In our last in a series of special features on Roger Moore’s tenure as James Bond, we’ll take a look at the villains he faced. And as any Bond fan knows, a good Bond film is only as good as its villain. This is especially true in the case of Roger Moore’s Bond films; he faced more villains than any other Bond actor.
To determine who is the best (or is it, the worst?), we have to peek a little into each villain’s psyche. How and why is each one sinister? And what is the level of threat he poses to Bond and the rest of the world?
Let’s take a look.
Winter is Coming
7. Hugo Drax (Moonraker) played by Michael Lonsdale
Drax’s plan pushes the boundaries of plausibility: destroy the human race by spreading a lethal gas across the world. Then, when safe, repopulate it with a master race living on a space station. Only billionaires can attempt to pull off this sort of insanity.
6. Aristotle Kristatos (For Your Eyes Only) played by Julian Glover
Kristatos’s evil plan is to sell an ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) device to the Soviets. This certainly qualifies as dastardly, but much of his “menace” is really in the form of what others do, with him off screen. The hit on Melina Havelock’s parents; the hit on her in Cortina; the hit on Bond in an ice rink–by assassin ice hockey players. Plus, it doesn’t help that he isn’t revealed as the villain until late in the film.
5. Kamal Khan (Octopussy) played by Louis Jourdan
Khan’s evil plan is to detonate a nuclear explosion on a U.S. air base in West Germany. In doing so, he and associate Russian General Orlov hope to destabilize NATO and western Europe. Though not physically imposing, Khan does has a thirst for blood. He takes delight in hunting Bond through the Indian jungle, in “Most Dangerous Game” style.
4. Kananga (Live and Let Die) played by Yaphet Kotto
One of the strengths of Live and Let Die is its grounding. Kananga isn’t interested in world domination or extortion. Rather, he is a drug lord (in other words, a real life villain). Kananga surrounds himself with two iconic henchmen, Tee-hee and Baron Samedi. The extent of his creepiness is on full display when he tears off his Mr. Big mask and reveals his identity to Bond. The lingering pieces of plastic flesh are in one respect comic, but they also give Kananga the appearance of a snake shedding its skin.
3. Karl Stromberg (The Spy Who Loved Me) played by Curt Jurgens
Initially, the villain in The Spy Who Loved Me was supposed to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld. But legal issues kept EON from using Blofeld or SPECTRE in the film–or any other for thirty more years. But Stromberg is an apt replacement. Much like Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Stromberg has a love of aquatic life and not much of a love for humans. Hence, his diabolical plan is steal Russian and U.S. submarines and use them to start nuclear war. As a villain, Stromberg is a bit overshadowed by his henchman, Jaws.
2. Francisco Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun) played by Christopher Lee
Scaramanga has two evil plots, really. One is to assassinate James Bond. The other is to complete work on a solar power plant and sell it to the highest bidder. Scaramanga’s obsession with Bond (complete with how they will fire guns at each other) has homosexual undertones. The fun house constructed by Scaramanga, as trap for Bond, also appears as a tribute to him. Indeed, Scaramanga has many quirks, but the most recognizable is his third nipple.
1. Max Zorin (A View to a Kill) played by Christopher Walken
Zorin’s plan is to submerge Silicon Valley underwater, by detonating well-placed bombs along fault lines. Impossible? Perhaps. But don’t underestimate a man with bleached white hair, who knows how to use a dirigible as a primary form of travel. Or one whose mistress is also his henchwoman. No matter the case, you can’t go wrong with Christopher Walken as your main villain.
