Every James Bond Villain Ranked

When you watch a James Bond film, a few things are a certainty – Bond will be suave, the action will be blood-pumping, the women will be hot, and the villains will be delightfully evil.

I’ll be ranking each movie’s villain (plus their respective henchman) based on personal preferences – I may have missed some minor villains here and there, but I think I got all the major ones.

Thanks to commenter “Daniel” for the suggestion – make sure to get in contact if you have a list idea you want me to write about!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Bad

25 – Georgi Kostov and Brad Whitaker (The Living Daylights)

Some Bond villains are bad because they’re weak. Others have stupid character traits or motivations. What makes the two baddies in “The Living Daylights” the worst of the worst, however, is that they’re the worst thing a Bond villain can be – forgettable.

Georgi Kostov and Brad Whitaker both do absolutely nothing in the movie, and their villainous plan is tedious as hell.

24 – Dominic Greene (Quantum of Solace)

In the grand pantheon of intimidating Bond villains, “Quantum of Solace’s” Dominic Greene comes across as a flimsy wet wipe.

He’s arrogant to the point of annoyance and screechy to the point of staleness, and he regularly relied on grunts to do the work for him.

23 – Gustav Graves and Zao (Die Another Day)

“Die Another Day” is always such a disappointment whenever I rewatch it. It has all the hallmarks of a classic – cool gadgets, a bombastic plot, and some campy villains. Inexplicably, all these factors fall flat.

Graves and Zao especially feel like the biggest wasted potential. What could have been an iconic villain / henchman duo comes off tacky and forgettable, and neither are as intimidating as the filmmakers think.

Meh

22 – Lyutsifer Safin (No Time to Die)

There was quite a bit of buzz when Rami Malek, recent Oscar winner, was set to be the big villain of “No Time to Die”. I think everyone left the cinema disappointed.

He’s breathy, he looks and acts weird, his plan makes less sense than usual in a Bond film. You wonder why Malek bothered turning up at all.

21 – Kamal Khan (Octopussy)

“Octopussy” is fairly underrated as Bond films go, but its villain is not worth writing home about.

Kamal Khan and Roger Moore’s bond have some decent scenes together, but that’s about it.

20 – Aristotle Kristatos (For Your Eyes Only)

Like “Octopussy”, “For Your Eyes Only” is a late-era Moore outing that flew under the radar. Also like “Octopussy”, the villain isn’t that interesting.

Aristotle Kristatos comes off as more intelligent and sophisticated than most, but he doesn’t leave much of an impression.

19 – Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint (Diamonds Are Forever)

The villains in “Diamonds Are Forever” have a problem that most other Bond villains don’t have – they’re just too weird.

This version of Blofeld is particularly tame and outdated, and the less said about Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint the better.

OK

18 – Dr. No (Dr. No)

I mean … you have to start somewhere, I guess.

Dr. No is racially miscast and doesn’t do much, but he has an air of esteem just for being the very first Bond baddie.

17 – Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Spectre)

I love Christoph Waltz as an actor. For the most-part, I like “Spectre”. This version of Blofeld is insulting.

Waltz brings a fun sternness to the role, but his scheme is nonsensical and the plot goes in too many far-fetched directions.

16 – Emilio Largo and Fiona Volpe (Thunderball)

Considering how Emilio Large is the number two big baddie in the whole Spectre organisation, it’s a shame how underwhelming he is.

He and Volpe make for an interesting team, and his eyepatch is iconic, but the praise ends there.

Good

15 – Mr. Big and Baron Samedi (Live and Let Die)

Look, I’m well aware that “Live and Let Die” has some incredibly racist depictions of its villains. I also can’t help but love their designs and intense aura.

Mr. Big has some fun villainous scenes, but its the fearsome Baron Samedi that people remember from Roger Moore’s first Bond outing.

14 – Franz Sanchez and Dario (Licence to Kill)

Licence to Kill was the first (and so far only) Bond film to be giving an M age-rating, so the filmmakers got away with Franz Sanchez doing some truly despicable stuff.

He’s quite a cliché drug lord, however, and I feel that the high age-rating could have given way to a more interesting villain.

13 – Hugo Drax and Jaws (Moonraker)

Jaws gets a bit of a downgrade in “Moonraker”, but he’s still fun to watch – and his boss is one of the most underrated Bond villains.

