10 Hilariously Unthreatening Movie Villains

7. Jafar - Aladdin

Justin Hammer
Disney

Who's the greatest Disney villain of them all? Hades, Scar, Cruella de Vil, Ursula, Gaston; there are arguments to be made for all of them. At the very top of the list is Aladdin's Jafar - one of the most iconic and distinctive animated villains of all time. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for his live action counterpart - as portrayed by Marwan Kenzari, in the 2019 remake.

Poor Kenzari is completely miscast as Jafar, lacking so much as a moustache to twirl in evil. Much of the blame has to fall at the filmmakers' feet - doing away with the sneering, snarling Jafar and watering down his personality so much that the man is barely even recognisable. There's no charm; no flair; no palpable sense of menace at all. His parrot doesn't even talk.

Sure, this is a more subtle villain for a different medium (not to mention one which has been updated for modern audiences) - but there's no excuse for making letting him be so boring.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.