Top 10 Bad Guys Turned Good in Film
Hello, Toby Gold here and welcome to another Top 10 List. Today, I'll be telling you my Top 10 Bad Guys Turned Good in Film. For this list, I've chosen movie characters who started off as really nasty people, only to prove that they have some good in them. If you haven't seen the movie, there may be spoilers ahead, so you have been warned. So, let's get started!
10. Anton Ego - Ratatouille (2007)
In Disney/Pixar's rat-infested cooking film Ratatouille, the late, great Peter O'Toole lends his voice to Anton Ego, an imperious food critic who has ruined many great restaurants with negative reviews. Namely, his downgrading of Gusteau's, a famous restaurant in Paris, sent the portly chef to an early grave. Later, Remy, a culinary genius in the form of a rat, travels to Paris to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef. Working behind the scenes (or hat), Remy and garbage boy Alfredo Linguini form a partnership, and the two make a dish that causes Ego to lighten up. After eating their ratatouille, the critic is instantly transported back to his youth and requests an audience with the amazing cook who created it. In the end, though Ego writes an exquisite review of Gusteau's, the restaurant is shut down, and he loses his job and credibility. However, he funds a popular new bistro, "La Ratatouille," which he frequents for Remy's cooking. O'Toole's mesmerizing performance makes me want to try ratatouille some day.
9. General Francis X. Hummel - The Rock (1996)
Incensed at the government's refusal to compensate the deaths of his men, USMC Force Recon Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel takes over Alcatraz Island and threaten to unleash stolen VX rockets on San Francisco unless he is paid $100 million from a military slush fund, which he will then distribute to his men and their war widows. To deal with the situation, FBI chemical expert Dr. Stanley Goodspeed is paired with John Patrick Mason, a 60-year-old British national who was imprisoned without charges in Alcatraz. Mason leads a team of Navy SEALs to Alcatraz via the underground tunnels through which he escaped, but Hummel and his men are alerted to their presence and kill all of the SEALs in an ambush. However, when he finally launches one of the poison gas rockets, it lands in the ocean because the general has no intention to harm civilians. Furious that they will not be getting the money they were promised, Hummel's men mutiny against him and attempt to launch the rockets themselves, and Hummel gives up the location of the last rocket with his dying breath. Better late than never.
8. Stitch - Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Created to destroy everything he touches, alien WMD Experiment 626 escapes from the Galactic Federation and crash-lands in Hawaii, prompting his creator, Dr. Jumba Jookiba, to pursue the rambunctious monstrosity to Earth. Disguising himself as a dog to hide from his pursuers, 626 is adopted by a little girl named Lilo and named "Stitch." Lilo trains Stitch to be good, but the latter is unable to suppress his destructive programming at first. However, he eventually warms up to her, ultimately launching a daring aerial rescue when Lilo is captured by Federation bounty hunter Captain Gantu. After his heroics, the Grand Councilwoman allows Stitch to serve his exile on Earth with Lilo as his warden. He may have turned good, but he is still in the system by the end of the day, so rescuing Lilo was a good start.
7. Inspector Gustave Dasté - Hugo (2011)
Living in the walls of a Paris train station, orphan Hugo Cabret is often at odds with antagonistic Station Inspector Gustave. All the kid wants is food, supplies, and his late father's invention! At a critical point in Martin Scorsese's homage to early French cinema, Hugo finds out that an automaton previously owned by French filmmaker Georges Méliès is the same one he has. Hugo rushes to the station to retrieve it, and is moments away from being run over by a train in an attempt to save the automaton when Gustave pulls him to safety at the last moment. The inspector then allows Hugo to go with Papa Georges rather than sending him to an orphanage. In the aftermath, a mellower Gustave attends a celebration of Georges' films at Hugo's new family's apartment, and is in love with Lisette, a flower seller at the station. Hugo was the first time I saw Sacha Baron Cohen in a serious role, and this took me aback, since I had known him best for playing comedic roles and moving it, moving it.
