Movies fail when villains are designed with weak or nonexistent motivations and reasons. Therefore, evil guys bad for the sake of being bad tend to rob stories of their drama and suspense. However, there is a problem on the other side as well. Occasionally, villains seem too sympathetic and reasonable, which causes us to wonder if the so-called heroes deserve to win. Hence, some force us to reevaluate where we draw the boundaries between good and evil, right and wrong. The movies on this top ten list make us hope the villains will succeed.
10. "Ghostbusters"
Guys, is care for the environment a bad thing?
The Environmental Protection Agency is the (non-spectral) antagonist in "Ghostbusters." We're supposed to despise them because they want to regulate the Ghostbusters and because their spokesperson inspector, Walter Peck, is a jerk. Even if he was being a jerk, he was always correct.
Peck's simple request that the 'Busters inspect their hazardous waste storage is entirely within his purview and, quite frankly, essential. He worries that the containment units for the ghosts and proton packs may be hazardous and require the installation of suitable safety precautions. His major transgression was his concern for everyone's safety. Yet, it turns out that he was right. Turning off the containment unit would be like throwing a bomb on the city, as Egon states.
9. "Heavyweights"
He was doing his job, and he did it well
The plot of "Heavyweights," maybe the most-underappreciated film ever, centers on a group of obese kids. They are sent to a camp to shed some pounds, improve their health, and form healthier habits. Tony Perkins, the camp director and fitness expert, is portrayed as the villain in the film. When he immediately starts pressuring the obese campers to eat better and exercise, the film uncovers his true cruelty.
Yep, you read that right. Just for carrying out his duties, Perkis is demonized. Doing a job that could save these kids' lives is also essential. Yes, Perkins has a breakdown at the movie's conclusion that puts him in a terrible light. Still, that doesn't happen until these cruel kids have tormented him for months.
8. "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
Ultron would defend the Earth from Thanos
No one will argue that Ultron was a good guy or even a guy at all, so that's fine. He intended to wipe off the majority or all of the human race. Not quite heroic, but the impending battle for the Infinity Stones would have developed dramatically differently if Ultron had prevailed.
Ultron's manufacturing systems would have swiftly displaced humanity if he had triumphed. In addition, he would swiftly gather the Mind Stone, Time Stone, and Space Stone—the three Infinity Stones then present on Earth. Ultron can manipulate time, space, and the human mind. Along with his army of millions of war robots, he would have given the Mad Titan the fight of his life when Thanos ultimately came knocking.
7. "Jurassic Park"
Life finds a way, except when it doesn't
The velociraptors, T-Rex, and even the dilophosaurus were all the observable exterior antagonists of "Jurassic Park." Yet the real, internal antagonist was hubris. The entire film is devoted to Jeff Goldblum's monologues on overconfident people like John Hammond trying to curb inappropriate behavior. However, they can. And do. Again and again and again.
Throughout the franchise, several dinosaur parks have been running profitably for many years, opening up a whole new world of entertainment and scientific research. It is Hammond's dream—the parks are all the wet dreams of biologists—and their significance to genetics is unmatched. However, it all ends when nefarious characters thwart the strategy. Hammond's vision would have survived without the avaricious fool that is Dennis Nedry, and Hammond should have triumphed.
6. "Black Panther"
Suspicious methods but a righteous goal
Erik Killmonger was a vicious, brutal, and cunning individual. Yet, he was also kind, moral, and selfless and ought to have triumphed. Killmonger intended to use his royal blood and ritual combat to ascend to the Wakandan throne. Then he intended to reverse Wakanda's long-standing practices of isolationism and share their cutting-edge technology and medical knowledge with less privileged.
That sounds more like a heroic global figure than an awful villain. In the end, his harsh methods and egotistical desire for hegemony were his significant offenses. We may forgive him, though, if the outcome is a significant technological advance for the entire planet (soon to be overrun by aliens) and an almost total abolition of systemic inequality, sickness, and famine.
5. "The Cabin in the Woods"
Five lives against eight billion
A great parody of the horror genre is "The Cabin in the Woods." It features a bunch of teenagers having a getaway in a remote cabin. We soon discover that the youngsters are being purposely tortured and killed as part of a ceremonial sacrifice to honor a pantheon of evil ancient gods by a global, intergovernmental organization known as the Facility.
Two teenagers disturb the Facility's activities and cancel the ceremony, which should be a good thing. But the Facility wasn't kidding; without recurring human offerings, a long-forgotten deity quickly manifests and wipes out the entire planet. It is tough to argue against the execution of five teenagers to protect eight billion people.
4. "Batman Begins"
Some places are beyond saving
Ra's Al-Ghul is a villain with a noble goal but dishonest tactics. Ra's mission as the head of the League of Shadows is to bring peace where there is none. Gotham City just so happens to be one of these many such locations.
Ra's believes Gotham is beyond redemption because it is an entrapment of crime, disorder, and corruption. He ultimately wins, even though Batman must stop him. More innocent people perish due to the devastation in the sequels, which see Gotham subjected to waves of crime even worse than the one in "Batman Begins." Perhaps Gotham is genuinely beyond saving.
Not wise to oppose the government
In the classic science fiction movie "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 10-year-old Elliot Taylor meets the titular alien, who yearns to return to its planet of origin and becomes friends with it. As Elliot and his companions are on a mission to recover and experiment on the entity, the evil government sends federal agents to prevent them from returning the E.T. to its ship.
When grownups decide to see the touching family film again, they are confronted with some new issues. It is challenging to envision permitting an E.T. to connect telepathically with a child. As there's no telling what they may have learned about extra-terrestrial life from it, it also seems absurd to forbid the government from at least putting the alien under quarantine and conducting some tests.
2. "Blade Runner"
They are more human than humans
Science fiction and cyberpunk are two genres in which "Blade Runner" is a giant. The film is exquisitely composed and shot, incredibly evocative, and a literal account of a slave-catcher capturing fleeing slaves and putting them to death. In "Blade Runner" and its excellent sequel, replicants are highly developed androids that can pass for "genuine" people, even to the point of being created from biological material.
They exhibit genuine emotion, are just as intelligent as people, and have undergone numerous tests in which their reality has been confirmed. However, they are nearly entirely employed as slaves. Special slave-catchers known as Blade Runners track down those who attempt to flee and shoot them in the head. And we're supposed to root for the slave killer.
1. "X-Men" series
Would you trust a walking atomic bomb?
The X-Men are the world's most awesome superhero team. They are a fierce group of leather-clad individuals with fun powers, jets, and motorcycles. Additionally, they are a horde of unrestrained, uncounted, unknown nuclear weapons that blend in with a mortal human society while roaming the Earth.
Every X-Men adversary was right when they said the team was too dangerous to be left alone. What's to stop you from robbing a bank if you can traverse walls? What's to stop you from ordering someone to launch a nuclear missile if you can manipulate minds? The worst thing is that they, like most mutants, discovered their abilities during adolescence. Think of a 12-year-old with magical abilities. The world would be perpetually in a state of anarchy.
In movies, villains are frequently portrayed as terrible individuals with few to no redeeming traits. Typically, they have a purpose or aim that would be detrimental to everyone and do great harm. However, every now and again, a peculiar villain appears who may have simple objectives or objectives that are wholly justifiable. Maybe they're merely doing their job, or their motivation isn't all that horrible when you think about it. In either case, correct villains tend to appear more relatable because they have more redeeming characteristics. Most importantly, they have an understandable argument.
Who is your favorite sympathetic movie villain? Which movie villains would you add to the list?
Cover photo: Screenshot/YouTube