History AntiVillain / LiveActionFilms

* General Ross in the 2003 ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' movie, as opposed to his ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'' version. Considering the long history of ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'', neither is exactly inaccurate to the comics. He's portrayed as a concerned general who deeply loves his daughter and is just trying to stop the hulk menace, but goes out of his way to pursue and distrust Banner [[SinsOfOurFathers because of who his father is]].

* [[BigBad General Zod]] in ''Film/ManOfSteel''. [[spoiler: While he is willing to commit genocide on the human race he sums himself up magnificently in a single quote, "Every action I take, no matter how violent or cruel, is for the good of my people." He was [[DesignerBabies bred]] to be a warrior, to defend his race no matter how monstrous he had to be to do so.]]
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** [[Characters/MCULokiLaufeyson Loki,]] the antagonist from ''Film/{{Thor}}'', is continuously doing the wrong things for the right reasons. He's actually just a screwed-up WellDoneSonGuy trying to win his father's approval through pretty much the worst means possible.
** ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' ends with T'Challa essentially admitting Killmonger was 80% in the right the whole time. It's only the 20% that's about conquering and killing that makes Killmonger a villain.
** Thanos from ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' perform multiple genocides across multiple planets because he genuinely believes that if the planets are left unchecked, then they could suffer from an OverpopulationCrisis and leave the planet into a lifeless shell just like his own. He holds no ill will towards his enemies and fully respects their resolve regardless if they are against him or not. It's only his own hubris and hurt pride that prevents him from seeing a solution besides mass murder.
** Ghost from ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' goes to increasingly brutal lengths as the film progresses, but her only goal is to relieve herself of the constant agony she's suffering from as a result of her phasing powers and to prevent her imminent death.
** [[Characters/MCUTheMandarin Xu Wenwu]] from ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' is driven primarily by a desire to reunite with his late wife and become a family, estranged son and daughter included, once again; far from what you would expect from the leader of arguably ''the'' most dangerous and influential criminal organization on Marvel Earth. The actions he takes throughout the movie are not necessarily "good" (hence the whole villain thing) but they are always understandable and come from a genuinely human desire.
** Namor from ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' [[spoiler:was a mutant born to Mayans who were mutated by a vibranium-infused plant. He was still just a boy when he first climbed out from under the seas to bury his mother and personally witnessed the horrors of colonization and imperialism. Resolving to protect his people from such things, he built their grand kingdom of Talokan under the ocean and goes to extreme lengths to ensure their secrecy.]]

* ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'':
** Doc Ock in ''Film/SpiderMan2''. Altruistic guy, working for "the good of mankind", accidentally kills his wife and turns himself into a monster with no inhibitions, and fixates on his dream, still believing that he is trying to help humanity, when he is actually constructing the means to destroy half of New York City. He's manipulated by his own technology to boot. [[spoiler:Regains his senses at the end and pulls a RedemptionEqualsDeath to atone for his crimes.]]
** In ''Film/SpiderMan3'', the Sandman is a textbook Anti-Villain, pursuing noble ends (saving his daughter's life) through criminal means.

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** Magneto has an unquestionably sympathetic backstory and very good reason to believe that humans are out to eradicate the mutant race. However, he is a dangerous individual with few limits on his devotion and what must be done to ensure the survival of his kind. Even his best and oldest friend isn't safe from [[MyGreatestFailure his extreme methods and beliefs]].
** Warren Worthington II in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''. It's not like he's ''forcing'' mutants to take [[BroughtDownToNormal the cure]]. Likewise, Dr. Kavita Rao is just doing her job.
** Magneto and Mystique become this at the end of ''Film/XMenFirstClass''.
** Bolivar Trask in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''. Unlike other characters obsessed in exterminating the mutants, he does so not out of hatred, but a desire to see humanity united against a common threat, and actually admires mutants for helping him accomplish that goal. Pity he has no empathy...

* The original ''Film/{{Scarface|1932}}'', the one from 1932, has an Anti-Villain as its titular character, who [[PetTheDog pets the dog]] at multiple points in the film. It was very controversial at the time because of this.

* Paul Doyle in ''Film/PainAndGain''. He didn't want to be part of the kidnapping at all but was persuaded by Daniel and Noel into doing so and felt guilty the entire time.

** John Hammond. Unlike the selfish, money-focused book counterpart, the film's version is basically a rather lovable grandfather figure who just doesn't understand the full ethical consequences of cloning dinosaurs and the harm they could cause if he lost control of them (which is precisely what happens).

* William "D-FENS" Foster from ''Film/FallingDown''. He's dangerously insane and becomes increasingly violent, but at the same time he's also clearly a victim of powers beyond his control, and the audience is encouraged to feel catharsis through his actions even as the movie condemns them.

* Frank Abagnale Jr. of Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'' becomes an elusive ConMan who lives a rich life by stealing millions of dollars from the government and the banks. He also came from [[FreudianExcuse a family that fell from grace and broke up]], and [[JustifiedCriminal started out with his schemes to support himself.]] He's never purposely malicious, more an irresponsible kid who should know better, tries to [[FriendlyEnemy remain friendly with the officer pursuing him]], and [[ChronicVillainy genuinely wants to stop his crimes by the halfway point but can't]]. [[spoiler:He ends the movie being prematurely released from prison and inducted into the FBI Financial Crimes Unit with Hanratty's help.]]

* Vaako, the NobleDemon from ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', comes off this way at times. He's surprisingly competent, genuinely believes in the ReligionOfEvil, shows signs of HonorBeforeReason, and, to the surprise of everyone, ''doesn't'' attempt a KlingonPromotion on the Lord Marshall (well, not until [[LadyMacBeth his wife]] convinces him that the Lord Marshall has violated the ReligionOfEvil).

