Examples of MotiveDecay in live-action films.
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* ''Film/{{The Batman 2022}}'': The Riddler starts out as a WellIntentionedExtremist who uses violent methods to rid Gotham of corruption but is ultimately still trying to help the city... until he randomly decides to flood it and kill everyone carte-blanche, including the innocent and poor.
* ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'': Chucky's original motivation was stealing someone else's body so that he could be human again, but he drops this following ''Film/SeedOfChucky'', deciding that he [[TranshumanTreachery prefers]] being a KillerDoll instead.
* Narissa in ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' not only has Giselle but Prince Edward out of the way, but instead of blocking their way back to Andalasia, insists upon Giselle's death.
* An InUniverse example occurs in ''Film/GunFury''. Jess complains to Frank Slayton that initially [[TheRemnant their gang]] only attacked carpetbaggers. Then it was anyone who had something they needed. Then it was Indians. And now it seems to be anyone. Slayton [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness does not respond well to the criticism]].
* ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'':
** The SenseFreak Cenobites start out as "explorers in the furthest reaches of experience" in [[Film/{{Hellraiser}} the original film]]. The Lament Configuration summons them, but the people who are drawn to solving it are really drawn to the experiences the Cenobites can provide, although most aren't [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor prepared for the extremes they're capable of.]] [[MotiveDecay And then...]]
** In [[Film/HellboundHellraiserII the second movie]], it's suggested that the Cenobites are agents of Hell and punish people [[IronicHell according to their vices.]] In [[Film/HellraiserIIIHellOnEarth the third]] and [[Film/HellraiserBloodline fourth]] movies, Pinhead is made more evil [[ForTheEvulz just for the sake of it.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBiRuzl7mPk The church scene]] is a good example.
** The [[Film/HellraiserInferno fifth]], [[Film/HellraiserDeader seventh]] and [[Film/HellraiserHellworld eighth]] movies are far more psychological in nature and have Pinhead as more of a judge of those whose hedonism and/or ego has made them irredeemable. The [[Film/HellraiserHellseeker sixth]] and [[Film/HellraiserRevelations ninth]] movies largely go back to the original characterization.
* ''Film/HomeAlone1'': The Wet Bandits initially are only interested in burgling houses while their owners are away for Christmas. However, after each of them get caught in a few of Kevin's elaborate booby traps, they quickly stop caring about that in order to get back at him for all their pain and humiliation. This extends to [[Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork the sequel]], where they choose to go after Kevin when he interrupts their attempt to burgle the toy store, once again abandoning an attempt to steal a large amount of money in favor of getting revenge on a tween.
* ''Film/TheItalianJob2003'': Starts out with a group of thieves making a heist and getting away with $35 million in gold. Then, [[spoiler: they're double-crossed by Steve (Edward Norton). They find out where he is and where he's keeping the gold, then they set up an elaborate plan to get the gold back from him. However, as their plans progress, they ignore details that would help them get the gold back quicker. It seems that they're more interested in pulling an elaborate heist than they are with getting the gold back, even after Steve knows they're trying to get the gold back and they know he knows.]] JustifiedTrope, because they stated that they wanted revenge from the beginning. [[spoiler: They wanted him to know it was they who took everything from him, not just to take it back. They could've just stolen more money from a different source if the money was all they were about.]]
* This is Arthur Fleck's character arc in ''Film/Joker2019''. Arthur's first three victims were a trio of trust-fund thugs that decided to beat him up just for being odd. As the film goes on, Arthur's victims become increasingly sympathetic. He kills his mother as payback for being a neglectful parent, but it's implied she was as much a victim as Arthur was. Arthur then kills a former co-worker whose biggest misdeed was giving Arthur a gun and lying about it, but he was nice enough to check in on Arthur after hearing his mother had died. Then Arthur - now the Joker at this point - kills talk show host Murray Franklin just for making some jokes at his expense. The movie's final scene has Joker walking down the corridor of an asylum, leaving bloody footprints after killing a therapist who had done absolutely nothing to antagonise him.
