- 11 months ago
From epic sci-fi battles to intense psychological confrontations, we're diving into the most memorable moments when heroes and villains finally come face to face. Get ready for an explosive countdown of cinematic showdowns that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most exciting, entertaining
00:12and intense meetings between film heroes and villains.
00:15Oh, and warning, spoilers ahead.
00:23In this sequel, Paul Atreides leads the Freemen
00:33in a revolt against their repressors, House Harkonnen.
00:36During the uprising, Paul confronts the head of the house, Baron Harkonnen.
00:40Showing no mercy, the hero proves he's far from a timid heir.
00:50The evil overlord is no match for the younger leader, who showcases his newfound strength
00:54and dominance by decisively cutting Baron down.
00:58Paul also defeats the villain's nephew and heir, Fade Rather, in a vicious duel.
01:03Needless to say, Paul asserts his dominance and rise to power in this epic final act of
01:07Dune Part 2.
01:19Erik Killmonger might be the villain in Black Panther, but he also has a legitimate claim
01:23to the Wakanda throne.
01:25Arriving in Wakanda with the body of Ulysses Klaw, he's ready to confront his cousin,
01:29T'Challa.
01:35Michael B. Jordan's electric performance makes you almost root for his character at
01:39certain points in the film.
01:40While he's done evil things, Killmonger makes a compelling case for taking control
01:44of the African nation.
01:45This encounter, driven by their shared hunger for the crown, leads to a battle between Killmonger
01:50and the Black Panther near a waterfall.
01:52It's a twist that's nothing short of shocking.
02:09The opening section of this World War 2 epic ends with Shoshana Dreyfus fleeing from SS
02:14officer Hans Lander.
02:15Several years later, Shoshana, now running a movie theatre, unexpectedly encounters
02:19Lander at a restaurant.
02:26The villain doesn't seem to realise that he's sitting across from someone he tried
02:29to kill, although whether he does realise is kind of up for debate.
02:33While maintaining her composure, the hero eats strudel with her sworn enemy.
02:36Actor Quentin Tarantino crafts a wonderfully tense meet-up that makes you squirm with discomfort.
02:48Both actors do their best to provide this inglorious bastard scene with complexity and
02:53nuance.
02:54While the confrontation ends in amicable fashion, the audience knows that they've just watched
02:58a close call.
03:04Gary Cooper's Marshal Will Kane can't seem
03:12to find anyone to help him defeat an ex-convict.
03:15With no confidence in the hero, the townspeople abandon him during the final act of High Noon.
03:19The villain, Frank Miller, then shows up with his henchmen to get revenge on the lawman.
03:30This results in an action-packed shootout that Western fans come to expect.
03:34Kane works up the courage to fight the man he's sent to prison.
03:37It's a thrilling stand-off, with gunfire and surprises galore.
03:44Everything comes down to a well-timed moment that brings this sequence to a satisfying
03:48conclusion.
03:55Curtis Everett and Minister Wilford, Snowpiercer It's the little rebellion that could.
04:03In this South Korean sci-fi flick, the last remnants of humanity live in class systems
04:07on the titular train.
04:14Tired of this way of life, a revolutionary named Curtis Everett decides to lead people
04:18to the creator of the train, Wilford, who is all the way up in the engine room.
04:22After a brutal journey to the front of the train, Everett finally meets the old guy who's
04:26been keeping his passengers in check.
04:28And he's just that, an old guy.
04:34Sometimes, the best surprises are the simplest.
04:46In this Alfred Hitchcock mystery, LB Jeff Jeffries grows suspicious after observing
04:58unusual behaviour in the apartment across the courtyard.
05:01He later learns the dark truth and inadvertently gives away his location to a murderer, his
05:05neighbour, Lars Thorwald.
05:15What follows is the fateful encounter between hero and villain.
05:18This moment in rear window is among the more terrifying scenes of its kind, with Jeff unable
05:22to run away due to his injuries.
05:24The stand-off includes flashbulbs, a struggle and a bit of luck on the photographer's
05:29part.
05:32Hitchcock delivers all the intense moments you've been dreading, leaving you on the
05:35edge of your seat as both characters fight for their lives.
05:41As if Johann Schmidt isn't creepy enough, he chooses to reveal his true inner evil in
05:52the first film of the Captain America franchise.
