HOWARD PAYNE

Introduction

There’s a famous saying. A hero’s only as good as their villain. And that quote rings true. We remember the hero for their great deeds, but who’s going to give them a beast to conquer, a deed to overcome, a quest to complete. The villain, naturally.

Somebody also said, “Every villain is a hero of his or her own story”. Again, the saying rings true. In life, we may act in ways we think are right, but from another point of view, that action was wrong. The villain of every story absolutely thinks they are doing the right thing.

And if we put those two quotes together, you get a mixture that’s too convoluted for my simple mind to pick apart. But buried underneath the layers, you would probably discover that every villain is also the hero, and every hero is also the villain.

What was this all for? A 140 word introduction for this series of articles in which I delve into six movie villains I find exciting and fun to think about. And each of these six villains I think deserves an entry into the VHoF (Villain Hall of Fame). To persuade you, I’ll list six reasons why this villain is such a good villain. (Six because I like synergy). Let’s begin.

Summary

This article, as you probably surmised from the title, is about the man with a plan and only four fingers on his hand, Howard Payne. Now, without further ado, here are my reasons.

Reason 1

Howard Payne is such a blue-collar villain. It’s one of my favorite things about him. He used to be a cop, which in movies is the ultimate blue-collar hero, and now is a minor terrorist who’s just trying to pay the rent by blowing up vehicles. While I love Hans Gruber, I don’t exactly relate to this three-piece suit from London wearing, German speaking, classy as Christmas, genius terrorist. But Howard Payne, oh sure. You met people like this all the time. (Or is that just me?).

Reason 2

He’s got so many plans and fail safes. You’ve gotta respect the pro strats. It takes Reeves about twenty minutes to dismantle each one, and by the end the bus is utterly destroyed by the amounts of bombs that have exploded, the tires have been popped, the gas tank is leaking, and the front area is a complete mess.

Reason 3

HE STABBED A DUDE IN THE NECK WITH A SCREWDRIVER! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARDCORE OF A PERSON YOU HAVE TO BE TO STAB SOMEBODY WITH A SCREWDRIVER?!? On a different note, after watching this movie for the first time I’ve looked at tools, especially screwdrivers, very differently. And when people have a tool in their hand I’m constantly calculating the odds of them going Dennis Hopper on me. I also noticed that tools are a running theme throughout the movie. Such as Keanu in the elevator scene opening panels, basically the entire bus sequence is full of taking things and modifying them with tools, then around the third act Keanu gets the vest that is entirely filled with bomb-dismantling tools. And then he stabs the gas tank with a screwdriver. So the writers of this movie must really really like tools.

Reason 4

Somehow he has access to some pretty impressive firepower. That machine gun is pretty legit, and I don’t think that they sell those on street-corners for a dime. Payne’s mangled hand does put a damper on the effectiveness of the weapon, but nevertheless he still manages to make Jack drop the pistol while on top of the train by spraying the roof while yelling like a maniac with purple paint all over his face. It’s strange that Payne never hired some muscle, he does run more one-man operations, but would it really have hurt to have two meatheads with guns that could shoot at Jack while he escaped with Annie and the money?

Reason 5

While a blue-collar villain, Payne is also pretty clever. Not genius-level, but smart enough to constantly be a couple of steps ahead of the cops. I still contend that Payne deliberately kept calling Sandra Bullock’s character “Wildcat” on purpose. He wanted to get caught. He enjoys the game so much, that he’s willing to risk losing the potential millions. As Reeves points out it’s a game to him, one that Payne is very good at playing.

Reason 6

Howard Payne knows what he’s about. When Keanu asks why he’s doing this, he responds, saying, “I want money Jack. I wish I had a loftier purpose, but I’m afraid in the in it’s just money.” Then he rants on about what kind of bills he’ll take and in what kind of bag to put them in. The man isn’t going on about some kind of fake terrorist group he wants freed (what’s that Hans?). He just wants some money to buy more cokes and mannequins. (What’s up with that mannequin by the way. It’s never explained but is impossible to miss in the background of his apartment). By the way, there’s a sign on the back of the bus that reads “Money Isn’t Everything (Yeah It Is)” It is hilarious. I love that kind of wink and nod joke.

Outro

Thank for you for your time chairmen and chairwomen of the VHoF (Villain Hall of Fame). It was an honor to present this argument. And I hope you’ll take Howard Payne into consideration as an inductee.