* ''Film/TheKarateKidPartIII'': Terry Silver is supposed to be helping John Kreese get revenge on Mr. Miyagi and Daniel [=LaRusso=]. The problem is, Kreese was really disgraced by his own actions in the first movie by encouraging his students to bully Daniel and to cheat in the tournament (which is the only plausible explanation for why Kreese went bankrupt after one tournament loss)...and Silver indicates he's aware of this when he pretends to be a good guy to gain Daniel's trust.
** Lampshaded and [[AuthorsSavingThrow recontextualized]] in the sequel series ''Series/CobraKai'' when Silver explains his behavior as the result of a raging cocaine addiction due to his [[ShellShockedVeteran Trauma in Vietnam.]] [[spoiler: That doesn't stop him from making many of the same mistakes, though, and eventually turning on his friend Kreese, who he was supposedly in the game to help.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/KronksNewGroove'': In the first movie, Yzma wanted to become the ruler. Now, she wants to become rich by selling a fake youth elixir. Subverted when she's seen trying to use her newfound wealth and fame to become Emperor.
* ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen'':
** Clyde Shelton had a good start: a complicated EvilPlan to get [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge sweet revenge]] on the men who brutally murdered his family (one of whom was free after 5 years thanks to the prosecution's bungling). Then he [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope took his revenge further]]; wanting to kill every official involved in the original trial and eventually [[spoiler: all of City Hall, including the Mayor and representatives of other government agencies]] all in some half-baked bid to up-end the justice system.
** It's easy to miss the point of his master plan he's got going. But really, he had snapped to some extent. Once his direct revenge on the two who killed/raped his family was accomplished, his goal was to force people to face the flaws in the justice system (specifically those relating to cutting deals with the guilty and playing politics instead of pursuing justice for victims). It all comes together with his satisfied response to being turned down for a plea bargain at the end of the movie.
* ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'': Imhotep in these films. In the first ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'', his every action, from betraying his liege to trying to kill the Female Lead, stems from his commitment to his lover and desire to be with her. That he brings about the end of the world is incidental, the result of being CursedWithAwesome rather than a desire for mass murder or conquest. In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', he gains a sudden motivation to challenge the long dead Scorpion King in order to gain control of an undead army and conquer the world, this despite the fact that his love interest is alive and well, together with him, and that he already possesses substantial magical powers. The reasoning is mentioned briefly and never talked about again. The events of the first movie stripped him of his immortality forever, so he can be killed by anyone with a gun. The cultists seeking to bring him back want him to kill the Scorpion King so he can use the Army of Anubis to take over the world from a safe distance. It could be explained that since his true love was alive with him and he had immortal, supernatural powers again, they might as well rule the world together, or that while reviving her was his first priority, afterward he wanted to move on to other, less important things. Since we only have his actions and other people's word as to his motives, it's a bit unclear. It could also be explained by the fact that Ankh-Su-Namun appeared to be working with the cult, she wanted to rule the world, and [[LoveMakesYouEvil Imhotep went along with it]] [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy because it was what she wanted]].
* Subverted in ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet''; after slaughtering the children of the parents of Springwood responsible for killing him, the film franchise changes [[Characters/ANightmareOnElmStreetFreddyKrueger Freddy Krueger]]'s motives to [[OurSoulsAreDifferent collecting souls]] to increase his powers, occasionally trying to find a way to transfer his powers into the real world, and sometimes just [[AxeCrazy killing for the sake of killing]]. By ''[[Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare Freddy's Dead]]'' he becomes an OmnicidalManiac, intending to kill the children in every town in the world he can spread to. This actually makes sense, as he was a psychopath in life who delighted in killing children in the first place. It's a perfectly valid take that his {{Revenge}} motive was always nothing more than an excuse.
* At first, Rob Stewart in ''Film/{{Revolution 2012}}'' simply wanted to raise awareness of illegal longlining, and the indiscriminate killing of sharks within the marine reserve. However, that changed to trying to raise awareness about the environment around the world.
