Bill the Butcher--A Few Potraits

Movie Villians--Chapter 2--Bill the Butcher

For many outside the United States, the shores of America represent opportunity and freedom. For William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting, seeing foreigners enter this land is right on par with cockroaches scurrying across your kitchen floor: they are unwelcome guests and ought to be exterminated by the rightful owner of the place. As a hardcore "Nativist," Cutting - portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis in an Oscar nominated performance - controlled the Five Points section of New York with an iron fist, and personally led a number of New York's worst gangs into battle against their Irish counterparts, led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). Fighting by the rules of the streets, the Priest would die and the Natives would win.

Every year on the anniversary of the battle, The Butcher would celebrate this victory and invite a select few. Many years later, the tradition would continue, and one mysterious young man would appear and hope for an invitation of his own. His name is Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) and he is the Preist's son, hell-bent on revenge. His plan is to get close to The Butcher and gain his trust, then kill him in front of everyone at the annual celebration. In the meantime, however, Amsterdam would begin to understand why so many support the Natives and their shrewd practices. In the streets, many things do not come easily, but they come easier when you're on the right side.

For Bill the Butcher, he was a businessman with political ties, and he was a merciless fighter and leader of his own giant gang. He did have some sense of honor and his growing admiration for Amsterdam would show his softer side. Indeed, Amsterdam's personal vendetta would become vastly more complicated. The Butcher is still the Butcher, though, and his viciousness is undeniable and unrelenting when challenged. In the end, Amsterdam's victory is somewhat hollow because of how deep the Butcher cut psychologically. For a young man who saw his father cut down when he was a boy, to kill the only other man to treat you like his son seems, well, foreign.

Source:movievillains.com

Movie Villians--Chapter 1--Agent Smith

After having free reign over The Matrix, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) finally met his match in a savior also known as Mister Anderson (Keanu Reeves). The Matrix is a construct of our world created only to harvest human beings and their energy - essentially, to make batteries out of people. But a few humans were able to escape the hold of the elaborate computer program keeping them "asleep" from the real world. Before escaping, they had to get by the agents - counteractive programming, if you will - who were led by Smith.

Once awakened, humans were able to build up a resistance against the machines while also evening the odds against them back in the Matrix. No longer shackled by the chains of the harvesting machines, humans could check in and out of the Matrix, fighting agents and hoping to free more minds. One such mind was Neo, a.k.a. Mr. Anderson. He had the ability to move and fight like the agents, and for some reason, was able to destroy Agent Smith at one point. Or so he thought.

Smith became a rogue program, resurfacing in various spots all over the Matrix without being under the control of the machines. Just as Neo did, Smith began to learn that the boundaries of his programming could be broken and discovered new powers, including being able to clone himself, copying his self on top of another program, i.e. another person in the Matrix. This led to the frightening paradox of Smith finding himself in the real world, having taken control of a mind and sabatoging a rebel ship, leading to a showdown with Neo.

As his numbers grew, so did Smith's superiority complex. He already felt he was a supreme being, above humans and all other life forms, but his hold of the Matrix expanded once he took over the Oracle's program. With seemingly boundless knowledge and abilities, Smith once again found himself facing Neo, this time for control of the Matrix. In the end, the Smith program was terminated, obliterated by Neo and the machines in a rare union between humans and their sworn enemies. But we all know, if Smith rose before, he can certainly rise again.

Source: movievillains.com