6. Miranda Priestly - The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The ultimate boss from hell, Miranda Priestly is the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine and her new assistant, Andy Sachs, has to deal with constant humiliation from her while also being ridiculed for her fashion sense. Later, after finding out that Miranda fired art director Nigel to keep her job, Andy quits Runway. However, after she walks out, Andy attends an interview for her dream job at a reputed newspaper, only to find out that Miranda provided her with a reference that helps her get the job. In the end, Miranda locks eyes with her former assistant from across the street and pretends to ignore her, but then smiles after getting into her car. Some things only get better in hindsight.
5. May Day - A View to a Kill (1985)
Roger Moore's last outing as 007 pits the famed British spy against Max Zorin, a psychotic billionaire played by Christopher Walken, and May Day, an obscenely strong assassin who kills a detective at the Eiffel Tower right in front of Bond. Day aids Zorin's plan to destroy Silicon Valley by pumping water into the local faults via a vast system of oil wells in order to sink the entire region. However, the genetically engineered psychopath betrays her by blowing up the mines and shooting down his workers. Surviving the attack, Day sides with Bond, but when a faulty handcar means that the bomb can only be disposed of manually, she stays behind to detonate it herself, thwarting Zorin's plan. What a stand-up broad.
4. Felonious Gru - Despicable Me (2010)
How can the greatest super-villain of all time possibly turn good? Let me tell you. Gru is a world-class criminal mastermind whose pride is injured when Vector, an up-and-coming villain, steals the Great Pyramid of Giza. In order to get back on top, Gru plots an even bigger heist by shrinking and stealing the Earth's moon. However, circumstances arise which cause him to lose his newly-acquired shrink ray, so what does he do? He "adopts" three orphaned girls in order to break into Vector's fortress. However, after this is done, something strange happens. The girls start to take a liking to Gru, and it turns out he is actually a pretty good father. Unfortunately, Gru's big moon heist preoccupies him, and he returns the girls to their corrupt orphanage. In the end, it's rescuing them from Vector that finally makes him see the error of his ways. I guess you could say Felonious Gru went from superbad to superdad.
3. Severus Snape - Harry Potter franchise (2001-2011)
Hogwarts Potions professor Severus Snape disliked Harry Potter from the moment they first met. This was due to the fact that the boy wizard's father had bullied him during their years at Hogwarts. Snape's antagonism only gets worse when he kills Harry's elderly mentor, Albus Dumbledore, then takes his place as Headmaster. However, Snape was actually working for Dumbledore the whole time to protect Harry from the Dark Lord Voldemort. You see, after Harry's mother died, Snape vowed to protect her child out of love for her. Thanks to Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake, the gothic teacher reunites with his former crush in the afterlife, but not before providing Harry with information that allows him to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. I doubt the next world is any better for him, considering that the tormentors of his youth have died as well.
2. Frank Lucas - American Gangster (2007)
In Ridley Scott's late '60s drug epic, brutal gangster Frank Lucas is Harlem's unofficial leader, importing heroin straight from Vietnam in the coffins of dead US soldiers. This man clearly has no respect for the dead. When Lucas is finally caught by Det. Richie Roberts, he decides to assist the police in providing the names of his associates, including corrupt members of the NYPD who assisted him in his crimes, in exchange for a shorter sentence. Lucas is sentenced to 70 years in prison, of which he serves 15 and is released in 1991. It just goes to show that even in real life, bad guys can turn good.
Before I reveal my top choice, here are some honourable mentions.
- Puss in Boots - Shrek 2 (2004)
- Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader - Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- The Grinch - How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
- Helen Harris III - Bridesmaids (2011)
- Megamind - Megamind (2010)
1. Ebenezer Scrooge - A Christmas Carol (various)
The many adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol have proven that some stories can stand the test of time. It's always nice to watch a story about a man who learns from his past misdeeds, then wakes up the next morning as a changed man. What changed Christmas-hating miser Ebenezer Scrooge was a visit from a trio of ghosts, who showed him his past, present and future. As a result, he has an epiphany and becomes a man of the people. Jim Carrey, Bill Murray, and Christopher Plummer have all played Scrooge on the big screen, but my personal favourite is Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol, because the Muppets got involved in the holiday classic and it turned out pretty well.
