We’re bad people for thinking this way... For more awesome content, check out: whatculture.com/ Follow us on Facebook at: / whatculture Catch us on Twitter: / whatculture
Clyde Shelton in Law Abiding Citizen. He's the villian, but with how he was written and the things he went through, you want him to win but you know that he shouldn't because of what he wants to do.
I still maintain that he actually did win. He made Foxx's character realize the cost of taking the easy way in making deals to avoid the possibility of losing. Win or lose, Shelton wanted someone to fight for him and his family, not just treat it as a routine transaction and on to the next deal.
@@jasonibbs yeah. Since Nick resorted to illegal means to stop Clyde, I kinda see it like what Joker (Heath Ledger) said: "I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level."
How is "Law Abiding Citizen" not on this list, (where I actually fully expected it to be number 1). Clyde Shelton was not only a genius in his planning/execution of his revenge, but he had a completely understandable motivation for his rampage. I will also admit i was sometimes rooting for John Kramer in the Saw movies (especially in Saw VI with those POS insurance company workers)
Lol I was just about to say that about Law Abiding Citizen. Shelton’s revenge was both brilliant and understandable. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want him to succeed with his bombing at the film’s climax.
My exact thought! I honestly have a love/hate relationship with that film specifically because they did TOO good at making Clyde likable. I wanted him to win so badly that I was upset by the ending of the movie.
Hannibal Lecter wasn’t the villain in The Silence of the Lambs. He was a side character whose influence helped the protagonist defeat the true villain, Buffalo Bill.
When Stephen Spielberg directed "Jaws," he made major changes to the novel because he said that he found the main characters so unlikeable, he actually wanted the shark to win!
MAD RESPECT for reaching back for a classic black & white-era film for this list! These films get so little attention in the internet era, and this was a breath of fresh air, given the WEALTH of fantastic films of the time. Way to go WhatCulture!
Those were the times when actors actually had to act well and it was more about actors/actresses' onscreen presence that made the movie.... today alas it is much the opposite! One recent one I liked that was like these was the movie The Outfit
The character of Ed Harris from the movie Rock, is the one I'm missing here the most. Yes, he turns out to be a "good guy" in the end, but his methods were questionable enough in my opinion, that he could have made the list.
Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel! And yes, I was just going to mention him! I can really empathize with what he's trying to achieve, though he does it in a really bad way.
I think Denzel Washington was a brilliant casting in Training Day. Most people were just so used to seeing him as the good guy it really comes as a rug pull when you see him for what he is. I think that was done on purpous and its an excellent use of our own pre-prepared expectations.
I read somewhere every villain thinks they're the hero of their own story, I can't remember where I read that but ever since I did every time I watch a villain onscreen I think how did they get to this point.
@@thefuturist8864 Yes definitely, I also think writers have to know their character so they can tell a good story and flesh out their characters, as the one's mentioned on this list.
Tom Hiddleston said about his character Loki “Every villain is a hero in his own mind” John Barth said “Everyone is the hero of their own life story” 🤷🏻♀️
Falling Down is classic because the protagonist is 'us' trying to do the right thing and losing at every turn. Sure it's a touch nihilistic at times, but I still respect Foster's journey and Michael Douglas completely owned that role.
I think falling down is about me. When you lose so much until theres nothing left to live for, snapping becomes an option. I refuse to go off the rails though. I see my little girl every week and that's why I'm still alive.
It's a sad statement that this movie highlights how much we need a break just to survive. Not even succeed. When life doesn't give you that break, you lose. Hope, persistence, patience. If life wo t work out for me, I'll do it myself.
There are only 5 things you need to survive: oxygen, water, food, fire and shelter in that order. Sometimes you just have to survive to get to a place worth living again.
It’s hard for me to feel bad for the white man who sees himself as a victim after his kind spending literally HUNDREDS of years victimizing POC and women.
Whoa whoa whoaaaa. Where's Law Abiding Citizen? Not only should that movie be on the list, but it should be number 1 too for the way we symphonthyze for the villain and the only reason the good guy won was because the main star of the film threatened to walk unless he got the win, making it all right that we get screwed by the system.
Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. Khan, in this case, is a mirror version of Kirk. If Kirk's crew were kidnapped and threatened and he was forced to do things he doesn't want to do in order to keep them safe, I argue that he would have done almost everything Khan did to save the people he cared about. And, in the end, it's Khan who does win because he is reunited with his crew.
