10 Movies You Didn't Realise You Were Following The Villain

2. Falling Down

Joel Schumacher's Falling Down is one of the most ludicrously entertaining and provocative films of the 1990s, following a frustrated unemployed man, William Foster (Michael Douglas) as he rampages across Los Angeles on the hottest day of the year.

What's so brilliant about this movie is that it's really an acid test for the audience's own prejudices: the film starts off with Bill exasperated by many relatable irritations, such as traffic jams, annoying convenience store workers, and fast food joints that deliver sub-par food.

But Bill's reactions become increasingly unrelatable, as he pulls a machine gun out at the fast food place, murders a neo-Nazi, and ends up terrorising his estranged wife (Barbara Hershey) and young daughter.

Though initially presented as a champion of the frustrated everyman, his progressively violent and destructive behaviour ultimately ensures he's the film's villain - not the society that has created him.

This is bolstered by both some home video footage which shows Bill angrily shouting at his family, suggesting a pattern of explosive behaviour, and a terrific final sequence in which Sgt. Prendergast (Robert Duvall) causes Bill to ask, "I'm the bad guy?"

Viewed today, Bill's actions are unmistakably those of a domestic terrorist, indicative of a man who just didn't know when to stop.