OWEN DAVIAN

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 late great Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character in Mission Impossible 3, Owen Davian. Davian is, to put it in as simple terms as possible, (A very difficult task), a crazed lunatic who’s actually the farthest from a lunatic as you could get. He is both sane and insane. (The diligent and observant fans among you may know that we did a podcast episode on Mission Impossible 3 already. I don’t care. I want to talk about Owen Davian some more. That’s how good a villain he is). Here are my reasons.

Reason 1

He’s the most threatening person in the room, without even trying. You know that Davian will somehow kill you. Maybe not overpower you physically, but in the end, you’re gonna end up dead. I’m sure you can vividly remember when Davian is threatening to (wink wink) hunt down Hunt’s loved one, and “hurt her.” That’s it. He’s just gonna hurt her. Not kill her, not rip out her eyes or cut off her fingers. Just hurt her. That’s all Davian needs to say. Those two simple words. And instantly Ethan knows how much trouble this guy is It’s terrifying.

Reason 2

Davian’s the ultimate strategist. Ethan Hunt’s relatively smart. (Relatively). But not even this super spy/parkour expert sees what Davian has in mind. I’ve seen the movie a dozen times and I don’t know what Davian’s ultimate plan is. This guy operates on an entirely different playing field, and the glimpses we get frighten me.

Reason 3

He’s levelheaded. This kinda plays into the strategist point. But Davian is really calm, like all the time. Up until he has to shoot somebody. But anytime Hunt threatens him, either by Cruise Jerry Maguire-style yelling at him, or holding Davian out of the bay doors of an airplane, the man is perfectly at peace. It’s unbelievable. Davian acts the way I act whenever watching this video.

Reason 4

Davian’s not afraid to kill when necessary. Lots of villains kill, but there are some of the more “classy” or “smart” villains that shy away from the messy stuff. (I’m looking at you Samuel L. Jackson in the Kingsmen). Davian’s not one of those. He’s a full on beast. And a cunning one at that.

Reason 5

He never strays from his target. Never once does Davian change course or direction. He knows exactly what he wants, and what he needs to do it. Want the rabbit’s foot, make some black arms deals. Pesky IMF team getting in the way, dismantle their leader. Need to escape the police truck, already planned for that one.

Reason 6

Davian’s an immortal threat. We don’t even know that he died. Sure, Hunt pushed him into a truck, but that could have been another underling in a mask. For all purposes, Davian is plotting his revenge on Hunt. It’s a scary concept that he can’t feel killed. Davian flirts with death, and he enjoys it.

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 Owen Davian into consideration as an inductee.