Star Trek: Into Darkness is underrated. Sure, it doesn't hold a phaser to the original Wrath of Khan (let's not forget how compelling Ricardo Montalban's depiction of the character was), but Benedict Cumberbatch brought his a-game to the roll and made it his own rather than try and one-up Montalban. I especially loved the final chase scene between him and Spock. Never before in Trek had I scene such an action spectacle of two super-strong characters beating the crap out of each other while performing parkour Tom Cruise would be proud of.
The joker shooting those guys on the subway was based on Bernie Goetz who in 1984 shot some hoods on the NY subway and became a hero (although there was debate as to whether he was in real danger, if he used excessive force, and if the heightened crime and fear in NY at the time excused any overreaction).
Actually that incident was inspired from another movie where the protogonist of the movie was completely opposite of joker i think joker is actually everything evil and worst things of a human being the movie did a very disgusting greedy idea to turn that into a hero by changing characteristics of the character and giving him characteristics of The Thomas Wayne And The Bruce Wayne And giving Joker's characteristics to joker shows how much industry has gone greedy because all of people who support this!
I would add the movies Blow, with Johnny Depp playing George Jung, Ray Liotta's portrayal of Henry Hill in Goodfellas, and Woody Harrelson/Juliette Lewis as Mickey and Mallory Knox in Natural Born Killers.
Not a movie but I think Ward from agents of shield fits the description of this list so well, I loved his character and was rooting for him for the entire time he was on the show and was quite upset when he finally died
Loved these movies! Reminds me of my first reading of the novel, "The Chocolate War". Bad guys win, heroes lose, and the corruption of life continues on. Truly left me baffled and quiet, like The Empire Strikes Back kind of ending.
They should have kept the bonkers motivation Thanos originally had. I get why they didn't, and a lot of audiences would disagree with me. But he's called the MAD Titan for a reason (and it's not being multi ability dependant).
What about historical villains like 'Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid'? Their deaths in Bolivia, after being cornered by the local federales, was truly heartbreaking. Robert Redford & Paul Newman really made you love these guys even as they became public enemies 1& 2!
@@crankfastle8138 It was when he murdered his 'buddy' Roger (Scott Glenn), just to steal his stash that I knew he was never gonna get my sympathy. So cold!
I’ve just started watching this and am hoping that Robin Williams’s character from One Hour Photo isn’t in this list, because it should be clear he’s not a villain.
I’m so confused how Daniel Day Lewis is the villain in there will be blood, he killed 2 ppl who were one trying to trick him and the second was trying to finesse him. He’s at most an anti-hero
@@tylerposing3585 interesting I might need to read that, I love movies like this because the main character is flawed like real life but you still want him to succeed
I’m surprised that Tamara wasn’t in there: she’s hated by several students, her mother left, her dad was a sicko and she’s love-starved, with her teacher being the only source of comfort in her life.
I haven’t seen it for many years, but as soon as I saw the title of this video I thought of Edward Fox’s character from The Day of the Jackal (1973). Even since I watched the movie, I have carried with me a great deal of respect for how seeing much of the movie from the Jackal’s perspective gives the viewer permission to root for him, even though we know what he is doing is wrong and doomed to failure.
This is a really great list. I think it’s a fantastic conversation. Every entry on the list belongs here. Looking forward to the next volume. Killmonger would a worthy addition to that next list.
@@Anurepa wildly disagree. Sorry, he "kills" T'challa, takes a throne he didn't deserve, mobilizes his war dogs around the world so the people that "look like us" can take the world. Literally decided wakandan weapons needed to be distributed first. Not one altruistic or selfless action by him. He's just an angry man who wants to punish the world because his dad was killed after betraying his king and country.
I was definitely not rooting for Alonso in training day! By the third act.. when he's stalking the rookie in the project houses.. the Denzel character is like a monster from a horror movie!
Character for character sake - leaving aside the actor's performance itself - Falling Down should be #1. For one he does do what we all wanted to do at one time or another and also for the fact that if anything he needed help more than the others on this list which becomes clear at the end. And as for Thanos oh the irony... in the movies they show how nature recovers after half the population is wiped out then comes the pandemic and lo and behold: nature starts recovering as soon as humans are quarantined.
Wolf of Wall Street! I know Leo's take on Jordan Belfort is absolutely amazing, you know he's going to go down at somepoint, and you know he's just a despicable individual, but man do uou enjoy watching him!
Dude. I have the number 1 "villain". Clive Owen in inside man! His character was so amazing. And whats even better, he wins!!! It's such a happy ending. I love that movie so much
@@brianericisking Man! If that's true it sucks. You'd think the director would've put his foot down and said 'the proper ending, or we hire another actor.'
Erik Killmonger is the sympathetic villain Marvel wishes Thanos was. His backstory and goals are entirely relatable while his actions still remain clearly condemnable. In comparison, Thanos feels cheap.
