# Movies where the good guy and the bad guy never see each other **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274 "2008-05-14T13:12:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/21 "2008-05-14T17:36:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but ISTR that no one ever caught up with or met the assassin in Day of the Jackal. You’re wrong. Commisair Claude Lebel confronts him and shoots him at the end of the book (and Fred Zinneman’s film) ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/22 "2008-05-14T17:37:54Z")
[QUOTE=zev\_steinhardt] Right. But Vader wasn’t chasing Luke’s X-Wing because he was the hero. He was chasing him because he was just another rebel. It’s not so much a hero vs. villian fight as it is a villian vs. some-guy fight. [/QUOTE] Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/23 "2008-05-14T17:54:16Z")
Frodo never meets Sauron. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/24 "2008-05-14T17:59:42Z")
**Das Boot**. They never see any of the people who are trying to sink them. **The Last Starfighter** – Xur does appear as a hologram, but never meets Alex face-to-face and, indeed, when he does show as the hologram, he has no idea that Alex is going to be important. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/25 "2008-05-14T18:04:13Z")
“Blind Fury” - Rutger Hauer never sees the bad guy because his character is blind. The protagonist of all the “Blind Swordsman” films - ditto. Or is that not the OP meant? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/26 "2008-05-14T18:06:41Z")
In the accurate movie that deserves to be made but won’t be, General Gordon never meets the Madhi. In the Charlton Heston-wants-his-own-_Lawrence of Arabia_ vehicle, they do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/27 "2008-05-14T18:13:13Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] In the accurate movie that deserves to be made but won’t be, General Gordon never meets the Madhi. In the Charlton Heston-wants-his-own-_Lawrence of Arabia_ vehicle, they do. [/QUOTE] IIRC, our stalwart British heroes never meet the Mahdi in any of the film versions of [_The Four Feathers._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_four_feathers) In none of them does Gordon figure as a character, either. But, I could be wrong, I’ve only seen the 1955, 1977, and 2002 versions. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/28 "2008-05-14T18:15:17Z")
> [@](#): > > IIRC, our stalwart British heroes never meet the Mahdi in any of the film versions of The Four Feathers. In none of them does Gordon figure as a character, either. But, I could be wrong, I’ve only seen the 1955, 1977, and 2002 versions. Different Mahdi. **Slithy** is referring to the movie **Khartoum** ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/29 "2008-05-14T18:17:31Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Different Mahdi. **Slithy** is referring to the movie **Khartoum** [/QUOTE] [Same Mahdi, same war.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ahmad) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/30 "2008-05-14T18:18:04Z")
“Scorecards, get yer scorecards here! Can’t tell your mahdis without a scorecard…!” ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/31 "2008-05-14T18:23:15Z")
I know this is a stretch since the good guy/bad guy _do_ meet at the end, but not until then. In “Falling Down”, Bill (De Fens) and Sergeant Prendergast do not see each other until the final scene that takes place on the pier. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/32 "2008-05-14T18:24:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Same Mahdi, same war. Mty mistake. For some reason I thought **The Four Feathers** (no version of which I’ve seen) was set elsewhere. Although I note that the 2002 version about 15 years later, for some reason. > **[The Four Feathers (2002 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Feathers_(2002_film))** > > The Four Feathers is a 2002 war drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur and starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou and Kate Hudson. Set during the British Army's Gordon Relief Expedition (late 1884 to early 1885) in Sudan, well after the formation of Mahdiyya, it tells the story of a young man accused of cowardice. This film, with altered plot events, is the latest in a long line of cinematic adaptations of the 1902 novel The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason. Other versions of the story ... ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/33 "2008-05-14T18:27:08Z")
[QUOTE=dwc1970] I know this is a stretch since the good guy/bad guy _do_ meet at the end, but not until then. In “Falling Down”, Bill (De Fens) and Sergeant Prendergast do not see each other until the final scene that takes place on the pier. [/QUOTE] And D-FENS doesn’t even realize that he’s the bad guy until confronted by the good guy. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/34 "2008-05-14T18:46:07Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Mty mistake. For some reason I thought **The Four Feathers** (no version of which I’ve seen) was set elsewhere. Although I note that the 2002 version about 15 years later, for some reason. > **[The Four Feathers (2002 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Feathers_(2002_film))** > > The Four Feathers is a 2002 war drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur and starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Djimon Hounsou and Kate Hudson. Set during the British Army's Gordon Relief Expedition (late 1884 to early 1885) in Sudan, well after the formation of Mahdiyya, it tells the story of a young man accused of cowardice. This film, with altered plot events, is the latest in a long line of cinematic adaptations of the 1902 novel The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason. Other versions of the story ... [/QUOTE] The 2002 Heath Ledger version was set 15 years earlier, I think you meant. The three previous versions were set in the 1898 war, while the 2002 one was set in the expedition sent to rescue Gordon. Why? I can’t imagine, except maybe because the red tunics of 1885 are more photogenic than the khaki ones of 1898. (BTW, I often notice on BBC productions set in that era that the prop people put little Gordon stautues on the mantles or his portrait on the walls of middle class homes) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/35 "2008-05-14T19:01:22Z")
> [@](#): > > The 2002 Heath Ledger version was set 15 years earlier, I think you meant. No, the Wiki page very definitely says 15 years later, sent in to avenge Gordon by fighting the “Mahdists” (the Mahdi shoulda been dead by then). As i say, I haven’t seen the flick, so don’t ask me why, or if the description is accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/36 "2008-05-14T19:05:12Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] …(BTW, I often notice on BBC productions set in that era that the prop people put little Gordon stautues on the mantles or his portrait on the walls of middle class homes) [/QUOTE] Gordon was quite a tragic/heroic figure of the day. His death nearly ruined Prime Minister Gladstone’s reputation when critics charged that he was too slow in coming to Gordon’s relief (for some, Gladstone’s nickname went from the “Grand Old Man” to the “Murderer of Gordon,” GOM to MOG). Conan Doyle mentioned in one of his stories - “A Study in Scarlet,” maybe? - that Sherlock Holmes had a picture of Gordon hanging in his 221B Baker Street rooms. Granada Television was careful to include such a picture in the Jeremy Brett series of adaptations. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/37 "2008-05-14T22:08:21Z")
“I’ll get you, Gadget!” ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/38 "2008-05-14T22:30:16Z")
Does Edward “Longshanks” ever meet William Wallace in **Braveheart**? I think they’re on the same battlefield at one point, but I don’t recall them ever meeting face to face. Jack Aubrey never _knowingly_ meets his French adversary in **Master and Commander** , but they do see each other. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/39 "2008-05-14T22:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] don’t think Korben is even aware of Zorg. [/QUOTE] The other way around, no? From memory, the priest guy tells Korben about Zorg, but I don’t think Zorg ever realizes that Leelou and priest guy have a third person with them. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274/40 "2008-05-14T22:37:50Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] Ed Tom and Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, if you accept Ed Tom as the good guy rather than Llewellyn Moss. [/QUOTE] Good catch. Pretty much everyone else that Chigurh sees ends up dead, with the exception of the coin-tossing older fellow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-good-guy-and-the-bad-guy-never-see-each-other/449274.md?page=3)