10 Great Movie Villains Who Were Completely Useless

With various exceptions, the likes of Joker where the villain is at the center of the piece, or something like The Departed where the lines between good and bad are so blurred that you struggle to see them, the hero will typically be the lead character in the story.

However, as good as a protagonist is, it can mean little and less if they don't have a compelling fight to fight. This is where they shine, and it's where the villain comes into things. A good hero needs a good nemesis. 

There are plenty of facets that go towards making a bad guy so good, whether it's their motivation, connection to the hero, or the fact that they are a threat. Some are dangerous to the point that the protagonist is truly tested, while at the other end of that scale, there are the odd few that are fantastic as antagonists, but are in fact themselves pretty damn useless.

Whether this is because their ego quite outmatches their skills and abilities, they continue to make the same mistakes over again, or in some cases because they are designed to be that way, you don't always have to be a good bad guy to be a great villain.

A good villain has to bring out some emotion from an audience, and hatred isn't a bad one to go for. That's certainly what Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) managed to do throughout John Wick, particularly when he kicked off the entire cinematic franchise by killing the titular character's dog.

Daisy was one final gift to John (Keanu Reeves) from his wife after she died, and meant everything to him. Of course, Iosef didn't know that at the time, and he didn't know who John Wick was, but regardless of the background behind it, who kills a harmless puppy?

Iosef attacked John because he wouldn't sell him his car. He had the kind of cocksure arrogance that can only come with having a powerful father, and absolutely no skills to back it up. When he tried to intimidate Aurelio (John Leguizamo) he was laughed at to his face, and even his dad knew that his son had no chance against Wick.

The kid was too dumb to be scared at first. That arrogance came into play again when he was surrounded by his guards and his dad's money, but he realised the trouble he was in when John actually turned up and put a couple of bullets in him with barely a sweat broken.