Sometimes being bad feels kind of really good, at least according to some film directors and their unconventional narrative techniques. While some movies focus on the ideal protagonist and how straight their moral compass can be, others scrap the formula and make the whole movie about the antagonist or the villain.
The result is a bold cinematic take that can be more haunting than conventional movies where there is a clear line between the hero and the villain. Moreover, such movies tend to have stellar actors who carry the whole show because acting like a villain that's relatable is never an easy job. These hero-villains in their own respective films ought to prove that point.
American Psycho (2000) - 7.6
With a title like that, there's no mistaking who's who. In American Psycho, Christian Bale plays deranged and delusional Wall Street stockbroker Patrick Bateman as he tries to make himself out on the corporate ladder in the most violent and villainous way possible.
Or at least that's what Patrick Bateman likes to think. It's not clear whether he actually killed several people on a whim or if those murders are his mere twisted imagination. One thing is for sure, however, it's that Bateman and his ilk are deplorable individuals who are shallow, materialistic, and narcissistic— all qualities of the average movie villain.
Lord Of War (2005) - 7.6
Much like American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, Lord of War's Yuri Orlov played by Nicholas Cage, is an apathetic and power-hungry loner. His job is even worse since he's an arms dealer that provides fuel for proxy wars and thus helps keep third world countries poor and war-torn.
Everything in Lord of War is seen through Yuri Orlov's eyes and at times, it can even appear like an insider documentary about the illegal arms trade that's definitely happening even today. Yuri even goes as far as to sacrifice family in order to retain his line of work.
Nightcrawler (2014) - 7.9
Jake Gyllenhaal channels his most disturbing character yet in Nightcrawler as he assumes the role of Louis Bloom— a petty criminal-turned-independent-journalist. Upon changing his career lane, Louis suddenly found his passion. That is, playing dirty and being as Machiavellian as possible to stay on top of the game.
In his newfound journalism profession, Louis has murdered his own colleagues and took advantage of dead innocents in order to earn some cash and some favors from a news network head. The film follows Louis' rather surprisingly quick graduation into bigger criminal activity.
Amadeus (1984) - 8.3
Amadeus, as many have guessed, is a period piece about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself. It's a majestic and grand chronicle about his rivalry against Antonio Salieri. Salieri was rumored to be jealous of Mozart's talent and even confessed to murdering him.
The film plays on that premise and tells Mozart's tale through Salieri's eyes though it can be argued that it's a more biased and harsh view toward the masterful composer due to Salieri's contempt. As such, the film has no clear hero since both Salieri and Mozart display despicable and antagonistic behavior, mostly toward each other.
A Clockwork Orange (1971) - 8.3
It's a Stanley Kubrick film so the line between a clear-cut protagonist and his enemies is blurred. A Clockwork Orange makes this extreme as the main character of the movie, Alex DeLarge is one of the most abhorrent abominations of film history.
He has raped women, murdered innocents, and even assaulted old people. Even as he was supposedly rehabilitated, Alex's crimes were too serious to be forgiven and that is assuming he actually got cured of his violent tendencies. One of the film's endings implied otherwise.
Scarface (1983) - 8.3
Scarface is a tragedy that proves well enough that your ambition can be your own greatest enemy. The movie focuses on Tony Montana's rags-to-riches story from Cuban refugee to Florida kingpin. He did have lots of enemies along the way, but they were never rivals to him.
One could even say that Tony was his own worst enemy in the movie. Tony was controlling, power-hungry, and was never satisfied even as he was on top of the world. He ended up ruining everything he owned and the people he valued the most.
Taxi Driver (1976) - 8.3
Martin Scorsese is one film director who typically goes against the heroic main character trope and this shows in some of his earlier works, namely Taxi Driver. It's a daring take on one man's isolation and psychotic tendencies.
That man would be Travis Bickle, an ex-marine and Vietnam veteran whose insomnia compelled him to become a taxi driver where his seclusion from society and radical thoughts brewed up until he snapped. Some might argue that Travis is more of an antihero by the end of the film but seeing as the movie implies he just kept getting worse, he was probably on the way to become a building shooter.
The Prestige (2006) - 8.5
Christopher Nolan is best-known in Hollywood for making some insane mind-twister movies and one of the most underrated among them was The Prestige. It's more popularly known as the Christian Bale vs. Hugh Jackman movie as both play the role of stage magicians who keep one-upping each other until their game turned obsessive and deadly.
Both characters don't really display much beyond their obsessions and it's easy to see them as two villains or morally dubious people locked in an intellectual game against each other. Hence, there might even be no clear winner for the audience once the film concludes.
Fight Club (1999) - 8.8
Technically, Fight Club's villain is also its hero despite the fact that he suffers from a condition that makes the distinction between the two characters clear enough. The end of the film comes with one of the most shocking twists ever in cinema— a revelation that possibly rivals Darth Vader's daddy reveal.
Fight Club focuses on an unnamed main character aptly called "the Narrator" in the books as he battles with insomnia. By chance, he meets a man named Tyler Durden who introduces him to the joy of masculine self-destruction and together, they form the fight club with lots of shady dealings on the side.
The Godfather (1972) - 9.2
From Francis Ford Coppola, one of the most widely-known films of all time, The Godfather is a riveting tale of a mafia family's life. Out of all the power players in the film, Michael Corleone, starring Al Pacino turned out to be the most efficient mafioso of them all.
Of course, in order to be like this, he also had to be the most ruthless and the most clever, meaning he had to throw away his soul and his humanity in order to stay at the top of the food chain. As always, there are no clear villains in the movie; Michael Corleone even seemed heroic at the start only to become the antagonist himself and to continue the trend in the sequels.