It is quite common in movies for the protagonist to do things, and then by the end of the movie they win and ride off into the sunset (not literally) to a wonderful life. But in reality, you cannot just do anything you want and get away with it because you were right. In the legal system, the ends do not justify the means.
For example, Dr. Richard Kimball in “The Fugitive” may be innocent of murder, but he’s certainly guilty of a plethora of crimes, such as escaping from custody. Now, chances are he would probably get a time served sentence, and a prosecutor might even be likely refuse to prosecute given the circumstances.
The “A-Team” is a good example of one where they would be in trouble. They’re accused of a crime they didn’t commit, but not only have they escaped custody but they commit numerous serious crimes. Like possession and discharging automatic weapons! Numerous charges of assault and battery! Is being an unlicensed soldier-of-fortune legal? I don’t know, but if not, then that would be another charge.
What movies or TV shows do you think where the protagonist commits serious crimes and would not be treated lightly?
In Back to the Future III, Marty and Doc hijack (and destroy) a train. I imagine in 1885 that would result in a pretty serious punishment. It would be pretty bad in 2023 (or 1955/1985/2015 come to think of it) but 1885, would it be a capital offence?
Substantially every action / adventure show relies totally on that “means justify ends” trope. The “hero” protagonist is roughly as violent and as criminal as the bad guys. Just with a morally “higher” motive. At least as seen by one flavor of amateur moral philosophers.
I kind of agree, but not always. Quite often they try to put the protagonist into a situation where their actions can be justified based on circumstances such as self defense (they do this to keep the good guys the good guys). In “Aliens”, it sure looks like Hicks is going to off Burke, but is interrupted by the xeno attack. While Cameron has never confirmed it, it is speculated that this was done to keep the character Hicks from committing such a cold blooded act and keep his moral compass (I think the actor talked about it once).
A couple of examples, McClane in “Die Hard” is mainly defending himself (except when he blows up the missile launcher guys). In “Lethal Weapon”, Murtagh and Riggs are police officers. They’re just enforcing the law (to the xtreme). Ethan Hunt of the “Mission Impossible” series breaks a lot of laws, but presumably as a member of IMF he has leeway to do so.
It is a common trope, for example, that the good guys are going to let the bad guy live, but the bad guy attacks again after being given mercy and is killed as a result (sometimes via their own actions for extra preserve the good guy’s karma… see Burke again in Aliens).
At the beginning of Son of Kong, the guy who brought King Kong to New York is being hounded by lawsuits from people injured, or whose property was damaged, by Kong in the first movie.
Batman frequently commits burglary, illegal wiretapping, and tampering with crime scenes. Not to mention assault and battery.
Superman and the Martian Manhunter are illegal aliens. I’m not sure whether the silver age Hawkman comics ever addressed Katar Hol’s immigration status. They probably got amnesty in 1986.
Superman is a foundling (and thus his citizenship is likely okay) - at any rate, he committed no crime, being well under the age of reason when (against his will) he was placed into the United States.
At the beginning of Dracula’s Daughter, two policemen are investigating strange noises. They find Renfield lying at the bottom of a staircase with a broken neck. They find Van Helsing, who has just driven a stake through Dracula’s heart. Naturally, they arrest Van Helsing. Its been a long time since I saw the movie, but as I recall, the movie implies that he was committed to his own mental hospital.
I think a lot of people in supernatural horror movies are in serious trouble. I cannot think of one of the top of my head, but good luck convincing the police that all of your friends were murdered by ghosts or demons.
We steered our children away from what we saw as unsuitable TV. The “A-Team” was one such, as it explicitly demonstrated that violence is always the best solution to a problem.
Jack Bauer ought to have been looking at multiple life sentences after any given season of 24, between all the torture, murders, carjackings, mock executions, maiming innocent people to get their families to talk, and violations of international law, to say nothing of that time he kidnapped the president.
Every officer and attorney in every Law and Order series. And SWAT. And Hawaii 5-0. And pretty much any police procedural.
Police in the US have carte blanche from so much of the population because we’ve been conditioned that officers only go after the bad guys and any innocents aren’t really innocent. Sure, there’s some exceptions, but Elliot Stabler still isn’t in prison for all his bullshit.
I may be remembering wrong, but weren’t the A-Team on the (really aggressive) defense most of the time? The bad guys were coming back well-armed and looking for trouble, the A-Team in the meantime found a workshop and MacGyvered together tanks, pneumatic-driven weapons, traps, etc, and then took on the attacking bad-guys well-prepared.
together tanks, pneumatic-driven weapons, traps, etc, and then took on the attacking bad-guys well-prepared.