Would American society allow for bad guys to win in a big-budget movie?

7,647 Views | 95 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Cinco Ranch Aggie
NoHo Hank
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third coast.. said:

Well, earth DOES get blown up in hitchhikers guide.
I don't think see how you can think any group of people who are so amazingly primitive they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea can be considered the protagonists of a story.
powerbelly
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Not a movie, but americans loved when tony soprano won and were pissed when he died. He is a bad guy no matter how you look at it.
HtownAg92
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Rocky doesn't count because Rocky "won" by overcoming all odds and going the distance (and almost beating) the champ.

Road to Perdition? "Good" guy Michael gets killed by bad guy Rooney's assassin.

Goodfellas? In the world of the crime family, "never ratting out your friends and keeping your mouth shut" is considered "good". The family were the heroes. Henry became a rat, turned on all of his family and "won", even though he had to live the rest of his life like a schnook.

Memento

No Way Out

expresswrittenconsent
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Goodfellas? No.
It's got no good characters at all so evil doesnt triumph over good. It's also the story of an actual person and actual events.
israeliag
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I only saw it once, so my memory is a bit hazy on it, but what about Pan's Labyrinth? Doesn't it end with the girl dying and the fascists essentially winning?
HtownAg92
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expresswrittenconsent said:

Goodfellas? No.
It's got no good characters at all so evil doesnt triumph over good. It's also the story of an actual person and actual events.
Of course morally there are no good characters, but Scorcese built the Lucchese family, particularly Paulie's crew, as the "good guys". Within that group, Henry, Tommy and Jimmy were the "heroes", sticking it to the man, living their entitled lives (see Copa scene), and battling the "bad guys" like Billy Batts / Gambinos, cops, etc. Paulie was a "good guy" father-figure. So when Henry turned on the "good guys" and got away (and didn't get whacked), he was a bad guy and he won.

Sopranos and Godfather are also good examples of making very bad people into the rooting favorites. They are not good people, but in the world created in the show, they are the "good guys".
Claude!
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Hamlet ends on kind of a downer.
My Dad Earl
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Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think the Joker is the overall winner in the Dark Knight.
bobinator
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I considered this one, but I think the OP is saying that the 'good guy' losing in the middle of a series doesn't count, especially if we already know that's not how the series ends.

That's why Infinity War doesn't count, because we knew that wasn't the actual end.
Punked Shank
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My Dad Earl said:

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think the Joker is the overall winner in the Dark Knight.


Your name just reminded me we never got the closing finale to My Name is Earl and now im sad..
expresswrittenconsent
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HtownAg92 said:

expresswrittenconsent said:

Goodfellas? No.
It's got no good characters at all so evil doesnt triumph over good. It's also the story of an actual person and actual events.
Of course morally there are no good characters, but Scorcese built the Lucchese family, particularly Paulie's crew, as the "good guys". Within that group, Henry, Tommy and Jimmy were the "heroes", sticking it to the man, living their entitled lives (see Copa scene), and battling the "bad guys" like Billy Batts / Gambinos, cops, etc. Paulie was a "good guy" father-figure. So when Henry turned on the "good guys" and got away (and didn't get whacked), he was a bad guy and he won.

Sopranos and Godfather are also good examples of making very bad people into the rooting favorites. They are not good people, but in the world created in the show, they are the "good guys".

You're describing anti-heroes, which are a completely separate thing.
rednecked
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I don't think of Clint Eastwood as a good guy in Unforgiven. In fact, one of the things that fascinates me about that movie is that it is very hard to identify any character in the movie as "good". Everyone is at the least very flawed and most are just plain bad people.
Orlando Ayala Cant Read
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The Godfather universe doesn't have "good guys" really at all. They have all bad guys of which some of them are worthy of rooting for. That's the Corleone family. Dont think a single person roots for Barzini, Tataglia, Senator Geary, Roth, or Don Fanuci.
NoahAg
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john32f said:

Invasion of the body snatchers is a straight up loss for the good guys. Seems like a lot of horror movies fit the bill.

Same goes for Night of the Living Dead, right?
AGBU94
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3:10 to Yuma
....Rememberin' the fallin' down and the laughter and the curse of luck from all those sonsabitches that said we'd never get back up!! (REK)
Cancelled
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The Patriot
Texaggie7nine
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Quote:

Never seen Usual Suspects.
Well you lose all credibility right there.
7nine
Shakes the Clown
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Can't believe no one has posted this...












The Exorcist
schmendeler
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Skyfall
Philip J Fry
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Arlington Road
CheeseSndwch
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A Bridge Too Far

Based on historical events (Operation Market Garden) and while a great movie I'm sometimes surprised that it was ever made given that it was a complete failure of Allied Command. As it was released in 1977 I suspect it was made as commentary to what was going on in Vietnam.
Aust Ag
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Miracle Mile

Wouldn't call it "big budget" but it certainly qualifies for having the ultimate bad guys winning.
Blindside05
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Any civil war movie....
unmade bed
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Forrest Gump. That evil ***** Jenny won
redline248
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That Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie. Bad guys won that movie, even if we all know they lost the war.
Rex Racer
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BrightBurn
It's a current movie, so read at your own risk.
PatAg
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Is there any society that regularly makes films where the bad guy wins?
Ernest Tucker
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It always felt like the bad guy won in "There will be blood" to me. At least his idea of "winning"
Ernest Tucker
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12 monkeys.
Zombie Jon Snow
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Se7en
No Country for Old Men
The Usual suspects
Alien:Covenant
One Flew Over the ****oos Nest
The Dark Knight
Fight Club
Avengers: Infinity War - although it was really just a long intermission
Ernest Tucker
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Se7en
12 Monkeys
Fight club

I'm starting to see a common denominator with Brad Pitt
SlackerAg
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brd79 said:

Se7en
12 Monkeys
Fight club

I'm starting to see a common denominator with Brad Pitt

And he was in Thelma & Louise, who drove over a cliff.
expresswrittenconsent
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HackerAg said:

brd79 said:

Se7en
12 Monkeys
Fight club

I'm starting to see a common denominator with Brad Pitt

And he was in Thelma & Louise, who drove over a cliff.

Which has nothing in common with those other 3 movies.
redline248
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You mean other than Brad Pitt?
DrZ
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Bad News Bears
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