Top 10 Worst Mentors, Advisors and Role Models in Film
Hello, Toby Gold here and welcome to another Top 10 List. Today I'll be counting down my Top 10 Worst Mentors, Advisors, and Role Models in Film. For this list, I've chosen characters that were widely trusted and/or looked up to, only for it to turn out that they weren't very good people. Also, if you haven't seen the movie, there may be spoilers ahead, so you have been warned. So, let's begin!
10. Ernesto de la Cruz - Coco (2017)
Once upon a time in Mexico, Héctor Rivera and Ernesto de la Cruz were a famed musician duo. Héctor wrote songs and Ernesto sang them, until the day the former decided to return home to his wife, Imelda, and daughter, Coco. Caring more about fame than music, Ernesto poisoned Héctor and took credit for his songs, which he twisted beyond recognition. He acquired fame and fortune from his lies, and lived a prosperous life until he was crushed by a bell while performing on stage. And it didn't stop there. Ernesto's fame continued in the Land of the Dead, where he meets Miguel Rivera, a 12-year-old aspiring musician and Héctor's great-great grandson. After finding out about Ernesto's crimes, Miguel and his deceased relatives expose the Mexican Sinatra at a sunrise concert. The crowd turns on him, and Ernesto dies again from the same cause of his original death. In an age where celebrities are disgraced due to incidents of sexual misconduct, Ernesto surpasses them all because he was willing to murder his best friend, as well as a preteen boy, to become the greatest musician in all of Mexico.
9. Sloan - Wanted (2008)
Morgan Freeman always makes a good mentor, from Red in The Shawshank Redemption to God himself in Bruce Almighty, but in the 2008 assassin's ball Wanted, he was a horrible mentor to Wesley Gibson, an office drone whose late father was an assassin. As the leader of the Fraternity, a secret society of trained killers whose orders are determined by the Loom of Fate, Freeman's Sloan trains Wesley to become an assassin and avenge his father. After going through brutal training, Wesley finally kills his father's killer, only to find out that the man is, in fact, his real father. Shaken by this revelation, as well as the fact that Sloan made up targets after finding out that his followers' names came up in the fabric, Wesley assaults Fraternity headquarters, killing every member except for Sloan. Wesley returns to his office, where Sloan confronts him. However, he finds out that "Wesley" is actually a decoy and is killed by a long-distance bullet. Assassination is a dangerous game, especially when your own superiors deceive you. Just ask Jason Bourne.
8. John Milton - The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Kevin Lomax is a successful defence attorney whose work distances him from his wife. However, when she becomes haunted by frightening visual phenomena, Kevin slowly begins to realize that the head of his firm, John Milton, is actually Satan himself, who exploits the legal system to allow criminals to walk free and spread corruption throughout the world. Also, the Devil wants him to conceive the Antichrist with his own half-sister. And it gets worse. Milton violently rapes Lomax's wife, driving her to madness and suicide. And if that's not enough, Satan is also Lomax's father. All hail one of the darkest performances of Al Pacino's career.
7. Jafar - Aladdin (1992)
When I was young, I had trouble realizing that some "good guys" were actually bad guys. That is, until Jafar came along. In Disney's Aladdin, the Sultan of Agrabah is a bumbling old fool who trusts his advisor a bit too much. Jafar tricks homeless scavenger Aladdin into breaking into the Cave of Wonders to obtain a magical lamp which will grant him great power. However, after doing so, Aladdin uses the three wishes provided by the lamp's resident Genie to become a prince in order to allow him to win the heart of the Sultan's daughter, Princess Jasmine. At the suggestion of his pet parrot, Iago, Jafar plots to marry Jasmine in order to become Sultan. This almost works, as Jafar becomes the Genie's new master and takes over Agrabah, but the Genie cannot make people fall in love. In the end, it's the Grand Vizier's inability to be satisfied that proves his own downfall. I wish the Sultan was aware of Jafar's true nature: that goatee and snake-headed staff loudly scream villain.
6. Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul - Batman Begins (2005)
Do you know how Bruce Wayne became Batman? His parents died, yes, but his fighting skills come from Henri Ducard, a member of a shadowy organization called the League of Shadows. However, Ducard is actually Ra's al Ghul, the leader of the League who is training Bruce to destroy Gotham City, deeming it to be corrupt beyond salvation. However, Batman decides to use his skills for good and literally trains him before he can poison Gotham's water supply. Ra's' actions influenced the rest of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, both as a mentor and as a villain. The resurgence of Batman leads to the resurgence of the Joker in The Dark Knight, and in The Dark Knight Rises, Ra's' daughter, Talia, and her muscle-bound right-hand man, Bane, set out to destroy Gotham in his name. Talk about legacy.
