Did the filmmakers really think we'd be shocked these guys were bad?
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00:00When a villain walks on screen, it's pretty obvious.
00:02More often than not, they'll be decked in all black,
00:05possibly with a cape, sporting a long and thin moustache,
00:08and speaking in a perfectly enunciated British accent.
00:12Generally speaking, spotting a bad guy is less a game of where's Wally
00:15and more likely to be a guy standing with a big sign above his head that says,
00:20This is Wally.
00:21A film may try and hide who its true villain is for a big third-act reveal,
00:25but too often, not enough is done to hide these baddies' true intentions,
00:29be it bad screenwriting or directors massively underestimating fans and their theories.
00:35So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here
00:38with 10 movie villain twists we saw coming a mile off.
00:42Oh, and obviously, spoiler alert!
00:44Number 10. Obadiah Stane – Iron Man
00:47For all of its MCU groundwork laying and Robert Downey Jr. wisecracking,
00:52Iron Man shared much of the superhero tropes with many earlier entries in the genre.
00:58It does seem strange that director Jon Favreau would try to dupe us about the true motives
01:04of Jeff Bridges' Obadiah, Tony's mentor, when he just looks so sinister.
01:09I mean, come on, this is his happy face for crying out loud.
01:13There was little question that Bridges would be chewing scenery by the final act.
01:18It was a little surprising that Stane was the one behind Stark's kidnap, I'll give you that,
01:22but when a supposedly loving mentor spent most of his time being grumpy at Tony,
01:28his villainous intentions were fully clear.
01:30Number 9. Edwin – Predators
01:33Predators has a group of deadly human characters,
01:36each the master of their respective killing field,
01:39literally dropped onto an alien planet to serve as game for a gang of predators.
01:44A smart extension of the original set-up, the gang is a diverse mix of different action tropes.
01:50You've got a mercenary, a sniper, a yakuza, a cartel enforcer, a prisoner from death row,
01:57a commando, two soldiers, and an ordinary doctor.
02:01Right, well, one of those isn't like the others, is it?
02:04From the moment he starts repeating he's just a regular guy,
02:08it's pretty clear that Edwin is going to end up being the most dangerous killer of the lot.
02:12Revealed in the film's final act to be an all-out psychopath,
02:17Topher Grace plays the villain very well,
02:19although the geeky Good Doctor act could have done with being toned down just a little bit.
02:24Number 8. Khan – Star Trek Into Darkness
02:28If there's one thing J.J. Abrams is known for as a director,
02:33well, actually it would be lens flares, wouldn't it?
02:35But after that, it's high secrecy and infuriating misdirection.
02:39When Benedict Cumberbatch was cast in the sequel to the reboot,
02:43the fan community jumped on that he would be playing Khan.
02:47Abrams didn't take this lying down,
02:49pushing that this was a new character to the series named John Harrison.
02:53Some fans bought it, some didn't.
02:55Into Darkness is a thinly veiled remake of Wrath of Khan,
02:59and once that became readily apparent,
03:01it was only inevitable that there be a scene with Cumberbatch revealing his true identity,
03:06to fan gasps and a lot of I told you so's.
03:10Number 7. Lotso Huggin' Bear – Toy Story 3
03:14Toy Story 3 was, in some ways, a retread of the previous film with added
03:19I'm not crying, there's just something in my eye moments.
03:22While there are some interesting new ideas,
03:25the overall thing is mired in a sense of predictability,
03:28and nowhere is that more clear than with the villain.
03:30Lotso, the leader of the toys at Sunnyside Daycare,
03:34was almost too nice and caring when introduced.
03:37Not to mention identical intemperaments to the first sequel's villain, Stinky Pete.
03:42With the only other new toy given any exploration being Ken,
03:46it was obvious this strawberry-smelling bear was going to end up tyrannical.
03:51Number 6. George Mac McHale – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
03:56In a film full of irritating characters, Ray Winston's Mac stood out
04:01thanks to a sheer lack of importance to events.
04:05Introduced in the opening as a double agent for the Russians,
04:08then later a triple agent for the Americans,
04:10then as a quadruple agent actually working for the Russians,
04:14he then finally is revealed as a selfish lone player after as much gold as possible.
04:18His arc is incredibly convoluted for someone whose character begins and ends
04:23with Played by Ray Winston.
