Vengeance is... not theirs. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the movie vengeance schemes that didn’t go according to plan or had unintended consequences. We’ll be discussing major plot points, so this is your spoiler warning.
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00:00 I do what I do best. I take scores. You do what you do best. Trying to stop guys like me.
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the movie vengeance schemes
00:10 that didn't go according to plan or had unintended consequences. We'll be discussing major plot
00:15 points, so this is your spoiler warning.
00:17 Well, he should have armed himself. He's gonna decorate his swing with my friend.
00:21 Number 10. Old Boy
00:25 Yeah, get him.
00:26 Following a 15-year imprisonment, O-Dae-Soo tries to figure out who kept him trapped.
00:38 His journey ends up being part of an elaborate scheme by the villain that leads to him falling
00:42 for Mi-Do. When the mastermind later reveals that Mi-Do is actually O-Dae-Soo's daughter,
00:46 it completely breaks the hero's spirit.
00:49 The antagonist ends his own life after exacting his revenge and leaves his adversary grappling
00:53 with his complicated future. Seeking out the help of a hypnotist, the lead's only hope is
00:58 to forget that he heard the horrible news in the first place. It's one of the more
01:02 devastating twists in modern cinema that leaves nobody unscathed.
01:15 Number 9. Strangers on a Train
01:28 In this Hitchcock classic, tennis player Guy Haynes meets Bruno Antony on a train,
01:38 and the latter man proposes that they help each other pull off the perfect crime. The
01:42 idea is for each to kill a hated person in the other's life and escape with no one the wiser.
01:46 While Haynes thinks it's a joke, his fellow passenger takes it seriously
02:00 and murders the man's cheating wife, Miriam. Things only get more complicated from there,
02:04 as Haynes never follows through on his end of the deal, but instead becomes a suspect in his
02:08 wife's murder. The film ends in a final showdown on a carousel that leads to Antony's demise.
02:13 Everything comes crashing down, including the scheme and the carousel itself.
02:17 Number 8. The Prestige
02:36 Powered by their egos, magicians Borden and Angier start as friends, but become sworn enemies
02:41 during the course of this movie. Each attempts to outdo the other with his magic show, eventually
02:45 leading them to resort to sabotage. Their blind hatred for one another fuels a rivalry that only
02:57 makes each man more miserable and culminates in the deaths of their loved ones. The film's final
03:02 act goes on to explain the extraordinary lengths they went to perform their illusions. Through a
03:06 surprising collection of twists, director Christopher Nolan shows that the characters'
03:10 revenge plots are all for nothing. Number 7. Prisoners
03:29 When two young girls disappear, the initial investigation fails to bring about any leads
03:33 and pits the authorities against the grieving parents. Hugh Jackman's character decides to
03:37 take the law into his own hands to find the truth, but the distraught father slowly becomes a monster
03:50 as he searches for answers, even kidnapping and torturing an intellectually disabled man
03:55 who he believes to be a prime suspect. He finally confronts the mastermind behind it all,
03:59 only to end up a prisoner himself. This grim and disturbing film shows how the thirst for
04:03 revenge can drive anyone to desperation. Number 6. Blood Simple
04:18 The Coen brothers certainly know how to craft a darkly hilarious crime drama. After discovering
04:31 that his wife Abby is cheating on him with bartender Ray, bar owner Julian Marty hires
04:36 a private detective to have a couple murdered. However, the would-be assassin has no intention
04:47 of going through with it, at least at first. Just about everyone gets stabbed in the back
04:51 at least once throughout the course of this twisted tale. In a movie full of revenge,
04:55 betrayal, and doctored evidence that concludes with everyone but the leading woman dead,
05:00 nobody realizes what's actually going on until it's too late. Number 5. Heat
05:16 Most of Heat is a tense heist movie, but the final act turns into a revenge thriller as
05:20 professional thief Neil McCauley ties up some loose ends among his backstabbing crew. Although
05:25 he could just leave the country and live freely with his girlfriend, instead, he risks his life
05:30 to take down a treacherous former associate. McCauley's decision to seek revenge puts him
05:40 directly in the path of detective Vincent Hanna. After a tense chase, the two rivals end up in a
05:45 gunfight that leaves the thief dead. He just couldn't resist the chance to get payback,
05:49 no matter the personal cost. Number 4. Get Carter
05:53 Returning home after his brother Frank's death, Jack Carter doesn't mind breaking a few laws to
06:02 dish out revenge. This leads him on a long journey of threats, extortion, betrayal,
06:07 and murder in order to learn the truth about his sibling's suspicious demise.
06:10 Along the way, the gangster runs afoul of local syndicates that don't want him interfering in
06:22 their criminal activities. In the end, he executes the killer but only gets a moment
06:26 to celebrate before being taken out by a sniper who brings his life to an abrupt close.
06:31 Number 3. Blue Ruin
06:33 This bloody thriller proves that revenge can have unintended consequences. After learning that his
06:54 parent's killer is being released from prison, Dwight Evans decides to hunt the man down.
06:59 Following the murder, Dwight has to avoid the deceased man's family as they try to avenge their
07:03 loved one. The events that follow lead him down a rabbit hole with far more dead bodies than he
07:15 expected. Showing that violence creates more violence, this plot concludes with most of the
07:19 principal players dead. At no point does anyone truly find closure as the resulting brutality
07:24 destroys multiple families. Number 2. Unforgiven
07:38 Formerly a murderous outlaw, William Money doesn't have the best reputation. The anti-hero
07:49 takes a job hunting down a pair of cowboys for a bounty. In the process, he recruits his old
07:54 friend Ned to be his partner, but their plan soon comes crashing down and Ned gets killed.
07:58 Without any remorse, Money enters the town saloon and opens fire on anybody that gets in his way.
08:03 This includes shooting the sheriff played by Gene Hackman. The revenge is swift and brutal,
08:15 coming from a character who knows he's bad. After all is said and done,
08:18 the gunslinger accepts his fate as a broken man.
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08:48 Number 1. The Godfather Part II
08:50 After surviving an assassination attempt, Michael Corleone spends most of this epic
09:02 sequel hunting down those responsible. His personal and legal problems only make things
09:06 more complicated, leading him to become more ruthless with each passing scene.
09:10 He later learns the heartbreaking news that his brother Fredo took part in the plot to kill him.
09:14 "I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart."
09:21 The mob boss murders several rivals before the film's end and alienates his wife,
09:25 finally dishing out revenge on his older sibling. It's among the more heartless decisions in movie
09:29 history that proves Corleone has lost any remnants of his soul. In the final moments of the story,
09:34 the character sits alone as he contemplates his descent into evil.
09:38 Did we forget a revenge scheme that didn't go as planned? Let us know in the comments below.
09:43 "You point the gun. You shoot the gun."
09:47 Did we forget a revenge scheme that didn't go as planned? Let us know in the comments below.
09:51 "You point the gun. You shoot the gun."
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10:03 [Music]