05:55Steve Rogers runs into the villain at his fortress and finds his target.
05:58Captain America can't help himself, hitting the enemy with an effective punch.
06:08This all comes before a chilling moment where the antagonist pulls off his mask, revealing
06:12himself as the Red Skull, making him even more unpleasant than previously thought.
06:16This gives the hero even more reason to take the HYDRA leader down.
06:20While the meeting is cut short, it foreshadows a fierce battle at the movie's end.
06:35Operating on opposite sides of the law, one man infiltrates the state police while the
06:38other goes undercover with the mob.
06:40And they're desperately searching for each other, until this rooftop encounter.
06:49Billy Costigan plans to reveal Colin Sullivan's treachery, delivering a verbal takedown full
06:54of pent-up rage.
06:55It's what many viewers of the Departed have wanted to see for most of the runtime.
06:59Learning he's been erased from records, the hero doesn't hesitate to keep to his
07:03word and drag Sullivan away.
07:11With a later surprise in an elevator, this scene takes on a more devastating tone.
07:15The more heroic character means well here, until it's all undone by a violent twist.
07:31Just when Tai Lung has Master Shifu in his grasp, Poe comes to save the day.
07:39The confused villain doesn't realise that he's looking at a formidable opponent.
07:42Their conversation doesn't get very far before a fight breaks out, with the enemy
07:46trying to get the Dragon Scroll.
07:53The panda outsmarts the Snow Leopard, overpowering him through a series of precise moves and
07:57misdirects.
07:59And it all comes down to the hero's use of the Wu-Shi Finger Hold.
08:08Not only does the Kung Fu Panda title character have the right skills, he also reveals his
08:13confidence.
08:14Poe's victory shows that he's come a long way from his rocky start.
08:28Did you ever notice how in Star Trek II, Kirk and Karn are never in the same place
08:32together?
08:33Well, this alternate continuity sequel fixes that pretty early on.
08:36When Karn was still known as terrorist John Harrison, the crew of the Enterprise tracks
08:40him down to the Klingon homeworld of Kronos.
08:44Since Kronos is a hostile planet, Kirk, Spock and Uhura are attacked by Klingon forces and
08:49seem outgunned.
08:54When all hope seems lost, the guy they're sent to kill comes to their rescue.
09:02Rather than ending them there, Karn allows himself to be captured, kicking off the beginning
09:06of a much bigger plan.
09:18Setting a standard for Hollywood blockbusters,
09:28Jaws scares audiences with its deliberate pacing and skilled direction.
09:32Steven Spielberg chooses to obscure the shark for a large portion of the film, but at one
09:36point Chief Martin Brody gets a visit at the back of the boat and reacts in a way that
09:40viewers might as well.
09:48The massive creature sends shivers down our spines before prompting one of the movie's
09:52best lines.
09:56Roy Scheider plays the moment to perfection, with Spielberg knowing exactly how to use
10:00images, sounds and editing to punctuate the scene.
10:03All that's left is an explosive finale where the villain meets its match.
10:21While the Boy Who Lived and He Who Must Not Be Named technically crossed paths before
10:24– like that time in front of the Mirror of Erised – their official meeting had been
10:28building up for four movies.
10:30No longer content with existing through other hosts, the Dark Lord Voldemort finally returns
10:35to a body of his own with a little help from Peter Pettigrew's hand and the blood of
10:39his sworn enemy, Harry Potter.
10:47This leads to the first of several epic showdowns between the two adversaries, with this one
10:52sticking out the most because of the prolonged build-up and face-to-face confrontation between
10:57the Wizarding World's greatest foes.
11:11The 23rd James Bond movie makes us wait until halfway through to finally showcase its villain,
11:16choosing to hide him behind screens and other henchmen.
11:19But when 007 is taken to an abandoned island to meet the man who's been terrorising MI6,
11:24he finally encounters the charismatic Raoul Silva, who is introduced via an awesome long
11:29take.
11:39When we find out that he and Bond are very similar, particularly with their relationship
11:42to M, it also increases the depth and tension.
11:46It's a fascinating meet-up for one of the best modern Bond villains.
11:56Not to be outdone, Daniel Craig's next outing in Spectre features an equally tense meeting
12:01between the spy and his nemesis Blofeld.
