5. Best Villain - Koba (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes)
Let's face it, 2014 was hardly a banner year for movie villains. The Winter Soldier hardly featured in a movie bearing his name, Bolivar Trask suffered from poor character development, Electro and the Green Goblin were disappointments, Ronan the Accuser was pretty forgettable and Shredder was there in name only. However, one villain really stood out amongst the pack this year and he turned out to be a computer-generated ape. While Andy Serkis rightfully takes the plaudits for his groundbreaking motion-capture work, Toby Kebbell's performance as Koba in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was every bit as good. Kebbell turns the character into a smart, cunning, ruthless and nasty piece of work, framing the humans for Caesar's apparent demise in order to incite war between man and ape. The polar opposite of Caesar in every way, the final showdown between the alpha apes eventually falls into generic territory but it remains hugely satisfying to see the nefarious Koba meet his well-deserved demise.
Runner Up - President Business (The Lego Movie)
A villain as hilarious as he is tyrannical, Will Ferrell's voice performance as the deranged President Business proves you can create a formidable villain out of a barely-articulate plastic toy. World domination, imprisonment, torture and Taco Tuesday are just some of the things that the nefarious minifig has on his mind, aided by a varied selection of implements glimpsed in a brilliant sight gag including a tube of glue and a used band-aid. He may have a change of heart by the end of the third act, but up until then President Business and his minions are never any less than bent on destruction.
I don't do social media, so like or follow me in person but please maintain a safe distance or the authorities will be notified. Don't snap me though, I'll probably break. I was once labelled a misogynist on this very site in a twenty paragraph-long rant for daring to speak ill of the Twilight franchise. I stand by what I said, it's crap.