If there’s one thing sadly missing from a lot of today’s blockbusters, it’s the epic bad guy death; that hilariously over the top kill which will make you laugh rather than be shocked.
Bad guys should never go to jail; they need to be impaled on combine harvesters, thrown off rooftops or blown up in an awesome fashion.
There are almost far too many amazing death scenes to list here but these are some of my personal faves.
So with out further ado, here are 10 of my personal favourite bad guy deaths.
Honourable Mentions: Fouchon in Hard Target, Toxic Waste Death in RoboCop… the list is endless.
10. Let off Some Steam, Bennett – Commando
John Matrix (Arnie) has come to rescue his daughter but has to get by the final boss Bennett (Vernon Wells); it doesn’t end well for Bennett….
9. Face Off – Equilibrium
I stand by that this is a great action movie with some amazing action scenes and I love how in this sequence we are expecting an epic battle but instead it’s over rather quickly…
8. The Nighslasher’s Demise – Cobra
The Nightslasher is one of the best villains of the 80’s and his climactic battle with Marion Cobretti is one for the ages; the Slasher thinks this pig is going down but he couldn’t be more wrong.
7. Happy Trails, Hans – Die Hard
As the meme says it isn’t Christmas until you see Hans Gruber fall from Nakatomi Plaza; it may not be a hilariously over the top death scene but it’s still a cracker and I loved how Alan Rickman was dropped a second early so the fright on his face is real.
6. Motorbike Flies into a Plane and Explodes – The Losers
The CG may be a bit dodgy but I still adore this scene as it’s a perfect throwback to the 80’s as a motorbike is taken out by a sniper rifle then flies into a plane with explosive results.
5. Death by Helicopter – The Last Boy Scout
Milo is such a hateful bastard in The Last Boy Scout so it’s only fitting that his death be suitably painful; shot a bunch of times and falling into helicopter blades – no sequel for you!
4. See You at the Party, Richter – Total Recall
Few people are better villains than Michael Ironside and I think Richter from Total Recall may be my favourite role of his. His final battle with Douglas Quaid means he will find it difficult to scratch his ass in the future…
3. You’re Fired – True Lies
This is easily the best scene of the entire movie and also the silliest and it’s up against some pretty stiff competition. This is Arnie at his absolute peak though in terms of awfully great one-liners.
2. Buckle Up! – Con Air
This is one of the all-time great ridiculous bad guy deaths with Cyrus “the Virus” Grissom being thrown from a fast moving truck, hitting electrical cables, then falling from a great height and getting his head crushed by a big crushy machine.
1. You’re Discharged Sarge – Universal Soldier
I can only find this clip in German but you get the point. Before getting excited whatever idiot uploaded this to YouTube cut it before the classic line. Why? Why would you do that?!?!
Anyway, poor Dolph gets impaled on a combine harvester then minced into tiny pieces in a fabulously brutal death scene with one of my favourite killer one-liners: “You’re discharged, Sarge!” Classic.
What are your favourite bad guy deaths?