10 Greatest Movie Villains Of The Last Decade

The Star Wars franchise had tried for an emo character previously in the prequels’ version of Anakin Skywalker. It didn’t work: he wasn’t soulful or relatable, just whiny and annoying. As played by the enormously talented Adam Driver, Kylo Ren is the best part of the sequel trilogy, a broody, tortured type you could actually care about.

Ren is a fresh take on the franchise’s primary antagonist. Rather than a stern tone and a grand way with mythology-laden pronouncements, he’s basically an angsty teen lashing out at a world he finds unfair. His desires are much more human than the supervillains that came before him - he’s reckless and id driven.

He’s also one of the cooler characters the sequels came out with. The lightsaber with the crossguard was such a neat innovation, and the primary takeaway from the first trailer (sometimes Star Wars fans are an easily pleased bunch - other times, not).

The sequels were by no means perfect, but Kylo Ren was a major success in terms of portrayal, design, and story arc.