Not many things come close to the charisma and delivery of movie villains who thought they all had the last laugh but ended up with their last gasp instead. That sheer confidence and arrogance a few seconds before death is always a satisfying movie moment. There are other villains though who knowingly embrace sweet death and are rather relaxed or repentant about it.
Regardless of what kind of villain dies in cinema, their deaths are always made even more memorable if they impart some rather cool last words. They probably won't mind having such words in their tombstones given the cultural significance of their quintessential quotes. These ten villains might be far from being poets but their beautiful last words before death have immortalized them.
10 Hal - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I’m half crazy all for the love of you. It won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage. But you’ll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two…"
HAL is neither the most sinister nor the most charming villain in cinema but he's the most humanly inhuman, if that makes sense. He's the main antagonist of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and he's a computer program or A.I.
Eventually, he becomes sentient and gradually subjected the human crew in his ship to a clever mutiny. Too bad he got unplugged but in his final moments all dazed and disoriented due to unplugged circuitry, he resorted to an old sing-along song that made him chillingly human despite his lack of humanity.
9 Ash - Alien (1979)
- “I can’t lie to you about your chances… but, you have my sympathies.”
Speaking of robots going rogue, Ridley Scott's Alien introduced quite the troublesome android named Ash. Ash suddenly became murderous aboard the Nostromo which significantly lowered the chances of the human crew surviving the Xenomorph's onslaught.
Even as Ellen Ripley ripped him to shreds, it was far from a celebratory victory as Ash mocked what remained of the human crew in an honest and cold manner that only a hateful robot can deliver. What makes the line even more visceral is the fact that Ash's robot guts are out in the open as he says it.
8 General Zod - Superman 2 (1980)
- “Now take my hand, and swear eternal loyalty to Zod.”
Sorry Zach Sneider, the General Zod and Superman interaction was done with more class and finesse in Superman 2 than in Man of Steel. It might not be flashy, of course, but it's less blunt than Superman snapping Zod's neck. Because in Superman 2, it appeared that Zod was ready to win.
He even invited Kal-El to surrender and take his hand, only for the big blue boy scout to rob Zod of his powers upon contact. He then crushes Zod's hand before sending him back to the Phantom Zone. This came as a surprise to the older Kryptonian as he was so sure that Superman was about to swear loyalty, even kneeled in front of him.
7 René Emile Belloq - Indiana Jones: Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
- “It’s beautiful!”
While on the topic of villains being too overconfident in their victory, Belloq from Raiders of the Lost Ark is another perfect example. Of course, who wouldn't be ecstatic after finding the Ark of the Covenant which supposedly contains the original two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments?
Belloq was so happy after finding it as he considers it as a walkie-talkie to the Christian god. Except, it seems god didn't like getting random phone calls from German fascists and melted everyone's faces off while blowing up Belloq's head. In Belloq's defense, the Ark's content really was beautiful— for about a second.
6 Roy Batty - Blade Runner (1982)
- “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”
Roy Batty is a different breed of villain from the first Blade Runner film. He's not really an ambitious madman or a murderous android— just a robot looking to extend his allowed life and freedom. Even designating Roy Batty as a villain almost feels like an injustice, but this is a cyberpunk film so that's to be expected.
In any case, Roy embracing his death after getting caught by a Blade Runner was one of the saddest and most humanizing moments that could happen to an android in cinema. The fact that the actor improvised it made the line more precious in pop culture.
5 Darth Vader - Star Wars Episode VI: The Return Of The Jedi (1983)
- “You were right about me. Tell your sister… you were right…”
Darth Vader is still the biggest and most popular villain in cinema today but funny enough, he went full-180-degrees in his final moments. The Return of the Jedi sees Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in a duel with the former getting the upper hand and winning.
That's why Emperor Palpatine decided to step in and put Luke back in his place. This prompted Vader to kill Palpatine but it also cost him his life. His last words to his son before joining Force ghost heaven did seal his redemption and completely erased his villainous past.
4 Gunnery Sergeant Hartman - Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- “What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Didn’t mommy and daddy show you enough attention when you were a child?”
Sergeant Hartman stole the show in Full Metal Jacket which is astounding since he likely wasn't acting much. His actor's a real Gunnery Sergeant or trainer in the army and everything he said to the actors in the fictional BootCamp was probably from experience. That made it more believable that one of the recruits snapped under the pressure.
Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence had an irredeemable moment of insanity and grabbed a rifle during the night. Sergeant Hartman wasn't having any of it and stuck to his usual stubborn and condescending tone. That got him shot dead. Funny enough, there was a semblance of truth in Hartman's insult and he knew perfectly well why Private Pyle was having a breakdown.
3 Bill - Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
- "How Do I Look?"
Kill Bill is among of Tentin Quarantino's best films despite being a simple revenge story about assassins. The first film sees the female protagonist out for revenge after her former colleagues, led by Bill, massacred her own wedding and left her for dead.
The second film, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 finally ends in her confronting Bill and even unleashing a deadly hidden martial arts technique that would make Bill's heart explode if he so much as walk five steps. That didn't scare Bill at all. He even asked the protagonist how he looked before taking his last few steps. It's hard to match that kind of charisma and swagger.
2 Ra's al Ghul - Batman Begins (2005)
- "Have you finally learned to do what is necessary?"
Batman's final confrontation with his former master Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins was more than a physical battle between student and teacher. It was also a clash of ideologies. Ra's asking whether his former pupil was finally willing to kill him is him assuming that he won since Batman is adamant in refraining from murder. Moreover, Batman had every chance to kill Ra's much earlier but didn't.
Alas, Ra's was surprised when Batman resorted to a technicality. He didn't exactly kill Ra's, but just left his old master to die in a brutal train crash. One can see in Ra's' face the shock as his former student not only managed to defeat him physically but also philosophically.
1 Thanos - Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- "I am inevitable."
Thanos from the MCU sure loves that line, so much so that it's also his famous last words in Avengers: Endgame. Once again, the arrogant mad titan thought his victory was sure but forgot to take into account Tony Stark's sleight of hand and cheeky cleverness.
So, his uttering this famous tagline before snapping the Infinity Stones to no effect was one of the most pivotal moments ever in media. Did he die after Tony Stark stole his snap? Well, that's debatable as he might have just willed the purple giant back to his own universe. With that said, seeing Thanos get a taste of his own medicine was worth more than the price of admission.