5. Emperor Palpatine - Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005)
Darth Vader wasn't always a bad guy. He was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker, who was sought after by then-Senator Palapatine. The future Emperor dissolved the Senate, took over the galaxy and corrupted Anakin into becoming his apprentice, resulting in one of the greatest movie villains of all time. You see, Anakin had a vision of his wife, Padmé, dying, which the Emperor preyed upon. After 30 years of agony, Palpatine was killed by Vader himself, who chose family over evil when his mentor tries to electrocute his son, Luke. Also, the Galactic Empire's extermination of the Jedi was codenamed Order 66. That's one 6 away from the Number of the Beast. I don't know how Anakin could have trusted this man.
4. Chester King/Arthur - Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Veteran secret agent Harry Hart recruits street youth Eggsy for an organization called Kingsman, led by stuffy spymaster Chester King, codenamed Arthur. King puts Eggsy and his fellow recruits through a deadly training program, culminating in Eggsy refusing to empty blanks into his dog. Female recruit Roxy Morton is admitted instead. Later, Hart gets into a standoff with techno-terrorist Valentine in a racist church in Kentucky, resulting in him getting shot to death by the latter. Having witnessed this through Hart's glasses, Eggsy sets out to avenge his mentor. However, King is in on Valentine's plan to decrease the Earth's population, and is poisoned shortly after when Eggsy swaps their drinks. Now, Michael Caine has been in a lot of spy films, making his casting as the big boss spot-on, but it all went sour when he compromised his entire organization.
3. Professor Robert Callaghan - Big Hero 6 (2014)
When 14-year-old genius Hiro Hamada enrols at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, he is star-struck when he meets acclaimed scientist Professor Robert Callaghan. However, shortly after getting accepted, the building catches fire, resulting in the death of Hiro's brother, Tadashi, who went in to save Callaghan. After finding out that Tadashi's death was no accident, Hiro, Tadashi's friends, and the inflatable healthcare robot Baymax become technologically-advanced superheroes in order to bring the masked man responsible to justice. However, after finding out that the masked man is, in fact, Callaghan, Hiro orders Baymax to outright, first-degree murder him. As an added twist, Callaghan wants revenge on billionaire tech genius Alistair Krei, whose carelessness had caused his daughter to get sucked into a portal. Luckily, Hiro and his friends stop him from destroying the city, and rather than killing the man who killed his brother, he and Baymax leave him to the police, and he is arrested, but not before finding out that his daughter is still alive, but seriously injured. Not a good use of your time, Professor.
2. Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger - Iron Man (2008)
In the first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane, a high-ranking employee of Stark Industries, a weapons company led by Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. However, while demonstrating a missile in Afghanistan, a group of terrorists called the Ten Rings kidnap Stark and hold him prisoner in a cave until he builds a prototype suit of armour to allow him to escape. Upon returning to the United States, Stane assists the billionaire genius playboy philanthropist in refocusing Stark Industries from selling weapons. However, Stane had ordered the attack on Stark with the intention of taking over the company. After killing the insurgents for their failure to kill him, Stane steals the armour and creates a more advanced suit called the Iron Monger. Stark, who had created more armours, engages him in an intense battle over Stark Industries until Stark's assistant, Pepper Potts, overloads the large-scale Arc Reactor that was at the complex, causing Stane to fall into the generator, killing him and destroying his armour. This one is #2 because not only was Stane a mentor to Stark, but also a father figure prior to hiring terrorists to kill him.
Before I reveal my favourite, here are some honourable, or should I say, dishonourable mentions.
- Charles Muntz - Up (2009)
- Terrence Fletcher - Whiplash (2014)
- Cameron Alexander - American History X (1998)
- Elijah Price/Mr. Glass - Unbreakable (2000)
- Nizam - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
1. Saruman - The Lord of the Rings franchise (2001-2003)
In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is preceded in power by Saruman the White, the head of the Istari, a group of powerful wizards sent to Middle-earth to fight the Dark Lord Sauron. However, Saruman had stared into the Palantír for too long, allowing Sauron to corrupt him as part of his campaign to take over Middle-earth. The White Wizard destroys forests, releases orc-human hybrids on human settlements, and endangers many lives before meeting his downfall at the hands of the Ents, a race of sentient trees who had seen first-hand the destruction that Saruman inflicted on nature. As one of the wisest figures in all of Middle-earth, I can forgive Gandalf for trusting him.
