Why Movie Villains Aren't What They Used To Be

Hell, even the more “evil” villains might not seem evil in the first place. While the more shoddy filmmakers of today aren’t really shy about playing up the more terrible aspects of their villains, that might not always be the right approach. It’s one thing to not side with the villain, but you can turn a film on its head once you can actually see where they’re coming from.

For as many films that have done this well, the first time many got introduced to this kind of perspective was on the small screen in the desert city of Albuquerque. When it was first brought on the air, a show like Breaking Bad felt like a show that had a great concept but a spotty execution, with Walter White’s dad lingo and inability to communicate with drug dealers feeling like the Achilles heel of the show.

However, as we watched further on, everyone started to realize that we weren’t looking at a protagonist anymore, as White’s actions became more and more despicable as the years went on. By the time the show finally wrapped, we had seen one man’s journey from being a lovable man who wanted to do right by his family, to a horrible monster drunk on his own greed, wanting to be something more than human.

Even though it got its start in TV, this type of screenwriting ended up extending into movies as well. Nowhere has this become more apparent than in the MCU, which almost seemed to correct their own problem with villains soon after Breaking Bad ended its run.

After years of only having Loki as a decent evil presence, everyone from Michael Keaton’s Vulture to Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger have legitimate reasons for wanting to carry out their missions, whether it be to do right by their family or equip those who can’t fight for themselves.