One of the pleasures of getting through overviews is to develop lists in their wake. And although I have yet to blog-up Star Trek: Lens Flare aka Star Trek (2009,) I'm going to go ahead and give you the Dog Star Omnibus Star Trek Villains From Worst to Best countdown while the movies are all fresh in mind.
Not everyone likes to know how these lists come together, so feel free to skip this. But if you're like me and can't respect a list without knowing its evaluative criteria, here we go:
(on a C- to A+ scale, with 1 point awarded for C- and up to 9 for A+.)
Not everyone likes to know how these lists come together, so feel free to skip this. But if you're like me and can't respect a list without knowing its evaluative criteria, here we go:
(on a C- to A+ scale, with 1 point awarded for C- and up to 9 for A+.)
1st
score: Threat (How credible is the danger or obstacle posed to our
protagonists?)
2nd
score: Performance or Screen Presence (Self-explanatory.)
3rd
score: Thematic Effectiveness (Are they there just to complicate things for our protagonists, or does their presence
in the script serve a point?)
Let's get to it. As with the Best of NextGen list, I've made my arguments elsewhere so I'll keep my remarks to a minimum.
Let's get to it. As with the Best of NextGen list, I've made my arguments elsewhere so I'll keep my remarks to a minimum.
19. Starfleet from The Undiscovered Country
( C- / C- / C )
 |
| Just awful. 'Nuff said. |
18.
Lursa and B’Etor from Generations
( C
/ C- / C- )
 |
| Just as awful as #19, but slightly less offensive. |
17.
God from The Final Frontier
( C- / C+
/ C- )
I offer this as counterpoint to God's bad showing in this silly film:
Incidentally, this would have been way, way cooler.
16.
Soran from Generations
( C+ / C+ / C-
)
 |
| Malcolm McDowell's abundance of pride at landing this part has always puzzled me. "I've been going around town absolutely delighted I got the chance to deliver a boilerplate performance in a terrible film that took a huge dump on an amazing legacy." |
15.
Sybok from The Final Frontier
( C / B / C- )
 |
| Sybok's "threat" score is compromised by the script not justifying what we see him accomplish. For what it's worth, Mr. Luckinbill gives an acceptable performance; I've always kind of felt bad for him. There wasn't much to work with. |
14. The Klingons from The Final Frontier
( C+ /
B- / C- )
 |
| These Klingons are some of the worst examples of "villains who are there just to complicate the a-story rather than act as counterpoint to it." But all things considered, Todd Bryant and Spice Williams are the wrong folks to blame; they did the best they could with thankless roles. |
13. The Viceroy from Nemesis
( C / B / C )
 |
| Ditto for Ron Perlman, who can do no wrong. The Viceroy is a pointless character who muddles an already-muddled script. But, not as bad as all the above, mainly just because it's Perlman. |
12.
Chang from The Undiscovered Country
(
B / B- / C- )
 |
| Christopher Plummer's hamtastic performance at least has the virtue of being kind of entertaining, even if his character/ dialogue is atrocious. |
11.
Shinzon from Nemesis
( C+ / B- / B- )
 |
| As with Sybok, Shinzon's "threat" score is pulled down by the script not justifying what we see him accomplish. Otherwise, it's not a bad performance, just a terribly conceived character. |
10. Dougherty from Insurrection
( C- / B
/ A- )
 |
| I personally quite enjoy Zerbe's performance in Insurrection, but he comes in tenth place by virtue of being less offensive than all the above vs. someone I care ultimately all that much about. He plays the "type," i.e. the morally compromised higher-up, with more nuance than say Paul Reiser in Aliens. (Or any comparable type in any James Cameron film, for that matter.) |
9.
Nero from Lens Flare
(A- / B- / C+ )
 |
| Nero is another poorly-conceived character with little depth, but Eric Bana at least goes over the top enough with it for it to be entertaining. For the science-fantasy space adventure film that is Lens Flare, he's entirely appropriate. I don't understand why he starts calling Spock "Spogggghhh" at the end, though. |
8.
Ru’afo from Insurrection
( C / A / A-
)
 |
| F. Murray Abraham is fantastic in this role. The film has its problems, as does his character's place within them, but he's menacing and intense and makes the most of his screentime. |
7.
Probe from The Voyage Home
( A+ / B-
/ A )
 |
| I could probably go to a "C" for screen presence/ performance here, as I just can't stand the visual design of the probe, but I tried to grade solely on impact of the "character" on screen. Which is undoubtedly effective. Still, couldn't go much higher than a "B-" for a giant space turd, now could I? |
6.
Khan from Into Darkness
( B / A / B+
)
 |
| It's tougher to evaluate Into Darkness as I only saw it the one time before it left my local, but Benedict Cumberbatch did a great job. Different timeline, different Khan. Much left unsaid/ undone. Could fall or rise dramatically in the rankings depending on what they do with him. |
5. Admiral Marcus from Into Darkness
( B / A / A- )
 |
| Whereas Admiral Marcus probably won't. I can't say he's one of my absolute favorite villains, but I couldn't in good conscience rank him any less. Does he pose a believable threat? At least a "B," I'd say. Does Peter Weller bring it? Peter Weller always brings it. Does Admiral Marcus as a character fit the thematic structure of the film? Absolutely. So, here he is, number five, set to kill. |
4.
Kruge (and friends) from The Search for Spock
( A-
/ A / B )
 |
| Christopher Lloyd (aka Walter Koenig's one-time best pal back in their Neighborhood Playhouse days) is the unsung baddie of the Trekverse. He absolutely kills it as Kruge. Moreover, it's easy to understand what motivates him and even to sympathize to some degree. |
3. The
Borg from First Contact
( A+ / A+ / A )
Pretty self-evident.
2. Khan from The Wrath of Khan
( A / A+ / A+
)
 |
| Really, Montalban's Khan is Number One, I just discovered something interesting (below) by grading these the way that I did. But by any rational reckoning, Khan is the villian numero one of the Trekverse. I doubt we'll ever see another villain namechecked in the title, unless they do a straight-up remake of this with Cumberbatch somewhere down the road. |
1. V’Ger
from The Motion Picture
( A+ / A+ /
A+ )
Is the threat V'ger poses greater than all the other villains combined? Is its screen presence anything less than overwhelming and mega-awesome? Does it get more thematically emblematic than V'ger? Yes, no, and no. A+s down the line.
Such are my rankings, both humble and true.
Rend them to pieces, then mend them with glue.
