History EnemyMine / Film

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* ''Film/{{Alvin and The Chipmunks}}'': Dave and Ian in ''Chipwrecked''.
* In ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'', the humans end up helping the preds kill xenomorphs by bringing them their ancient weapons.
* In ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct131976'' and [[Film/AssaultOnPrecinct132005 its remake]], the remaining personnel of a soon to be shut down police station must put their trust on criminals within it to fight worse criminals laying siege on the place.
* ''Film/BladeII'':
** Blade teams up with the vampires to fight a subspecies of super-vampires that prey on everyone. The vampires end up betraying Blade two-thirds of the way through the movie. Nomak (the lead super-vamp) points out the trope: "Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Or my enemy?"
--> '''Scud''': So B-man, what do you think?
--> '''Blade''': Sounds like a plan.
--> '''Whistler''': What do you really think?
--> '''Blade''': They're gonna fuck us the first chance they get.
** Also demonstrated during the helicopter flight to the vampire HQ, when Nyssa seems disappointed with Blade over how easily he allows himself to be taken to a place where he may become a prisoner. Scud convinces Blade to show Nyssa his vest made of Semtex, enough to level a city block. Nyssa looks impressed.
* ''Film/{{Boa}}'': As the giant prehistoric snake starts rampaging through the facility, the scientists and prison staff are forced to cooperate with the inmates to escape.
* In ''Film/DickTracy'', Tracy considers this trope when deciding whether to accept The Blank's help in defeating Big Boy. Instead, [[DefiedTrope he finally realizes]] "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy."
* This is what prompts the partnership between Wikus and Christopher in ''Film/{{District 9}}''. [[spoiler:Christopher has spent 20 years collecting enough [[GreenRocks fluid]] to power the aliens' buried shuttle so he can take the mothership and get help, but just as he gets the last of it, his shack is searched by [[MiddleManagementMook Wikus]], who accidentally inhales some of the fluid and starts [[BodyHorror transforming into an alien]]. On the run from his own [[MegaCorp company]], Wikus teams up with Christopher to get the fluid back from MNU, on the condition that Christopher change Wikus back into a human. It doesn't really [[BittersweetEnding work out that way]], but by then Wikus has had enough CharacterDevelopment to be okay with it.]]
* The Sci-Fi movie ''Film/EnemyMine'' (1985) (directed by Wolfgang Petersen), starring Creator/DennisQuaid as a human space marine and Louis Gossett Jr. as an alien soldier. In the midst of an interstellar war between their species, both crash-landed their vessels on a desolate planet and must work together to survive. Years later, after the alien soldier gave birth to a baby alien and died from complications, Creator/DennisQuaid's character raises his adoptive alien son and must protect him and himself from human scavengers who use captured aliens as slaves (in a literal mine), until they're both finally found and rescued. It is implied that this event helps to end the war.
* Creator/WillSmith's character in ''Film/EnemyOfTheState'' pulls an on-the-fly BatmanGambit which ties up two troublesome loose ends by getting them to deal with each other. Through some fast talking and well chosen ambiguous language, he [[spoiler: sets up a MexicanStandOff between a rogue NSA team that has taken him hostage and a gang of trigger happy goodfellas who are looking for a fight.]] It does not end well for any of them.
* ''Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer'' has the titular team teaming up with Dr. Doom to get the Silver Surfer. Eventually the Fantastic Four team up with the Surfer [[spoiler: after Doom betrays them and takes the Surfer's board for himself. And probably after to prevent Galactus from destroying Earth.]]
* ''Film/FreeStateOfJones'': The Free State of Jones tries to make common cause with the Union Army based on this, but get little support.
* [[spoiler:Storm Shadow]] teams up with the Joes in ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''.
* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'':
** Mothra convinces her enemies Godzilla and Rodan to stop Ghidorah in ''Film/GhidorahTheThreeHeadedMonster''.
** Battra and Mothra, mortal enemies of one another, joined forces in order to stop Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaAndMothraTheBattleForEarth''.
** In ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', Godzilla and Rodan start off fighting for the unhatched egg on Adona Island, Godzilla because it's a Godzillasaurus egg, Rodan because the egg's presence in the nest he had hatched in made the infant his surrogate brother. When the UNGCC eventually decide to use the newly-hatched Godzilla Jr. to lure Godzilla into a fight with Mechagodzilla, the two monsters get mortally wounded, and Rodan sacrifices what little life he has left to revive Godzilla.
** In ''Film/GodzillaVsSpaceGodzilla'', M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is built as yet another anti-Godzilla machine. But when [=SpaceGodzilla=] lands in Fukuoka and starts growing a large mass of crystal across the surface of the city, the M.O.G.U.E.R.A. team ends up having to work with Godzilla to bring down the extraterrestrial invader. This trope is especially applicable for Akira Yuki, the M.O.G.U.E.R.A. captain who had been working to kill Godzilla as revenge for the monster killing his best friend Goro Gondo in ''Film/GodzillaVsBiollante''.
** In ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'', the prologue deals with how MONARCH and the military tried to kill Godzilla in TheFifties with nuclear "tests" in the Pacific. When the M.U.T.O.s awaken decades later and Godzilla starts going after them, Admiral Stenz enacts a plan to kill all three monsters with an even bigger bomb. But the M.U.T.O.s [[spoiler:steal the bomb and use it to feed their nest]]. This foul-up convinces Stenz to accept Dr. Serizawa's suggestion that they ought to leave all the heavy work to Godzilla.\\\
Godzilla refuses to attack the military (who attack him on occasion) because they are opposed to the [=MUTOs=]. It helps, though, that it's quite quickly established that the military is effectively no threat to either of them.
