Tomorrow Never Dies: 007 Reasons Why It's The Best James Bond Yet

006. Elliot Carver

Elliot Carver Jonathan Pryce follows the footsteps of Sean Bean, Donald Pleasance, and even Christopher Walken as a character actor of distinction who's had the honor of playing a Bond Villain so evil that he's entertaining. While he isn't as physically threatening presence, Elliot makes up for his lack of muscles not only with his bodyguard Mr. Stamper, but also with his own abundance of cunning and cruelty. Only a man like Elliot Carver would send a world renowned expert on death via slow torture to take out his own wife after sleeping with Bond. In fact, if memory serves correctly, Carver is the only man who was actually married to the woman Bond eventually beds in order to get to the main plot. If not, he's still a rare breed to begin with. Like any other proper Bond villain, his wit is on the border of cheesy and clever, with all of his hatred and villainy mixed right in with the laughter. Ultimately, the credibility of his threat, along with all of the previously mentioned qualities, make him an overall admirable opponent to Bond himself, even when he's chewing the scenery or being borderline racist when teasing Chinese agent Wai Lin.
Contributor
Contributor

Mike Reyes may or may not be a Time Lord, but he's definitely the Doctor Who editor here at What Culture. In addition to his work at What Culture, Mr. Reyes writes for Cocktails and Movies, as well as his own personal blogs Mr. Controversy and The Bookish Kind. On top of that, he's also got a couple Short Stories and Novels in various states of completion, like any good writer worth their salt. He resides in New Jersey, and compiles his work from all publications on his Facebook page.