10 Great Villains From Movies With "Rotten" Ratings | ScreenRant
Not every movie goes over well with critics. Rotten Tomatoes has long been a popular site for cinema-goers to see whether critics have labeled a film "fresh" or "rotten". While a low critical score certainly does not mean that a movie is bad, it does definitely hurt a movie's reputation when it receives a "rotten" rating, even if some of the rotten scores can be particularly surprising - including Oscar-nominated movies like the recent Don't Look Up.
Even "rotten" movies are not without their high points though. Many still have redeeming qualities, notably in some great antagonists. From Bond villains to classic slashers, not every bad guy gets the appreciation they deserve. Their movies may be "rotten", but these villains sure aren't.
10 Barbara Minerva, Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
The first Gal Gadot starring Wonder Woman film was a smash hit and was one of the best DC Comics movies so far. Unfortunately, the sequel did not receive the same acclaim, sitting at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, Kristen Wiig's Barbara Minerva is a solid villain.
Beginning as the stereotypical loser character, Barbara is granted new abilities and charisma by the Dreamstone. Through the movie, she becomes progressively more confident and strong, but also more hostile and less human. While her ultimate transformation into the Cheetah was polarizing, her gradual change throughout the movie was one of its most interesting aspects.
9 Mini-Me, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
The first Austin Powers sequel was not nearly as well-received as the first, only having a 52% Tomatometer rating. Despite this, the movie has many hilarious scenes and introduced two of the franchise's most popular villains, Fat B*stard and the fan-favorite Mini-Me.
Mini-Me is a clone of Doctor Evil, except 1/8th the size, who quickly takes over as Doctor Evil's right-hand man even over his actual son. Despite having almost no spoken dialogue in the movie, Mini-Me is one of the series' most famous characters due to his hilarious mannerisms and physicality. He even manages to best Austin in a fight before being ejected into space.
8 Renard and Elektra King, The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Outside of Goldeneye, Pierce Brosnan's James Bond films were not critical favorites. They did introduce several great characters though, especially with The World Is Not Enough's co-villains Elektra King and Renard.
Renard is incapable of feeling pain due to a bullet in his head, which is also slowly killing him. Elektra King is his secret partner who charms her way into being one of the best femme fatales the series had seen in years. The pair make a dastardly team and are intriguing to watch, but unfortunately, the movie only received a 52% Tomatoes score.
7 General Zod, Man of Steel (2013)
Man of Steel received a mixed reception at its release. Its much darker approach to the Superman mythos resonated with some and not others, especially critics. One thing it did have was an absolutely stellar cast including Amy Adams, Russel Crowe, and Michael Shannon as the villainous General Zod.
Zod was the typical megalomaniacal supervillain bent on destroying the world, but Michael Shannon plays him with such commitment and aggression that it was hard to ignore. Plus, his motivation for trying to save Krypton was at least interesting. He may not have been the most complex villain, but he was much more entertaining than the film's 56% rating would imply.
6 Jigsaw, Saw (2004)
The Saw franchise has gotten so convoluted and unapologetically gruesome over the years that it is easy to forget that the original film was actually a relatively reserved mystery thriller. It also introduced the series' iconic villain, the Jigsaw killer, A.K.A. Joh Kramer.
Jigsaw's identity was shrouded in mystery throughout the movie, and the twisted way that he toyed with his victims through traps trickery made him a fascinating figure. Combined with a spectacular villain reveal, Jigsaw was the freshest horror villain in years. Despite this, the first movie only holds a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with each sequel even lower.
5 M. Bison, Street Fighter (1994)
Movies based on video games are rarely great, and Street Fighter is considered by many to be one of the worst. Questionable acting and a weak script have made the it a "so bad its good" classic. One thing that the movie do right though, was Raul Julia's immaculately campy turn as M. Bison.
While he is far from the hulking boss of the games, Julia portrays the villain as so much larger than life that it more than makes up for it. Seemingly the only one who knows that the movie is not good, he chews so much scenery that all 12% of the film's Rotten Tomatoes score likely came directly from him. He also has one of the best villain lines of all time, cementing himself as a true icon.
4 Francisco Scaramanga, The Man With The Golden Gun
Any character played by Christopher Lee automatically earns a whole new layer of prestige and coolness just because of the casting. Even so, Francisco Scaramanga is an upper-tier Bond villain trapped in a disappointing movie. Able to go toe-to-toe with Bond himself, Scaramanga is a deadly adversary.
While The Man With The Golden Gun is easily one of the weaker Bond films, Lee clearly relishes his role as the cool-headed master assassin. Able to take out almost any target with a single shot from his custom golden gun, Scaramanga forces Bond into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse that even Bond barely survives.
3 Jason Voorhees, Friday The 13th Series
Despite his lumbering form and famous hockey mask making him one of the most iconic slasher villains of all time, Jason Voorhees has never been in a movie with a fresh Tomatometer rating. The only film in the Friday the 13th series with a fresh rating is the original, where Jason's mother was the real killer.
Jason has eleven movies to his name, the highest rated of which sits at 46%. Despite this, Jason has terrified audiences since 1981. Boasting a huge body count and an even bigger box office success, Jason is easily one of the most recognizable and popular horror villains ever, despite his critical rating.
2 Simon Gruber, Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)
No sequel yet has ever managed to live up to the ridiculously high bar set by the original Die Hard, but Die Hard With A Vengeance did a pretty good job of trying. By far the best of the series outside of the first despite its 59% rating, the film also boasts one of the series' best villains in Simon Gruber.
Played by the hugely talented Jeremy Irons, Simon Gruber is the brother of Hans Gruber out for revenge on John. Cool, calculating, and incredibly smart, Simon puts John McClane through a series of elaborate tests while staying just one step ahead of him at every turn. While not quite as famous as his brother, Simon Gruber definitely deserves to be right next to him in terms of villainy.
1 Darth Maul, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Whatever fans think about the Star Wars prequels, there is one thing that almost all of them will agree on, Darth Maul was pretty awesome. Although barely saying a word through the movie, Darth Maul was an instant hit as soon as he ignited his double bladed lightsaber.
From his fantastically evil-looking character design to his expert fighting skill, being the center of one of the best lightsaber battles in the franchise, Darth Maul quickly became a fan favorite of the series. While the movie only garnered a 52% rating, Maul proved so popular he was even resurrected for the animated TV shows years later.