Top 10 Villainous Right Hand Men

The "right hand man" is one of my favorite staples of the action genre. Besides having a main villain, most action films have a right hand man who either works for or with the main villain. These right hand men tend to be scene stealers and built up all throughout the film. A lot of them have numerous encounters with the film's protagonist. Many of these films culminate in a one on one fight to the death between these characters as well. There are loads of great right hand men in films, and I have chosen my 10 favorites who stand out the most, kick the most ass, and even upstage their own boss.

Fun Fact: Both Liu and Parks pull double duty in Kill Bill.

10. Gordon Liu as "Johnny Mo" - Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) - The entire crazy 88's fight scene is quite a spectacle to behold in this film. However, I think the standout member is Johnny Mo. I know some people would rather choose Go-Go, but I like Johnny Mo essentially for being played by Gordon Liu. Not only does he look like Kato, but he also plays Pai Mei in the second film. I love that Liu took on two roles in this saga. But, he has great intensity as Mo. You can really see it in him during the fight sequences. I love his final skirmish with The Bride a top the railings of the wooden walkway.

Russian baddies: the creme de la creme of '80's action.

9. Alexander Godunov as "Karl" - Die Hard (1988) - The right hand men in the films of the '80's are always these crazy men obsessed with killing the film's protagonist. In Die Hard, Karl gets numerous face offs with John McClane and becomes one of the film's standout characters. His final moment in the film, a major spoiler I will leave unmentioned, is totally corny but a great moment that only an '80's action movie could deliver.

"Okay I kind of lost my temper."

8. Kim Beyong-ok as "Mr. Han" - Old Boy (2003) - While not entirely an action film, Old Boy is a brutal Korean revenge thriller filled with some epic moments of violence. Everyone knows the film for its famous hallway hammer fight. However, I love the film's silent but deadly character of Mr. Han. This guy is so calm and collected throughout the entire movie. When we arrive to the finale, he finally lets loose and beats the crap out of Choi-Min-Sik's character. I love how Sik gets the upper hand on him during this fight and stabs his ear with a pair of scissors. Mr. Han goes completely crazy!

This guy is just insane!

7. Yayan Ruhian as "Mad Dog" - The Raid: Redemption (2012) - Yayan Ruhian is almost the most physically able bodied and impressive of all of the right hand men I have ever seen in film. That honor goes to #2 on this list. But, his turn as Mad Dog is a spectacle to see. He is the standout character in the film and provides some of the greatest fight sequences I have ever seen. His name is even Mad Dog, a clear homage to the Mad Dog from John Woo's 1992 masterpiece Hard Boiled.

The quiet but deadly type.

6. Thanayong Wongtrakul as "Romrowan" - The Man From Nowhere (2010) - One of my favorite things about right hand men in action films is their build up they are given sometimes. In this great Korean actioner, Romrowan has numerous encounters with the film's protagonist all the way up until their final face off. What's great is that the two don't use guns in their final fight. They have what is maybe the greatest knife fight in all of action cinema. Romrowan gets some of the best build up I have ever seen until his final fight scene.

"I'm gonna shoot you in between the balls!" 

5. Vernon Wells as "Bennet" - Commando (1985) - Bennet is just one crazy bastard. I mean seriously. He wears chainmail for goodness sakes! It's the 1980's and chainmail is his go to outfit! The whole movie has a lot of build up between Bennet and Arnold's John Matrix character duking it out. And it's pretty awesome when they finally fight. Bennet gets one of the best movie deaths ever too. But wow, you would be hard pressed to find such an insane villain. Bennet has serious problems.

Vogue Fashion: Post-Apocalyptic Edition

4. Vernon Wells as "Wez" - The Road Warrior (1982) - Did I just say that Wells' Bennet was crazy? Well I must have forgot that he plays Wez, easily the most insane evil bastard in any film ever made! Wez is an armored clad devil you don't want to mess with. His slave boy gets a boomerang to the head, and than he becomes truly angry. This is another instance in which the right hand man has numerous encounters with the film's protagonist. His final moment in the movie is one of the most epic and awesome movie deaths in history! Wez is a right hand man for the ages, totally insane and a killing machine.

He's going up against Donnie Yen. He best surrender now.

3. Wu Jing as "Jack" - SPL (2005) - Holy crap. Wu Jing is one of the most impressive able bodied fighters I have ever seen in a film! The character of Jack is a deadly assassin who can throw a blade into you, and than leap over you and pull the knife out in one fell move! As I have said a hundred times on this list, this is another great case of build up. We see Jack use his skills and kill numerous friends of Donnie Yen's throughout the film. The two have an epic all out brawl in an alley way. Jing uses a knife and Yen uses a night stick. It's possibly the best fight scene I have ever seen in a film. It's also the most well scored fight scene as well. Aw heck, it's the best fight scene I have ever seen.

"FIND THE HALFLINGS!"

2. Lawrence Makoare as "Lurtz" - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - I love Lurtz. This guy is totally awesome! He has some great build up and finally gets to lead a small army of Orcs against the Fellowship. What follows is some mass slaughter and the death of one great Fellowship member. Just as Lurtz is about to finish the guy off, Aragorn swoops in and fights Lurtz in a battle to the death. It's one of my favorite sword fights in all of cinema. Lurtz is a worthy foe and one ugly looking fella.

Fingerless gloves and an eye patch: the outfit of a baddie.

1. Phillip Kwok as "Mad Dog" - Hard Boiled (1992) - And now we arrive to the original Mad Dog! Hard Boiled, arguably the most insane action film of all time, features the scene stealing Mad Dog. He goes up against Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung and does not die by their hands whatsoever! That is how deadly this guy is, not even Chow Yun Fat can kill him! He can slide into a room on a motorcycle and Uzi's the crap out of everyone in the room, use a single bullet pistol for close range shooting, rock a bloody eye patch like nobody's business, and go head to head with Tony Leung in a close quarters shootout that no film has ever equaled. Mad Dog is the right hand men every action film needs.