* The first half of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' is a slowly-escalating buildup of hatred between Blondie and Tuco to the point where they're inches from clawing out each others' eyes. Then Tuco learns the location of a graveyard where gold is hidden, Blondie learns the name on the grave where the gold is buried, and they're forced to work together, later uniting against Angel Eyes after he learns Tuco's half of the secret.
* In ''Film/TheHatefulEight'', Warren and Mannix were at each other's throats by the end of chapter 3, but [[spoiler: after John Ruth and OB die after drinking the poisoned coffee, which Mannix also nearly drank,]] they have no one to trust but each other and have to work together against the Domergue gang.
* ''Film/HellInThePacific'', about an American and a Japanese soldier trapped on an island together, and which inspired the film in the previous entry, natch.
* French horror film ''LaHorde'' is about a group of cops and criminals joining forces against a horde of zombies. A particularly tense situation because the cops were searching revenge against the gangsters that killed a colleague.
* This is the whole premise behind ''Film/IndependenceDay''.
* ''Film/JurassicWorld''; [[RaptorAttack Blue]] teams up with [[TyrannosaurusRex Mama Rex]] to battle the ''[[BigBad Indominus Rex]]'' (Given the [[Film/JurassicPark the last time]] these two species met they tried to kill each other, this is a marked improvement)
* The film ''Film/{{Krull}}'' begins with this, as two rival kingdoms arrange a political marriage to unify them against the alien invasion. [[spoiler: Sadly, it does them little good as the highly advanced Slayers storm the castle and kill everybody except for the heroic prince and his future bride, who is taken by the invaders.]]
* The main premise of ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''; Thor reluctantly teams up with Loki, as his knowledge of magic and secret pathways between the Nine Realms makes him adept at tracking Malekith and his forces.
** In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'', Ultron persuades Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to join him in an alliance, through their mutual hatred of the Avengers. Likewise, they eventually decide to ditch Ultron after seeing just how dangerous he is and team up with the Avengers, even though they aren't on good terms with Tony Stark.
** After hunting the pair throughout all of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', Iron Man agrees to help Cap and Bucky hunt down Zemo before he can reactivate the other Winter Soldiers. [[spoiler:It doesn't last]].
** In ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', Thor teams up with Loki again against Hela. However, Loki only sees this as a means of escape and refuses to help his brother in the climatic battle[[spoiler:, although he eventually changes his mind and comes to help anyway.]]
** In ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'', M'Baku and the Jabari tribe [[BigDamnHeroes arrive to help]] T'Challa and the Dora Mijale fight Killmonger and the Border Tribe after T'Challa spared M'Baku's life in ritual combat.
** The actions of Thanos and the Black Order in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' force the Avengers and the Secret Avengers back together, although it's implied that Rhodes was sick of the Accords by the events of the movie anyway. Their mutual hatred of Thanos is also what stops Iron Man, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man and the Guardians from destroying each other, although [[TeethClenchedTeamwork it's not without issues]].
* ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions''. Neo and the Machines must work together to destroy Smith before he takes over both the Matrix and the Machine World. [[spoiler:After Neo allows Smith to possess him, the Machines use their power through Neo's body to destroy all of the Smith clones.]]
* In the climax of ''Film/MeanGirls2'', Jo's former friends decide they hate Mandi more than they hate her and agree to help her.
* ''Film/MeanGuns'': After the initial round of killing in the DeadlyGame and they all disperse, many criminals assemble into large groups for strength in numbers. Only three survivors are allowed to walk out of the building, so it stands to reason that they were intending to turn on each other after dealing with everyone else. It's also openly discussed when Lou, Markus, D, and Cam team-up; inevitably, one of them will have to bite it.
* In ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', the Corsicans may not agree which country is their Fatherland, but they all hate Napoleon.
-->'''Corsican 1:''' Our Fatherland is Spain with Buttafuoco! Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!\\
'''Corsican 2:''' No, our Fatherland is Italy, with the Duke of Savoy! Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!\\
'''Corsican 3:''' No, our Fatherland is England with the Paoli! Death to Napoleon Bonaparte!\\
'''Napoleon:''' ''(reveals himself by standing atop a table)'' No... our Fatherland is France... [[BadassBoast with me]]!
* ''Film/NoMansLand'': A Bosnian and a Serb soldier wound up getting stuck in a trench together. They have to work together to call for help.
* Kind of lampshaded in ''[[Film/OceansEleven Ocean's Thirteen]]'', when they decide to include Benedict in their plan:
-->'''Linus:''' We've shaken every tree...\\
'''Rusty:''' I really wanted to avoid it this time...
* In ''Film/OnceUponATexasTrain'', the retired outlaws and the retired Rangers are forced to combine forces to combat a gang of younger, more ruthless outlaws.
* In the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' franchise, every character views most of the others (with a few bonds between characters being the exception to the rule) as either enemies or [[GoodIsDumb incredibly stupid]] pawns, but will readily concede to work together when their priorities mesh. These unholy alliances tend to confuse casual viewers, who are convinced (''très'' incorrectly) eg that [[BigBad the adversarial role]] Barbossa plays in the first film completely contradicts the [[PragmaticVillainy compatriot]] [[OpportunisticBastard role]] he plays in the third (which is [[spoiler:to protect his life after getting another chance from both the EITC who will end all pirates and from the ressurector who expects recompensation)]].
