Trending Now
Sometimes, you root for the bad guy in a movie, right?
I used to think I was maybe the only person who did this, but it looks like I’m in good company with a bunch of folks who occasionally get enamored with the villains in movies and forget about the good guys and gals.
Do you do this, too?
AskReddit users weighed in on the movie villains that made them forget all about the heroes.
1. Interesting…
“Rumpelstiltskin in the “Once Upon a Time” TV series.
Depending on your viewpoint, his plans failed because 1) In that universe, Good Guys Always Win™ or 2) suckage of writers.
He was smart, tricky, beautifully manipulative, had a solid backstory that justified almost all of his actions (except for a few bits due to reason #2), and was one of the few who saw through the massive BS built around the show and its characters and could plan around it, only to have his plans fall through at the last minute, usually because of a hand-of-God last minute random thing (again, reason #2).
He should’ve been able to get everything he wanted and live happily ever after; he certainly worked harder than anyone else in that show.”
2. Oh yeah…
“Shere Khan in the live action Disney remake.
He wants to murder Mowgli because he’s afraid Mowgli will burn the jungle down.
Mowgli then burns the jungle down.”
3. Hook.
“Captain Hook in the movie Hook, particularly at the end when he tries to get the kid to stay instead of going home with Peter Pan.
Like, I get it, dudes a bad guy and he’s just trying to steal the kid away when he says, “Remember how your father was never there? Look at all the things I’ve done for you.”
I came from a very neglectful home, and in rewatching this movie I remember how I would have wanted to stay with Hook so bad as a kid.
In fact, if we didn’t know Hook was a villain, he looks like a much better father figure than Peter Pan until that point.”
4. This might cause some debate.
“Top Gun, Ice Man.
He’s right, Maverick is dangerous.
As I’ve gotten older…the more Maverick looks like a villain.”
5. The witch.
“Wicked Witch of the West.
We hate her cause she looks a bit gothy.
But ditzy Dorothy killed her sister and went on to meddle stuff that’s none of her business.
I’d be annoyed too.”
6. A great movie.
“Roy Batty in Blade Runner.
Batty wanted to gain his freedom and lead the other Nexus-6 models to safety. Instead, his dwindling ranks were hunted like rats. Although the Nexus-6 Replicants had a pretty bad reputation, Batty never gave any clues that he meant harm to the human race.
There may have been blood on his hands, but Batty only went for those directly involved with the Replicants or that were pursuing him.
At the end of the day, he was just looking for answers from his creator.”
7. Poor guy.
“King Kong.
Dude’s minding his own business, living on a tropical island, and men show up, capture, and enslave him.
Fuckers deserved everything they got.”
8. A different take.
“Dinosaurs in Jurrasic Park.
The villain of Jurassic Park isn’t the dinosaurs; they’re just nature doing what comes natural. The villains are the creators, who put desire for profit and accomplishment above others’ safety. (“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should” isn’t just a meme, it’s the message of the movie.)
By the way, I used to roll my eyes at the sequels because it was unrealistic that people would put a desire for profit and fun above the safety of other people and of their own family.
Recent events have made me change my mind. People would take their children to the park that killed a large percentage of those who go, saying they “refuse to live in fear” and “have a constitutional right.”
It turns out the cheesy dinosaur movies understood human nature better than I did.”
9. Give Benny a break.
“Benny from Rent
He offered all his friends, struggling bohemians in NYC, free rent in-exchange for cancelling Maureen’s protest.”
10. He’s a villain, no doubt.
“Q from Star Trek.
Not that I hated the heroes but you just gotta love Q.
And he certainly is a villain, he kills members of the Enterprise crew and tortures entire species.”
11. The evil one.
“Dracula.
In the 90s version with Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder.”
12. Gremlins.
“The evil Gremlin.
He knew how to run a gang and party. Gizmo was a frigging pussy!”
13. Never thought I’d see this.
“Principal Rooney.
Ferris Bueller is a dick.”
14. A great villain.
“Hans Gruber from Die Hard because Alan Rickman was hot (RIP) and because Hans was so much smarter and more sophisticated than any bad guy I’d ever seen.”
15. Definitely a victim.
“Frankenstein’s monster.
The poor guy was literally born yesterday when his college-dropout, god-complex father abandoned him. Everyone hated and feared him and he had to learn everything from basic survival to human speech to reading on his own.
He was, unlike the movies, a genius and decently handsome, minus the dead eyes and paste-y complexion. He was still like 8 feet tall, and his height and haunting gaze were apparently enough to terrify everyone who saw him into a murderous frenzy.
He hid under a family’s house, and listened to their interesting and enviable life stories. He got sick of listening to people’s happy lives while he hid in fear, and befriended the family’s blind grandfather.
And then, he was attacked by the family of the man whom he had been able to call a friend for only a short time, getting shot for trying to find a friend. Then he immediately met the nephew of his father, who threatened and mocked him.
He snapped, because he realized no one ever did anything but hate and hurt him, so why should he do anything different? He killed the nephew, and framed the nephew’s maid for the murder.
What does our hero, Frankenstein, do? He lets the maid get executed because he doesn’t want to face consequences. Yeah, some hero.
Now, the monster doesn’t take it farther, he just asks Frankenstein to give him a wife/friend/someone who loves him. He knew he might have happiness and was more concerned at that point with being left alone to have a family.
What does Frankenstein do, when he hears his monster will leave him alone and they can both be rid of the anger and fear he created by playing God in the first place? He gives up halfway through and destroys the monster’s half-made wife.
Frankenstein’s Monster goes apeshit, as could reasonably be expected, and killed Frankenstein’s friend and his wife as revenge, and then fled to the north pole and offed himself because life is cruel.
So yeah, not the best guy, but between the fake doctor who has more ego than spine and systematically let all his friends die, and the monster who didn’t choose to be born and wasn’t given a bit of kindness that didn’t stab him in the back later, I pick the big guy.
The Monster wasn’t a good guy, but at least his bad actions had a reason, besides “I don’t care about other people,” and “I’m afraid of owning up for my mistakes.”
Well, there you have it.
Now we want to hear from the readers out there.
In the comments, please tell us about movies where you ended up rooting for the evil characters.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
