James Bond: Ranking Every Villain In The Sean Connery Movies
The first actor to play the role of James Bond on the big screen, Sean Connery, embodied the gentleman spy perfectly. After half a century’s worth of successors, Connery is still widely believed to be the greatest Bond actor. But 007 is only as compelling as the villains he faces.
From Dr. No to Auric Goldfinger to Ernst Stavro Blofeld himself, Connery’s 007 faced off against some truly iconic baddies. Not counting the non-Eon Never Say Never Again, Connery’s Bond movies were filled with memorable villains.
10 Vargas
Introduced in Thunderball, Vargas is the personal assistant and top henchman of industrialist Emilio Largo. Like his boss, Vargas is on the unmemorable side of the Bond villain spectrum.
Although Philip Locke brings his all to the role, Vargas is a pretty forgettable henchman. The character is especially disappointing in chronological order, arriving on the heels of the double whammy of Red Grant and Oddjob.
9 Mr. Osato
Mr. Osato is a Japanese businessman secretly associated with SPECTRE who emerges as the secondary villain to Blofeld in You Only Live Twice.
Osato was one of the earliest examples of the many generic amoral businessmen in the Bond movies – after a while, they all blend into one character. Much like the supporting villains surrounding Thanos in the Avengers movies, Osato is massively overshadowed by Blofeld.
8 Emilio Largo
Emilio Largo, the main villain in Thunderball, was played with a combination of the on-screen presence of Adolfo Celi and the dubbed voice of Robert Rietty. Introduced as SPECTRE’s Number Two, one spot behind Blofeld himself, Largo plans to steal two atomic bombs.
Like most of Thunderball, this villain feels tired and repetitive. Largo pales in comparison to his predecessor, Goldfinger – and his successor, Blofeld. However, on one positive note, he does have an awesome death scene as his mistress, Domino, shoots him in the back with a harpoon.
7 Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd
When Blofeld returned to torment Bond for a second time in Diamonds Are Forever, fans were introduced to his sadistic personal henchmen, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd.
Played by Bruce Glover and Putter Smith, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are unique among the Bond henchman canon because they come as a pair.
6 Colonel Rosa Klebb
SPECTRE’s Number Three, behind Largo and Blofeld, is Rosa Klebb. A former SMERSH colonel, Klebb is the main villain in Connery’s second Bond film, From Russia with Love. She’s an unforgettable sinister Soviet overlord.
Portrayed by Lotte Lenya, Klebb is still the franchise’s only female villain. Even Octopussy ends up switching to Bond’s side. There hasn’t been a lead female villain in a Bond movie since the second one way back in 1963.
5 Oddjob
Goldfinger’s right-hand man, Oddjob, was played to perfection by Harold Sakata. In his unforgettable combat sequences, Oddjob throws his modified bowler hat with enough force to decapitate his target (sometimes just a statue).
Like all great James Bond henchmen, he’s authentically menacing but also lovable. There’s something goofy about a guy whose weapon of choice is a hat, yet Sakata presents a real on-screen danger to 007.
4 Dr. Julius No
The Bond series’ first megalomaniacal baddie set a high bar for the rest. Joseph Wiseman plays the titular reclusive member of SPECTRE in Dr. No, and his chilling performance has provided a template for every Bond villain actor since.
Wiseman plays Dr. No’s “God complex” spectacularly, and his death scene is hilariously ironic: his metal hands become his downfall as he’s unable to climb out of his own nefarious contraption.
3 Red Grant
While Red Grant is just a secondary villain in From Russia with Love, Jaws’ Robert Shaw plays him with such captivating menace and brutality that he steals the movie. Klebb’s top enforcer poses an even bigger threat to 007 than she does.
After all these years, Grant remains the most brutal Bond henchman of all time. His rough-and-tumble brawl with 007 on the Orient Express is one of the most shockingly violent fight scenes ever put on film. Bond is protected by plot armor, but audiences still genuinely fear for his life.
2 Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Bond’s big bad, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, SPECTRE’s Number One, was teased in off-screen appearances throughout the Connery era – much like Thanos in the MCU – before finally taking center stage as the villain of You Only Live Twice.
Blofeld was played by a few different actors throughout the Connery era, but the most memorable was Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice. From his ludicrous volcano lair to his delightfully grandiose plan (to trigger a war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union by stealing space capsules), Blofeld has all the hallmarks of a quintessential Bond villain.
1 Auric Goldfinger
Played by Gert Fröbe, the titular megalomaniac in Goldfinger is the ultimate Bond villain. Fröbe’s performance is wonderfully eccentric and the character’s unquenchable obsession with gold is a classic Bond baddie personality quirk.
Goldfinger’s diabolical plan to destroy all the gold in Fort Knox to increase the value of his own isn’t just a mindlessly grandiose Bond villain plan; thematically, it ties into his hubris and the corrupting power of wealth – enough is never enough.
Source: Screenrant
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