9 Unfairly Underrated Movie Villains From The 21st Century

Applying the word ''underrated'' to a film with 13 Oscar nominations and 4 wins might seem odd. However, the fact that The Shape of Water itself has been endlessly fawned over , doesn't necessarily mean that every individual component has received its due.

On the contrary, the brilliance of Colonel Richard Strickland has gone by largely unnoticed, with critics preferring to zero in on the more romantic element of the movie instead. Consequently, Michael Shannon emerged from this award's season as the only major cast member to be consistently snubbed.

The glaring injustice of this demands to be rectified, as the actor arguably puts in his finest performance to date, capitalising on his trademark intensity to fashion an antagonists who puts viewers on edge every time he enters a room.

In many ways, Strickland is the ultimate panto-villain: domineering; militant; unsentimental; and thoroughly intolerant of anything he doesn't understand. To make matters worse, he also harbours implicitly racist views and is liable to lash out at even the slightest provocation, a characteristic that makes every interrogation scene feel unbearably tense. With all of these qualities, he's the type of baddie you ''love-to-hate''.

But there's so much more to the Colonel that that, for he is also subtly wretched and filled with self-doubt.There's even some suggestion that he is going through a midlife crisis, as he makes sexual advances towards his work colleagues, expresses anxieties about being stuck in a dead-end job, and shells out for an expensive new car, for no other reason than to evidence that he is ''the man of the future''.

Once you understand all of this, then his heinous actions click into place, and you realise he's just overwhelmingly insecure. Which would almost be tragic, if only he weren't such a monumental !*$% about it.