10 Greatest Villains From Otherwise Disappointing Movies
3. Darth Maul - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
The Disappointing Movie: Rather than spending time creating layered origin stories for some of our favourite Star Wars characters, The Phantom Menace stars an annoying Anakin and an abundance of unnecessary trade agreements, failing to live up to its predecessors in almost every way.
The Great Villain: Long before The Phantom Menace even came out, people couldn’t stop talking about Darth Maul. He was at the forefront of the marketing and his cool, almost satanic appearance immediately drew viewers in.
When the film came out, although most of it disappointed, Maul most certainly did not. He was fiercely loyal to Darth Sidious, immediately conjured up recollections of his eventual successor Darth Vader, and somehow lived up to all the hype. Beyond that, his near-total silence made him eminently mysterious and gave him a constant aura that he was capable of anything.
What Maul ultimately delivered on was some of the best combat scenes in the entire Star Wars series. Stuntman Ray Park’s acrobatic moves coupled with his awesome double lightsaber almost singlehandedly saved the climax of the film. To this day, many fans will hold up Maul's 'death' at the end of the film to be the biggest missed opportunity of the series.