10 Most Disappointing Villains From Otherwise Great Movies
8. Javert - Les Miserables
The Great Movie: While the extreme close-ups got a bit tedious, Les Miserables was still a well put together film, largely carried by the strong performances of Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.
The Disappointing Villain: One performance that nearly dragged the entire film down, however, was that of Russell Crowes. The normally standout actor was simply miscast for the role and it set about a chain reaction for the character.
The story that follows Javert was already unexciting. His rigidness and by-the-books approach is frustrating to watch but traditionally comes to a satisfying close in the finale. Unfortunately, in this version, as a culmination of this lacklustre character, his suicide, meant to be a moving climax to his arc, is completely heartless.
This problem is only compounded by Crowes singing which distracts from everything he says and does. Its not as if Crowe is the worst singer ever, but since all of his dialogue is conveyed through song, its fairly apparent that hes not up to snuff with the rest of the cast. Furthermore, since his focus is so greatly on the singing, not much of a dramatic performance comes through for the otherwise reliable actor.