ComingSoon.net has picked some of cinema’s most understood baddies. Check out our picks in the gallery below!
It has often been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions; this particular proverb has never rung truer than in the annals of cinematic history. There have been many characters to grace the silver screen and produce mixed feelings from the audience; perhaps we see a part of ourselves up there—dancing in the moral gray area that exists between right and wrong. One of the most well-received and concrete aspects of a good character arc revolves around the idea that damnation is merely a result of misconceived intent. The lies that we believe.
It would be unfair to say that every one of the following antagonists even had a choice; sometimes characters are just driven by instinct or are simply doing what they were made to do. That being said, there are also some characters on this list who had the opportunity to embrace a more rational viewpoint but choose not to, others could be considered anti-heroes. Hopefully, this collection will serve as a very conflicted walk down memory lane (end of road metaphors).
14 Cinematic Villains With Admirable Intentions
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Roy Batty, Blade Runner (1982)
At the end of Blade Runner Roy Batty saves Deckard from falling to his death. This demonstrates an appreciation for all life; all this renegade leader wanted was a longer life span for him and his replicant brothers and sisters. Roy Batty's "tears in the rain" speech remains one of the most iconic monologues in science fiction history.
R.I.P. Rutger Hauer
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Dinosaurs, Jurassic Park (1993)
Genetically engineered and thrust into a century they have no business being in, the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park were just being, well, dinosaurs.
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Ra's Al Ghul, Batman Begins (2005)
This pick is only relevant to the Liam Neeson version of the character; a man who has seen the darkest side of humanity and believes "crime cannot be tolerated. Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." However, mass genocide might be a bit excessive.
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The Engineers, Prometheus (2012)
The most intriguing aspect of The Engineers is their disgust with humanity. We are never told why the creators gave up on the created but it remains the Alien Franchise's best-kept secret—one that leaves their nature ambiguous.
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The Strangers, Dark City (1998)
The strangers are an alien species on the verge of extinction. For some reason they believe the key to their survival revolves around the human psyche; therefore they performance weird experiments on captured humans. Survival is not an unadmirable motive.
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Tyler Durden, Fight Club (1999)
This dude just hates the system, albeit in a very self-destructive way.
“Self-improvement is masturbation. Now self-destruction…”
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Frankenstein's Monster, Frankenstein (1931)
A character that was brought into this world and then abandoned. Frankenstein's monster was left to fend for himself and hash out some sort of moral code on his own. It's all a very nature vs. nurture debate—you can't blame a character whose motive was simply to be loved.
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Michael Corleone, The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990)
A war hero who never really wanted anything to do with the family gets sucked in and attempts to make the best of it. Michael's gradual damnation is one of the main reasons these films are almost always mentioned in someone's top 10 (or at least part 1 and 2).
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Johnny Lawrence, The Karate Kid (1984)
If Cobra Kai has proven anything, it's that Johnny was very misunderstood.
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The machines, The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
Before the creation of the matrix, the machines sought to peacefully coexist with humans. Due to their own fear and arrogance, humanity bombed the sky in order to cut off the machines only remaining source of power (solar). The resulting war is what led to human beings as batteries etc. Motive = self-defense.
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Mr. Rooney, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
All Mr. Rooney did was his job. Frankly, the guy went above and beyond.
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The apes, Planet of the Apes (1968)
Until the viewer realizes why the apes treat our protagonist so barbarically (the whole dominant species switcharoo), the viewer sees them as an antagonist.
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Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
This one may be hard to convince people of; Thanos' decision to whip out half of all living things is a bit harsh. He's definitely a dick. However, he claims this is all about population control—reduce famine, sickness, environmental issues, etc.
