Stories are only as good as the problems their protagonist must overcome. The dramatic conflict that arises must truly be an interesting and formidable opponent that stops the hero from living a peaceful life or seeing his dreams fulfilled. To know a story is to know that central conflict, and in those stories where the conflict is perpetrated or predicated on the actions of another character, those are truly big shoes to fill for the antagonist. Or, put another, simpler way: stories are only as good as their villains.
True, the protagonists must be understandable and sympathetic to some regard, and their dreams must be easily grasped and shared by the audience. To have a blank slate as a hero is to have a large gap at the center of plot. But assuming that the hero is easily drawn and understood, their actions come about and their characters are revealed when drawn into conflict (and contrast) with the villain. It’s a pretty central tenet of storytelling, and yet one that has woefully been forgotten by Hollywood in the past few years. There have been exceptions, but by and large, while studios have been able to show a villain’s threat with greater ease thanks to CGI, rendering that villain interesting and memorable has proven far more difficult.
