The 10 Best War Movie Villains

A great movie villain can't just be a mindless, faceless killer, even in a war movie. The best antagonists are much more complex than that. To leave a lasting impression, villains not only have to present a real challenge to the hero, but they also have to evoke real, strong emotions in the audience. They make us hate them, fear them; we are disgusted by them and sometimes even sympathize with them.

In war movies, the best villains can't simply be the entire enemy force, either. The best war film stories are personal. Because the villain embodies the enemy's motives, their direct connection and their personal battle become a microcosm of the larger fight. By defeating the villain, our heroes win their little corner of the war. The villains represent everything the heroes fight against, are often unpredictable and, most importantly, usually believe they are doing the right thing.

With that in mind, here is our list of the best, most memorable war movie villains.

Hans Landa, 'Inglourious Basterds'

From the moment he comes on screen, Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) presents himself as a genial, intelligent and rational military officer. He speaks multiple languages and is respectful of all the social graces expected when visiting someone's home. But it's all a cold calculation. He admittedly relishes his work and the earned nickname of "The Jew Hunter." Throughout the film, Landa is always affable but unpredictable, never revealing his intentions until it's time to strike.

Based on Nazi officer Capt. Alois Brunner, Landa's seemingly likable nature is a strong contrast to the work he actually does, a dichotomy that makes him particularly loathsome. What makes him truly villainous is the reveal that he actually has no loyalty to anything except himself, saving his own skin by working with his enemy. He was never truly indoctrinated; killing Jews was just a job he enjoyed. When that was over, he was ready for whatever came next. That's why you enjoyed it so much when Pfc. Utivich made sure no one would forget he was a Nazi.

Amon Goeth, 'Schindler's List'

Like Hans Landa, Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes) had no moral issues with what he was doing: He considered it work. Although the administrator of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, there was nothing businesslike in the playful way he personally killed people that he clearly never believed were human.

Unlike Landa, Goeth was a true believer in anti-semitic Nazi ideology, saluting Adolf Hitler until his last moments on Earth. Until he was hanged, he was like a moody teenager, complaining when he was uncomfortable, laughing at the misfortune of others and leaving even his closest friends wondering whether he was capable of having them killed. What's truly abhorrent about Amon Goeth is that he was a real person.

Mutsuhiro 'The Bird' Watanabe, 'Unbroken'

Another real-world villain, "The Bird" (played by actor-musician Takamasa Ishihara), was the personal antagonist of American prisoner of war Louis Zamperini. Watanabe was infamous for his treatment of Allied POWs during World War II, so much so he was listed as one of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's most wanted war criminals. "The Bird" was brutal to all his captives, but took a personal delight in tormenting Zamperini.

On top of personally beating and torturing Zamperini, he punished his prisoner by forcing every other prisoner to punch him. When we think our hero's nightmare is over as "The Bird" leaves his camp, Zamperini is transferred to another prison, where he is again antagonized by Watanabe. What's truly despicable is that Watanabe never saw justice for his crimes and was unrepentant until his dying day.

Gen. Paul Mireau, 'Paths of Glory'

In this World War I drama, French Gen. Paul Mireau (George Macready) orders his men to make a suicidal assault on an impossible objective when he learns it might earn him a promotion. When the attack appears to be faltering, one of his companies refuses to leave its trenches, so Mireau orders his artillery to fire on those men and force them into battle. When the attack plan eventually fails, the general orders a hundred of his soldiers be tried for cowardice, but reduces that to three randomly selected men.

Col. Dax (Kirk Douglas) volunteers to defend the men in a court-martial, but it soon becomes clear they are in a show trial. Mireau refuses to allow any contradictory evidence, and the men are executed to cover for his own mistakes. His behavior is more than merely contemptible as he allows three innocent men to die rather than admit he was wrong.

Sgt. Robert Barnes, 'Platoon'

Sgt. Barnes' (Tom Berenger) defining characteristics are scars; not just the prominent ones on his face, but the deep mental scars of a man who's been in the jungles of Vietnam for far too long. He's made all the more sinister in comparison to Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe), who hasn't forgotten there's a world outside the war and has retained his humanity.

