| “ | We're sorry to deceive you about our true objectives, but the time for peaceful protests are over. If we're going to save Mother Earth, we need to act now. Now nobody has to get hurt, and we're going to keep you nice and comfortable until all this is over. As you might have noticed, the crew you picked up from Greenland are working for me. The divers that arrived on the chopper are mine. In fact, on this rig, you're outnumbered three-to-one. Any more questions? | „ |
| ~ Talbert Skyler holding the oil rig hostage |
Talbert Skyler is the main antagonist of the 2004 action-comedy film, Blast!. He is a thief who decided to murder Michael Kitredge, an environmental activist, and steal his identity in order to sneak onto an oil rig, where he has hidden an EMP that allow him to cover his tracks after stealing billions of dollars.
He was played by Vinnie Jones.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
- He is a master thief who thought of a way to perform a heist on an oil rig.
- He has pretty funny Deadpan Snarker lines such as "you kiss your mother with that mouth?" when Mr. Heller swears at him and also says "we tried to make him green, but he ended up black and blue" when they show him a security guard they beat up.
- He murdered environmental activist Michael Kittredge and stole his identity to cause people to underestimate him, fooling a lot of people for most of the movie.
- He burned the boat he is on so he and his crew could be rescued onto the rig, and once there, he held everyone hostage and revealed the crew that was picked up from Greenland was actually his.
- Although it's only a façade, he still presented himself as a well-intended extremist who only wants justice for the pollution of the California Coast, which can make him appear sympathetic during most of the movie.
- It's also easy to root for him when compared to Mr. Heller, who had corners cut which cost several lives and is more concerned with helping his business then helping the hostages.
- When he saw Eric unconscious, he chose to spare him and take him to the infirmary to have him healed instead of killing him, only trying to kill him later when he posed a threat to his plans.
- When he learned that a group of navy seals were planning on stopping him, he dispatched them by having his men throwing flares at them and shooting them.
- When one of his goons pointed out he made an error, he didn't kill him and instead knowledged his mistake, which shows he isn't petty and can recognize his flaws.
- It's revealed he smuggled an EMP onto the oil rig and intends to use it to cover his tracks after wiring billions on dollars into his bank account which is pretty impressive.
- Even when half of his face got burned off, he barely reacted and kept on fighting.
- He almost succeeded in his goals, coming seconds away from victory.
- Although he slipped up by thinking Dixon is the FBI, he recovered by throwing a grenade down an elevator shaft when he and Jamal tried to escape.
- Overall despite being Pure Evil, none of his crimes are too vile or are disgusting and all serve a greater purpose, with it also helping that he is a standard action movie villain for most of the movie, only being pushed to PE levels at the end.
- He is also pragmatic as he spared a child instead of killing him and even took him to the infirmity to have him healed, only trying to kill him when he is a threat to his plans.
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- He took on organized heists for money, having held down a ski resort at least once.
- He held everyone at the oil rig hostage.
- He had an oil rig crew killed when they tried to escape by having his henchmen gun them all down.
- He had a group of navy seals trying to stop him killed by distracting them with flares and having his henchmen gun them down like they did with the oil rig crew.
- He tried to have Jamal torture Dixon.
- He shot at Jamal and Dixon and threw a grenade down the shaft when they tried to escape.
- He tried wiring billions of dollars into his account and set of an EMP that will cover his tracks while causing several plane crashes and hospital outages, taking at least thousands of lives and causing a "9/11 all over California".
- When Dixon informed him of this, he made it clear he didn't care.
- He tried to have Eric killed when he realized he is Dixon's adoptive son.
- He tried to kill Dixon and Jamal again when they tried to stop him.
External Links[]
- Talbert Skyler on the Pure Evil Wiki.
- Talbert Skyler on the Villains Wiki.