# Movies with no good guys **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167 "2004-05-02T17:13:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/21 "2004-05-03T04:44:20Z")
> [@Engywook](#): > > What about Harvey Keitel’s character? I do need to see this film again, but IIRC he was full of compassion and integrity. And at the end of the movie, he killed Mr. Orange when he found out he was a cop. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/22 "2004-05-03T05:25:24Z")
**Memento** **25th Hour** ---
**Author:** ![gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gentle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/23 "2004-05-03T05:26:06Z")
Jean-Pierre Melville’s [The Red Circle](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0065531/) (_Le Cercle Rouge_) and others. As cool, amoral, philosophical crime thrillers go, Melville pretty much invented the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/24 "2004-05-03T05:57:11Z")
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Damn fine comedy, too. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/25 "2004-05-03T06:28:00Z")
> [@kurivaim](#): > > _The House of Sand and Fog_. > > Basically, everybody’s a fuckup. The main characters are incredibly close-minded and selfish, and then the biggest supporting character is a fucking scumbag through and through. It’s a really good film, but not what you’d call ‘the feel-good movie of the year’ or anything. I disagree. I thought the three leads were a well-balanced set, with Col. Behrani being mostly reasonable and sympathetic throughout, and Kathy not quite as reasonable, but certainly somewhat sympathetic. Even Lester has understandable motives (he has the hots for Kathy), he just goes about things exactly the wrong way. But even if you consider Col. Bahrani and Kathy to be bad, rather than a bit misguided, you do have two unambiguously good guys, Esmail and Lt. Alvarez. I nominate _Goodfellas_. By the end of the movie, there isn’t a single likable, or even sympathetic character left in the story. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/26 "2004-05-03T06:53:59Z")
“Starship Troopers”. Never mind that they used the title of a fairly good book to make a fairly bad movie. Never mind that Heinlein’s story was only remotely like this at all. The movie was, quite simply, antiwar propaganda disguised as a science-fiction war flick. Only towards the end did I start to figure out that the “bugs” were probably the most sympathetically-portrayed characters in the movie. Still, they weren’t any nicer than the humans. When I go see a movie, I like the director to be honest with me about his intent. I don’t mind being preached to, but we all know what it’s like to have the bait-and-switch method of proselytizing used upon us. Bad characters, bad movie. No good guys, not even the director. 😛 What a waste. –SSgtBaloo ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/27 "2004-05-03T07:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Training Day WTF? The recruit saves a girl being raped, refuses to kill the drug dealer is only kept quiet through a mix of intimidation and some slick talking refuses his cut of the money then goes after the guy who set him up. Doesn’t kill him to boot just gets evidence. **Shadow of the Vampire** there’s not really any good guy here. The director is even worse then the vamp in my opinion and even when the rest of the crew finds out about things they drug a girl so she can be molested and fed off of all night. The girl herself was a spoiled little snot. **American Beauty** well the gay neighbors are close to being good guys but they have about 5 whole mins in the film. Everyone else is screwed up, violent, or lusting after under age girls. ---
**Author:** ![START](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@START](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/START)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/28 "2004-05-03T07:07:10Z")
“The Way of The Gun” it was a battle between evil and a slightly lesser evil…strike that, it was Evil against Evil, but a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/29 "2004-05-03T10:15:04Z")
_The Wild Bunch_. _Get Carter_. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/30 "2004-05-03T11:14:33Z")
Ocean’s Eleven? Three Musketeers, the book? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/31 "2004-05-03T12:19:49Z")
Mean Guns (1997) 100 assasins locked in a warehouse playing king of the hill. All blemeshed. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/32 "2004-05-03T12:42:48Z")
**Escape from New York** ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/33 "2004-05-03T12:44:36Z")
I don’t think there are any true “good guys” in any of the four Tarantino movies. Maybe BB (the little girl) in Kill Bill, but even she was a little… off. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/34 "2004-05-03T16:10:38Z")
_Confidence_ _Boondock Sanits_ (even the cops end up helping murdering vigalantes) _From Dusk til Dawn_ (even the priest eventually turns into a vampire) _Femme Fatale_ ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/35 "2004-05-03T16:37:37Z")
SNATCH Everyone’s a criminal one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/36 "2004-05-03T16:45:31Z")
_McCabe and Mrs. Miller_ _The Culpepper Cattle Company_ _The Professional/Leon_ _The Professional: Golgo-13_ _The Godfather_ _The Dirty Dozen_ ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/37 "2004-05-03T18:47:30Z")
The Grifters The Getaway A Kiss Before Dying The Killing ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/38 "2004-05-03T19:26:52Z")
You can’t get any more “no good guys” then “Pink Flamingos,” although I’m not sure I’d recommend it to a random stranger (even one on the internet) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/39 "2004-05-03T19:43:20Z")
Alfred Hitchcock’s _Frenzy_ (so I’ve been told) was pretty revolutionary in just this regard. The main character is placed in the role of the hero, but is portrayed in a highly unsympathetic way. As I understand, there were quite a few folks upset by this at the time the film was released. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167/40 "2004-05-03T21:01:09Z")
“Bad Lieutenant” There may have been a redeeming character in the film, but it was so godawful that I truly can’t remember. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-no-good-guys/243167.md?page=3)