* ''Film/RunawayJury'':
** Doyle works for the defense. He's sent to find out some information about someone on the jury. Near the climax of the movie, his boss (played by Gene Hackman) tells Doyle he needs information before the jury deliberates. Doyle blows him off and continues to investigate, which makes no sense at all. Instead of [[spoiler: telling his employer that the jurist is using an assumed name, which would get him thrown off the jury, Doyle continues to investigate as if finding out what the juror's motivation is would be more important than winning the case.]]
** The point of this is that if said juror [[spoiler: really is neutral, they can get him to win the case for them. This is quicker and simpler than derailing the court proceedings.]]
* ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'':
** Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin, suffered from this in the first ''Film/SpiderMan1'' film. At first he wants to off some jerks who are attempting to sell his company, Oscorp. The thing is, after he successfully kills them all, he inexplicably continues to commit [[ForTheEvulz seemingly random villainous acts]], and is constantly saying things like "Spider-Man is the only one who can stop me," or "Think of what Spider-Man and I could accomplish if we joined forces!" What, exactly, Spider-Man is stopping him from doing is never made clear. Likely justified, since it's made clear the SuperSerum he [[ProfessorGuineaPig tested out on himself]] turned him insane.
** In [[Film/SpiderMan3 the third film]], Sandman steals money to buy medical treatment for his sick daughter. He seems to forget about her completely after Spidey foils his first attempt and teams up with Venom for revenge, instead of, for example, going to another city and/or trying again. However, the deleted scenes and novelization bring this motive full-circle. After his string of robberies (and just prior to the final confrontation at the unfinished building), Sandman brings his family to the building along with a doctor he's offered to pay, but is told that there is no cure for his daughter's condition, and the daughter tells him to give up the fight against Spider-Man.
* ''Film/{{Starman}}'': TheGovernment. The alien's spacecraft was originally shot down under the assumption that it was a Soviet attack, but it's later definitively established that he's an extraterrestrial. [=NSA=] Chief George Fox (Richard Jaeckel) still [[TheyWouldCutYouUp wants to kill him]] because...well, who knows? Just to be evil, apparently.
* ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'': Shinzon experiences this within the course of one movie. Initially he wants to free the Remans, and so he takes over the government in order to do this. Then he decides he's going to destroy Earth and offers a throwaway line about refusing to bow to the Federation or any other galactic power like the Remans had done with the Romulans. Also he engages in a bit of MindRape with Troi just for the hell of it. Alternately, he was evil all along and freedom for the Remans was simply a ploy to gain Picard’s trust.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Anakin Skywalker aka [[ItWasHisSled Darth Vader]] turns to TheDarkSide to save his beloved wife from dying. He ends up being the reason she dies after Force Choking her in a fit of jealousy/paranoia instead. By the time of the Original Trilogy he is still serving Emperor Palpatine and perpetuating galaxywide villainy, apparently for no better reason than that after killing or permanently alienating everyone he ever knew or loved, he has nothing better to do. Incidentally the TropeNamer for TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget, but... yeah, that's a bit sloppy. This is why the Jedi have such an aversion to the Dark Side: you gain increased power, but lose control and judgement and wind up destroying what you love.
* ''Film/TheTerminal'': Immigration Officer Frank Dixon. At first, he's a simple bureaucrat, officious and unsympathetic, but not cruel. Hs only goal is to goad Viktor into leaving the airport, where he'll be someone else's problem. By the end of the film, Viktor's immigration problems are sorted out, and he gets a pass to enter the US for one day (which is all he'd wanted in the first place). But Dixon has grown to hate Viktor so much that he refuses to authorize the pass, and even threatens to fire all his friends, for no reason other than spite.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'': Magneto's characterization is particularly inconsistent in these movies: in the [[Film/XMen1 first one]], he wants to make everyone mutants so that the world can live as brothers (admittedly, he isn't swayed by the fact that the machine will actually ''kill'' people instead). In [[Film/X2XMenUnited the second]], he elects to commit global genocide of all humans after the main villain tried to do the same to all mutants. By the [[Film/XMenTheLastStand third movie]], Magneto is killing far more mutants than humans -- mostly mutants who are willingly following him. To emphasize his shift to [[EvilOverlord Skeletor evil]], he not once, but ''twice'' announces that "In [[TheChessmaster chess]] the pawns go first" as his minions die/get depowered pointlessly before him. After the minions fall, he calmly notes "That's why the pawns go first." [[spoiler: When Magneto himself is depowered, it is actually serious business]]. He wasn't a particularly nice guy earlier, but the third movie takes it much further. By this point it should come as no surprise that this motive decay was a result of a change in directors. Wolverine points out in the first movie that he didn't actually need Rogue at all and if he was really serious about protecting mutants he would sacrifice himself to his machine rather than using her. So this may be a case of his subtlety rather than his motives decaying.
