James Bond has faced off against many memorable villains over the decades. Typically, the villains are serious and menacing, leading to plenty of iconic moments between them and Bond. However, the James Bond franchise has been known to dabble into more over-the-top and silly territory.
For better or for worse, some moments of James Bond adventures end up feeling like parodies of the movies. The villains of James Bond are no exception in this case. Intentional or not, even the villains can get a chuckle out of the audience through the singular scenes or performances throughout.
10 Le Chiffre Takes Things Too Seriously - Casino Royale
Everyone knows that Bond loves his drink. Apparently, it's a very good drink because after he orders a specific Vesper Martini in Casino Royale, it makes the other players order the same thing, one after another. It gets to the point where it actually annoys the villain Le Chiffre, played by Mads Mikkelsen.
"That's it? Hmm? Anyone want to play poker now?" Le Chiffre snaps at the others. Yes, there is much at stake for the villain but seeing him react so childishly makes Le Chiffre that much more human and memorable.
9 Bad Girl, Xenia - GoldenEye
Xenia Onatopp from GoldenEye is a masochist who enjoys suffocating the men she kills with her thighs. Of course, she tries this on Pierce Brosnan's James Bond, but he overcomes this by burning her and then tossing her to the ground.
Rather than being angry or frustrated, Bond instead calmly aims his pistol at her and scolds her like a disobedient child or puppy, "No, no, no." Of course, her method of killing is already slightly humorous but the way Bond tells her "no" here makes it even funnier.
8 The Twist - Spectre
To nobody's surprise, it turns out that Christophe Waltz's character was Ernst Stavro Blofeld all along. This had everyone excited until Spectre revealed a twist that unintentionally had many Bond fans laughing. It turns out that James Bond and Blofeld are adopted brothers and Blofeld has dedicated his life to making Bond's life filled with pain.
Unfortunately, all fans can think about is the similar twist given in the final Austin Powers movie: Goldmember, which had Austin and the equally hilarious Dr. Evil turn out to be brothers. It also didn't help that the twist barely changed anything for the plot of Spectre and just felt unnecessary.
7 Bond Kills Blofeld - For Your Eyes Only
Understandably, the filmmakers wanted to kill off the Blofeld character since legal issues forbid the name from being used, as mentioned in The Hollywood Reporter. But was this really the best option? A pre-title sequence where a faceless Blofeld in a wheelchair is taken into the air by the landing skids of a helicopter piloted by Bond?
This is the man that killed Tracy, Bond's wife, and rather than a gritty, emotional fight between the two, it comes off as a joke. Blofeld even humorously tries to barter with Bond before being dropped down a smokestack. So, this death of an iconic villain is not only humorous on its own but so bad in the way it happens that it makes one laugh even more.
6 Jaws In Love - Moonraker
When Jaws was first introduced in The Spy Who Loved Me, he quickly became one of the most iconic henchmen of the series. In Moonraker, he was reduced to a dumb and comedic henchman who even ends up helping Bond. However, one saving grace about Jaws in Moonraker is a silly but cute romance with a woman named Dolly.
Where it becomes truly funny is when the two somehow survive the whole movie. At the very end, Jaws and Dolly have a moment together with overly cliche romantic music before they head off together as a couple.
5 Invincible? - GoldenEye
Boris in GoldenEye is an egotistical little troll of a hacker who deserved more for what he did. However, Alan Cumming made Boris memorable with his performance and famous quote, "I am invincible!" This line would make the perfect comeback with his death.
After breaking through Natalya's encryption, he stands to say his catchphrase, once again, while flexing. That's when canisters of liquid nitrogen burst and freeze Boris in his pose for a cartoonish but effectively humorous death.
4 James Bond Vs Nick Nack - The Man With The Golden Gun
This is where The Man With The Golden Gun turns into slapstick comedy. Scaramanga's henchman, Nick Nack, attempts to assassinate Bond in his bedroom but ends up getting into a fight with him. Admittedly, it is fun to watch Bond get thrown off by Nick Nack.
Bottles are thrown at Bond, Bond uses sticks trying to hit Nick Nack, and finally, he traps the henchman in a suitcase -- all while goofy music plays in the background. It further boosts the rather inconsistent tone of The Man With The Golden Gun, but it helps in delivering a memorably funny scene for Roger Moore's era.
3 Two Parachutes - Die Another Day
When it comes to the whole series, Die Another Day is often a contender for one of the worst Bond films. One of many reasons is due to how outlandish and silly it gets, especially with the villain: Gustav Graves.
This is seen in the final fight when he's nearly beaten Bond aboard a rapidly descending plane. He grabs the emergency parachute packs -- "Oh look! Parachutes for the both of us!" -- then is quick to toss one pack right out a hole -- "Whoops not anymore!" -- he says it in such an over-the-top way, it's hard to not enjoy it.
2 Blofeld In Drag - Diamonds Are Forever
Ernst Stavro Blofeld, one of the most iconic villains of all time, is turned into one of the worst Bond villains in Diamonds Are Forever. No longer is he the smart and deadly villain, he is a bumbling fool, constantly running from Bond.
In the third act, he makes an escape by dressing in drag for reasons that aren't explained at all. Is this the easiest disguise? At this point, every viewer has given up on trying to take Blofeld seriously. The filmmakers succeeded in trying to make everyone laugh, but perhaps a little too well.
1 Kananga's Death - Live And Let Die
It is unclear if this was meant to be this unbelievably silly, as Live And Let Die is actually one of the darker and serious films of the Roger Moore era. But that does not come through with the villain's death. Kananga and Bond fight in the water when Bond forces him to swallow a gadget that fills him with air.
He inflates like a balloon, flies up and out of the water, then hits the ceiling to pop like said balloon. Not only is the special effect laughably bad, but the scenes play out as if it's supposed to be a triumphant defeat. Instead, it feels out of place, even for the silliness of Bond films.
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July 14, 2021 at 12:00AM