* The villains of ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau'' aren't really very evil. In fact, they're trying as hard as they can to save humanity from its own evil. They just have a heavy-handed, LawfulNeutral way of doing it.

* William Ford from ''Film/TwelveYearsASlave'' treats his black slaves with kindness and shows concern about their wellbeing, but still clearly only sees them as property and justifies his keeping them with the financial ruin he would face otherwise. Director Creator/SteveMcQueenDirector has gone on record for saying that he actually considers him the ''worst'' of the three slavers, as unlike the other two he is under no illusion and knows that slavery is monstrous, and yet partakes in it anyway. Solomon actually has a rather positive opinion of Ford, as a "decent man under the circumstances", but Eliza does not.

* [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Elijah Price]], of ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'' and the upcoming ''Film/{{Glass}}'', believes that superheroes -- specifically, people with superhuman abilities and the instinct to fight evil and protect others -- are real, and that by finding and nurturing one of these superheroes, he can make the world a better place and bring meaning to his own tragic life. How does he accomplish this? [[spoiler:By becoming a full-on supervillain of the DiabolicalMastermind variety, known as "Mister Glass". In ''Unbreakable'', Mister Glass engineers disasters and causes hundreds of deaths in order to find David Dunn and guide him into becoming a superhero, while in ''Glass'', he teams up with a superpowered ''villain'' called "the Horde" to force Dunn's hand and prove to the world that superheroes exist.]]
* DesignatedVillain Lucian in ''Film/{{Underworld|2003}}'' -- while employing some rather [[WellIntentionedExtremist dubious tactics]] -- was a former slave who led an uprising after his lover and unborn child were brutally killed, and is only trying to prevent his people from being exterminated. If his plan in the first film had succeeded, the end result would have been peace between the two sides.

* In the 2011 film ''Film/{{Warrior}}'': Both Brendan and Tommy are treated sympathetically throughout the film, but Tommy fulfills the role of the villain. He's a complete jerk to both his brother and father throughout the film, refusing to help them reconcile their old family demons (although not [[FreudianExcuse without reason]]). He also fights like a classic screen villain, [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] his foes with anger and brutality.

* Captain Alan Langford in the 1959 war film ''Film/Yesterday'sEnemy''. In World War Two Burma, Langford discovers Japanese plans of attack but cannot interpret them. When a Burmese collaborator refuses to explain the plans, Langford gets his men to shoot two innocent Burmese in order to show the collaborator what he is in for if he fails to talk. Langford justifies this war crime on the grounds that thwarting the Japanese plan will save hundreds of Allied lives.

** Magneto has an unquestionably sympathetic backstory and very good reason to believe that humans are out to eradicate the mutant race. However, he is a dangerous individual with few limits on his devotion and what must be done to ensure the survival of his kind. Even his best and oldest friend isn't safe from [[MyGreatestFailure his extreme methods and beliefs.]]
-->'''Warren Worthington II''': It's not like he's forcing mutants to take the cure.
** Likewise, Dr. Kavita Rao is just doing her job.

** The [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju MUTOs]], not really apparent until near the end of ''Film/Godzilla2014''. Their goal is merely to reunite with one another, have offspring, and ensue the resurgence of their species. Even with the amount of destruction they cause, they are at least sympathetic in this regard. In addition, they usually only cause destruction solely because they're so large and through the movie they act like actual animals. The only time we see them act out of any sort of malice [[spoiler: is after the nest is destroyed and the male MUTO is killed by Godzilla, at which the [[MamaBear enraged]] [[CrusadingWidow female]] goes full-on OmnicidalManiac on every single human she finds.]]

** Namor from ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' [[spoiler:was a mutant born to Mayans who were mutated by a vibranium-infused plant. He was still just a boy when he first climbed out from under the seas to bury his mother and witnessed the horrors the humans of the surface world inflict on each other and showed their hatred of him for being different. Resolving to protect his people from such things, he built their grand kingdom of Talokan under the ocean and goes to extreme lengths to ensure their secrecy.]]

** The [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju MUTOs]], not really apparent until near the end of ''Film/Godzilla2014''. Their goal is merely to reunite with one another, have offspring, and ensue the resurgence of their species. Even with the amount of destruction they cause, they are at least sympathetic in this regard. In addition, they usually only cause destruction solely because they're so large and through the movie they act like actual animals. The only time we see them act out of any sort of malice [[spoiler: is after the nest is destroyed and the male MUTO is killed by Godzilla, at which the enraged female goes full-on OmnicidalManiac on every single human she finds.]]

** Dr. Petrov in is a genuinely decent man who looks out for the people in his care, and is only a villain because he, unlike the rest of the officers on ''Red October'', actually takes his oath of loyalty to the Soviet Union seriously.

* Dr. Petrov in ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'' is a genuinely decent man who looks out for the people in his care, and is only a villain because he, unlike the rest of the officers on ''Red October'', actually takes his oath of loyalty to the Soviet Union seriously.

** [[Characters/MCULoki Loki,]] the antagonist from ''Film/{{Thor}}'', is continuously doing the wrong things for the right reasons. He's actually just a screwed-up WellDoneSonGuy trying to win his father's approval through pretty much the worst means possible.

* General Ross in the 2003 ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' movie, as opposed to his ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'' version. Considering the long history of [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk comics]] neither is exactly inaccurate to the comics. He's portrayed as a concerned general who deeply loves his daughter and is just trying to stop the hulk menace, but goes out of his way to pursue and distrust Banner [[SinsOfOurFathers because of who his father is]].

** Loki, the antagonist from ''Film/{{Thor}}'', is continuously doing the wrong things for the right reasons. He's actually just a screwed-up WellDoneSonGuy trying to win his father's approval through pretty much the worst means possible.