Do you agree with my list? Which bad guy turned good do you like best? This is Toby Gold, bidding you farewell until we meet again.
10. Anton Ego - Ratatouille (2007)
In Disney/Pixar's rat-infested cooking film Ratatouille, the late, great Peter O'Toole lends his voice to Anton Ego, an imperious food critic who has ruined many great restaurants with negative reviews. Namely, his downgrading of Gusteau's, a famous restaurant in Paris, sent the portly chef to an early grave. Later, Remy, a culinary genius in the form of a rat, travels to Paris to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef. Working behind the scenes (or hat), Remy and garbage boy Alfredo Linguini form a partnership, and the two make a dish that causes Ego to lighten up. After eating their ratatouille, the critic is instantly transported back to his youth and requests an audience with the amazing cook who created it. In the end, though Ego writes an exquisite review of Gusteau's, the restaurant is shut down, and he loses his job and credibility. However, he funds a popular new bistro, "La Ratatouille," which he frequents for Remy's cooking. O'Toole's mesmerizing performance makes me want to try ratatouille some day.
9. General Francis X. Hummel - The Rock (1996)
Incensed at the government's refusal to compensate the deaths of his men, USMC Force Recon Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel takes over Alcatraz Island and threaten to unleash stolen VX rockets on San Francisco unless he is paid $100 million from a military slush fund, which he will then distribute to his men and their war widows. To deal with the situation, FBI chemical expert Dr. Stanley Goodspeed is paired with John Patrick Mason, a 60-year-old British national who was imprisoned without charges in Alcatraz. Mason leads a team of Navy SEALs to Alcatraz via the underground tunnels through which he escaped, but Hummel and his men are alerted to their presence and kill all of the SEALs in an ambush. However, when he finally launches one of the poison gas rockets, it lands in the ocean because the general has no intention to harm civilians. Furious that they will not be getting the money they were promised, Hummel's men mutiny against him and attempt to launch the rockets themselves, and Hummel gives up the location of the last rocket with his dying breath. Better late than never.
8. Stitch - Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Created to destroy everything he touches, alien WMD Experiment 626 escapes from the Galactic Federation and crash-lands in Hawaii, prompting his creator, Dr. Jumba Jookiba, to pursue the rambunctious monstrosity to Earth. Disguising himself as a dog to hide from his pursuers, 626 is adopted by a little girl named Lilo and named "Stitch." Lilo trains Stitch to be good, but the latter is unable to suppress his destructive programming at first. However, he eventually warms up to her, ultimately launching a daring aerial rescue when Lilo is captured by Federation bounty hunter Captain Gantu. After his heroics, the Grand Councilwoman allows Stitch to serve his exile on Earth with Lilo as his warden. He may have turned good, but he is still in the system by the end of the day, so rescuing Lilo was a good start.
7. Inspector Gustave Dasté - Hugo (2011)
Living in the walls of a Paris train station, orphan Hugo Cabret is often at odds with antagonistic Station Inspector Gustave. All the kid wants is food, supplies, and his late father's invention! At a critical point in Martin Scorsese's homage to early French cinema, Hugo finds out that an automaton previously owned by French filmmaker Georges Méliès is the same one he has. Hugo rushes to the station to retrieve it, and is moments away from being run over by a train in an attempt to save the automaton when Gustave pulls him to safety at the last moment. The inspector then allows Hugo to go with Papa Georges rather than sending him to an orphanage. In the aftermath, a mellower Gustave attends a celebration of Georges' films at Hugo's new family's apartment, and is in love with Lisette, a flower seller at the station. Hugo was the first time I saw Sacha Baron Cohen in a serious role, and this took me aback, since I had known him best for playing comedic roles and moving it, moving it.
6. Miranda Priestly - The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The ultimate boss from hell, Miranda Priestly is the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine and her new assistant, Andy Sachs, has to deal with constant humiliation from her while also being ridiculed for her fashion sense. Later, after finding out that Miranda fired art director Nigel to keep her job, Andy quits Runway. However, after she walks out, Andy attends an interview for her dream job at a reputed newspaper, only to find out that Miranda provided her with a reference that helps her get the job. In the end, Miranda locks eyes with her former assistant from across the street and pretends to ignore her, but then smiles after getting into her car. Some things only get better in hindsight.