* Mentioned in ''Film/{{Predators}}'' when Royce tells Isabelle that he intends to free the captured Predator and use that momentary trust to have him find the predator's ship and escape. Isabelle then adds:
--> '''Royce:''' The enemy of my enemy...\\
'''Isabelle:''' That doesn't make it a friend.
* A very short alliance happens in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', when Indy and a mook are struggling over control of a gun, when [[TheDragon Toht]] says "Shoot them -- shoot them both", and suddenly Indy and the mook cooperate to shoot the other mook pointing a machine gun at them.
* In the end of ''Film/ResidentEvil Retribution'', Alice has to work with [[spoiler:Albert Wesker]] to ensure the survival of the last of humanity against the [[spoiler:Red Queen]].
* In a PlayedForLaughs moment from ''Film/TheRocketeer'', it's [[NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters gangsters]] siding with the police vs. [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]]. They may be crooks, but they're ''American'' crooks. And, yes, there's a [[StupidJetpackHitler jetpack]] involved.
* Balthazar and Mathayas resort to this in ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' in order to take down Emperor Memmon.
* ''Film/ShakespeareInLove'': When the Master of the Revels orders the Rose Theater closed indefinitely, thus preventing Shakespeare and company from premiering ''RomeoAndJuliet'', Richard Burbage, owner of rival theater The Curtain, makes a peace offering, saying that they should stand together against their common enemy:
-->"The Master of the Revels despises us all for vagrants and peddlers of bombast. But my father, James Burbage, had the first license to make a company of players from Her Majesty; and he drew from poets the literature of the age. We must show them that we are men of parts. Will Shakespeare has a play. I have a theater. The Curtain is yours."
* Desirée and the Countess in ''Film/SmilesOfASummerNight'' may be romantic rivals, but they work together to untangle the LoveDodecahedron.
* In ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', [[spoiler:Mr White]] and Bond decide to both go after Oberhauser, and try and protect the former's daughter. Though at the end of the meeting [[spoiler:White]] kills himself. Bond still considers the alliance valid, however, and does pursue the daughter.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', Harrison and Kirk temporarily team up [[spoiler:to board and disable the ''Vengeance'']].
-->'''Kirk:''' [[DiscussedTrope The enemy of my enemy is my friend]].
-->'''Spock:''' [[DiscussedTrope An Arabic proverb]] attributed to a prince who was [[AnalogyBackfire betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects]].
-->'''Kirk:''' [[LameComeback Well, it's still a hell of a quote]].
* In ''Film/SupermanII'', Lex Luthor, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness who has outlived his usefulness to General Zod]], buys time by telling Zod the location of the Fortress of Solitude, resorting to a bit of subterfuge when he and Superman attempt to trick Zod into the molecule chamber, which removes a Kryptonian's superpowers. Superman goes into a chamber, which turns out to be a shelter as Zod's gang discovers that their powers are gone, with Superman and Lois Lane defeating the powerless supercriminals one at a time, with Non attempting to fly, only to fall into an icy chasm.
* ''Film/{{Thunderball}}''. During the big underwater fight at the end, when sharks start to show up the SPECTRE frogmen and their opponents stop fighting each other and start attacking the sharks together.
* Subverted by ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''. Prime and Megatron teaming up to battle a greater threat is fairly common in ''Transformers'' media, but this time [[spoiler: when Megatron offers a truce, Prime responds by cutting his head off]].
* ''Film/Trench11'': The Germans lost their tunneling expert while fighting their way back into the base and are forced to put Berton and the other Americans to work in detonating the explosives.
* ''Film/WestSideStory'': Despite their hatred of each other, the two gangs seem pretty united in their hatred of the cops--the Jets laugh when Bernardo mouths off to him, they pretend to be buddies to avoid suspicion, and when Shrank insults Bernardo, it's Riff who hold him back from attacking him.
* In ''Film/TheWrongArmOfTheLaw'', the tactics of an IPO mob from Australia ends up making strange bedfellows of not only underworld rivals, but also the underworld itself and the police.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** The entire point of ''Film/X2XMenUnited'': the X-Men team up with Magneto and Mystique to stop a human villain from killing all mutants. [[spoiler: Right up until Magneto and Mystique decide to invert the attack and have all the non-Mutants killed instead.]]
** Wolverine and Sabretooth in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' against InNameOnly ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}.
** The ending of ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' implies that the Americans and Soviets had found a common enemy in the mutants.
** In ''Film/TheWolverine'', Harada cites Viper as a [[spoiler: "means to an end," and voices his displeasure towards her consistently. Viper seems indifferent to Harada attitude-wise, but she just sees him as another inferior underling.]]
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': Both the older and younger versions of Xavier and Magneto unite against the Sentinels that threaten all of mutantkind with extinction. [[spoiler:Although young Magneto ends up attempting his own plans for mutant superiority and, ironically enough, winds up jeopardizing the plan to save mutantkind.]] Trask and Stryker are shown handing over their plans for the Sentinels to the DirtyCommunists at the Paris Peace Conference. Trask is even grateful for the mutants for providing a common enemy which will unite humanity in a struggle for survival.

** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':\\\
Xavier and Magneto unite against the Sentinels that threaten all of mutantkind with extinction. [[spoiler:Although Magneto ends up attempting his own plans for mutant superiority and, ironically enough, winds up jeopardizing the plan to save mutantkind.]]\\\
Trask and Stryker are shown handing over their plans for the Sentinels to the DirtyCommunists at the Paris Peace Conference. Trask is even grateful for the mutants for providing a common enemy which will unite humanity in a struggle for survival.

* ''Film/MeanGuns'': After the initial round of killing in the DeadlyGame and they all disperse, many criminals assemble into large groups for strength in numbers. Only three survivors are allowed to walk out of the building, so it stands to reason that they were intending to turn on each other after dealing with everyone else. It's also openly discussed when Lou, Markus, D, and Cam team-up.

* ''Film/MeanGuns'': After the initial round of killing in the DeadlyGame and they all disperse, many criminals assemble into large groups for strength in numbers. Only three survivors are allowed to walk out of the building, so it stands to reason that they were intending to turn on each other after dealing with everyone else.

--> '''Royce:''' The enemy of my enemy...
--> '''Isabelle:''' That doesn't make it a friend.

-->"The Master of the Revels despises us all for vagrants and peddlers of bombast. But my father, James Burbage, had the first license to make a company of players from Her Majesty; and he drew from poets the literature of the age. We must show them that we are men of parts. Will Shakespeare has a play. I have a theater. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming The Curtain is yours.]]"

* The Sci-Fi movie ''Film/EnemyMine'' (1985) (directed by Wolfgang Petersen), starring Creator/DennisQuaid as a human space marine and Louis Gossett Jr. as an alien soldier. In the midst of an interstellar war between their species, both crash-landed their vessels on a desolate planet and must work together to survive. Years later, after the alien soldier gave birth to a baby alien and died from complications, Creator/DennisQuaid's character raises his adoptive alien son and must protect him and himself from human scavengers who use captured aliens as slaves, until they're both finally found and rescued. It is implied that this event helps to end the war.

** In ''Film/BlackPanther'', M'Baku and the Jabari tribe [[BigDamnHeroes arrive to help]] T'Challa and the Dora Mijale fight Killmonger and the Border Tribe after T'Challa spared M'Baku's life in ritual combat.

** Wolverine and Sabretooth in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' against InNameOnly {{Deadpool}}.

** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''; Thor reluctantly teams up with Loki, as his knowledge of magic and his trip through the other realms in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' makes him adept at tracking Malekith and his forces.