20 Greatest 90s Movie Villains

Speed is one of the greatest action films of this already-stacked decade, so it's fitting that it contains one of its finest villains, too. Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper), a crazed terrorist, puts protagonist Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and the L.A.P.D. through a non-stop nightmare rarely equalled elsewhere in the genre. In one scene, after Howard murders Traven's best friend, Jack starts screaming in anguish - it takes a uniquely maddening character to drive the normally deadpan Keanu Reeves that crazy.

Howard is certainly something special. He's an absolute maniac who's shaking with unrestrained anger every second he's on-screen, so one could mistake him for being impulsive and reckless. In fact, he's anything but. He might be unhinged, but he's not crazy at all; in fact, he's extremely smart. Alongside his mastery of explosives, he is constantly outwitting the police at every turn, and Howard is also responsible for one of the most fiendishly brilliant plots any action antagonist will ever deploy: he puts a bomb on a bus, and if the vehicle goes below 50 mph, it explodes. Genius. 

In other words, he's every action hero's worst nightmare, and just when you thought he couldn't get any better, he's also played by Dennis Hopper. The late, great actor was always a master at scary, larger-than-life performances (no-one who sees him in Blue Velvet will ever forget that), and he was his usual awesome self here, crafting an OTT madman we all loved to hate.