7. Iosef Tarasov – John Wick
No list of ridiculously over-the-top villain decisions would be complete without Iosef Tarasov – or, as he’s better known, that horrible Russian from the first John Wick. After Wick’s wife dies, he receives a puppy, learning that she didn’t want him to be alone once she was gone. Still grieving, Wick encounters a group of young Russian criminals led by Iosef, who try to threaten him into selling them his car. He politely declines.
Iosef doesn’t take kindly to the rejection, though. In one of the most disproportionate reactions ever made by a movie villain, he locates Wick’s house, then breaks in at night. While there, he murders the puppy, then steals the car. What he doesn’t know is that John Wick is a blood-soaked killing machine, and that it’s just about the last mistake he’ll ever make.
The idea that an entitled criminal would commit such a senseless act of violence is bad enough. Still, the combination of the murder of a defenseless animal and the incredibly ridiculous nature of his motivation make Iosef Tarasov one of the stupidest and most monstrous men in film. At least he gets what’s coming to him in the end.