History DarkIsNotEvil / LiveActionFilms

* Despite all the [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust terrible things]] that happened in ''Film/SchindlersList'', this was it's ultimate moral. Oskar Schindler, a lavish Business-man who did deals with the Nazis. Soon found himself, not only [[PetTheDog sympathizing with the Jewish community]] but regretting not doing more to save them, despite already sparing dozens of lives through employment. A [[TragicHero Tragic Hero]], Schindler was just on the wrong side, and had a bigger heart than perhaps even he didn't know?

** Believe it or not, the Sith Religion itself isn't inherently an evil creed. Now everyone knows it's deep connection to TheDarkSide and having less-than friendly members. But having ambition, a drive to succeed or being the medium for great change aren't necessarily bad ideals. To put it simply, a Sith is only as evil as long as they allow the Dark Side to corrupt them this way. But even the Dark Side itself [[TheSacredDarkness isn't purely evil either, just seriously misunderstood]].

* In ''Film/MadameWeb2024'', Julia is glimpsed in [[spoiler:Ezekiel's and Madame Web's visions of her future]] in her traditional black Spider-Woman suit from the comics, and she's one of the heroines. To be fair, hers sports a lot more white, compared to [[DarkIsEvil Ezekiel Sim's outfit]].

** Believe it or not, the Sith Religion itself isn't inherently an evil creed. Now everyone knows it's deep connection to TheDarkSide and having less-than friendly members. But having ambition, a drive to succeed or being the medium for great change aren't necessarily bad ideals. To put it simply, a Sith is only as evil as long as they allow the Dark Side to corrupt them this way. But even the Dark Side itself isn't purely evil either, just seriously misunderstood.

** The witch from ''Film/{{Big Fish}}''.

* The Yamomamo tribe in ''Film/{{Cannibal Holocaust}}'' are a CannibalClan with creepy looking rituals and visages, but they are actually friendly towards people who are respectful towards them and God forbid should anyone (like the [[BigBad ill-fated film crew]] they took an act of justifiable revenge on) [[TooDumbToLive try to incur their wrath.]]

* Hannah and R.L. Stine from ''Film/{{Goosebumps}}''.

* Heather Miller of ''Film/{{Texas Chainsaw 3D}}'' wears dark clothing and has a penchant for making art out of chicken bones. However, she’s the heroine of the movie and also happens to be a long lost relative of Leatherface, making her a member of the Sawyer clan. This trope also applies to Leatherface in the film, who, after the rest of the Sawyer clan was killed, has simply protected the house from anyone who seeks to rob the place and he even becomes Heather’s personal protector.

** PlayedWith in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Luke Skywalker wears an all-black outfit throughout the film, having learned Darth Vader is his father. He also debuts a new green lightsaber, whose eerie light subverts the blue-good, red-bad dichotomy that the previous two films had introduced (until the prequels established green as a pretty standard good guy lightsaber colour, anyway). But towards the end, Luke manages to resist the temptation of the Dark Side, and when his shirt is unbuttoned, it's revealed to be white underneath all along. Just about every depiction of him in the Expanded Universe has him in some variation of that costume.

** Gamora, one of the ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy,'' wears an entirely black outfit.

** [[spoiler:The creepy-looking, shapeshifting reptilian Skrulls]] who dress in black in ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' are not evil. They are first presented as vicious terrorists, but [[spoiler:Skrulls are really refugees who wish to live in peace and are maligned by the Kree propaganda. The genocidal Kree are the real villains as they try to wipe out all Skrulls.]]

** PlayedWith in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. Luke Skywalker wears an all-black costume throughout the film, having learned Darth Vader is his father. He also debuts a new green lightsaber, whose eerie light subverts the blue-good red-bad dichotomy that the earlier films had introduced (until the prequels established green as a pretty standard good guy lightsaber colour, anyway). But towards the end, Luke resists the temptation of the Dark Side, and when his shirt is unbuttoned, it's revealed to be white underneath all along. Just about every depiction of him in the Expanded Universe has him in some variation of that costume.

** Believe it or not, the Sith Religion itself isn't inherently an evil creed. Now everyone knows it's deep connection to TheDarkSide and having less-than friendly members. But having ambition, a drive to succeed or being the medium for great change aren't necessarily bad ideals. To put it simply, a Sith is only as evil as long as they allow the Dark Side to corrupt them this way. But even the Dark Side itself, isn't purely evil either just seriously misunderstood.

** Believe or not, the Sith Religion itself isn't inherently an evil creed. Now everyone knows it's deep connection to TheDarkSide and having less-than friendly members. But having ambition, a drive to succeed or being the medium for great change aren't necessarily bad ideals. To put it simply, a Sith is only as evil as long as they allow the Dark Side to corrupt them this way. But even the Dark Side itself, isn't purely evil either just seriously misunderstood.

* The vampiric Daywalker ''Film/{{Blade}}'' is not only dark, he's black.

* Frank the rabbit from ''Film/DonnieDarko'' certainly looks scary, and some of the things he gets Donnie to do seem downright sinister at first. However, [[spoiler: he turns out to have been well-intentioned, and everything he told Donnie to do was for the greater good]].
* ''Film/JacobsLadder'' features grotesque... things, that terrorise the protagonist throught the movie. [[spoiler: They're actually trying to help him accept his death and ascend to Heaven]].

** It turns out that [[spoiler:the faun]] of ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' is entirely trustworthy, though not all of TheFairFolk - particularly the infamous Pale Man - are quite so benign.

* ''Film/{{Lawrence of Arabia}}'' - Sheriff Ali wears black robes to contrast our hero's white robes and khaki uniforms, but he's a loyal friend.
* ''Film/{{Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}'' - Tim the Enchanter looks like a evil wizard (black robe, horns and all), but he proves useful to our heroes and laughs off where they aren't serious about it.
* The vampiric Daywalker ''Film/{{Blade}}'' is not only dark, he's black.
* The Man in Black, from ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' dresses like a villain, even acts like one in places (more in the book than in the movie), and is eventually identified as the murderous Dread Pirate Roberts - but at the end of the day it's all subterfuge, because he's really [[spoiler:the presumed-dead hero Westley]].
* This trope and even more its reverse [[LightIsNotGood and its reverse]] are essentially the entire plot of Creator/CliveBarker's ''Film/{{Nightbreed}}'' - it's the [[HumansAreBastards humans who all act monstrously]]. Especially the one played by Creator/DavidCronenberg. However it is more complicated than simply not good and not evil in both cases. It does not hold true for all Midianites since some are willing to act on their cannibalistic urges and there are also humans with a conscience. It is more about a conflict that happens when LightIsNotGood and hates what is different and attacks it while secretly envying it, while the different side wants mostly to be left alone evil or not.
* The cenobites in the ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}'' film series may look like menacing, leather-clad demon lords, but they can be reasoned with if the Lament Configuration was solved by accident or against the person’s will. Also, the cenobites see the mutilations and body modification as a form of obtaining power out of hedonistic pleasure rather than torture. They usually only inflict torture on those who were stupid enough to get on their bad side.
** The cenobite leader Pinhead looks like a typical slasher film monster with his head covered in nails, leather priest ensemble, and booming voice. However, he is an AntiHero and ReasonableAuthorityFigure who has helped the protagonist Kirsty Cotton (along with other protagonists) fight against much worse threats or against power hungry humans, even developing an OddFriendship with Kirsty later in the film series. Also, while Pinhead and the cenobites do gruesomely torture or kill those stupid enough to solve the Lament Configuration or put them in a FateWorseThanDeath, most of their [[AssholeVictim victims]] often [[LaserGuidedKarma had it coming]] [[PayEvilUntoEvil big time.]]
* Heather Miller of ''Film/{{Texas Chainsaw 3D}}'' wears dark clothing and has a penchant for making art out of chicken bones. However, she’s the heroine of the movie and also happens to be a long lost relative of Leatherface, making her a member of the Sawyer clan. This trope also applies to Leatherface in the film, who, after the rest of the Sawyer clan was killed, has simply protected the house from anyone who seeks to rob the place and he even becomes Heather’s personal protector.
* The Yamomamo tribe in ''Film/{{Cannibal Holocaust}}'' are a CannibalClan with creepy looking rituals and visages, but they are actually friendly towards people who are respectful towards them and God forbid should anyone (like the [[BigBad ill-fated film crew]] they took an act of justifiable revenge on) [[TooDumbToLive try to incur their wrath.]]
* The titular character of ''Film/{{Darkman}}'' has a NightmareFace and always dresses in gloomy black like a classic villain stereotype. Yet, his main goal is to fight the worst city criminals. He's sort of a cross between a super hero and one of the classic Universal monsters.
* ''Film/{{Firefox}}'' - In this movie, an American pilot steals a super-advanced Soviet fighter jet and is pursued for the last third of the movie across Europe by his Cold War counterpart. The American is in all black, and the Soviet is in almost pure white. (Does it make you the bad guy if you're performing grand theft aero for LIBERTY?)
* ''Film/{{Ladyhawke}}''. Knight errant Etienne Navarre dresses in all-black armor with red flourishes, and [[spoiler: turns into a wolf at night]]. His lover Isabeau wears a fair amount of black herself; by contrast, both the BigBad (the [[SinisterMinister Bishop of Aquila]]) and his [[TheDragon Dragon]] wear white.

* The made-for-TV-movie ''Film/WhenGoodGhoulsGoBad'' features this. The eponymous [[OurZombiesAreDifferent ghoul]] may ''look'' scary, but he's what's left of a harmless ([[http://content9.flixster.com/photo/11/39/28/11392851_gal.jpg and actually kind of cute]]) goth kid who just wanted to show off the statue he made of his mentor.
* In ''Film/BatmanBegins'', Bruce Wayne's motivation to make his persona dark and frightening is explored via SuperHeroOrigin story.
** ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' deserves special mention as, probably more than any adaptation, it places a huge emphasis both on just how dark of a character Batman is, but also on how morally good and selfless he is.
* In ''Film/TheBeastmaster'', Dar encounters a group of bat people who eat their prey by dissolving them with corrosive liquid and drinking them up. However, they are far from evil, [[spoiler: in fact getting a BigDamnHeroes at the end by saving the city from TheRemnant]]

* At the end of ''{{Film/Gladiator}}'', Maximus wears his standard all-black armor for his final confrontation with the evil Commodus, [[LightIsNotGood who wears all white.]] Of course, Commodus is invoking [[DarkIsEvil the opposite trope by dressing in white]], since he's casting himself as the heroic one.
* Jetfire from ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' is an elderly Decepticon-turned-Autobot who turns into a sinister-looking fighter jet, specifically the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird.

* Snake Eyes from ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra''.
* ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'' :
** The evil-looking Scavengers all wear dark colours and live in dark underground areas, but are eventually revealed [[spoiler:to be a human [[LaResistance resistance force]] led by [[Creator/MorganFreeman Malcolm Beech]] with noble goals]].
** The Tet is a pretty ominous-looking black obelisk in space, but Jack describes it as being something like a human MissionControl HQ. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Jack's wrong]]. [[DarkIsEvil the Tet is monstrous]].]]
* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' - Mothra's dark counterpart Battra (featured in the 1992 movie ''Film/GodzillaAndMothraTheBattleForEarth'') looks very scary and while he's certainly destructive, he's more of a GaiasVengeance type than an outright villain, and ultimately makes a HeroicSacrifice to defeat Godzilla.
** This sometimes applies to the charcoal grey Godzilla himself, who varies between villain, anti-hero, and straightforward hero.
** Zig-zagged in ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}''. While Franchise/{{Godzilla}} is potentially as dangerous to humanity as the Mutos (if not more so), he also serves as a DestructiveSavior. It is notable that this version of Godzilla does not go out of his way to destroy stuff like he usually does.
* While in ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'', the titular character herself zig-zags between this and DarkIsEvil, her [[EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette black clad, black haired, black eyed]] servant, Diaval, is one of the most gentle and caring characters in the film. [[spoiler: Maleficent ultimately becomes this trope, as she pulls a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** ''Film/X2XMenUnited'': Nightcrawler looks like a dark blue demon, and is one of the good guys.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': The X-Men are all clad in black and are the heroes. The suits aren't theirs, anyway; they stole them from the Alkali Lake base.

* In ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart1'', District 13 looks decidedly more ominous and militant than the Capitol, but are presented as the good guys.
* Film/CaptainThunderbolt wears an all black outfit typical of a villainous Wild West gambler, but only steals from the wealthy {{Rancher}}s to feed the poor settlers.
* ''Film/DarkAngelTheAscent'': Demons are not inherently evil beings, but more or less the jailers and torturers of Hell who have been given the job to punish the wicked. They're part of the same cosmic order as the Angels of Heaven, and pray to God.
* Vlad III Dracula from ''Film/DraculaUntold'', via AdaptationalHeroism (the real guy was a pretty horrific war criminal). His Impaler armour is dark red with a dragon on it. Plus, you know, [[BadPowersGoodPeople vampire]]. Nonetheless, he is a WisePrince and remains heroic through the film. This was actually something the film got a bit of criticism over: playing Dracula as a good guy? Well, okay, [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire there is precedent.]] But playing the historical Vlad the Impaler as a good guy rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

* ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'': Sirius Black can transform into a scary-looking dog. In his human form, he looks pretty disheveled, and is, you know, a wanted criminal. It's actually a pretty big plot twist that he's a good guy, framed for a crime he did not commit.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse
** Black Widow is a hero who wears an all-black sneaking suit.
** ComicBook/NickFury lives in a black jacket and drives a black car, but runs the BigGood organization of SHIELD.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. Steve Rogers realizes the SSR room he's woken up in is fake, but starts fighting the moment two black-clad S.H.I.E.L.D. guards enter. Having spent the entire movie fighting HYDRA mooks dressed in black, and seeing a bunch of [[TheMenInBlack agents in dark suits]] outside, it's no surprise that Steve doesn't stop running until he gets to Times Square and realizes he really is back in the USA, albeit 70 years on.
** Rhodey's War Machine armor is a menacing black and gray, complete with an overdose of guns and [[RedEyesTakeWarning a red-eyed helmet]], but he's a MilitarySuperhero who's more grounded than his best friend Iron Man.
** Gamora, one of the ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy,'' wears an entirely black outfit.
** In the third act of ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', Loki's ensemble is mostly black with some green, and he has black hair. This is his darkest costume (barring Midgardian suits) in all appearances. [[spoiler:Loki evacuates the populace of Asgard, saving them from Hela's UndeadMooks, and hours later, he dies defending Thor from Thanos.]]
** T'Challa in ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' wears a black and silver costume with a full-face mask and claws, along with black royal suits when not in costume... and is one of the most noble characters in the MCU.
** [[spoiler:The creepy-looking, shapeshifting reptilian Skrulls]] who dress in black in ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' are not evil. They are first presented as vicious terrorists, but [[spoiler:Skrulls are really refugees who wish to live in peace and are maligned by the Kree propaganda. The genocidal Kree are the real villains as they try to wipe out all Skrulls.]]
* Hannah and R.L. Stine from ''Film/{{Goosebumps}}''.
* ''Film/Venom2018'': The Venom Symbiote is violent, aggressive, ruthless and was using its host Eddie Brock at first to bring its kind to Earth to take over and kill or take people as hosts there but it does show it has a benevolent side as it grows to genuinely care about Eddie, doesn't try to hurt any innocent people unless they attack it or Eddie and even cares about Anne as it leaves her unharmed after leaving her then decides to help Eddie stop the {{Big Bad}} from bringing its kind to Earth because it sees that his home planet is a better home for it than its own.

* ''Film/Venom2018'': The Venom Symbiote is violent, aggressive, ruthless and was using its host Eddie Brock at first to bring its kind to Earth to take over and kill or take people as hosts there but it does show it has a benevolent side as it grows to genuinely care about Eddie, doesn't try to hurt any innocent people unless they attack it or Eddie and even cares Anne as it leaves her unharmed after leaving her then decides to help Eddie stop the {{Big Bad}} from bringing its kind to Earth because it sees that his home planet is a better home for it than its own.

* The Yamomamo tribe in ''Film/{{Cannibal Holocaust}}'' are a CannibalClan with creepy looking rituals and visages, but they are actually friendly towards people who are respectful towards them and God Forbid should anyone (like the [[BigBad ill-fated film crew]] they took a justifiable revenge on) [[TooDumbToLive try to incur their wrath.]]