Top 10 Dumbest Movie Villain Weaknesses
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Top 10 Dumbest Movie Villain Weaknesses
Another Top 10 Horror Movie Villain Weaknesses
Well, that was anticlimactic. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top Ten Dumbest Villain Weaknesses in Movies. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most anticlimactic and ridiculous villain weaknesses in major studio movies. We won’t be including B-movies on this list, because those movies are typically dumb by their very nature and should be held to entirely different standards.
#10: Positivity
“It Chapter Two” (2019) So, apparently the way to defeat a seemingly unstoppable, ageless Eldritch abomination who preys on fear and children is to... talk it to death? No, we’re not making that up. The enormously disappointing climax of “It Chapter Two” sees the Losers’ Club telling It that they aren’t afraid anymore. This causes It to regress, allowing Mike to rip It's heart out. We get what they were trying to do by showing how the very personification of fear is delegitimized with positivity, bravery, and maturity, but couldn’t they have gotten that theme across in a more viscerally thrilling manner? Talking down to an insecure movie monster doesn’t really make for the most thrilling of climaxes.
#9: Missiles
“Godzilla” (1998) Many “Godzilla” fans bemoan the very existence of the 1998 film, and a major reason for its infamy is the rather wimpy depiction of the titular monster. In most iterations of “Godzilla,” the monster can withstand a seemingly endless barrage of offensive strikes and military bombardments. This helps depict Godzilla as an unstoppable force and allows us to fear it on a purely primal level. After all, what’s
#8: Cats
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“The Mummy” (1999) It’s comforting to know that a common house cat can scare off an awakened and vengeful mummy who has the power to suck out souls and commence the ten Biblical plagues. All you need to do is stay at home and chill with your cat and you’ll be as safe as can be! Of course, this idea stems from Egyptian history, where cats supposedly brought good luck to their owners and were said to have protective properties. But come on, how cheesy is it to see this terrifying Mummy scream and run away at the sight of a mere house cat? Way to intimidate your victims, there, Imhotep.
#7: A Lack of Sunlight
Top 10 Horror Movie Villain Weaknesses
“Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987) “Superman IV” is often regarded as one of the worst movies ever. Much of this rests on Lex Luthor’s Nuclear Man. Nuclear Man has incredible strength and can expose Superman to dangerous levels of radiation with a mere scratch of his radioactive claws. He certainly sounds dangerous, but there’s just one problem – he will deactivate without direct sunlight. So, like, what happens at night? Can he not go in buildings? Or in the shade? But perhaps the most ridiculous thing about this villain is how he’s defeated. Superman literally PUSHES THE MOON in front of the sun, causing an eclipse and powering down Nuclear Man. What drugs were they on when they made this? All of them?
#6: Not Watching the Tape
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“The Ring” (2002) Samara’s entire existence seemingly depends on people watching her tape and making copies. So, what if people, just, you know, don’t watch it? Unless it was specifically given to you by a friend, why would you just decide to watch some random, unlabeled VHS tape? OK, maybe it was slipped on the sly into a Blockbuster box to spare the passer-on some guilt, but still, wouldn’t the receiver think “Huh, this isn’t the movie I rented” and not watch it? Besides, we know that there is an in-universe legend about a cursed video tape, so this movie’s entire concept hinges on the idea that people are stupid and constantly disregard an easily proven legend. Just don’t watch the tape, people!
#5: Germs
“The War of the Worlds” (2005) “The War of the Worlds” is a classic alien invasion story, but it has one fatal flaw – that ending. After devastating Earth and causing untold deaths, the aliens just randomly die off because they essentially caught a cold. You see, the aliens’ immune systems aren’t capable of defending against the microorganisms found on Earth. We understand that H.G. Wells wanted to subvert our expectations of a climactic battle, and really, this is probably how it would actually go down in real life. But sometimes realism gets in the way of a good story, and in this case, it makes for one boring and anticlimactic ending.
#4: The Power of Disbelief
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“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) Freddy Krueger seems like the most unstoppable villain in slasher history. You literally can’t escape him because your body forces itself to sleep, he can do pretty much anything in your dream, and you can’t kill him. So, what is one to do? It’s easy! Just…don’t believe in him. Or something. Nancy turns her back to Freddy, says some nonsense about not believing in him, and then he weirdly disintegrates in one of the most '80s-looking visual effects ever. How she did that when he was corporeal and physically in the real world we’ll never know. Unless he wasn’t and the whole thing was still a dream? Honestly, that mess of an ending raises way too many questions.
#3: A Lack of Cold Temperatures
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“Batman & Robin” (1997) Mr. Freeze has always been one of Batman’s most popular villains, but you have to admit that he has a pretty stupid weakness. Due to a significant lab accident, Dr. Victor Fries is forced to live inside a cryogenic suit keeping his body temperate at sub-zero levels. And when he’s not in his suit, he can be found living in an ice-cold hideout – delivering, making, or otherwise being surrounded by many ice-based puns. Many superhero villains have silly weaknesses, but “not being cold” is on a whole other level of dumb. He’s an entertaining enough character, and his background is surprisingly sympathetic and tragic, but he’s easily one of the goofier Batman villains.
#2: Water
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“The Wizard of Oz” (1939) & “Signs” (2002) Water can be intimidating. Flooding, drowning, tsunamis – all scary. But, like, water-water? C'mon! In “The Wizard of Oz,” The Wicked Witch of the West melts after being splashed with a bucket of water. Hopefully she kept that massive weakness a secret, because even the wimpiest Munchkin could have disposed of her. But perhaps the most egregious example can be found in “Signs,” when water can be seen scalding the skin of the aliens. Did they not think of this before invading a planet with a surface 70% covered in water!? That’d be like us exploring a planet covered in sulfuric acid. Even if they didn’t know what water was, that is still awfully convenient for us humans!
#1: Stairs
“RoboCop” (1987) The ED-209 series of machines are seemingly unstoppable by mere mortals. They are massive and bulky, completely covered in armor, and equipped with automatic cannons. They are virtually indestructible, but stairs... stairs are no mere mortal. In the event that it comes across a normal, everyday staircase, the machine will awkwardly swing its leg around before taking a step and tumbling down the stairs. This would allow anyone more than enough time to escape, and it’s frankly hilarious to see this enormous killer robot flailing around on its back like an upturned turtle after falling down some simple stairs. Curse you, stairs!
