Ruthless behavior is expected from the villains in action movies, giving the audience even more reason to root for the heroes they are up against. These moments from movie villains in ‘90s action films, however, go above and beyond the typical bad-guy behavior. More than the corrupt and duplicitous conduct expected of villains, certain instances contain notably evil acts carried out by antagonists. These situations aren’t just necessary for the villain to get what they want, but they are also notably nefarious and often show a complete lack of compassion, if not a sadistic enjoyment of the pain they inflict.
Following the iconic larger-than-life action movies of the 1980s, movie villains in the ‘90s needed to be truly unseemly to stand out. Below is a collection of some of the most ruthless moments by bad guys from the action films of the decade. What they do to make their mark varies, but each is memorably malicious.
9. In ‘Batman Returns,’ The Penguin Drops The Ice Princess Off A Roof After Promising He Was Just Going To Scare Her
When the deformed criminal known as Penguin (Danny DeVito) teams up with villainous Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer), they devise a plot to frame Batman (Michael Keaton). Penguin kidnaps the Ice Princess (Cristi Conaway), Gotham City’s holiday-themed beauty queen responsible for turning on the Christmas lights during the Tree Lighting Ceremony.
When Batman shows up to rescue her, Catwoman interferes and leaves the Ice Princess dangling over a ledge of the building’s rooftop. Just as Batman is about to help her away from the edge, Penguin throws an umbrella filled with bats near her and frightens the Ice Princess into falling from the building to her death. Because of his presence and the use of bats, Batman is framed for the murderous act.
8. In ‘Air Force One,’ Korshunov Makes A Woman Beg For Her Life Over The Intercom
When Air Force One is hijacked by a group of terrorists, they hope to use President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) as a bargaining chip, but he is able to evade their capture. As Marshall begins taking out the terrorists, their leader Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman) attempts to get him to surrender by threatening to kill Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell (Donna Bullock) over the intercom.
Although Korshunov begins by asking Mitchell simple and innocent questions, this makes his intentions even more menacing. Every other hostage is forced to listen, along with Marshall, even as Korshunov follows through on his threat.
7. In ‘The Quick and the Dead,’ Herod Kills His Own Son To Win A Competition
At the center of the storyline for The Quick and the Dead is a dueling competition in the Old West town of Redemption. The heroine known as “The Lady” (Sharon Stone) enters the fast-draw shooting tournament to get revenge against the outlaw John Herod (Gene Hackman), who is running the town and is also a contestant. Also in the competition is a young gun dealer known as “The Kid” (Leonardo DiCaprio) who believes Herod is his father.
When the tournament is winding down and there are only a few contestants left, Herod determines the remaining duels will be to the death, even as he goes up against his potential offspring. Not only does Herod ruthlessly gun down The Kid, but he also refuses to hold the young man’s hand as he dies, disowning him by claiming there is no proof of their relation.
6. In ‘Under Siege,’ Strannix Asks For The Highest-Ranking Officer At The Party – And Shoots Him
When the commanding officer of the soon-to-be decommissioned battleship USS Missouri has food and entertainment brought onto the ship by helicopter for a birthday celebration, he inadvertently lets a group of mercenaries posing as band members and caterers onboard. The terrorists are led by former CIA operative William “Bill” Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones), who forcefully takes control of the USS Missouri.
The first thing Strannix does after revealing his identity to the crew attending the party is ask for the highest-ranking officer in the room. When Captain Adams (Patrick O’Neal) reveals himself as the commanding officer, Strannix immediately shoots and kills him to assert his power over the remaining men.
5. In ‘The Jackal,’ The Jackal Tests His Weapon On The Guy Who Calibrated It For Him
After a joint operation between the FBI and the MVD in Moscow goes wrong, an international hitman known as “the Jackal” (Bruce Willis) is hired to assassinate FBI Director Donald Brown (John Cunningham). While preparing for the mission, the Jackal hires gunsmith Ian Lamont (Jack Black) to build a control mount for his large caliber weapon.
Once he has finished calibrating the weapon, Lamont foolishly attempts to extort more money from the assassin. In retaliation, the Jackal has Lamont stand in a field during a live-fire test of the weapon. After taking his arm off with the first shot, the Jackal finishes him off with the powerful gun.
4. In ‘Speed,’ Payne Calls Jack To Taunt Him After ‘Harry Doesn’t Make It’
After LAPD SWAT bomb disposal officers Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels) stop extortionist bomber Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) from using an elevator full of people for ransom, he retaliates by placing bombs on city buses. When Traven witnesses one of the buses blow up, he boards another one rigged with a bomb to try and save the people onboard, while Harry leads a SWAT team to Payne’s home.
The house is rigged with a bomb, killing Temple along with the other officers, and Payne takes great pleasure in calling Traven to taunt him with the unfortunate news of his partner’s death. Payne mocks Traven for his emotional response, amused by his violent win.
3. In ‘Demolition Man,’ Simon Carves His Way to Freedom With A Pen And The Warden’s Eyeball
After being cryogenically frozen for 36 years, psychopathic career criminal Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) is revived for a parole hearing. Phoenix escapes from his restraints, overpowering the guards before turning his attention to Warden William Smithers (Andre Gregory).
In order to get out of the cryo-prison, an ocular scan is necessary. Rather than forcing Smithers to open the doors, Phoenix chooses instead to remove the warden’s eyeball. He achieves this using a pen and is amused with himself over the violent act.
2. In ‘Léon: The Professional,’ Stansfield Executes His Associate’s Entire Family After Finding Out He’s Been Stealing
DEA agent Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman) is the leader of a ring of corrupt agents who have been stealing and stashing illegal drugs for their own benefit. When Stansfield discovers the low-level criminal he is using to store cocaine has been stealing from him, he pays the man a visit at his home.
Not only does Stansfield kill the man, but he also executes the entire family. The only family member to survive is 12-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman), who is out buying groceries when the raid occurs. Stansfield is drug-addled and shows no remorse for senselessly killing the innocent family members.
2. In ‘Die Hard 2,’ Col. Stuart Crashes An Entire Transatlantic Flight To Prove He’s Serious
When LAPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) discovers a plot to free a corrupt military leader while waiting for his wife to arrive at Dulles International Airport, he actively sabotages the plan carried out by disgraced former Colonel William Stuart (William Sadler) and a group of ex-military terrorists. McClane reports the threat to airport police chief Carmine Lorenzo (Dennis Franz), who sends a SWAT team to try and take Stuart and his men out.
This attempt fails and Stuart is angered by the efforts to interfere with his plan, so he retaliates by pretending to be the air traffic control tower, faking a British airplane’s altimeter reading. This causes the transatlantic flight to crash, killing everyone on board and proving the lengths Stuart will go to in order to succeed with his mission.