A movie about the fight between good and evil can only be good if the villain is good or in that case bad
What makes a great villain?
Let us have a look at one of the best
The Joker from "The Dark Knight"
The villain must be powerful. Even more powerful than the hero.
When Batman fights against Scarecrows henchmen we are more inclined by the action as with the battle between good and evil. They are not powerful or seemingly threatening.
Interestingly the joker is not strong as Bane or has any super powers. He seems to be just a mad man with make up and a bad hair cut.
What makes him so good at his job being a villain?
"Create an opponent... who is exceptionally good at attacking your hero's greatest weakness."
—John Truby, The Anatomy of a Story
Batman`s biggest strength is the fear he strikes into criminals hearts. We can see the gangsters sitting on a table frustrated by his actions against them and their doing. They fear for their money, their freedom and their lives.
Batman`s biggest weakness is that he refuses to kill. He still thinks criminals can be reasoned with.
The Joker is not afraid of Batman. He does not care about money or his live.We can even see him burn his money and begging Batman to kill him. He takes away Batmans strenght like no other villain before not with cryptonite, being stronger or a secret weapon.
No, the Jokers strenght starts already in the mind and that is why he does not need to have an army or be physical intimidating. He does it with his "I don`t give a fuck about anything" attitude and strips Batman from his power this way, which makes him more powerful than the hero and exceptionally good attacking the heroes weakness
He holds on to nothing and does not care about stuff traditionel criminals care about. His motiavtion is the best explained by Alfred.
That makes him more powerful in a more creative way than just having a super weapon which threatens to destroy the world.
The joker puts Batman to the test of his codex. He pushes the limit and he seems to be always one step ahead. Even when he gets caught it is just another step in his plan.
The Joker works so well because he is possible. Thera are no goofy cartoon deaths, he doesnt kill with acid spraying out of a flower on his suit.
No, everything he does seems possible. He is a terrorist.
His demonstration of power is how he turns the people of Gotham against Batman. Again he does not brake his back and put him into a whole. He beats him by turning the people Batman fights for against him.
Why the drama?
The villain needs some form of motive. The stronger and more believable the motive the more we as an audience take him serious.
As we already learned it is not about money or power. It is about the soul of gotham. The only thing the Joker seems to care about is to prove to Batman and the world is that we are all like him.
He constantly pressures Batman into making difficult choices
"TRUE CHARACTER is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure — the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature."
—Robert McKee, Story
The Joker wants Batman to choose between Rachel and Harvey, the white knight and hope of Gotham, and there we realize that even Batman has a limit of what he can endure and what he is willing to sacrfice. Rachel is off the table for him.
The stakes are high and personal but at the same time beliefable. The threat at the end is not about world domination or destruction of the earth it is about a few people on 2 boats.
The Joker is well aware of what they really fight about
“You didn’t think I’d risk losing the battle for Gotham’s soul in a fist fight with you?” he says at the end of the movie
They are fighting for their beliefs. Law and order in the black corner and chaos in the green purple corner. They fight for gothams souls.
They compete for the same goal
Let us have a look at anther great villain
Meet Hans Landa from Inglorious Bastards
He himself is also not threating because of strength but more of his intelligence.
While he seems not really threatining the fear he strikes is potraid by the people he interacts with as we can see in the opening scene of the movie. While he has army to his disposal it seems to be more him alone who is the threat.
Here we are not sure if he is one step ahead or not as he never revelas his cards until it is too late. Everytime he has a conversation it seems like he is interrogate the person he speaks with and at the same time it could also be just a friendly conversation.
He makes a great villain because we are suspicous and on our toes the whole time.
The same goes for the Joker.
While he is portrayed way different we can almost feel the pressure he puts onto Gotham and Batman. He keeps us on our toes. What is next? What is he up to now?
The Joker wins.....in a way
The Joker leaves his mark on Batman by showing him what he can and cannot endure and what he is not willing to sacrifice. By showing Batman his limits the Joker reveals Batmans true character and at the same time changes him.
Needless to say both performances of the Joker and Hans Landa were outstanding and the movies are so great and the villains so memorable because of them.