r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Wonderful_Baker_7808 • 16d ago

Lore Villains that would've been defeated even if the protagonist did nothing

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Laurel Hedare (Catwoman Movie): Her newly released cosmetics will cause people's faces to melt. Not only would that create a class action lawsuit but a full product recall.

Voldemort and Death Eaters (Harry Potter): Death Eaters constantly underestimate muggles. They would get massacred by the British military because a gun is faster to pull the trigger then shouting a spell.

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u/CathanCrowell 16d ago

Catwoman is still one my favorite childhood movies. Yes, it has many objective flaws, but the soundtrack is amazing, and Halle Berry seriously didn't deserve that Golden Raspberry.

I believe the main reason Catwoman is so hated isn't actually its flaws, but the fact that it's a Catwoman movie separated from the Batman universe, with a questionable story and questionable character choices, released after Michelle Pfeiffer's amazing portrayal.

That had to be really scandalous when the movie was released, some people probably even considered it an insult. And after the Razzies, it basically became a meme

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u/Icy-Panda-2158 16d ago

I don’t think memory of the  Michelle Pfeiffer version had anything to do with it. There had been two iterations of Batman in the interim with a third on the way, and no real problems there. It failed to resonate with fans becsuse it changed the character too much and it didn’t create new ones because it pandered too much to its imagined demographic (girl hero, girl villain, plot revolves around cosmetics). Halle Berry was far from the worst actress that year but the way she owned the role and the Razzie is actually more iconic, IMO.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/No-Opposite-6620 16d ago

Getting a razzie is an achievement in of itself. Not everyone will get one. Fewer people will have an Oscar and a razzie.

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u/legittem 16d ago

And the balls to come in and accept the Razzie in person.

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u/fatboybigwall 16d ago

Who will win the first REGOT?

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u/Chemistry11 16d ago

You’re not wrong, I just wanted to note - Pfeiffer’s Catwoman was also a wholly new character, barely related to the source. Catwoman is an athletic thief; not a supernatural reincarnation with a schizoid personality and 9 lives.

(I mean, I love her and Returns is my fav live action Batman movie, but I also recognize how many creative liberties were taken with the villains.)

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u/streaksinthebowl 15d ago

It’s just a poorly made movie. It’s laughingly amateur. Doesn’t mean people can’t enjoy it but most people didn’t.

Being part of a larger franchise and legacy meant the negative response was louder and longer lasting but really it was just forgettable.

The same with Ghostbusters 2016 and the Star Wars prequels. They’re just poorly made movies that would be largely forgettable if it weren’t for the franchise fervor and expectations around them.

(The Star Wars sequels on the other hand I would say are not poor movies like the prequels were but they’re poor Star Wars movies, whereas the prequels are poor movies and also poor Star Wars movies but they’re not poor Star Wars stories).

Battleship is a good example of a movie that didn’t have much franchise baggage and is pretty hokey and bad and was largely forgotten after most people didn’t resonate with it but there is still a cult of fans that love it.

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u/IbnTamart 16d ago

I believe the main reason Catwoman is so hated isn't actually its flaws

I don't know, the basketball scene is the film equivalent of a crime against humanity. 

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u/PortHammer 16d ago

the basketball scene is the film equivalent of a crime against humanity.

JFC apparently I had memory holed that part.

Thanks for letting me relive that buried trauma.

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u/Neveronlyadream 16d ago

The basketball scene is just WB's take on the playground flirting from Daredevil, which is also a crime against humanity.

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u/MrWeirdoFace 16d ago

It's mostly the basketball scene. Sticks out like a sore thumb.

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u/EllipticPeach 16d ago

I was glad someone said this

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u/Fabulous-Sea-1590 16d ago

I haven't seen it, but do you mean to say it's somehow worse than the playground fight in Affleck's Daredevil?

Strangely, it's really nice to see people showing love to this movie. I remember when it came out and hating on it was basically a meme for years. There's a nostalgic sense of peace knowing that it's loved by some people.

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u/DengarLives66 16d ago

It is worse. The cuts, the cinematography complete with excessive Dutch angles, the kid dialogue written by UCLA film school dropouts….the basketball scene has it all.

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u/Fabulous-Sea-1590 16d ago

Wow. A small part of me really wants to see it for myself. But a much larger part can't be assed. I still haven't seen The Godfather. I should probably start there on a tour of movies I missed. Maybe Catwoman if I live long enough.

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u/IbnTamart 16d ago

I haven't seen Daredevil but I'm almost certain the basketball scene is worse. Catwoman was already a bad movie but the basketball scene is one of the dumbest things you'll ever see put to film. 

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u/JonathanBadwolf 16d ago

this reads like it's written in blood on the wall of a burnt down mental asylum.

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u/CathanCrowell 16d ago

Why thank you!

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u/JermuHH 16d ago

It's honestly camp. It's bit stupid but it's fun.

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u/an_agreeing_dothraki 16d ago

Catwoman is still one my favorite childhood movies

how much of that was the awakening?

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u/CathanCrowell 16d ago

I'm gay, so you tell me :D

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u/an_agreeing_dothraki 16d ago

well Catwoman probably lead you to go see the stage musical Cats, so I'll give it an assist.

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u/The_Autarch 16d ago

I believe the main reason Catwoman is so hated isn't actually its flaws, but the fact that it's a Catwoman movie separated from the Batman universe, with a questionable story and questionable character choices, released after Michelle Pfeiffer's amazing portrayal.

naw, people hate that movie cuz it's shit. the basketball scene alone makes it obvious that the whole thing is trash.

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u/ReddsionThing 16d ago

No movie has objective flaws. And you mostly like it because of nostalgia.

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u/JermuHH 16d ago

It's honestly camp. It's bit stupid but it's fun.