Affably Evil/Film: Difference between revisions

* Bill from the ''[[Kill Bill]]'' movies is very friendly and likable, as well as a loving father, despite being a self-proclaimed "murdering bastard," and helps the Bride reach an epiphany about herself at the end of the duology.

* The Brain, from ''[[Gremlins|Gremlins 2]]''. An erudite, genetically-altered gremlin who merely wants what everyone wants, and what you tropers have: Civilization! The Geneva Convention, chamber music, Susan Sontag...

''([[Hilarity Ensues|Shoots a nearby, annoying Gremlin in the face]])''<br />

'''The Brain:''' Now, was that civilized? No, clearly not. [[Rule of Funny|Fun, but in no sense civilized!]] }}

* David Allen Griffin in ''[[The Watcher (film)|The Watcher]]'' is a perfectly sociable and charming guy to have around. Except for the whole [[Serial Killer|garroting young women thing.]] Oh, and [[Stalker with a Crush|stalking]] and [[Ho Yay|flirting]] with a male FBI agent who hates him kinda hinders him in the social department as well.

* Harry Waters of ''[[In Bruges]]'' seems to be an alright guy, apart from his crime boss status and constant swearing. He has a [[Honor Before Reason|strict moral code]] and genuinely tries to give Ray a nice vacation {{spoiler|before he has him offed}}. Observe the following exchange:

'''Ken:''' Well, no. It's not really his thing.<br />

'''Harry:''' What?<br />

* Subverted in ''[[Shutter Island]]'', where we are led to believe that {{spoiler|Dr. Cawley is like this. As it turns out, this is his genuine personality, and, in fact, he has been running a very elaborate simulation in order to snap Teddy Daniels (real name: Andrew Laeddis) out of his self-induced fantasy that he is a Federal Marshall, in order to make him come to terms with his wife's death.}}

* The Operative of ''[[Serenity]]'' is a man who is convinced of the righteousness of his actions, and holds no particular ill will for his enemies. Indeed, he goes so far as to compliment his foes' tenacity, bravery, or the good work they've done, even when he's ''impaled them on his sword and watching them die.'' Even more so is how he kills certain people with the sword. He paralyzes them, then lets them fall on it because he believes it's an honorable way to die. He's even self-aware that, despite his own politeness, [[No Place for Me There|he is a monster with no place]] in [[Utopia Justifies the Means|the paradise he is trying to create]].

* Pasquale Acosta in ''[[Smokin Aces]]'' epitomizes this trope. He doesn't just kill you, he comforts you and waxes philosophy as you die.

* ''[[James Bond (film)|James Bond]]'':

* Dr. Terwilliker from ''[[The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T]]'' even says out loud that he's a villain before he offers refreshments and has a [[Villain Song]] with the protagonist's mother and friend.

* {{spoiler|VIKI}} and the NS-5's from ''[[I, Robot (film)|I Robot]]''. They are polite and calm while trying to take over the world.

'''Robot:''' We are attempting to avoid human losses during this transition. }}

:: And later, before attempting to kill people:

* Major Koenig from ''[[Enemy at the Gates]]'' qualifies as this for much of the movie. Sure, he's out to kill his sniper counterpart, but he's polite about it, and when one character, a young boy acting as an informant, hears of his rival's supposed death and is trying not to cry:

** When he figures out that the kid's been informing on him to the Russians, instead of confronting him, he hands him a chocolate and gives the kid a [[Mercy Lead]], telling him not to come back. [[Too Dumb to Live|The kid comes back]], so Koenig {{spoiler|hangs him from a telephone pole to use as bait to lure out the Russian sniper.}}

* In ''[[Agora]]'', there's hardly any completely maleficent villain; the Christians are, after all, still human, and while they were very fanatical and [[Knight Templar]]-ish, they still helped the poor and each other. In fact, the only person who was truly villainous was the Bishop, Cyril of Alexandria, who himself is very Affably Evil, caring for his people and all.

* "Good Evening. Welcome to my humble abode. My, how beautiful you are. I hope you will stay the night. Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am [[Dracula (1931 film)|Count Dracula]]."

* A clearer example of Affably Evil in ''[[Star Wars]]'' is Count Dooku, at least in ''[[Attack of the Clones]]''; he's clearly more respectful towards the Jedi than they are towards him.

'''Obi-Wan''': ''(With quiet fury)'' Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you. }}

** Dooku might actually be [[Faux Affably Evil]], slyly delivering the right amount of hints to Obi-Wan in order to plant the seed of division among the Jedi while painting himself as the good guy. Notice how his behavior in the scene he shares with Obi-Wan is very different to the way he behaves in any other moment of the movie or ''Revenge of the Sith''. (Indeed, in the ''Sith'' novelization an extended section taken from his point of view has him musing, though not in such terms, that he's a sociopath.)

* ''[[Big Jake]]'' manages to combine Affably Evil with [[Complete Monster]] in the villain, played by Richard Boone. He would be happy to have a nice, pleasant, friendly conversation with you...just before pulling out a gun and murdering your children in cold blood without so much as flinching.

* Lynch from ''[[The A-Team (film)|The a Team]]'' movie. He's just so adorable about being evil.

* Charlie Barrett in ''[[Suicide Kings]]''. The nicest guy who ever fed anyone to their own dogs.

* Cheyenne in ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'' is a cheerful, friendly fellow who seems perpetually amused by the events in which he is caught up. He's also a confessed murderer and bandit leader. It helps that A) he's not the villain of the film, just the local badman whose territory the villain trespasses on, and B) all of his crimes take place off-screen (just outside the door in the case of his slaughter of his prison escort).

* {{spoiler|Noah Cross}} of ''[[Chinatown]]''.

* How can you not fall in love with [[Slim Pickens]]' character Taggart in [[Blazing Saddles]]? He's an evil racist who goes along with every evil scheme devised by the film's [[Big Bad]], but there's something about Slim Pickens' accent that causes him to steal the show every scene he's in. He even gets a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] towards the end with this classic line:

* Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney) in ''[[Miller's Crossing]]''.

* Loki in ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' and ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'' is [[Soft Spoken Sadist|calm, eloquent, and unreasonably charming.]] Even when he does lose his cool, it's [[Evil Is Hammy|with a certain amount of grandeur.]]