His plan was to arm his war dogs around the world with Wakandan weapons and take the world. Kill mongers goals aren't relatable, he's an asshole who wants to kill T'challa and take a throne he doesn't deserve.
Nope. Thanos is the most iconic character in Marvel, at least 10X popular than Killmonger ever will be. Killmonger was forgotten in 1 movie, whereas Thanos' shadow has haunted the MCU ever since Infinity War.
Ah yes, an ethno nationalist that wanted global domination and oppress people he didn't like, a very sympathetic villain indeed if you're into ethnosupremacy.
He may be a bit obscure for this list but I think Edward Lionheart from Vincent Price’s ‘Theater of Blood’ should be on this list too. Price is so good that I pretty much root for any villain he plays (Dr. Phibes could probably be added to this list) but here he plays a wronged Shakespearean actor who is savaged by the critics guild. Interestingly many of their criticisms were leveled at Price in real life. After he supposedly kills himself Lionheart proceeds to kill each critic in a manner from one of the plays of Shakespeare that he acted in. The critics are played as pretty vile characters (except for one) and the kills are done with such style that it’s regrettable when Lionheart finally dies. It’s a really a fun movie if you haven’t seen it.
I'm sorry, every time I see Thanos I can't help but see Josh Brolin riding a little girls bike with the training wheels popping off in The Goonies movie🤣
Some movies that could be added: -Law Abiding Citizen -Watchmen -Bram Stoker's Dracula -The Accountant -The Mummy (1999) -Pulp Fiction -Star Trek Into Darkness
I have only seen There Will Be Blood once, and that was back in 2015. I bought it at a Pawn Shop on dvd like 2 weeks ago (it's currently 2022) because it was $1. I really need to watch it again. Paul Thomas Anderson is amazing. we should start a Paul Thomas Anderson fan club and call it the PTA hahaha. hold the meeting at a school and when all the moms walk we'll start off Daliel Plainview abandoning his son lol
What we didn't know in Infinity War was that there were Celestial's to be born in each major civilization's planet waiting for enough souls to consume the energy to be born. Thanos being half eternal / half deviant, knew this and it was also a way of actually saving entire worlds by eliminating half of the population therefore keeping the dormant celestial from having what it needs to erupt. Maybe uncle Thanos wasn't that bad after all.
Would love to see a list of top ten early cinema influences like buster keaton lorel and Hardy and fatty arbuckle and Charlie chaplain I think it would be interesting
8:45 I felt like Cruella was an alternate universe where 101 Dalmatians isn't going to happen to be honest... I guess if we ever get Cruella 2 we'll find out for sure, but I just feel like she didn't actually blame the dogs in the end and even loved them when she gave the freakin' puppies to the two families.
Thanos had the right idea by realizing that there is a shortage of resources in the universe but there are too many life forms fighting for said resources. Thanos just went about it the wrong way.
Why not just make infinite resources or increase resources exponentially. I mean if you can wipe out half of all life I think you could increase resources.
@@Just_Pele When he destroyed the stones, he ensured that the population would eventually double and be in the same predicament. All he did was buy some time. Not much of a savior. They were infinity stones, presumably imbued with infinite power. He wanted to retire to gardening. Why not use that power to maintain a neverending garden? His pathology drove him to his solution to the predicted problem.
@@freakshopusa yup. I've seen Criminal Minds episodes that explain Thanos's pathology- he suffered trauma, didn't process it, projects it onto others, and forces his solution, occasionally taking a survivor as a souvenir. Then he repeats the cycle.
and the interesting thing about thanos' "wipe out half to save the other half" strategy is that it's proven prior to the movie that it doesn't work. in the first guardians movie when they're doing the record scan of gamora it shows she's the last of her people, meaning that wiping out half the population of her planet only succeeded in dooming the other half to extinction.
It's a massively complicated task. Wipe out half and thrive. Because the snap is dispassionate, there is no way of knowing who is gone. An entire society may lose too many of their best and brightest to recover and thrive. Thus doomed to eventual extinction.
And that’s why the movie version of Thanos’ crusade to wipe out half the universe doesn’t work quite as well as the comic book crusade did, where he was doing it in an effort to win the affection of Death.
RIGHT?!? it's unexpected but wonderful to have someone you don't even know validate your humanity and your worth. speaking of which, i hope you have a great day filled with joy.😄
Training Day was brilliant, but in what world would u want Denzel Washingtons character to survive granted its an outstanding performance by the actor but my opinion when it came to the climax and you find out what kind of man he is I was relieved that he was gunned down because a character as corrupt as his surviving would have pissed off a lot of people.
