NEVILLE SINCLAIR

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 spy, saboteur, fascist, and number three box office star in America himself, Neville Sinclair. Here are my reasons for why the notorious actor should be inducted.

Note

I would like to preface this by saying I understand that in real life, the Nazis did horrible, horrible things, and committed many tragedies. So in the article, if I ever jest about Sinclair secretly being a Nazi spy, just know that I’m viewing them through the guise of this pulpy aspirational comic book flick made in the 90s set in the 30s. 

Reason 1

Sinclair can’t be bothered with the little things. He sends his henchman (more like henchmonster, look at the size of the guy), Lothar, to do the dirty deeds. Torturing, killing, shooting up an entire house with two pistols. All great villain masterminds need to have a meathead, a Darth Vader to Emperor Palpatine. And boy does Sinclair have an effective one. According to Wickedpedia, the site for all things Disney Villains, Lothar is played by Tiny Ron Taylor, who’s seven feet tall. First off, seven feet is very tall, second, it makes me very happy that somebody actually named this guy Tiny Ron, and the name stuck. Anyway, Lothar’s a beast, with balls of literal steel.

Reason 2

He’s a method actor. The first scene with Sinclair has him practicing fencing while talking to the gangsters. He’s preparing for his upcoming role as The Laughing Bandit. I’m guessing that Sinclair also got really good at laughing for the role. This probably means that if Sinclair takes a role playing a super assassin, he’ll get really good at silent killing. Plus, every scene where he’s fighting, the world-renowned star looks capable enough. Remember, this was before MMA became a style of combat everybody knew. The most prominent form of brawling was slugging your opponent in the jaw and hoping he didn’t get back up. Sinclair is also really good at dancing. That’s not like a boost in his fighting prowess or anything, but I did want to bring it up.

Reason 3

For a movie star, the man is pretty chilling. His smile may seem warm to the public, and charm the ladies, but if you really stare, it becomes something more. A mask, underneath which is a stone cold killer and a scheming lunatic. Neville Sinclair is an actor, and he’s a very skilled one too. He takes Jenny out to dinner solely so he can get the rocket pack. That entire date he’s just all dazzle. You almost forget the guy is secretly a murdering Nazi spy.

A note. Sinclair is obviously a ladies man, and is charming most of the time, but when he’s trying to seduce Jenny inside his house, the man keeps saying romantic quotes from past films he’s done. And Jenny keeps naming the exact scene in which the line is said. It’s a very funny moment, and the fact that Jenny is a big enthusiast of Sinclair’s work makes me so happy. She’s such a fan.

Reason 4

The guy knows his weapons. I’ve already discussed his method acting, which involved learning how to fence, but he also is a pretty good shot. At the South Seas Club, with the Tommy Gun, he manages to drop one of the golden nets hanging from the ceiling, which traps Secord underneath. For an assumed non-violent actor, the man is dangerous, both physically and strategically.

Reason 5

The man obviously is well funded. Lots of villains are penny pinchers, or as Cliff Secord puts it, Lousy Nickel Nursers. Sinclair has an incredibly nice house, no doubt from his high grossing films, but he somehow manages to get an entire German squad of soldiers to America. Honestly that must have taken a lot of time and money. Let’s not forget about the Zeppelin that just casually appears. How did nobody notice it? What I’m trying to say is, Sinclair is filled to the brim with resources, manpower, and has the money to get anything else he needs.

Reason 6

HE DOES HIS OWN STUNTS!

Tom Cruise who? To be honest, this could have been all six points. Any Hollywood star who’s secretly a nazi spy but also does their own stunts should be in the Villain Hall of Fame, without a doubt.

Parting Thoughts

One last question. Do we think Sinclair could ever win an Oscar? He’s the number three box office star in America, but we all know that real actors have oscars. Obviously Sinclair’s an Errol Flynn type, and Flynn was never even nominated. But the fact that Sinclair is a bit of a method actor, what with practicing fencing for his swashbuckling flick, it makes me think if Sinclair really put the time in, did the work, he could at least get a nomination. Throw him in some heavy war flick or maybe a really weighty drama. Just let the man work.

Sorry one more note. The only decent thing that Neville Sinclair gave us, besides a Robin Hood knock-off, is the name change from Hollywoodland, to Hollywood. If Sinclair hadn’t crashed into the giant L A N D letters, we would have been stuck with the old name forever. And if you think Hollywoodland is a better name, you’re insane.

Super, super sorry, but it would take more than this article and more words than I know to express how great of a deconstruction of Hollywood, specifically male, movie stars Neville Sinclair is. For example, when he accidentally stabs a fellow actor on the set of the Laughing Bandit, Sinclair orders for his driver to ready the car for the hospital. Or right before, when Secord drops the set wall on top of him, Sinclair rolls out of the way, and as he’s getting up, the star says, “Never let it be said Neville Sinclair failed to bring down the house!” He doesn’t get mad at Secord or storm off, but rather uses this as a way to put more shine on his star. Any opportunity in which Sinclair can publicly gain more admiration or respect, he  seizes with an iron fist. Oh I love it so much. What a great character. What a great movie. What a great villain.

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 Neville Sinclair into consideration as an inductee.