12:15John McClane may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he was definitely the
12:19right guy to take on bad guy Hans Gruber.
12:21For most of the movie, their relationship is filled with tension and suspense due to
12:25them only communicating through radios.
12:33But that all changes when Hans goes to check the explosives on the roof, and he gets caught
12:37by McClane.
12:38A battle of wits ensues when Hans passes himself off as an escaped hostage.
12:47They talk for a few minutes until Hans unsuccessfully tries to shoot McClane, proving that this
12:51cop has more than a few tricks up his sleeve.
13:08Assuming the marketing department didn't screw it up for you, this first meet-up between
13:11the T-800 and the T-1000 completely turns the dynamic of James Cameron's sublime sequel
13:16upside down.
13:18Prior to this, the audience is led to believe that this will be a re-do of the first film,
13:22with the T-800 tracking down and terminating John Connor, and the sleeker, police-uniformed
13:26figure coming to save him.
13:32But when John runs away from what he thinks is a cop, only to be caught in between it
13:40and the T-800, something amazing happens.
13:48With that one shotgun blast, one of the greatest wild goose chases in all of sci-fi begins.
13:59Captain Willard and Colonel Kurtz, Apocalypse Now.
14:08He's been waiting nearly the whole movie to meet his target, but nothing could prepare
14:11Captain Willard for Colonel Kurtz.
14:14Apocalypse Now builds up the villain's insanity, and doesn't disappoint when it finally puts
14:18these two together.
14:19Along with some moody and atmospheric shots, this scene captures the philosophical and
14:23evil world of the antagonist.
14:25Marlon Brando's performance as Kurtz only amplifies the impact of this existential meeting.
14:36His character is clearly losing him, but he also has a few questions to ask.
14:40It's a superbly directed moment that gives viewers another look at an enigmatic presence.
14:50The main appeal of this scene stems from finally
15:02getting to see two of the greatest thespians of all time verbally facing off.
15:06Like any good hero-villain confrontation, it also works in the context of the film.
15:11Pacino's Lieutenant Hanna has been hunting down De Niro's crime boss, Macaulay, but
15:15instead of arresting him when he finds him, they just sit down for a coffee.
15:30They casually talk about their personal lives, but also realise their rivalry won't end
15:34well for either of them.
15:57Pro tip, if someone walks into a police station drenched in blood, chances are you should
16:01probably restrain them immediately.
16:03Throughout all of David Fincher's psychological thriller, detectives Mills and Somerset have
16:07unsuccessfully tried to capture the serial killer whose MO is based on the seven deadly
16:12sins.
16:18Right after he seems to have gotten away, again, the killer, John Doe, walks into the
16:22police station with a pleasant red bloodstain on his white shirt and arms, and there's
16:27no way he'd get away this time.
16:29Doe himself makes sure of that.
16:49In the previous films of the Dark Knight trilogy, the Caped Crusader mostly faced foes that
16:53were mental threats if not physical ones, but that all changed in the final chapter
16:57of the Christopher Nolan-helmed series, as Batman had to take on the physical as well
17:01as psychological menace of the mercenary known as Bane.
17:12Shortly after Batman reappears in Gotham, Catwoman lures him to an underground lair,
17:16where the Batman has to face his overpowered, drugged-up foe one-on-one.
17:19Spoilers, it doesn't end well for Bruce Wayne, as Bane earns the title of the Man
17:24Who Broke the Bat, and is free to conquer Gotham unopposed.
17:28At least, for now.
17:50Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, the Empire Strikes Back.
18:00The young Jedi who blew up the Death Star, the deadliest Imperial in the galaxy.
18:04This was already going to be a legendary confrontation, even before we knew about the baggage that
18:08came with it.
18:09Darth Vader is waiting for Luke Skywalker in the carbon freezing chamber in Cloud City,
18:14where only moments ago, he had just frozen Han Solo.
18:24In this smoky, dimly lit facility, Luke uses what little Jedi training he has to fight
18:29the Dark Lord who also killed his mentor, Obi-Wan.
18:33Emotions run high, and strengths are shown in this lightsaber duel, ending with dismemberment
18:38and the greatest cinematic revelation of all time.
18:42It's perfect.
18:43What can we say?
18:44So, do we forget an incredible movie confrontation?
18:55Let us know in the comments below.
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