What makes the movie, the hero or the villain?

Question

And which one do you usually cheer for?

I think a great villain really makes the film better.

What do you think?

Answer 1

The villain is at the core of the movie.  Without a great villian, the hero doesn't have that much of a challenge.

Plus, a great villain may take several heroes, working together, to overcome him, maybe losing some of their number along the way - This emphasises values like co-operation, comradeship and self-sacrifice which, in turn, enhances the heroes appeal to the audience.

Look at movies where this is the case: In the Star Wars movies, Darth Vader is a great villain, but it takes teamwork from the heroes to defeat him and the Empire, plus they lose Obi-Wan Kenobi and a sh*t-load of rebel pilots, ewoks, etc along the way.

  

Answer 2

Ooh, the villain. E.g (and you've probably heard this before) The Joker in Dark Knight I think, is one of the main reasons why The Dark Knight is so appealing, and attention grabbing, because Heath Ledger played him brilliantly, and is the main reason for most of the action going on.

Answer 3

well i think the new batman movie clearly shows that the villians make the movies. and they're usually better to root for because they're not boring...most of the time.

Answer 4

It depends. Usually I root for the villain - I don't know why. maybe I'm twisted! I never have a problem with heroes unless they're portrayed in a completely biased "everyone must love the hero" light. A good film would be Gladiator - loved Maximus, but loved Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus more.

In the Dark Knight, I loved Bale's Batman...but the Joker edged it.

I just have more respect for the villains in a way - I admire the actors and how they're not afraid to be hated. It's...i love to hate them. :)

Answer 5

It's always the hero, you got to have a good hero for a good movie...but for the greats, it's a villain. The greater the conflict, the more intriguing it becomes. It's a combination but more weight on the hero.

Here are some example, the Dark Knight could've been a sock puppet for all you know, but Heath Ledger was just awesome. But with Christian Bale also a fine actor the movie is was brilliant. Ledger made the movie.

Indiana Jones is a great hero movie, but never really any awesome villains, yet theyre all good.

Aside from Lex Luthor, the Christopher Reeve Superman movies didn't have much great villains, but the series was fine.

Looking back on the Blade Trilogy the first one was the best because Stephen Dorff was an awesome vampire villain.

Some movies are villain driven like Juice, 2Pac was a great actor.  

So here's my formula...

Good villain plus good hero equals AWESOME movie.

Good hero plus mediocre villain equal Good Movie

Good hero plus crappy villain equals mediocre movie

Crappy hero plus Great Villain can save a movie.  

Answer 6

Well, it depends on the actor and his acting style. In Secret Window, Johnny Depp was the villain but he was so d**n good so I was rooting for him, hehe! I think it really depends on the actor. They can make or break an awesome movie.