Do you agree with my list? Which false idol do you think was the worst? This is Toby Gold bidding you farewell until another day.
10. Ernesto de la Cruz - Coco (2017)
Once upon a time in Mexico, Héctor Rivera and Ernesto de la Cruz were a famed musician duo. Héctor wrote songs and Ernesto sang them, until the day the former decided to return home to his wife, Imelda, and daughter, Coco. Caring more about fame than music, Ernesto poisoned Héctor and took credit for his songs, which he twisted beyond recognition. He acquired fame and fortune from his lies, and lived a prosperous life until he was crushed by a bell while performing on stage. And it didn't stop there. Ernesto's fame continued in the Land of the Dead, where he meets Miguel Rivera, a 12-year-old aspiring musician and Héctor's great-great grandson. After finding out about Ernesto's crimes, Miguel and his deceased relatives expose the Mexican Sinatra at a sunrise concert. The crowd turns on him, and Ernesto dies again from the same cause of his original death. In an age where celebrities are disgraced due to incidents of sexual misconduct, Ernesto surpasses them all because he was willing to murder his best friend, as well as a preteen boy, to become the greatest musician in all of Mexico.
9. Sloan - Wanted (2008)
Morgan Freeman always makes a good mentor, from Red in The Shawshank Redemption to God himself in Bruce Almighty, but in the 2008 assassin's ball Wanted, he was a horrible mentor to Wesley Gibson, an office drone whose late father was an assassin. As the leader of the Fraternity, a secret society of trained killers whose orders are determined by the Loom of Fate, Freeman's Sloan trains Wesley to become an assassin and avenge his father. After going through brutal training, Wesley finally kills his father's killer, only to find out that the man is, in fact, his real father. Shaken by this revelation, as well as the fact that Sloan made up targets after finding out that his followers' names came up in the fabric, Wesley assaults Fraternity headquarters, killing every member except for Sloan. Wesley returns to his office, where Sloan confronts him. However, he finds out that "Wesley" is actually a decoy and is killed by a long-distance bullet. Assassination is a dangerous game, especially when your own superiors deceive you. Just ask Jason Bourne.
8. John Milton - The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Kevin Lomax is a successful defence attorney whose work distances him from his wife. However, when she becomes haunted by frightening visual phenomena, Kevin slowly begins to realize that the head of his firm, John Milton, is actually Satan himself, who exploits the legal system to allow criminals to walk free and spread corruption throughout the world. Also, the Devil wants him to conceive the Antichrist with his own half-sister. And it gets worse. Milton violently rapes Lomax's wife, driving her to madness and suicide. And if that's not enough, Satan is also Lomax's father. All hail one of the darkest performances of Al Pacino's career.
7. Jafar - Aladdin (1992)
When I was young, I had trouble realizing that some "good guys" were actually bad guys. That is, until Jafar came along. In Disney's Aladdin, the Sultan of Agrabah is a bumbling old fool who trusts his advisor a bit too much. Jafar tricks homeless scavenger Aladdin into breaking into the Cave of Wonders to obtain a magical lamp which will grant him great power. However, after doing so, Aladdin uses the three wishes provided by the lamp's resident Genie to become a prince in order to allow him to win the heart of the Sultan's daughter, Princess Jasmine. At the suggestion of his pet parrot, Iago, Jafar plots to marry Jasmine in order to become Sultan. This almost works, as Jafar becomes the Genie's new master and takes over Agrabah, but the Genie cannot make people fall in love. In the end, it's the Grand Vizier's inability to be satisfied that proves his own downfall. I wish the Sultan was aware of Jafar's true nature: that goatee and snake-headed staff loudly scream villain.
6. Henri Ducard/Ra's al Ghul - Batman Begins (2005)
Do you know how Bruce Wayne became Batman? His parents died, yes, but his fighting skills come from Henri Ducard, a member of a shadowy organization called the League of Shadows. However, Ducard is actually Ra's al Ghul, the leader of the League who is training Bruce to destroy Gotham City, deeming it to be corrupt beyond salvation. However, Batman decides to use his skills for good and literally trains him before he can poison Gotham's water supply. Ra's' actions influenced the rest of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, both as a mentor and as a villain. The resurgence of Batman leads to the resurgence of the Joker in The Dark Knight, and in The Dark Knight Rises, Ra's' daughter, Talia, and her muscle-bound right-hand man, Bane, set out to destroy Gotham in his name. Talk about legacy.
