20 Greatest Action Movie Villains Of All Time

An action hero is only as good as his villain, so it's no surprise that the best action movies have the most memorable villains. Hans Gruber is as loved as John McClane and Agent Smith is perhaps even more iconic than Neo in The Matrix. Like the best action heroes, the best action villains are gloriously over the top, defy all known laws relating to the human body and logic and have more wit than the average stand up comedian. It's true that bad guys have all the fun, especially in action movies, as they get to cackle like hyenas, wear outlandish clothes and live in grand palaces with a helicopter or two attached. But the best villains are the smart ones, the ones that can't be easily out-manoeuvred by the hero and prove to be a physical and mental match. Read on for a countdown of cinema's greatest evil masterminds, psychopaths and assassins.

The ultimate action movie villain, Hans Gruber is an extraordinary genius as deadly as he is smart.