10 Sci-Fi Movies That Forced You To Answer Impossible Questions

4. Is It Worth Killing Millions To Save Billions? - Watchmen

Watchmen concludes with vigilante-turned-billionaire Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) revealing his master plan - that in order to unite humanity against a common enemy, he will frame Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) for exploding a series of energy reactors worldwide.

This would kill millions, but by forcing humans to stand together against an exterior, alien force, they would finally be able to put their comparatively petty differences aside and work towards their collective survival.

Oh, and Veidt set his plan in motion a good half-hour before even explaining it to the good guys, meaning the plan goes off without a hitch.

This is a really fascinating one - Veidt calls the sacrifice a "necessary crime", that in the long run humanity will be better off by massacring millions now, saving billions of lives in the future.

But examining the scenario in terms of pure numbers is one thing - actually condemning that many people to death is decidedly more difficult than allowing out-of-sight events to take place, even if they result in more tragedy in the long run.

It would take an extremely focused and pragmatic mind to execute Ozymandias' plan, even if you can argue it's not worth sacrificing one's own humanity in the process.