5. Emperor Palpatine - Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005)
Darth Vader wasn't always a bad guy. He was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker, who was sought after by then-Senator Palapatine. The future Emperor dissolved the Senate, took over the galaxy and corrupted Anakin into becoming his apprentice, resulting in one of the greatest movie villains of all time. You see, Anakin had a vision of his wife, Padmé, dying, which the Emperor preyed upon. After 30 years of agony, Palpatine was killed by Vader himself, who chose family over evil when his mentor tries to electrocute his son, Luke. Also, the Galactic Empire's extermination of the Jedi was codenamed Order 66. That's one 6 away from the Number of the Beast. I don't know how Anakin could have trusted this man.
4. Chester King/Arthur - Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Veteran secret agent Harry Hart recruits street youth Eggsy for an organization called Kingsman, led by stuffy spymaster Chester King, codenamed Arthur. King puts Eggsy and his fellow recruits through a deadly training program, culminating in Eggsy refusing to empty blanks into his dog. Female recruit Roxy Morton is admitted instead. Later, Hart gets into a standoff with techno-terrorist Valentine in a racist church in Kentucky, resulting in him getting shot to death by the latter. Having witnessed this through Hart's glasses, Eggsy sets out to avenge his mentor. However, King is in on Valentine's plan to decrease the Earth's population, and is poisoned shortly after when Eggsy swaps their drinks. Now, Michael Caine has been in a lot of spy films, making his casting as the big boss spot-on, but it all went sour when he compromised his entire organization.
3. Professor Robert Callaghan - Big Hero 6 (2014)
When 14-year-old genius Hiro Hamada enrols at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, he is star-struck when he meets acclaimed scientist Professor Robert Callaghan. However, shortly after getting accepted, the building catches fire, resulting in the death of Hiro's brother, Tadashi, who went in to save Callaghan. After finding out that Tadashi's death was no accident, Hiro, Tadashi's friends, and the inflatable healthcare robot Baymax become technologically-advanced superheroes in order to bring the masked man responsible to justice. However, after finding out that the masked man is, in fact, Callaghan, Hiro orders Baymax to outright, first-degree murder him. As an added twist, Callaghan wants revenge on billionaire tech genius Alistair Krei, whose carelessness had caused his daughter to get sucked into a portal. Luckily, Hiro and his friends stop him from destroying the city, and rather than killing the man who killed his brother, he and Baymax leave him to the police, and he is arrested, but not before finding out that his daughter is still alive, but seriously injured. Not a good use of your time, Professor.
2. Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger - Iron Man (2008)
In the first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane, a high-ranking employee of Stark Industries, a weapons company led by Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. However, while demonstrating a missile in Afghanistan, a group of terrorists called the Ten Rings kidnap Stark and hold him prisoner in a cave until he builds a prototype suit of armour to allow him to escape. Upon returning to the United States, Stane assists the billionaire genius playboy philanthropist in refocusing Stark Industries from selling weapons. However, Stane had ordered the attack on Stark with the intention of taking over the company. After killing the insurgents for their failure to kill him, Stane steals the armour and creates a more advanced suit called the Iron Monger. Stark, who had created more armours, engages him in an intense battle over Stark Industries until Stark's assistant, Pepper Potts, overloads the large-scale Arc Reactor that was at the complex, causing Stane to fall into the generator, killing him and destroying his armour. This one is #2 because not only was Stane a mentor to Stark, but also a father figure prior to hiring terrorists to kill him.
Before I reveal my favourite, here are some honourable, or should I say, dishonourable mentions.
- Charles Muntz - Up (2009)
- Terrence Fletcher - Whiplash (2014)
- Cameron Alexander - American History X (1998)
- Elijah Price/Mr. Glass - Unbreakable (2000)
- Nizam - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
1. Saruman - The Lord of the Rings franchise (2001-2003)
In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is preceded in power by Saruman the White, the head of the Istari, a group of powerful wizards sent to Middle-earth to fight the Dark Lord Sauron. However, Saruman had stared into the Palantír for too long, allowing Sauron to corrupt him as part of his campaign to take over Middle-earth. The White Wizard destroys forests, releases orc-human hybrids on human settlements, and endangers many lives before meeting his downfall at the hands of the Ents, a race of sentient trees who had seen first-hand the destruction that Saruman inflicted on nature. As one of the wisest figures in all of Middle-earth, I can forgive Gandalf for trusting him.
Do you agree with my list? Which false idol do you think was the worst? This is Toby Gold bidding you farewell until another day.
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