The 12 Most Satisfying Villain Deaths In Action-Adventure Movies

Commodus's demise in Gladiator is easily one of the most gratifying in cinematic history. In the film, Commodus takes over as emperor of Rome after slaying his own father, Marcus Aurelius, which results in General Maximus refusing to swear his loyalty to the new emperor. In turn, Maximus is stripped of his rank and his family is slain.

Eventually, Maximus becomes a gladiator in order to rise back through the ranks and take down Commodus. Commodus agrees to fight but gravely injures Maximus prior to the fight in hopes of a quick victory. Despite all of Commodus's efforts to cheat (including hiding a knife in his armor), an injured Maximus ends Commodus with his own knife and dies a hero's death while Commodus is left in the dirt. There's nothing more satisfying than watching a cheater's plan backfire in their face, and in this case, in front of the entire Colosseum.

There may never be a big-screen demise as satisfying as Col. Tavington in The Patriot (although Thanos is a close second). Jason Isaacs does a remarkable job of playing up the complete savagery of the British infantry commander, making the audience count the literal seconds until Mel Gibson's Benjamin, the titular "patriot," inevitably avenges the demises of his sons. 

And satisfying it is. The film ends with an intimate, slow-motion melee between Benjamin and Tavington at the Battle of Cowpens, milking every second of their hand-to-hand combat. After losing the upper hand, Benjamin drops to his knees and waits for Tavington's final blow - only to dodge the swing and surprise Tavington with a bayonet to the stomach. If that wasn't delicious enough, Benjamin delivers a second blow to Tavington's throat, ending him for good.  

There's something extremely cathartic about Inigo Montoya confronting and slaying his father's killer at the end of The Princess Bride, especially for what is supposed to be a comedy film (and oftentimes even borders on parody). The Princess Bride is a thrilling action flick, revenge story, fairy tale, lighthearted comedy, and passionately sentimental love story all rolled up into one cinematic masterpiece. 

One of the film's major plot lines follows a swordsman named Inigo Montoya who seeks revenge against an evil six-fingered man named Count Rugen for the demise of his father. Montoya eventually finds Rugen and challenges him to a gripping swordfight. Rugen doesn't stand a chance against the revenge-filled Montoya and succumbs to multiple puncture wounds. Despite hearing Inigo shout "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" countless times throughout the battle, Count Rugen is still not prepared to perish. 

It really says something if your character is far more unlikable than an evil, cursed mummy whose only intention is to spread evil and corruption throughout the world. And yes, the character in question is clearly Beni Gabor, an old acquaintance of Rick O'Connell, who also happens to be a greedy crook, which ultimately leads to his own downfall (who could've guessed?). 

In The Mummy, Beni is leading a grave-robbing expedition into Hamunaptra when he's recruited by the Mummy, Imhotep, with the promise of gold. Beni is released from Imhotep's service when Rick terminates Imhotep for good, but refuses to leave without his riches, as promised by Imhotep. Beni loots the temple, only to set off a trap that almost ends everyone inside. Rick's group manages to escape, but Beni is trapped behind, where he's surrounded and then eaten by an army of scarabs. 

Before Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds depicted vicious retribution against German SS officers, Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark actually ranked pretty high up on the "Third Reich Reckoning" movie list. Ironically, Schindler's List wouldn't even compare to the climax of Raiders, which depicts a group of Third Reich soldiers literally getting their faces melted off. 

In Raiders, Indiana Jones is tasked with finding the Ark of the Covenant by the US government before it can get into the hands of the despicable zealots. Indy does everything in his power to stop them from retrieving the Ark, but they eventually get their hands on it - only to be completely decimated by the supernatural powers of the Ark once it's opened. The scene is surprisingly graphic for a Spielberg film and depicts the SS soldiers succumbing to the Ark as their bodies are reduced to liquid. They probably should have just left it alone. 

To be fair, James Earl Jones did such a fantastic job portraying Thusla Doom that it's almost sad to see him go. But alas, evil deeds can't go unpunished, and despite Doom's powerful, mesmerizing voice, it's still cathartic to see Conan end the man who wiped out his family and sold his village into enslavement. 

Thusla is an evil sorcerer and warlord who destroys young Conan's tribe and personally decapitates his mother. Conan is so traumatized by his mother's demise that he grows to be a fearless gladiator with muscles of steel (how does Arnold Schwarzenegger actually look like that?) in order to seek revenge on Doom for destroying everything he loved. Not only is Conan able to track down Thusla and infiltrate his cult, but he also manages to decapitate him with the same sword Thulsa used to end his mother.