It’s rare that one comes across a bad film that doesn’t even have a hint of a saving grace. Usually, there’s at least one great line, hints of excellent cinematography, or some creative scene or idea that prevents the film from being entirely worthless. Even Tommy Wiseau’s The Room managed to salvage something remarkable among audiences, regardless of intention.
But when a rough movie does bear something of a diamond among its parts, the usual suspect is one of the film’s characters. Even if they don’t necessarily justify the film as a whole, even if the film itself isn’t a bad one, a good performance by a dedicated player can absolutely carry the reputation of any movie.
And the cream of this crop of cinematic lifelines often comes in the form of a good villain. Whether they seize you with allure or discomfort, a good antagonist is premium fuel for any flick, and the denizens of r/movies have taken to naming the villains that were leagues above their films.
Genre fiction is a particularly popular hotbed for superior villains, and one user offered up a treasure trove in the form of Heath Ledger’s Joker, James Spader’s Ultron, Johnny Depp and Mads Mikkelsen’s turns in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, and Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku.
Other users seconded Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight, going as far as to suggest that the legendary superhero flick would hardly be worth the same weight without the late actor’s portrayal of the Joker.
Ewan McGregor earned himself two shout-outs for his arguably carrying performances as Black Mask in Birds of Prey and in mystery thriller Angels & Demons as Father Patrick McKenna.
And one other user pitched Gangs of New York, which houses a performance from Daniel Day-Lewis that puts just about every movie in history to shame.
For you aspiring filmmakers out there, let this be a lesson that as long as your villain is well-written and impeccably cast, you’ll probably get a pass from audiences.