story some more weight. He’s feared long before he meets Po, but he’s eventually reduced to the brink of tears.

Tai Lung’s prison escape sequence demonstrates his formidable skills, as does the way that he dispatches the Furious Five in a battle at a rope bridge. His fight with Po is not so simple, and he’s eventually left begging for his life when Po puts him in the fabled Wuxi finger hold.

1

Blofeld – For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Blofeld Makes An Absurd Offer To Bond To Save His Own Skin

Many of the best James Bond villains go out in pathetic, cowardly or darkly humorous ways. Dr. Kananga’s explosive death and Le Chiffre’s desperation in Casino Royale are just two notorious deaths, but no Bond villain has suffered a more humiliating fate than 007’s greatest foe, Blofeld.

His final gambit is to offer to buy his nemesis a delicatessen in exchange for his life.

Blofeld has been a mainstay of the James Bond franchise, with different actors playing the enigmatic villain in different movies. When the franchise was trapped in a dispute over the legal rights to the character, they decided to dispose of a lawyer-friendly stand-in to show they didn’t need him. The beginning of For Your Eyes Only shows Blofeld being scooped up by Bond in a helicopter and dropped down a chimney. His final gambit is to offer to buy his nemesis a delicatessen in exchange for his life. This has gone down as one of the most divisive quotes in any Bond movie, as it completely betrays Blofeld’s dangerous mystique.