10 More Movies You Didn't Realise You Were Following The Villain
5. The Founder
The Founder starts off as a typical underdog story, with struggling salesman Ray Kroc is selling milkshake machines when he stumbles upon a drive-in restaurant called McDonalds. After speaking to the sibling owners, Maurice and Dick, the three agree to expand the business together, and following many trials and tribulations, Kroc turns McDonalds into a global fast-food chain, making him billions.
On paper, The Founder sounds like an uplifting story, if not for one issue.
Ray Kroc is a tyrant. He worked his ass off, but he stepped on everyone to accomplish his goals. At first, Kroc's behaviour seems somewhat justified. After all, businessmen have to be ruthless to make it to the top. However, it becomes impossible to defend Kroc when he goes against his partners' wishes, sabotages the original restaurant, and abruptly leaves his wife.
The stress of all of this is too much for Maurice, causing him to go into diabetic shock, but rather than recognising that his erratic behaviour almost killed Maurice, Kroc pushes the McDonald brother to sell him the business while he's vulnerable.
Despite getting what he wanted, Kroc didn't stop there. He never gave the McDonald brothers the royalties he promised, which were worth $100 million annually. To spite them further, Kroc set up a McDonalds across the street from the original restaurant, putting the brothers out of business.
Although Kroc often comes across as jerk, it's only in the third act when viewers realise what a monster he is.