The reason Barnes is so serious and hell-bent on destruction is because, like any good noncommissioned officer, he's trying to keep his men alive. He's willing to do anything it takes to make sure the enemy pays dearly for killing his troops. So when he (spoiler alert) shoots Elias, he is crossing a threshold as a cold-blooded killer that puts him squarely in league with the enemy he's supposed to be hunting.

Col. Walter Kurtz, 'Apocalypse Now'

Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) was everything the Army could want from one of its most trusted officers. A West Point graduate destined for the top brass and a veteran of two wars, he was sent to Vietnam to find out what was wrong with the overall American strategy. What he found was never released. When he returned to Vietnam with Special Forces soldiers, he began a campaign of violence and fear on the enemy that was fine with the Pentagon until he allowed it to be photographed and published.

Kurtz then went rogue, resigning from the Army and continuing his personal war. It broke him, leaving him a psychotic shell of his former self. He believes his campaign of torture, terror and executions would help his country win the war, even if he could never come back from it. By the time Capt. Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) kills him, he was living as a near god-king in the jungle, every bit a victim of his own madness.

Yousuf Dahir Mo'alim, 'Black Hawk Down'

Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid might have been the real antagonist in the 2001 film "Black Hawk Down," but the soldiers of Task Force Ranger in 1993 never got to fight Aidid directly. In the film, Yousuf Dahir Mo'alim (played by Razaaq Adoti) is essentially an avatar for the unseen Aidid. Clad in all-black and dark sunglasses, Mo'alim shoots down the helicopter codenamed Super 61, turning the Americans' simple snatch-and-grab mission into an all-out desperate rescue.

A Somali Grim Reaper, Mo'alim was relentless in his pursuit and harassment of the American soldiers in Mogadishu. He marshaled all the resources of Aidid's militia -- mainly the legions of Somali fighters that poured into the streets of the city -- a constant reminder to viewers of the brutal death that loomed over the Americans as the hours passed. That's also why it felt so good to watch Hoot (Eric Bana) give him what he had coming.

Gen. Jack D. Ripper, 'Dr. Strangelove'

Absurd, insane and certainly paranoid, U.S. Air Force Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) single-handedly launched a massive nuclear assault against the Soviet Union that would be impossible to reverse or stop. He then kills himself to ensure the attack goes forward and he can't recall the bombers.

While the film is an open satire of the Cold War strategy of mutually assured destruction and American military leadership, Ripper's character is especially despicable. He not only betrays the role entrusted to him for the bizarre rationale that the Soviets had fluoridated American drinking water, but he also shoots himself so he doesn't have to live through the consequences of his own actions.

Maj. Erwin König, 'Enemy at the Gates'

Maj. Erwin König (Ed Harris) is an elite German sniper sent to the battleground city of Stalingrad to take out the Red Army snipers wreaking havoc on German troops there, namely Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law). From the moment we meet König, we see a cold, aristocratic man who cares little for anything beyond what's in front of him. Even at Stalingrad, his chief concern is accomplishing his mission and then going back to Germany -- but to his credit, killing Zaitsev is the most important.

It's so important, the seemingly affable König is willing to do anything it takes to kill Zaitsev, even if it means dressing prisoners in German uniforms to die in order to force the Soviet sniper to reveal himself. The German even hangs a young boy in full view of the city to bait Zaitsev into revealing himself.

Igor Loginov, 'The Hunt for Red October'

Although seemingly just a cook aboard the newest Soviet submarine, Igor Loginov (Tomas Arana, "Gladiator") is really an agent of the USSR's GRU, the Main Intelligence Directorate. Although his status as an operative is largely unknown to the crew, he begins to suspect that Capt. Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) is up to something after the boat's political officer dies suddenly. When the Red October's officers are ready to defect, Loginov reveals himself, shooting executive officer Vasily Borodin (Sam Neill) and attempting to destroy the submarine.

Loginov's status as one of the best movie villains not only stems from his dedication to his duty, but from the total surprise he inflicts on the crew and on viewers. By killing Borodin, he also kills off any doubts Ramius might have had about defecting from the Soviet Union.

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