Hugo Drax is calm and composed, and I love his space-centric plan for worldwide domination.

Great

12 – Elliot Carver (Tomorrow Never Dies)

“Pfff, this film is so unrealistic,” people said at the time. “No media magnate will ever have that kind of power!“.

Almost thirty years on, “Tomorrow Never Dies” seems more prophetic by the day. Elliot Carver may not be the most intimidating Bond baddie, but his real-world implications are what’s most frightening.

11 – Max Zorin and May Day (A View to a Kill)

“A View to a Kill” is, by all accounts, a bad Bond film. The only saving grace in my eyes are the two eccentric baddies.

May Day is one of the most unique henchmen we’ve had in the franchise, and Christopher Walken “acting” as the oddball Max Zorin is a delight.

10 – Ernst Stavro Blofeld (You Only Live Twice)

The first iteration of Blofeld in “You Only Live Twice” may not be the absolute best, but there’s no denying that it’s the most iconic version.

Donald Pleasance brings such an odd and creepy aura to the part, and even though Blofeld is only in the final few minutes he makes an impression.

9 – Elektra King and Renard (The World Is Not Enough)

It took over thirty years and a multitude of movies, but the filmmakers finally committed to a female villain – and she made her mark.

Elektra King does a great job of getting under Bond’s skin, and her pain-less henchman Renard is one of the better modern henchmen.

8 – Ernst Stavro Blofeld (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwZqI-PiiGo&pp=ygUnb24gaGVyIG1hamVzdHkncyBzZWNyZXQgc2VydmljZSBibG9mZWxk

“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is one of the most underrated Bond films, and its central villain is a key part of that.

This is a very different Blofeld to the one Connery’s Bond tussled with – he’s suave and calculating, and he feels like a genuine menace.

7 – Francisco Scaramanga and Nick Nack (The Man with the Golden Gun)

Outdated henchman aside, the Scaramanga and Nick Nack combo is one of the deadlist in the Bond series.

Christopher Lee brings an immense gravitas and charisma to the titular character in “The Man with the Golden Gun”, and his various feats of assassin skill are a delight to watch.

Amazing

6 – Rosa Klebb and Red Grant (From Russia With Love)

“From Russia With Love” is a huge leap in quality from “Dr. No”, and one of the biggest upgrades comes in the villain department.

Rosa Klebb is fearsome enough, but it’s the ruthless killer Red Grant that made for such intense viewing.

5 – Le Chiffre (Casino Royale)

“Casino Royale” is my favourite Bond film, and Mads Mikkelsen is one of my favourite actors working today. That doesn’t guarantee Le Chiffre an automatic top spot on this list, but I genuinely considered it.

He’s quietly intimidating, and his gimmick of crying blood is one of the realest and therefore spookiest in the Bond franchise. I would rate him higher, but I never got the impression he was the big cheese / all that powerful.

4 – Karl Stromberg and Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me)

Do you remember Karl Stromberg? Probably not. He was a tyrannical old man with a generic scheme of worldwide domination. “The Spy Who Loved Me” is the rare case of a henchman taking all the plaudits.

Jaws is one of the most iconic characters in the Bond franchise for his design alone, but his gargantuan height and barbaric strength made him a force to be reckoned with.

3 – Alec Travelyan and Xenia Onatopp (GoldenEye)

We’ve had Bond facing off against rival Spectre agents and rival assassins, but “GoldenEye” marked the first time he battled one of Her Majesty’s own.

Alec Travelyan is a fascinating baddie just for how much of a mirror image he is to Bond, and Xenia Onatopp is memorable for … reasons.

All-Time Great

2 – Raoul Silva (Skyfall)

Like Alex Travelyan, Raoul Silva is an interesting villain for being a spurned MI6 agent. What makes him especially intriguing, though, is his burning hatred for M as well as Javier Bardem’s sinister performance.

Silva is one of the most charismatic Bond villains, bar none, and the whole action sequence at the Skyfall Estate made him out to be some sort of bogeyman – and it was terrifying.

1 – Auric Goldfinger and Oddjob (Goldfinger)

Some Bond films have memorable villains, others have fantastic henchmen, but it’s extremely rare for the stars to align in both categories as they did in “Goldfinger”.

Both Auric Goldfinger and his right-hand man Oddjob are more iconic than words can describe, and their villainous influence is still felt in the pop culture landscape sixty years later.

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: