History EvilCannotComprehendGood / Film

[[folder: James Bond]]
''Franchise/JamesBond'': This is a recurring FatalFlaw for many Bond villains in the movies — because they're criminally insane megalomaniacs and psychopaths who think they're {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s and {{Knight Templar}}s, so when they do a MotiveRant about their {{Evil Plan}}s, it quickly becomes clear that they're just [[ItsAllAboutMe talking about themselves and their selfishness]]. They're trying to [[PsychologicalProjection psychologically project their viewpoint and are determined to justify themselves and their causes to 007]] [[HannibalLecture while monologuing about his own flaws]], only for Bond to make a sarcastic but highly accurate remark about their insanity, [[VillainousBreakdown angering them]]. For example:
* ''Film/DrNo'': [[MadScientist Dr. No]] explains his motive to join SPECTRE, claiming that it's led by geniuses, rudely dismissing 007 as a "stupid policeman", only for Bond to correct him that SPECTRE is actually led by "criminal brains".
* ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': Francisco Scaramanga attempts to invoke the NotSoDifferent card on Bond, sardonically mocking that he only works for "peanuts, a hearty well done from Her Majesty the Queen, and a pittance of a pension", only for 007 to [[ShutUpHannibal shut him down]] by telling that he's full of a "four-letter word".
* ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': When asked by Solitare about Kananga/Mr. Big's death, 007 [[BondOneLiner quips that he had an]] [[ItsAllAboutMe over-inflated opinion of himself]].
* ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'': In the opening, Ernst Stavro Blofeld ''[[VillainousBreakdown pathetically]]'' [[VillainousBreakdown tries to offer Bond a delicatessen in stainless steel in an attempt to be let go]], but 007 won't have any and drops him down a smokestack, killing him for good.
* ''Film/LicenceToKill'': Throughout the film, 007 drops hints to Franz Sanchez that his henchmen are plotting to betray him. And because Sanchez doesn’t truly understand loyalty (and the fact that it is a two-way street, essentially), he falls for the lies. He thinks loyalty is only bottom-up, not top-down. And because he is not loyal to those around him, it is easy for Sanchez to believe the worst of them.
* ''Film/GoldenEye'': When [[spoiler:Alec Trevelyan]]/Janus [[MotiveRant rants]] how he plans to steal from the Bank of England and cover it up with an EMP blast from his KillSat [[spoiler:as part of his revenge against the British government for having his parents killed]], Bond simply states that it still doesn't justify his crimes by calling him a "common thief", which does [[VillainousBreakdown infuriate]] [[spoiler:Trevelyan]].
* ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': [[spoiler:Colonel Tan-Sun Moon]]/Gustav Graves attempts to explain his EvilPlan to [[spoiler:his father General Moon, telling how the KillSat he obtained could be used to destroy the Korean Demilitarized Zone, allowing renegade North Korean soldiers to invade and occupy South Korea. But his father, who had hopes of having a peaceful reunion of the two Koreas and hoped his son would act as a bridge between North Korea and the West, simply disowns him by telling that [[IHaveNoSon his son died the day he plunged into the waterfall]], having realized the monster his son has now become. [[VillainousBreakdown This causes Graves/Moon to kill him out of anger]].]]
* ''Film/{{Spectre}}'':
** Franz Oberhauser/[[spoiler:Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] claims that he and [[spoiler:[[TheMole Max Denbigh/C]]]] are visionaries, only for Bond to mockingly say that they're not "visionaries", but insane megalomaniacs. "Psychiatric wards are full of them."
** [[spoiler:After C/Max Denbigh is revealed to be in cahoots with Blofeld, he uses PsychologicalProjection to explain why DemocracyIsBad, TheEvilsOfFreeWill, that it's a CrapsackWorld out there, and how BigBrotherIsWatching will solve everything by calling M a "total moron", only for M to [[ShutUpHannibal shut him down]] by calling him "careless". At first glance, it may seem that he's insulting M for his failures, but it's obvious to M that C is [[ItsAllAboutMe only ranting about himself and his insanity]].]]
** Following the FinalBattle, [[spoiler:Blofeld offers 007 a chance to FinishHim when he's at Bond's mercy. But after some initial hesitation, 007 refuses by stating that he is [[NotWorthKilling "out of bullets"]], leaving Blofeld confused at Bond's rationale to spare him despite their CainAndAbel relationship. Blofeld also doesn't realize that despite being a ProfessionalKiller, [[EveryoneHasStandards there are moral lines even 007 won't cross]], and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters killing Blofeld out of revenge won't do much.]]]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: DC Universe]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
** ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Henry Ducard, [[spoiler:AKA the real Ra's al Ghul]], doesn't understand why the Batman refuses to be [[KnightTemplar an executioner]].
** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'':
*** The Joker's "social experiment" [[spoiler:uses a SadisticChoice in an attempt to prove that people are cruel at heart, but both groups do the right thing. In a gloriously believable way, no less. It's not a stretch to think that not a single typical civilian or police officer will be cruel and cold enough to actually blow up a ship, even one full of criminals. Flip side, it's also believable that there might be just one guy on the ship of criminals who's not all bad.]] Batman even spells this trope out to the Joker, who can only look at the ships, dumbfounded and disappointed.
--->'''Batman:''' [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech What were you hoping to prove? That, deep down, everyone's as ugly as you? You're]] ''[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech alone!]]''
*** What makes it even more this trope is that the Joker [[spoiler:wasn't counting on a convict having turned his life around]].
*** [[spoiler:The Joker's view gets ''doubly'' proven wrong when Batman [[SaveTheVillain spares his life instead of letting him fall]]]]. Joker looks utterly confused at this.
*** [[spoiler:Then Batman [[ZeroApprovalGambit takes the blame for Harvey's crimes to further thwart the Joker]].]]
* ''Film/GreenLantern'': What ultimately brings Parallax down. Because he feeds off fear, he believes courage means having no fear whatsoever. He assumes Hal Jordan will fall because he has fear in him. Courage is about not letting fear take control, which is why Parallax underestimates him and is unable to feed off him.
* ''{{Super Man}}'':
** In ''Film/SupermanII'', General Zod and Ursa assume Supes is protecting the humans because they are his pets.
** As in the comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor has this going on twice:
*** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', when Ms. Teschmacher asked if he thinks that Superman is the real deal, Luthor replies that if he is, he's not from Earth. Granted, Superman ''is'' a HumanAlien, but it does show that Luthor doesn't believe anyone on Earth could be as selfless as Superman.
*** This is his whole reason for his hatred of Superman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': he was abused as a child, and prayed to God for it to stop, only for it to continue, concluding that either GodIsEvil or doesn't exist. Naturally, he views Superman's mere existence as an affront to his worldview.
* Ares from ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' is adamant that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and only sees them as an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. His absolute refusal to see any good in humanity go to the point where [[spoiler:that he killed the other gods for not siding with him, and ultimately snaps and attempts to kill Diana as well when he fails to convince her. He even sees Steve's HeroicSacrifice by twisting it by saying that Steve abandoned her, even though it was to save countless lives.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Star Wars]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The EvilutionaryBiologist Kaminoans cannot understand why Jango would want an unaltered son to raise.
** ''Film/ANewHope'': [[EarthShatteringKaboom Alderaan gets destroyed]] by Grand Moff Tarkin as a warning to star systems thinking of opposing the Empire or sympathizing with the Rebel Alliance. It has the opposite effect, making many systems more sympathetic to the Rebellion, and in the expanded universe, it even sparked a mass defection by Alderaan-born Imperial officers. Leia even told him "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..."
** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'':
*** Emperor Palpatine's arrogance and relentless self-centeredness blind him to the idea that Luke would show mercy and redeem his father instead of co-ruling the Galaxy -- with someone he is destined to overthrow in due time, no less -- causing his carefully-laid plans to fail. The idea that Darth Vader would turn on him rather than watch his son be murdered presumably never entered his mind either.
*** This is foreshadowed earlier, when Vader senses Luke aboard a captured Imperial shuttle headed for Endor. Palpatine comments that he cannot sense anything -- presumably because he's turned so completely to TheDarkSide that he simply doesn't recognize the rest of the Force. It also explains why he isn't more careful about provoking Vader's HeelFaceTurn: he could only sense the evil side of him.
*** For Luke specifically, his main error was in not realizing that Luke didn't really seek power, to the point that some in the expanded universe speculate on whether he [[IncorruptiblePurePureness even really understood the idea of wanting it]]. While rage against Vader and the Emperor was a temptation to the Dark Side, he really had no reason to side with them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other]]
* ''Film/BoilerRoom'': Greg Feinstein, Seth's boss in the movie, cannot understand [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim what his ex-girlfriend Abby saw in Seth]] or why she chose to start dating Seth over him. Not being [[JerkAss snobbish and condescending]] towards others don't register in his head.
* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', after the titular superhero has soundly defeated [[BigBad the Kingpin]] and has a chance to FinishHim, Kingpin is dumbfounded by Daredevil's refusal to do so.
-->'''Kingpin:''' I ... I don't understand. Why?\\
'''Daredevil:''' Because [[CallBack I'm not the bad guy]].
* ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'': John Milton [[spoiler:aka {{Satan}}]] succeeds in the beginning because he is expert in manipulating Kevin's vanity and ego. [[spoiler: He also thought Kevin would forget that he raped his wife and would lust after his demon half-sister. Ultimately Kevin loved his wife more and was selfless enough to kill himself rather than create the Anti-Christ, which literally makes Milton [[VillainousBreakdown explode]]. And when Kevin is brought back to life, Milton sees Kevin's new moral stance as just another form of vanity he can manipulate]].
* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'' has Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the Nazi PraetorianGuard and the man responsible for the concentration camps, surrender to the advancing British army on the assumption that [[{{Realpolitik}} the Allies would prop up the Nazi regime in Germany to prevent the Communist Soviets from taking over]]. It seems to escape him that after all the horrendous atrocities they have committed, any human of normal moral code wouldn't consider co-operating with them for a second.
* Munroe the BigBad of ''Film/TheExpendables'' somehow doesn't realize that even if his operation is making [[TheGeneralissimo General Garza]] rich, the latter will still likely turn on him, after he abducted and tortured his [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes partner's daughter]] (who is a CIA informent), even after Garza made it ''very'' clear that he would not stand for that.
--> '''Garza:''' You don't kill your familia.
--> '''Munroe:''' Come around my house during the holidays, pal.
** Later, during Munroe's confrontation with [[TheHero Barney Ross]], after he has taken his [[spoiler: now dead]] partners daughter hostage, he tells him that they are NotSoDifferent and he asks why Barney would have come for him, when he could have offered him all the money he wants. Barney's response:
--> '''Barney:''' I didn't come for you dipshit! I came for ''her''! (Fills Munro full of lead)
* The [[MagnificentBastard Cipher]] from the ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fate and the Furious]]'' (the eighth Fast and Furious film) mocks [[TheHero Dom]] for showing kindness to a cheating driver he defeated at the begginning of the film, to which Dom informs her by letting bygones be bygones, he earned the man's respect and [[DefeatMeansFriendship a new ally]] [[spoiler: who plays a part in his scheme to turn the tables on her]], something Cypher dismisses. This comes back to bite her in the end, [[spoiler: after Dom makes peace with his former enemies, [[HeelFaceTurn the Shaw brothers]]]], he gains an edge on Cipher that she never saw coming.
* ''Film/FallingDown'': Nick, a crazed, homophobic, Neo-Nazi, hears about D-Fens' [[GoingPostal antics]] and assumes that he [[NotSoDifferent is a crazed racist like him]], rather than a man having a nervous breakdown. He flips out when D-Fens tells him off.
* In the end, the BigBad of ''Film/GhostShip'' tries to tempt the FinalGirl into his trap by [[spoiler: turning into the crew mate that he just killed. He attempts to use the crewman's love to trick her, but fails horribly because he believes the material items he offers will win her over. Shows up after his ruse is uncovered when he tries to trade her life for keeping the ship afloat and can't seem to understand that she doesn't care that she may die if she can destroy the ship and free all the trapped souls.]]
* In the climax of ''Film/HocusPocus'', Winifred doesn't understand why Max [[spoiler:was willing to put his life on the line for his sister, unable to understand the love that siblings share.]]
* Elsa Schneider in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''. Throughout the movie, she can’t understand that Indy doesn’t want to find the grail for the same reasons as her. She insists that [[NotInThisForYourRevolution she “believes in the grail, not the Swastika”]], but Indy retorts that she “stood up to be counted with the enemy of everything the Grail stands for.” In the end, she refuses to believe that the grail isn’t meant for her to keep. As she heads for the exit, she crosses the Great Seal and triggers the temple’s collapse. She almost falls into a chasm but Indy catches her. Instead of letting him save her, she pulls a hand free to reach the grail that she dropped. She comes so close, but her glove slips off the hand Indiana was holding and she loses her life. Henry Sr. later comments that Elsa thought the grail was “a prize” and she didn’t understand the spiritual meaning behind it.
* Mr. Potter from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' goes through the entire movie without picking up so much as a clue as to what makes Peter, George, or indeed any of the Bedford Falls townspeople tick. Potter's expectations that George will hand the Building and Loan over to him in exchange for a job or that the townspeople will quickly turn against George at the first opportunity are disappointed throughout the movie. It never dawns on him there's something about his fellow men that he just doesn't get.
** One notable instance of this is when George comes begging Potter for money because "I misplaced $8,000.00." Potter (who hid that very money after watching George's Uncle Billy lose it) replies in shock, "''You'' misplaced $8,000.00?" (emphasis his) -- evidently, although Potter expected the loss of the money to cause a lot of problems for his rival, George taking the blame and risking going to jail himself wasn't one of them.
* ''Film/KingRalph'': [[AristocratsAreEvil Lord Graves]], in an attempt to discredit [[RagsToRoyalty Ralph]], pays Miranda, a showgirl that Ralph fallen for to [[HoneyTrap seduce him]]. When Miranda [[BecomingTheMask genuinely falls for Ralph]] and calls the deal off, Graves naturally assumes that she just wants more money.
* In ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', Nathan Algren is greatly haunted by the atrocities he committed in the past as a soldier. His fellow soldier Bagley sees his own atrocities as [[IDidWhatIHadToDo duty]] and [[ButForMeItWasTuesday barely remembers them]]. Bagley cannot understand why Algren is so bothered by them.
* In ''Film/TheLastStand'', [[BigBad Cortez]] seems completely baffled that [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Roy]] won't accept a bribe of millions of dollars (escalating with each offer) to let him [[RunForTheBorder cross the border and escape to Mexico]].
-->'''Roy:''' My honor's not for sale.\\
'''Cortez:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck your honor!]]
* In ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., doesn't understand why Seymour Krelborn would want to kill him, because Scrivello had never done anything to Seymour. He never imagines that anyone would want to protect ''Audrey,'' of all people.
-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' What did I ever do to you?\\
'''Seymour Krelborn:''' Nothing. It's what you did to ''her''.\\
'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Her who?\\
'''Seymour Krelborn:''' ...\\
'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Oh. ''Her''.
* In ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]'', Callvera's last words to Chris were "You came back... for a place like this... Why? A man like you... Why?" The reason he let them go in the first place was because he thought they were all on the same terms, and thus they would never come back to save a bunch of farmers.
* Played straight in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions''--Neo's refusal to give up, no matter how badly he's beaten, allows him to push Smith into a VillainousBreakdown without saying a word. ''Then'' Neo [[spoiler: allows Smith to assimilate him. Smith is completely surprised that Neo would do such a thing, and is even more surprised when, his purpose fulfilled, he is wiped out of existence.]]
* ''Film/MidnightRun'': [[TheMafia Serrano]] is aggravated by the idea that someone like Jack would give up his family and career rather than become a DirtyCop on his payroll. [[spoiler: He also never expected that Jack would work the FBI to bring him down, instead of getting Marudukas back, which is what Jack had been focused on since the beginning of the film]].
* In the original ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'', Dr. Sawyer is about the closest thing thing we have to a legitimate villain. He openly believes that the only reason Alfred likes playing Santa, or that Kris claims to be Santa, is because they are both delusional. As far as he's concerned, anyone who's that nice has be harboring a severe guilt complex.
* ''Film/OhGodYouDevil'' features George Burns as both God and the Devil. When the Devil has manipulated a man into attempting suicide, he and God have a poker showdown for the soul. God raises the stakes, offering to cease protecting a great many of people at risk if he loses, but that the Devil will cease interfering if God wins. When the Devil considers the offer, he decides there's no way God would do this without being certain of victory, since one man wasn't worth it. To Him, one man was. It's played for a strange form of PG-rated BlackComedy.
* At the end of ''Film/PathsOfGlory'', General Broulard is so impressed by Colonel Dax's efforts in his battle against General Mireau to save his men from public execution that he's going to offer him Mireau's place. When Dax refuses because he wasn't doing it to have a promotion, Mireau is completely dumbfounded that anyone would try to save lives without something to gain from it, and threatens to have Dax arrested.
* The TagLine to ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' is "Innocence has a power evil cannot comprehend", which explains a lot of Cpt. Vidal's actions, as well as [[spoiler:his inability to see the Faun]] at the end. Case in point: he's left utterly bewildered when Dr. Ferreiro chooses to MercyKill a captured rebel to spare him more ColdBloodedTorture at Vidal's hands, despite knowing that Vidal would undoubtedly kill him for doing so.
-->'''Dr. Ferreiro:''' To obey--just like that--for obedience's sake... Without questioning... [[MyCountryRightOrWrong That is something only men like you can do, Captain]].
* In ''Film/{{Patton}}'', one German points out that Patton, who they believe will lead the invasion of Europe, is facing a public backlash after slapping a soldier and may be court-martialed. He gets the reply "Don't believe their newspapers! They would never keep their best general out of the war just for slapping a soldier." That's ''exactly'' what they do (albeit as part of a BatmanGambit). This is an interesting case, as in the [[BlackAndGreyMorality harsh reality of war]], overlooking personal failings--even major personal crimes--of a great general might really be the "good" thing to do, not just the expedient thing. Keeping your best leaders in the field saves soldier's lives. [[note]]And you can always punish him after he's done doing his job, after all.[[/note]] Patton's commander, Eisenhower, thought the man was AxCrazy and liable to screw up the Alliance with his rivalry with Montgomery and his open hostility towards the Soviet Union. Putting him in charge of the decoy invasion served two purposes for Ike: it convinced the Germans that the decoy was actually real, and it kept Patton out of the front lines (and the headlines).
* In ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', while beating him up, [[EvilUncle Nizam]] remarks to Dastan his dislike of the King adopting the homeless boy and making him Prince. Earlier, the King did explain that Dastan is brave and noble, so he judged him worthy of becoming Prince.
-->'''Nizam:''' I never understood why my brother brought ''trash'' into our house! Enjoy the gutter, Dastan! It's where you will stay under ''my'' rule!
* In ''Film/RichieRich'' Laurence Van Dough spends the movie trying to break into the Rich family vault which he naturally assumes is packed with mountains of gold, jewels, and money. When he finally does enter, all he finds is various family artifacts and memories of key moments in the Richs' lives. Van Dough is stunned, unable to accept the idea that anyone would waste a vault on such "junk," not getting that to the Riches, these are true treasures.
-->'''Van Dough:''' I don't get it. Where's the money?
-->'''Mr. Rich:''' In banks. Where else?
** The Riches don't even bother hiding how they think Van Dough is an idiot for assuming that the richest family in the world would keep their wealth hidden around rather than investing it in stocks.
* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', Amon Goeth often can't understand Schindler's actions of compassion towards his Jewish workers. In particular, he acts thoroughly confused when Oskar wants to buy all of them before they go to Auschwitz, trying to figure out how Oskar will make money off this. It never once occurs to him that Oskar might simply want to save a thousand people from genocide.
* Used and subverted early in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. Someone from the [[SchoolForScheming Academy]] says that Simon Tam "must be crazy" to have run such risks and gone to such lengths to save River. The Operative, true to his WellIntentionedExtremist nature, recognizes love for what it is: [[ThePowerOfLove something much more dangerous]].
-->'''Operative:''' Madness? Have you looked at these tapes? At his face? It's ''love'', in point of fact. Something far more dangerous.
* In ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'', both Holmes and Moriarty employ a SherlockScan to predict the outcome of their final confrontation, and both come to the same conclusion: [[spoiler: that due to Holmes' injured shoulder, he can't win]]. However, [[spoiler: Moriarty--self-interested to the point of outright sociopathy--couldn't comprehend that Holmes was [[HeroicSacrifice willing to sacrifice his own life]] to defeat him.]]
* In the remake of ''Film/TheStepfordWives'' this is the undoing of those behind Stepford. It never occurs to them that, given the choice between a wife who's a brainless robot who caters to his every whim or one who's strong, independent and more successful, a husband would chose the latter instead of the former.
* Film/TransformersFilmSeries:
** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'': Megatron and two other Decepticons [[CurbStompBattle gang up on Optimus Prime]]. The battle revolves mostly around why Prime thinks Sam Witwicky is [[AlasPoorScrappy so darn important]].
--->'''Megatron:''' Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?\\
'''Optimus Prime:''' [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope You'll never stop]] [[OmnicidalManiac at one]]! ''[[PapaWolf I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!]]''
** Occurs again in the [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon third film]]. [[spoiler: Sentinel Prime has decided to cooperate with the Decepticons to enslave humanity as a work force to rebuild Cybertron. He makes it clear that he wants to ensure that the Cybertronian race doesn't die out and believes his authority as a Prime puts him above coexisting peacefully with humans. So it becomes a huge case of frustration for him when Optimus Prime, his former student, chooses to defend the freedom of mankind over the possibility of having his home restored. Optimus simply responds by saying that it was ''Sentinel'' who taught him that "freedom was everyone's right."]]
** In ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]'', Harold Attinger and the rest of Cemetery Wind are incapable of realizing that there ''are'' good and bad aliens and their actions are just as evil and extreme as the Decepticons.
* ''Film/WallStreet'': [[spoiler:When Gordon Gekko invokes a NotSoDifferent speech to Darien in an earlier draft of the movie script, she responds that he's incapable of understanding that money can't buy everything, especially love or happiness. Gekko thinks that she's leaving him to become on her own, but doesn't realize that she's actually leaving him for Bud Fox. It takes a great deal of understanding for him to realize this in the [[Film/WallStreetMoneyNeverSleeps sequel]].]]
[[/folder]]

-->'''Roy:''' My honor's not for sale.\\
'''Cortez:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck your honor!]]

* ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Henry Ducard, [[spoiler:AKA the real Ra's al Ghul]], doesn't understand why the Batman refuses to be [[KnightTemplar an executioner]].

[[folder: Other]]

* ''Film/BoilerRoom'': Greg Feinstein, Seth's boss in the movie, cannot understand [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim what his ex-girlfriend Abby saw in Seth]] or why she chose to start dating Seth over him. Not being [[JerkAss snobbish and condescending]] towards others don't register in his head.
* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', after the titular superhero has soundly defeated [[BigBad the Kingpin]] and has a chance to FinishHim, Kingpin is dumbfounded by Daredevil's refusal to do so.
-->'''Kingpin:''' I ... I don't understand. Why?\\
'''Daredevil:''' Because [[CallBack I'm not the bad guy]].
* ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'': John Milton [[spoiler:aka {{Satan}}]] succeeds in the beginning because he is expert in manipulating Kevin's vanity and ego. [[spoiler: He also thought Kevin would forget that he raped his wife and would lust after his demon half-sister. Ultimately Kevin loved his wife more and was selfless enough to kill himself rather than create the Anti-Christ, which literally makes Milton [[VillainousBreakdown explode]]. And when Kevin is brought back to life, Milton sees Kevin's new moral stance as just another form of vanity he can manipulate]].
* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'' has Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the Nazi PraetorianGuard and the man responsible for the concentration camps, surrender to the advancing British army on the assumption that [[{{Realpolitik}} the Allies would prop up the Nazi regime in Germany to prevent the Communist Soviets from taking over]]. It seems to escape him that after all the horrendous atrocities they have committed, any human of normal moral code wouldn't consider co-operating with them for a second.
* Munroe the BigBad of ''Film/TheExpendables'' somehow doesn't realize that even if his operation is making [[TheGeneralissimo General Garza]] rich, the latter will still likely turn on him, after he abducted and tortured his [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes partner's daughter]] (who is a CIA informent), even after Garza made it ''very'' clear that he would not stand for that.
--> '''Garza:''' You don't kill your familia.
--> '''Munroe:''' Come around my house during the holidays, pal.
** Later, during Munroe's confrontation with [[TheHero Barney Ross]], after he has taken his [[spoiler: now dead]] partners daughter hostage, he tells him that they are NotSoDifferent and he asks why Barney would have come for him, when he could have offered him all the money he wants. Barney's response:
--> '''Barney:''' I didn't come for you dipshit! I came for ''her''! (Fills Munro full of lead)
* The [[MagnificentBastard Cipher]] from the ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fate and the Furious]]'' (the eighth Fast and Furious film) mocks [[TheHero Dom]] for showing kindness to a cheating driver he defeated at the begginning of the film, to which Dom informs her by letting bygones be bygones, he earned the man's respect and [[DefeatMeansFriendship a new ally]] [[spoiler: who plays a part in his scheme to turn the tables on her]], something Cypher dismisses. This comes back to bite her in the end, [[spoiler: after Dom makes peace with his former enemies, [[HeelFaceTurn the Shaw brothers]]]], he gains an edge on Cipher that she never saw coming.
* ''Film/FallingDown'': Nick, a crazed, homophobic, Neo-Nazi, hears about D-Fens' [[GoingPostal antics]] and assumes that he [[NotSoDifferent is a crazed racist like him]], rather than a man having a nervous breakdown. He flips out when D-Fens tells him off.
* In the end, the BigBad of ''Film/GhostShip'' tries to tempt the FinalGirl into his trap by [[spoiler: turning into the crew mate that he just killed. He attempts to use the crewman's love to trick her, but fails horribly because he believes the material items he offers will win her over. Shows up after his ruse is uncovered when he tries to trade her life for keeping the ship afloat and can't seem to understand that she doesn't care that she may die if she can destroy the ship and free all the trapped souls.]]

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The EvilutionaryBiologist Kaminoans cannot understand why Jango would want an unaltered son to raise.
** ''Film/ANewHope'': [[EarthShatteringKaboom Alderaan gets destroyed]] by Grand Moff Tarkin as a warning to star systems thinking of opposing the Empire or sympathizing with the Rebel Alliance. It has the opposite effect, making many systems more sympathetic to the Rebellion, and in the expanded universe, it even sparked a mass defection by Alderaan-born Imperial officers. Leia even told him "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..."
** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'':
*** Emperor Palpatine's arrogance and relentless self-centeredness blind him to the idea that Luke would show mercy and redeem his father instead of co-ruling the Galaxy--with someone he is destined to overthrow in due time, no less--causing his carefully-laid plans to fail. The idea that Darth Vader would turn on him rather than watch his son be murdered presumably never entered his mind either.
*** This is foreshadowed earlier, when Vader senses Luke aboard a captured Imperial shuttle headed for Endor. Palpatine comments that he cannot sense anything--presumably because he's turned so completely to the Dark Side that he simply doesn't recognize the rest of the Force. It also explains why he isn't more careful about provoking Vader's HeelFaceTurn: he could only sense the evil side of him.
*** For Luke specifically, his main error was in not realizing that Luke didn't really seek power, to the point that some in the expanded universe speculate on whether he [[IncorruptiblePurePureness even really understood the idea of wanting it]]. While rage against Vader and the Emperor was a temptation to the Dark Side, he really had no reason to side with them.
J* ''{{Super Man}}''
** In ''Film/SupermanII'', General Zod and Ursa assume Supes is protecting the humans because they are his pets.
** As in the comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor has this going on twice:
*** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', when Ms. Teschmacher asked if he thinks that Superman is the real deal, Luthor replies that if he is, he's not from Earth. Granted, Superman ''is'' a HumanAlien, but it does show that Luthor doesn't believe anyone on Earth could be as selfless as Superman.
*** This is his whole reason for his hatred of Superman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': he was abused as a child, and prayed to God for it to stop, only for it to continue, concluding that either GodIsEvil or doesn't exist. Naturally, he views Superman's mere existence as an affront to his worldview.

* Ares from ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' is adamant that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and only sees them as an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. His absolute refusal to see any good in humanity go to the point where [[spoiler:that he killed the other gods for not siding with him, and ultimately snaps and attempts to kill Diana as well when he fails to convince her. He even sees Steve's HeroicSacrifice by twisting it by saying that Steve abandoned her, even though it was to save countless lives.]]

* In ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'', Callvera's last words to Chris were "You came back... for a place like this... Why? A man like you... Why?" The reason he let them go in the first place was because he thought they were all on the same terms, and thus they would never come back to save a bunch of farmers.

* ''Franchise/JamesBond'': This is a recurring FatalFlaw for many Bond villains in the movies — because they're criminally insane megalomaniacs and psychopaths who think they're {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s and {{Knight Templar}}s, so when they do a MotiveRant about their {{Evil Plan}}s, it quickly becomes clear that they're just [[ItsAllAboutMe talking about themselves and their selfishness]]. They're trying to [[PsychologicalProjection psychologically project their viewpoint and are determined to justify themselves and their causes to 007]] [[HannibalLecture while monologuing about his own flaws]], only for Bond to make a sarcastic but highly accurate remark about their insanity, [[VillainousBreakdown angering them]]. For example:
** ''Film/DrNo'': [[MadScientist Dr. No]] explains his motive to join SPECTRE, claiming that it's led by geniuses, rudely dismissing 007 as a "stupid policeman", only for Bond to correct him that SPECTRE is actually led by "criminal brains".
** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': Francisco Scaramanga attempts to invoke the NotSoDifferent card on Bond, sardonically mocking that he only works for "peanuts, a hearty well done from Her Majesty the Queen, and a pittance of a pension", only for 007 to [[ShutUpHannibal shut him down]] by telling that he's full of a "four-letter word".
** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': When asked by Solitare about Kananga/Mr. Big's death, 007 [[BondOneLiner quips that he had an]] [[ItsAllAboutMe over-inflated opinion of himself]].
** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'': In the opening, Ernst Stavro Blofeld ''[[VillainousBreakdown pathetically]]'' [[VillainousBreakdown tries to offer Bond a delicatessen in stainless steel in an attempt to be let go]], but 007 won't have any and drops him down a smokestack, killing him for good.
** ''Film/LicenceToKill'': Throughout the film, 007 drops hints to Franz Sanchez that his henchmen are plotting to betray him. And because Sanchez doesn’t truly understand loyalty (and the fact that it is a two-way street, essentially), he falls for the lies. He thinks loyalty is only bottom-up, not top-down. And because he is not loyal to those around him, it is easy for Sanchez to believe the worst of them.
** ''Film/GoldenEye'': When [[spoiler:Alec Trevelyan]]/Janus [[MotiveRant rants]] how he plans to steal from the Bank of England and cover it up with an EMP blast from his KillSat [[spoiler:as part of his revenge against the British government for having his parents killed]], Bond simply states that it still doesn't justify his crimes by calling him a "common thief", which does [[VillainousBreakdown infuriate]] [[spoiler:Trevelyan]].
** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': [[spoiler:Colonel Tan-Sun Moon]]/Gustav Graves attempts to explain his EvilPlan to [[spoiler:his father General Moon, telling how the KillSat he obtained could be used to destroy the Korean Demilitarized Zone, allowing renegade North Korean soldiers to invade and occupy South Korea. But his father, who had hopes of having a peaceful reunion of the two Koreas and hoped his son would act as a bridge between North Korea and the West, simply disowns him by telling that [[IHaveNoSon his son died the day he plunged into the waterfall]], having realized the monster his son has now become. [[VillainousBreakdown This causes Graves/Moon to kill him out of anger]].]]
** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'':
*** Franz Oberhauser/[[spoiler:Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] claims that he and [[spoiler:[[TheMole Max Denbigh/C]]]] are visionaries, only for Bond to mockingly say that they're not "visionaries", but insane megalomaniacs. "Psychiatric wards are full of them."
*** [[spoiler:After C/Max Denbigh is revealed to be in cahoots with Blofeld, he uses PsychologicalProjection to explain why DemocracyIsBad, TheEvilsOfFreeWill, that it's a CrapsackWorld out there, and how BigBrotherIsWatching will solve everything by calling M a "total moron", only for M to [[ShutUpHannibal shut him down]] by calling him "careless". At first glance, it may seem that he's insulting M for his failures, but it's obvious to M that C is [[ItsAllAboutMe only ranting about himself and his insanity]].]]
*** Following the FinalBattle, [[spoiler:Blofeld offers 007 a chance to FinishHim when he's at Bond's mercy. But after some initial hesitation, 007 refuses by stating that he is [[NotWorthKilling "out of bullets"]], leaving Blofeld confused at Bond's rationale to spare him despite their CainAndAbel relationship. Blofeld also doesn't realize that despite being a ProfessionalKiller, [[EveryoneHasStandards there are moral lines even 007 won't cross]], and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters killing Blofeld out of revenge won't do much.]]]]

* Ares from ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' is adamant that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and only sees them as an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. His absolute refusal to see any good in humanity go to the point where [[spoiler:that he killed the other gods for not siding with him, and ultimately snaps and attempts to kill Diana as well when he fails to convince her. He even sees Steve's HeroicSacrifice by twisting it by saying that Steve abandoned her, even though it was to save countless lives.]]

* The TagLine to ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' is "Innocence has a power evil cannot comprehend", which explains a lot of Cpt. Vidal's actions, as well as [[spoiler:his inability to see the Faun]] at the end. Case in point: he's left utterly bewildered when Dr. Ferreiro chooses to MercyKill a captured rebel to spare him more ColdBloodedTorture at Vidal's hands, despite knowing that Vidal would undoubtedly kill him for doing so.
-->'''Dr. Ferreiro:''' To obey--just like that--for obedience's sake... Without questioning... [[MyCountryRightOrWrong That is something only men like you can do, Captain]].
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The EvilutionaryBiologist Kaminoans cannot understand why Jango would want an unaltered son to raise.
** ''Film/ANewHope'': [[EarthShatteringKaboom Alderaan gets destroyed]] by Grand Moff Tarkin as a warning to star systems thinking of opposing the Empire or sympathizing with the Rebel Alliance. It has the opposite effect, making many systems more sympathetic to the Rebellion, and in the expanded universe, it even sparked a mass defection by Alderaan-born Imperial officers. Leia even told him "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..."
** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'':
*** Emperor Palpatine's arrogance and relentless self-centeredness blind him to the idea that Luke would show mercy and redeem his father instead of co-ruling the Galaxy--with someone he is destined to overthrow in due time, no less--causing his carefully-laid plans to fail. The idea that Darth Vader would turn on him rather than watch his son be murdered presumably never entered his mind either.
*** This is foreshadowed earlier, when Vader senses Luke aboard a captured Imperial shuttle headed for Endor. Palpatine comments that he cannot sense anything--presumably because he's turned so completely to the Dark Side that he simply doesn't recognize the rest of the Force. It also explains why he isn't more careful about provoking Vader's HeelFaceTurn: he could only sense the evil side of him.
*** For Luke specifically, his main error was in not realizing that Luke didn't really seek power, to the point that some in the expanded universe speculate on whether he [[IncorruptiblePurePureness even really understood the idea of wanting it]]. While rage against Vader and the Emperor was a temptation to the Dark Side, he really had no reason to side with them.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'':
** The Joker's "social experiment" [[spoiler:uses a SadisticChoice in an attempt to prove that people are cruel at heart, but both groups do the right thing. In a gloriously believable way, no less. It's not a stretch to think that not a single typical civilian or police officer will be cruel and cold enough to actually blow up a ship, even one full of criminals. Flip side, it's also believable that there might be just one guy on the ship of criminals who's not all bad.]] Batman even spells this trope out to the Joker, who can only look at the ships, dumbfounded and disappointed.

** What makes it even more this trope is that the Joker [[spoiler:wasn't counting on a convict having turned his life around]].
** [[spoiler:The Joker's view gets ''doubly'' proven wrong when Batman [[SaveTheVillain spares his life instead of letting him fall]]]]. Joker looks utterly confused at this.
** [[spoiler:Then Batman [[ZeroApprovalGambit takes the blame for Harvey's crimes to further thwart the Joker]].]]
* ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Henry Ducard, [[spoiler:AKA the real Ra's al Ghul]], doesn't understand why the Batman refuses to be [[KnightTemplar an executioner]].
* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', Amon Goeth often can't understand Schindler's actions of compassion towards his Jewish workers. In particular, he acts thoroughly confused when Oskar wants to buy all of them before they go to Auschwitz, trying to figure out how Oskar will make money off this. It never once occurs to him that Oskar might simply want to save a thousand people from genocide.
* Film/TransformersFilmSeries:
** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'': Megatron and two other Decepticons [[CurbStompBattle gang up on Optimus Prime]]. The battle revolves mostly around why Prime thinks Sam Witwicky is [[AlasPoorScrappy so darn important]].
--->'''Megatron:''' Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?\\
'''Optimus Prime:''' [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope You'll never stop]] [[OmnicidalManiac at one]]! ''[[PapaWolf I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!]]''
** Occurs again in the [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon third film]]. [[spoiler: Sentinel Prime has decided to cooperate with the Decepticons to enslave humanity as a work force to rebuild Cybertron. He makes it clear that he wants to ensure that the Cybertronian race doesn't die out and believes his authority as a Prime puts him above coexisting peacefully with humans. So it becomes a huge case of frustration for him when Optimus Prime, his former student, chooses to defend the freedom of mankind over the possibility of having his home restored. Optimus simply responds by saying that it was ''Sentinel'' who taught him that "freedom was everyone's right."]]
** In ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]'', Harold Attinger and the rest of Cemetery Wind are incapable of realizing that there ''are'' good and bad aliens and their actions are just as evil and extreme as the Decepticons.
* In ''Film/{{Patton}}'', one German points out that Patton, who they believe will lead the invasion of Europe, is facing a public backlash after slapping a soldier and may be court-martialed. He gets the reply "Don't believe their newspapers! They would never keep their best general out of the war just for slapping a soldier." That's ''exactly'' what they do (albeit as part of a BatmanGambit). This is an interesting case, as in the [[BlackAndGreyMorality harsh reality of war]], overlooking personal failings--even major personal crimes--of a great general might really be the "good" thing to do, not just the expedient thing. Keeping your best leaders in the field saves soldier's lives. [[note]]And you can always punish him after he's done doing his job, after all.[[/note]] Patton's commander, Eisenhower, thought the man was AxCrazy and liable to screw up the Alliance with his rivalry with Montgomery and his open hostility towards the Soviet Union. Putting him in charge of the decoy invasion served two purposes for Ike: it convinced the Germans that the decoy was actually real, and it kept Patton out of the front lines (and the headlines).
* In ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'', Callvera's last words to Chris were "You came back... for a place like this... Why? A man like you... Why?" The reason he let them go in the first place was because he thought they were all on the same terms, and thus they would never come back to save a bunch of farmers.
* Played straight in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions''--Neo's refusal to give up, no matter how badly he's beaten, allows him to push Smith into a VillainousBreakdown without saying a word. ''Then'' Neo [[spoiler: allows Smith to assimilate him. Smith is completely surprised that Neo would do such a thing, and is even more surprised when, his purpose fulfilled, he is wiped out of existence.]]
* Mr. Potter from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' goes through the entire movie without picking up so much as a clue as to what makes Peter, George, or indeed any of the Bedford Falls townspeople tick. Potter's expectations that George will hand the Building and Loan over to him in exchange for a job or that the townspeople will quickly turn against George at the first opportunity are disappointed throughout the movie. It never dawns on him there's something about his fellow men that he just doesn't get.
** One notable instance of this is when George comes begging Potter for money because "I misplaced $8,000.00." Potter (who hid that very money after watching George's Uncle Billy lose it) replies in shock, "''You'' misplaced $8,000.00?" (emphasis his) -- evidently, although Potter expected the loss of the money to cause a lot of problems for his rival, George taking the blame and risking going to jail himself wasn't one of them.
* Used and subverted early in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. Someone from the [[SchoolForScheming Academy]] says that Simon Tam "must be crazy" to have run such risks and gone to such lengths to save River. The Operative, true to his WellIntentionedExtremist nature, recognizes love for what it is: [[ThePowerOfLove something much more dangerous]].
-->'''Operative:''' Madness? Have you looked at these tapes? At his face? It's ''love'', in point of fact. Something far more dangerous.
* In ''Film/SupermanII'', General Zod and Ursa assume Supes is protecting the humans because they are his pets.
* In the end, the BigBad of ''Film/GhostShip'' tries to tempt the FinalGirl into his trap by [[spoiler: turning into the crew mate that he just killed. He attempts to use the crewman's love to trick her, but fails horribly because he believes the material items he offers will win her over. Shows up after his ruse is uncovered when he tries to trade her life for keeping the ship afloat and can't seem to understand that she doesn't care that she may die if she can destroy the ship and free all the trapped souls.]]
* In ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', while beating him up, [[EvilUncle Nizam]] remarks to Dastan his dislike of the King adopting the homeless boy and making him Prince. Earlier, the King did explain that Dastan is brave and noble, so he judged him worthy of becoming Prince.
-->'''Nizam:''' I never understood why my brother brought ''trash'' into our house! Enjoy the gutter, Dastan! It's where you will stay under ''my'' rule!
* In ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'', both Holmes and Moriarty employ a SherlockScan to predict the outcome of their final confrontation, and both come to the same conclusion: [[spoiler: that due to Holmes' injured shoulder, he can't win]]. However, [[spoiler: Moriarty--self-interested to the point of outright sociopathy--couldn't comprehend that Holmes was [[HeroicSacrifice willing to sacrifice his own life]] to defeat him.]]

* In ''Film/TheLastStand'', [[BigBad Cortez]] seems completely baffled that [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Roy]] won't accept a bribe of millions of dollars (escalating with each offer) to let him [[RunForTheBorder cross the border and escape to Mexico]].
-->'''Roy:''' My honor's not for sale.\\
'''Cortez:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck your honor!]]
* ''Film/OhGodYouDevil'' features George Burns as both God and the Devil. When the Devil has manipulated a man into attempting suicide, he and God have a poker showdown for the soul. God raises the stakes, offering to cease protecting a great many of people at risk if he loses, but that the Devil will cease interfering if God wins. When the Devil considers the offer, he decides there's no way God would do this without being certain of victory, since one man wasn't worth it. To Him, one man was. It's played for a strange form of PG-rated BlackComedy.
* In ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', Nathan Algren is greatly haunted by the atrocities he committed in the past as a soldier. His fellow soldier Bagley sees his own atrocities as [[IDidWhatIHadToDo duty]] and [[ButForMeItWasTuesday barely remembers them]]. Bagley cannot understand why Algren is so bothered by them.
* In ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., doesn't understand why Seymour Krelborn would want to kill him, because Scrivello had never done anything to Seymour. He never imagines that anyone would want to protect ''Audrey,'' of all people.
-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' What did I ever do to you?\\
'''Seymour Krelborn:''' Nothing. It's what you did to ''her''.\\
'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Her who?\\
'''Seymour Krelborn:''' ...\\
'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Oh. ''Her''.
* Elsa Schneider in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''. Throughout the movie, she can’t understand that Indy doesn’t want to find the grail for the same reasons as her. She insists that [[NotInThisForYourRevolution she “believes in the grail, not the Swastika”]], but Indy retorts that she “stood up to be counted with the enemy of everything the Grail stands for.” In the end, she refuses to believe that the grail isn’t meant for her to keep. As she heads for the exit, she crosses the Great Seal and triggers the temple’s collapse. She almost falls into a chasm but Indy catches her. Instead of letting him save her, she pulls a hand free to reach the grail that she dropped. She comes so close, but her glove slips off the hand Indiana was holding and she loses her life. Henry Sr. later comments that Elsa thought the grail was “a prize” and she didn’t understand the spiritual meaning behind it.

* At the end of ''Film/PathsOfGlory'', General Broulard is so impressed by Colonel Dax's efforts in his battle against General Mireau to save his men from public execution that he's going to offer him Mireau's place. When Dax refuses because he wasn't doing it to have a promotion, Mireau is completely dumbfounded that anyone would try to save lives without something to gain from it, and threatens to have Dax arrested.
* ''Film/MidnightRun'': [[TheMafia Serrano]] is aggravated by the idea that someone like Jack would give up his family and career rather than become a DirtyCop on his payroll. [[spoiler: He also never expected that Jack would work the FBI to bring him down, instead of getting Marudukas back, which is what Jack had been focused on since the beginning of the film]].
* In ''Film/RichieRich'' Laurence Van Dough spends the movie trying to break into the Rich family vault which he naturally assumes is packed with mountains of gold, jewels, and money. When he finally does enter, all he finds is various family artifacts and memories of key moments in the Richs' lives. Van Dough is stunned, unable to accept the idea that anyone would waste a vault on such "junk," not getting that to the Riches, these are true treasures.
-->'''Van Dough:''' I don't get it. Where's the money?
-->'''Mr. Rich:''' In banks. Where else?
** The Riches don't even bother hiding how they think Van Dough is an idiot for assuming that the richest family in the world would keep their wealth hidden around rather than investing it in stocks.

* ''Film/KingRalph'': [[AristocratsAreEvil Lord Graves]], in an attempt to discredit [[RagsToRoyalty Ralph]], pays Miranda, a showgirl that Ralph fallen for to [[HoneyTrap seduce him]]. When Miranda [[BecomingTheMask genuinely falls for Ralph]] and calls the deal off, Graves naturally assumes that she just wants more money.
* As in the comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor has this going on twice:
** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', when Ms. Teschmacher asked if he thinks that Superman is the real deal, Luthor replies that if he is, he's not from Earth. Granted, Superman ''is'' a HumanAlien, but it does show that Luthor doesn't believe anyone on Earth could be as selfless as Superman.
** This is his whole reason for his hatred of Superman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': he was abused as a child, and prayed to God for it to stop, only for it to continue, concluding that either GodIsEvil or doesn't exist. Naturally, he views Superman's mere existence as an affront to his worldview.
* In the original ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'', Dr. Sawyer is about the closest thing thing we have to a legitimate villain. He openly believes that the only reason Alfred likes playing Santa, or that Kris claims to be Santa, is because they are both delusional. As far as he's concerned, anyone who's that nice has be harboring a severe guilt complex.
* In the remake of ''Film/TheStepfordWives'' this is the undoing of those behind Stepford. It never occurs to them that, given the choice between a wife who's a brainless robot who caters to his every whim or one who's strong, independent and more successful, a husband would chose the latter instead of the former.

* Munroe the BigBad of ''Film/TheExpendables'' somehow doesn't realize that even if his operation is making [[TheGeneralissimo General Garza]] rich, the latter will still likely turn on him, after he abducted and tortured his [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes partner's daughter]] (who is a CIA informent), even after Garza made it ''very'' clear that he would not stand for that.
--> '''Garza:''' You don't kill your familia.
--> '''Munroe:''' Come around my house during the holidays, pal.
** Later, during Munroe's confrontation with [[TheHero Barney Ross]], after he has taken his [[spoiler: now dead]] partners daughter hostage, he tells him that they are NotSoDifferent and he asks why Barney would have come for him, when he could have offered him all the money he wants. Barney's response:
--> '''Barney:''' I didn't come for you dipshit! I came for ''her''! (Fills Munro full of lead)
* The MagnificentBastard Cipher from the ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fate and the Furious]]'' (the eighth Fast and Furious film) mocks [[TheHero Dom]] for showing kindness to a cheating driver he defeated at the begginning of the film, to which Dom informs her by letting bygones be bygones, he earned the man's respect and [[DefeatMeansFriendship a new ally]] [[spoiler: who plays a part in his scheme to turn the tables on her]], something Cypher dismisses. This comes back to bite her in the end, [[spoiler: after Dom makes peace with his former enemies, [[HeelFaceTurn the Shaw brothers]]]], he gains an edge on Cipher that she never saw coming.
* In the climax of ''Film/HocusPocus'', Winifred doesn't understand why Max [[spoiler:was willing to put his life on the line for his sister, unable to understand the love that siblings share.]]
* Ares from ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' is adamant that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and only sees them as an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. His absolute refusal to see any good in humanity go to the point where [[spoiler:that he killed the other gods for not siding with him, and ultimately snaps and attempts to kill Diana as well when he fails to convince her. He even sees Steve's HeroicSacrifice by twisting it by saying that Steve abandoned her, even though it was to save countless lives.]]

* ''Film/BoilerRoom'': Greg Feinstein, Seth's boss in the movie, cannot understand [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim what his ex-girlfriend Abby saw in Seth]] or why she chose to start dating Seth over him. Not being [[JerkAss snobbish and condescending]] towards others don't register in his head.

* ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'': John Milton [[spoiler: {{Satan}}]] succeeds in the beginning because he is expert in manipulating Kevin's vanity and ego. [[spoiler: He also thought Kevin would forget that he raped his wife and would lust after his demon half-sister. Ultimately Kevin loved his wife more and was selfless enough to kill himself rather than create the Anti-Christ, which literally makes Milton [[VillainousBreakdown explode]]. And when Kevin is brought back to life, Milton sees Kevin's new moral stance as just another form of vanity he can manipulate]].

* ''Film/BoilerRoom'': Greg Feinstein, Seth's boss in the movie, cannot understand [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim what his ex-girlfriend Abby saw in Seth]] or why she chose to start dating Seth over him. Being [[JerkAss snobbish and condescending]] towards others don't register in his head.

*** [[spoiler:After C/Max Denbigh]] is revealed to be TheMole within the British government and a member of SPECTRE who's in cahoots with [[spoiler:Blofeld, he attempts to explain why DemocracyIsBad, TheEvilsOfFreeWill, that it's a CrapsackWorld out there and how the [[BigBrotherIsWatching "Nine Eyes"]] program and [[KnightTemplar 24/7 surveillance will work]] by calling M a "total moron", only for M to [[ShutUpHannibal shut him down]] by calling him "careless".]]

** The Joker's "social experiment" [[spoiler:uses a SadisticChoice in an attempt to prove that people are cruel at heart, but both groups do the right thing. In a gloriously believable way, no less. It's not a stretch to think that not a single typical civilian will be cruel and cold enough to actually blow up a ship, even one full of criminals. Flip side, it's also believable that there might be just one guy on the ship of criminals who's not all bad.]] Batman even spells this trope out to the Joker, who can only look at the ships, dumbfounded and disappointed.

* ''Film/FallingDown'': Nick, a crazed, homophobic, Neo-Nazi, hears about D-Fens [[GoingPostal antics]] and assumes that D-Fens [[NotSoDifferent is a crazed racist like him]], rather than a man having a nervous breakdown. He flips out when D-Fens tells him off.

* ''Film/WallStreet'': [[spoiler:When Gordon Gekko invokes a NotSoDifferent speech to Darien in an earlier draft of the movie script, she responds that he's incapable of understanding that money can't buy everything, especially love or happiness. Gekko thinks that she's leaving him to become on her own, but doesn't realize that she's actually leaving him for Bud Fox.]]
* ''Film/BoilerRoom'': Greg Feinstein, Seth's boss in the movie, cannot understand [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim what Abby saw in Seth]] or why she chose to start dating Seth over him. Being [[JerkAss snobbish and condescending]] towards others don't register in his head.

* Ares from ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' is adamant that HumansAreTheRealMonsters and only sees them as an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. His absolute refusal to see any good in humanity go to the point where [[spoiler:that he killed the other gods for not siding with him, and ultimately snaps and attempts to kill Diana as well when he fails to convince her. He even sees Steve's HeroicSacrifice by twisting it by saying that Steve abandoned her, even though it was to save countless lives.]]

!!Animated
* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'':
** Gaston is unable to understand why Belle would choose the Beast over him. To him, love is just a convenient bargaining chip--or a distraction, or a function of physical beauty. [[spoiler:He also doesn't understand why the Beast let him live at the end, if his final attack is any indication.]]
** When the Beast is still selfish at the beginning of the film, he seems genuinely shocked that Belle would give up her freedom to take her father's place as a prisoner.
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2''. Instead of questioning how Po was able to grab the cannonballs and throw them back at his ships, Shen is baffled how Po was able to attain inner peace despite facing the one who murdered his birth parents and wiped out his people. For years, Shen has allowed the day his parents banished him to be the thing that drives him to get what he wants and continuously ignores the Soothsayer's requests that he not let his past control him. The fact that Po attained what Shen had wanted for years, inner peace, by listening to the same advice Shen ignored, completely baffles him.
** Shen generally has trouble comprehending that, unlike him, Po isn't the type of person to hold a grudge (or at least he tries not to hold grudges against others). Earlier in the film, he carefully rehearsed his confrontation speech, expecting Po to angrily swear vengeance for his dead parents, only for the act to fall apart when Po just casually greeted him (but to be fair, Po was very tired and out of breath at the time, and didn't realize that Shen was the one who murdered his biological family).
* While they're more 'weird' than 'evil', this is the basic premise of ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''. Jack understands the basic feeling behind Christmas, but not how traditional Christmas icons translate into Christmas feelings. The other townsfolk don't have a clue and merrily set about to twisting Christmas toys to their own scary designs because they feel this improves them.
* In Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'', the Good Fairies disguise themselves as human peasants, give up their magic, move into a cottage in the forest, and raise Aurora/Briar Rose as though she were a foundling, because they know it will never cross Maleficent's mind that anyone could perform such a selfless act. As Fauna notes: "Maleficent doesn't know anything about love, or kindness, or the joy of helping others. You know, sometimes I don't think [[SympathyForTheDevil she's really very happy]]."
* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', [[spoiler:Prince Hans' reaction to Anna's HeroicSacrifice and resulting recovery from her frozen heart has left him [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove dumbstruck]], and looks legitimately confused by Anna's statement about being [[TheSociopath "frozen hearted"]]. And when he utters his WhamLine, he thought that nobody cared about Anna (based on his personal experience), when it's already been established many times that there are others (Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, the trolls, her parents) who actually do care for her.]]
** [[spoiler:From his POV in ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', when he tells Elsa that Anna died because of her and causes the snowstorm to stop, he briefly notices how Elsa is taking it, and is genuinely baffled at the grief she has for her beloved sister, so for a moment, Hans starts [[IgnoredEpiphany to realize he might have gone too far...]] but he quickly gets over it.]]
** Also, the trolls entertain True Love's Kiss as being only one of the ways to save a frozen heart, [[spoiler:but Hans clearly believes that "True Love" can only come from the love of a man and a woman. He doesn't consider familial love, though given his own strained relationship with his family and what Anna had told him about her relationship with Elsa, [[FreudianExcuse of course he wouldn't]]. As he grew up, the abuse Hans got has slowly twisted him to the point that he coldly sees [[ManipulativeBastard people as objects]], [[CrapsackWorld thinks it's a dog-eat-dog world out there]] [[TheSocialDarwinist with only the fittest surviving]], and [[LoveIsAWeakness views love as an exploitable flaw]] that's relegated to the weak-willed (namely Elsa and Anna), and it also really shows how warped his mind has become over the years, rendering him unable to understand or even experience love, thanks to a [[TykeBomb harsh upbringing]]. As a result, Anna chews him out on this when [[MachiavelliWasWrong she tells him that he's the only person with a "frozen heart"]].]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Lotso the Hugging Bear obviously never expected [[spoiler:Woody to return to TheAlcatraz to help his friends after he safely escaped, or for Ken to choose Barbie over him, a la [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort's assumption about Snape and Lily]].]]
** Lotso also couldn't fathom [[spoiler:Buzz's loyalty to his friends after the latter declined Lotso's offer to join the Butterfly Room without his friends. WordOfGod has described [[StrawNihilist Lotso as someone who]], after his StartOfDarkness, believes that love is for suckers. And ThePowerOfFriendship is the thing that enables Woody to get back and help his friends. Although both Woody and Lotso are the leaders of a "family" of toys, Lotso keeps his own in line via threats, bullying and outright violence if they're not in compliance.]]
* In ''Disney/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'', Lady Tremaine and Drizella don't believe in love and assume that the King and the Prince are only being nice to them because they're obligated to be so. By contrast, it's Anastasia who realizes that [[ThePowerOfLove love is more powerful than magic]] and that the King and the Prince ''really are'' genuinely nice people. She quickly does a HeelFaceTurn.
* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has this problem. He's blindsided when his Dragon Mirage makes a HeelFaceTurn after Syndrome left her to die to call Mr. Incredible's bluff. He never considered her feelings in the matter, so he felt that his reassurance that he knew that Mr. Incredible probably wouldn't kill her was enough. He's ''utterly surprised'' when she angrily tells him to bet his ''own'' life next time he gambles and walks away.
** He also has a short moment where he [[CompletelyMissingThePoint completely misses the point]] when Bob calls him out on killing off real heroes so he could just pretend to be one. He thinks that Bob is talking about powers and disparaging Syndrome since he didn't have any, and retorted that he's "real enough to beat ''you''." It never crosses his mind that Mr. Incredible was actually talking about ''morality'', and meant that Syndrome was killing off good people who fought crime in order to help others so he could stage disasters and solve them [[GloryHound for glory]].
* ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Frollo gets enraged at Quasimodo when he tells him that Esmeralda has been kind to him.
-->'''Frollo:''' Isn't this one new? ''[Picks up the Esmeralda figure]'' It's awfully good. Looks very much like the gypsy girl ''I know.'' ''[a nasty scowl creeps across his face as his voice rises]'' ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis You helped.. her..]]'' '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis ESCAPE!]]''''' ''[points finger to Quasi]'' And now, all Paris is burning because of you!\\
'''Quasimodo:''' She was kind to me, master.\\
'''Frollo:''' ''[enraged, he smashes the table and its setting, and grabs Quasi by the collar]'' '''YOU IDIOT!''' That ''wasn't'' kindness, it was cunning! She's a gypsy! Gypsies are not capable of real love! Think, boy! Think of your mother!
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'', when Sunset Shimmer threatens to destroy the portal back to Equestria if Twilight doesn't hand over the Element of Magic, [[spoiler:she is shocked when Twilight refuses, knowing what Sunset could do with it. Sunset never expected Twilight to jeopardize her way home to protect a world that wasn't hers.]]
** Abacus Cinch, the principal of Crystal Prep in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'', is obsessed with winning the titular event. Once she becomes aware of the magic at Canterlot High, she assumes that they're using it to cheat, and promptly seeks to use it to ensure her victory. It never occurs to her that they would do otherwise.
* In ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', [[spoiler:[[BigBad Commander Lyle T. Rourke]]]] shows complete confusion and frustration when his crew abandons him for condemning Atlantis to death out of greed, and when they explain that they didn't want anyone hurt in their tomb-robbing, he remarks, "P. T. Barnum was right" ("There's a sucker born every minute.").
-->[[spoiler:'''Rourke:''']] Aw, you can't be serious.
-->'''Audrey:''' This is wrong and you know it!
-->[[spoiler:'''Rourke:''']] We're this close to our biggest payday ever and you pick ''[[HeelFaceTurn now of all times]]'' [[HeelRealization to grow a conscience?!]]
-->'''Vinny:''' We've done a lot of things we're not proud of; robbing graves, eh, plundering tombs, [[ArsonMurderAndJayWalking double-parking...]] BUT, nobody got hurt! Well... maybe somebody got hurt but, nobody we knew.
-->[[spoiler:'''Rourke:''']] [[LackOfEmpathy Well if that's the way you want it, fine. MORE FOR ME! P. T. Barnum was right.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', as [[BigBad Drago Bludvist]] sees it, dragons can only be controlled through intimidation and fear. Working with dragons, nurturing them instead of enslaving them, is unthinkable to him. [[spoiler: Exemplified when Toothless overrides the Dark Alpha's control to protect Hiccup]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'', Batman's counterpart Owlman doesn't understand why Batman doesn't come to the same conclusion about the futility of choice and thus existence.
-->'''Batman:''' [[NotSoDifferent There]] ''[[SubvertedTrope is]]'' [[NotSoDifferent a difference between you and me.]] [[DespairEventHorizon We both looked into the abyss; but when it looked back to us...]] ''[[FallenHero you blinked]]''.

!!Live-Action

* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', [[spoiler:Prince Hans' reaction to Anna's HeroicSacrifice and resulting recovery from her frozen heart has left him [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove dumbstruck]], and looks legitimately confused by Anna's statement about him being [[TheSociopath "frozen hearted"]]. And from his POV in ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', when he tells Elsa that Anna died because of her and causes the snowstorm to stop, he briefly notices how Elsa is taking it, and is genuinely baffled at the grief she has for her beloved sister, so for a moment, Hans starts [[IgnoredEpiphany to realize he might have gone too far...]] but he quickly gets over it. And when he utters his WhamLine, he also assumes that nobody gives a damn about Anna (based on his personal experience), when it's already been established many times that there are others (Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, the trolls, her parents) who actually do care for her.]]
** Also, The trolls entertain True Love's Kiss as being only one of the ways to save a frozen heart, [[spoiler:but Hans clearly believes that "True Love" can only come from the love of a man and a woman. He doesn't consider familial love, though given his own strained relationship with his family and what Anna had told him about her relationship with Elsa, [[FreudianExcuse of course he wouldn't]]. And as he grew up, the abuse Hans got has slowly twisted and corrupted him to the point that he coldly sees [[ManipulativeBastard people as objects]], [[CrapsackWorld thinks it's a dog-eat-dog world out there]] [[TheSocialDarwinist with only the fittest surviving]], and [[LoveIsAWeakness views love as an exploitable flaw]] that's relegated to the weak-willed (namely Elsa and Anna), and it also really shows how warped his mind has become over the years, rendering him unable to understand or even experience love, thanks to a [[TykeBomb harsh upbringing]]. As a result, Anna chews him out on this when [[MachiavelliWasWrong she tells him that he's the only person with a "frozen heart"]].]]

* ''OhGodYouDevil'' features George Burns as both God and the Devil. When the Devil has manipulated a man into attempting suicide, he and God have a poker showdown for the soul. God raises the stakes, offering to cease protecting a great many of people at risk if he loses, but that the Devil will cease interfering if God wins. When the Devil considers the offer, he decides there's no way God would do this without being certain of victory, since one man wasn't worth it. To Him, one man was. It's played for a strange form of PG-rated BlackComedy.

-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' What did I ever do to you?
-->'''Seymour Krelborn:''' Nothing. It's what you did to ''her''.
-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Her who?
-->'''Seymour Krelborn:''' ...
-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Oh. ''Her''.

*** Following the FinalBattle, [[spoiler:Blofeld offers 007 a chance to FinishHim when he's at Bond's mercy. But after some initial hesitation, 007 refuses by stating that he is [[NotWorthKilling "out of bullets"]], leaving Blofeld confused at Bond's rationale to spare him despite their CainAndAbel relationship. Blofeld also doesn't realize that despite being a ProfessionalKiller, [[EveryoneHasStandards there are moral lines even 007 won't cross]], and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters while Bond can get his revenge, killing Blofeld won't do much.]]]]