04:25The first reveal takes us by surprise because we've just met him,
04:28but once he starts to play Pong with allegiances,
04:31it's clear Mac's only here to make sure both sides never fall too far behind the other.
04:37It was less of a surprise and more of a disappointment
04:39that the film took the incredibly obvious route.
04:42Number 5. Palpatine – The Star Wars Prequels
04:45It would be easy to assume that this was never meant to be a twist at all.
04:48Senator Palpatine and Darth Sidious are both played by the same actor,
04:52who also portrayed the evil Emperor in Return of the Jedi,
04:56but there's lots of simple tricks such as hiding Sidious' face and him not appearing in the credits
05:01that Lucas plays to pull the rug from under non-diehards.
05:05But even if you didn't know the original trilogy,
05:07which you need to fix right now if you haven't,
05:10it was pretty obvious.
05:10Palpatine is either being ridiculously righteous or manipulating Anakin,
05:16the stereotypical makings of a hidden villain.
05:19It was so cut and dry that some fans couldn't accept it as being so simple,
05:24and the notion of clones or even brothers were genuine theories
05:27that were thrown around before Revenge of the Sith came out.
05:31Maybe Jar Jar Binks being evil was a better one.
05:33Number 4. Alexander Pierce – Captain America – The Winter Soldier
05:37Whenever a new character is introduced into a prominent role in a Marvel film,
05:42they have one of three directions to go.
05:44Love interest, new supporting hero, or the big villain.
05:48And when they're played by a big name actor, it can really only be the latter.
05:53So yeah, when 70s political thriller star Robert Redford was stunt cast as Alexander Pierce,
06:00it was unthinkable.
06:01He'd not be the big bad come the third act.
06:04Number 3. Miles Axelrod – Cars 2
06:08Cars 2 is overwhelmed with a green message and reliance on giving Mater funny things to do,
06:14all of which leads to a rather predictable set of events.
06:18Chief among them is the reveal that the baddie behind the scheme to discredit Ecofuel
06:22is its creator, Miles Axelrod.
06:25It's fitting that a film so happy to sit in Cruise Control has such an obvious twist.
06:30Miles is, like so many on this list, too nice,
06:34but plays too large a role for him to not have something extra to him.
06:38Number 2. Megatron – Age of Extinction
06:42Megatron is not in the sequel.
06:45Michael Bay told Empire Magazine while promoting Revenge of the Fallen,
06:49wherein Hugo Weaving's Naughty Transformer was resurrected
06:52so there could be new toys based on him made.
06:55The only two advertised returning Transformers were Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
07:00But, this being a Bay film where plot logic is thrown out at the first script meeting,
07:05anything can happen.
07:07Because, well, mostly because of explosions.
07:10In the film, Stanley Tucci is attempting to build his own Transformers,
07:14chief among them Galvatron,
07:17who the remains of Megatron have been used to help construct.
07:20You don't need to be an 80s kid to see where this is going.
07:23And, as expected, it transpires Galvatron is just a new body for the original baddie.
07:28Likely done because Hugo Weaving refused to return to the franchise
07:31when he realised how crummy the whole Enterprise actually was.
07:35Stop making Transformers movies.
07:37Number 1. Talia Al Ghul – The Dark Knight Rises
07:40This was the movie to round off the trilogy,
07:43and what better way to thematically link the villains
07:46than have the last one be the daughter of the first.
07:49Except, it transpired that Marion Cotillard's character was Miranda Tate,
07:54an entirely new creation involved in the financial battles at Wayne Enterprises.
07:59However, that didn't stop everyone thinking this was just a cover,
08:03and feeling more than a little smug when Tate stabbed Batman in the back.
08:08More than just being the usual good guy with no story unless they're a villain,
08:13Miranda slash Talia was a victim of a common issue with comic book adaptations.
08:17The ending is almost always out there for fans to figure out.
08:21And that concludes our list.
08:23If you can think of any others, then please do let us know in the comments down below,
08:27and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
08:30Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there,
08:32and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
08:36I've been Ellie with WhatCulture.
08:37I hope you have a magical day, and I'll see you real soon.
08:40If Star Trek is something that you're very interested in,
08:43then make sure you head over to our sister channel, Trek Culture,
08:46for all the latest and greatest surrounding Star Trek.