5. May Day - A View to a Kill (1985)
Roger Moore's last outing as 007 pits the famed British spy against Max Zorin, a psychotic billionaire played by Christopher Walken, and May Day, an obscenely strong assassin who kills a detective at the Eiffel Tower right in front of Bond. Day aids Zorin's plan to destroy Silicon Valley by pumping water into the local faults via a vast system of oil wells in order to sink the entire region. However, the genetically engineered psychopath betrays her by blowing up the mines and shooting down his workers. Surviving the attack, Day sides with Bond, but when a faulty handcar means that the bomb can only be disposed of manually, she stays behind to detonate it herself, thwarting Zorin's plan. What a stand-up broad.
4. Felonious Gru - Despicable Me (2010)
How can the greatest super-villain of all time possibly turn good? Let me tell you. Gru is a world-class criminal mastermind whose pride is injured when Vector, an up-and-coming villain, steals the Great Pyramid of Giza. In order to get back on top, Gru plots an even bigger heist by shrinking and stealing the Earth's moon. However, circumstances arise which cause him to lose his newly-acquired shrink ray, so what does he do? He "adopts" three orphaned girls in order to break into Vector's fortress. However, after this is done, something strange happens. The girls start to take a liking to Gru, and it turns out he is actually a pretty good father. Unfortunately, Gru's big moon heist preoccupies him, and he returns the girls to their corrupt orphanage. In the end, it's rescuing them from Vector that finally makes him see the error of his ways. I guess you could say Felonious Gru went from superbad to superdad.
3. Severus Snape - Harry Potter franchise (2001-2011)
Hogwarts Potions professor Severus Snape disliked Harry Potter from the moment they first met. This was due to the fact that the boy wizard's father had bullied him during their years at Hogwarts. Snape's antagonism only gets worse when he kills Harry's elderly mentor, Albus Dumbledore, then takes his place as Headmaster. However, Snape was actually working for Dumbledore the whole time to protect Harry from the Dark Lord Voldemort. You see, after Harry's mother died, Snape vowed to protect her child out of love for her. Thanks to Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake, the gothic teacher reunites with his former crush in the afterlife, but not before providing Harry with information that allows him to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. I doubt the next world is any better for him, considering that the tormentors of his youth have died as well.
2. Frank Lucas - American Gangster (2007)
In Ridley Scott's late '60s drug epic, brutal gangster Frank Lucas is Harlem's unofficial leader, importing heroin straight from Vietnam in the coffins of dead US soldiers. This man clearly has no respect for the dead. When Lucas is finally caught by Det. Richie Roberts, he decides to assist the police in providing the names of his associates, including corrupt members of the NYPD who assisted him in his crimes, in exchange for a shorter sentence. Lucas is sentenced to 70 years in prison, of which he serves 15 and is released in 1991. It just goes to show that even in real life, bad guys can turn good.
Before I reveal my top choice, here are some honourable mentions.
- Puss in Boots - Shrek 2 (2004)
- Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader - Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- The Grinch - How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
- Helen Harris III - Bridesmaids (2011)
- Megamind - Megamind (2010)
1. Ebenezer Scrooge - A Christmas Carol (various)
The many adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol have proven that some stories can stand the test of time. It's always nice to watch a story about a man who learns from his past misdeeds, then wakes up the next morning as a changed man. What changed Christmas-hating miser Ebenezer Scrooge was a visit from a trio of ghosts, who showed him his past, present and future. As a result, he has an epiphany and becomes a man of the people. Jim Carrey, Bill Murray, and Christopher Plummer have all played Scrooge on the big screen, but my personal favourite is Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol, because the Muppets got involved in the holiday classic and it turned out pretty well.
Do you agree with my list? Which bad guy turned good do you like best? This is Toby Gold, bidding you farewell until we meet again.
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