* Done intentionally with Michael Corleone in ''Film/TheGodfather''. He initially justifies his involvement in TheMafia as being for the sake of protecting his family and because [[AssholeVictim his victims are]] [[EvilVersusEvil worse than he is.]] However, over the course of the [[Film/TheGodfatherPartII second movie]], this justification is gradually eroded, and Michael ends up becoming a bigger threat to his own family than those he kills, culminating in [[spoiler:his killing his own brother.]]
* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'': In the first three films, Jigsaw claims that he's a WellIntentionedExtremist who teaches his victims the value of life by putting them in {{Death Trap}}s in which they're forced to perform SelfSurgery or kill others just like them. However, his victims in later films tend to be nothing more than people who ruined his life in some way, with their tests seeming more like outright punishments. He even chooses some victims for petty reasons or simply to sacrifice them in order to teach others a lesson.
* In Film/TheBaaderMeinhofComplex, the German Left Wing Terrorist group, the Red Army Faction, began as a group of Communist sympathizers who wants to overthrow the West German government which they believe were corrupt Fascists and puppets of the American government. But when one of their members is killed by the police in a shootout, the group's tactics becomes more brutal which includes robberies, killings and bombings as revenge. The founders of the group soon realized to their horror the new generation of the Red Army Faction are more interested in taking revenge for their dead and imprisoned comrades rather than their original goals.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** When we're introduced to Spider-Man in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', he's been working as a superhero in Queens for a few months because he wants to help the little guy and use his new powers for good. After the events of that film, he continues his superheroing in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', but now it's mostly because he wants to prove to Tony Stark/Iron Man that he's ready to join the Avengers full time. Part of his arc in ''Homecoming'' is him remembering why he became a hero in the first place and that he doesn't need to be an Avenger to do good.
** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'': Over the course of the movie, [[VillainousBreakdown after the Avengers keep thwarting him time and time again,]] Ultron's plan degrades from [[WellIntentionedExtremist trying to save humanity through oppressive, genocidal means]] to [[OmnicidalManiac wiping out all life except himself and starting again.]]
** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': Thanos originally wanted to kill half of his planet at random in a fair attempt to make sure that there were enough resources to go around. What exactly happened is unclear, but his people rejected his plan, and he ended up the last Titan alive. Now he roams the galaxy, conquering planets and then culling half their population in an insane attempt to prove that his people would have survived if they had only listened to him. He claims that his culled worlds, such as Gamora's homeworld, are now paradises, but offers no proof of this; Gamora, in particular, was stated to be the last of her species in a previous movie. He wants to collect all six Infinity Stones so he can do this to the entire universe at once. In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', [[spoiler:a version of Thanos arrives from 2014 to find a universe where he succeeded in his quest, but everything is terrible and all the heroes are fighting to undo his "great work." He decides that it's their fault for being "ungrateful" and decides to kill the ''entire'' universe, then remake it in his own image so that they won't remember what they lost.]]
* ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'': Doc Hopper is introduced as a CorruptCorporateExecutive who wants to persuade Kermit to help him sell fried frog legs. However, when that fails, he moves to trying to hunt down and assassinate Kermit, seemingly just ForTheEvulz.
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