History CombatPragmatist / Film

** In ''QuantumofSolace'', Camille shows herself to be this [[spoiler: when she finally goes up against Medrano]], using groin attacks, biting, an improvised weapon, and finally [[spoiler: shooting him when he's unarmed]].

* Long before ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' there was Paul Newman's ''Judge Roy Bean'' who dealt with one challenger by shooting him in the back with a buffalo rifle from a decently long range.

* In ''Film/MirrorMirror'', the seven dwarves train Snow White in fighting. They quickly explain that fighting fair isn't an option since everyone is bigger and stronger than them. When Snow White faces the Prince in a sword fight, she has to pull out every trick in the book just to keep up, as the Prince is stronger and more skilled despite his adherence to the rules. Snow White wins by throwing a snowball at a branch, making snow fall on a horse and inducing it to kick the Prince.
* Similarly in ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman''. Sown White is taught by the Huntsman to block your enemies attack, using his strength against him. Then stab him under the ribs and watch his soul leave his eyes.

** In ''QuantumofSolace'', Camille shows herself to be this, using groin attacks and biting, when she finally goes up against Medrano.

* Similarly in SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman. Sown White is taught by the Huntsman to block your enemies attack, using his strength against him. Then stab him under the ribs and watch his soul leave his eyes.

* Liam Neeson from ''Film/{{Taken}}''. He only fights "fair" if he needs you alive for questioning. [[GroinAttack Attacking other people's nuts]]? Check. [[TortureAlwaysWorks Torturing someone for information]]? Check. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Killing him AFTER receiving the information]]? Check. [[spoiler:[[KilledMidSentence Shooting someone in mid-sentence]] while the guy tried to negotiate?]] Check. [[AssholeVictim And]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch it's]] [[CompleteMonster hilarious]]. The movie probably should have been named "Combat Pragmatism - The Movie".

** The film's [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade main villain]], Colonel William Tavington, is a firm believer in this trope but really more of a CompleteMonster. His actions are really more [[SociopathicSoldier out of sadism]] than wanting to win. He's more than willing to [[WouldNotShootACivilian kill civilians]], (including [[WouldHurtAChild children]]), [[LeaveNoSurvivors kill retreating troops]], [[SinkTheLifeBoats execute wounded troops begging for mercy]], burn down the homes of civilians for "harboring the enemy" (meaning they took in and gave care to wounded troops from both sides), and even [[MoralEventHorizon sets fire to a church full of the families of the militia's men after having promised them that if they told him the location of the militia's base, they would be forgiven]]. The only time he shows any restraint is when he orders Gabriel to be hanged rather than just having him shot, and even that is only so his body can be put on display as a warning. As he explains to Cornwallis, "I advance myself only through victory." However, in this case Cornwallis is correct in his disapproval of Tavington's tactics. He explains to Tavington that the Americans "are our bretheren, and when this conflict is over, we will resume commerce with them", and tells him later that it's Tavington's fault that Cornwallis's army is still stuck in South Carolina and hasn't advanced northward; Tavington's brutality has gotten results but has angered the colonists and given more support to the Revolutionary cause. Indeed, it's Tavington killing Martin's son, Thomas, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain that causes Martin, who previously had no interest in the Revolution, to join the Continental Army]]. TruthInTelevision, due to the Continental Army's guerilla tactics, the British sometimes had to result to cruel tactics against American civilians, which ended up causing them to support the revolution.

--> '''Will:''' [[CaptainObvious You]] [[TooDumbToLive cheated]]!\\

* William Munny from ''{{Unforgiven}}''. He shot a man crawling to safety from behind a rock, an unarmed saloon owner [[spoiler:(although he should have armed himself if he was gonna decorate his saloon with William's friend)]], and the BigBad without letting him have the chance to draw.

** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' sees TheJoker sucker punch, use a knife [[HiddenWeapons hidden in his boot]], trick an entire gang of robbers into killing each other, pull off the [[EyeScream now famous 'magic trick']], violate MookChivalry, use a cop as a HumanShield, use a bomb [[spoiler: inside a guy's stomach, triggered by a cellphone]], [[spoiler: disguise hostages as the hostage takers and vice versa]] and sic dogs on Batman before going in on him with a lead pipe. However, it's slightly averted at one point with the Joker telling a cop that he prefers to kill people with knives than guns since guns do it too quick and don't allow him to savor their final moments... which [[MultipleChoicePast given how true anything the Joker said about himself]], might [[PlayingWithATrope actually not be played straight]], but rather is used to [[spoiler: [[JustifiedTrope push all of the wrong buttons of the cop guarding him, leading to a fight in which the cop loses]]]]

** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' sees TheJoker sucker punch, use a knife [[HiddenWeapons hidden in his boot]], trick an entire gang of robbers into killing each other, pull off the [[EyeScream now famous 'magic trick']], violate MookChivalry, use a cop as a HumanShield, use a bomb [[spoiler: inside a guy's stomach, triggered by a cellphone]], [[spoiler: disguise hostages as the hostage takers and vice versa]] and sic dogs on Batman before going in on him with a lead pipe. However, it's slightly averted at one point with the Joker telling a cop that he prefers to kill people with knives than guns since guns do it too quick and don't allow him to savor their final moments.

* In ''Film/MirrorMirror'', the seven dwarves train Snow White in fighting. They quickly explain that fighting fair isn't an option since everyone is bigger and stronger than them. When Snow White faces the Prince in a sword fight, she has to pull out every trick in the book just to keep up, as the Prince is stronger and more skilled despite his adherence to the rules. Snow White wins by throwing a snowball at a branch, making snow fall on a horse and inducing it to kick the Prince.

** Barbossa is not above punching/kicking people during a sword fight. [[hottip:*:A good deal of sword-fighting manuals show that this was encouraged even by "honorable" fighters.]]

* In ''ApocalypseNow'', Colonel Kurtz discusses this extensively in his monologue to Captain Willard. He talks about how there is a deep moral terror in the hearts of men that hold them back in a war from doing what is necessary to achieve victory, and that you must make a friend of that terror and overcome it if you are to succeed in a war. He then lists an example of how one time on a humanitarian aid mission the Vietnamese enemy came into the village and massacred all the villagers the Americans had just helped simply to spite them, this demoralized Kurtz deeply and is the turning point that led him to reconsider the way the Vietnam War was being fought. Kurtz realized that the enemy was [[TheUnfettered willing to do whatever it took to win because they wanted the Americans out of their country that badly,]] and that there was a genius simplicity to war in that you can have men who are moral and show love to their friends, family and community, and yet when it comes time to fight they have the strength to do cruel things in order to win. He then says that America's problem is that we let judgment defeat us, we care too much about how people would view us if we did cruel things to win, if there were as few as 10 divisions of men like that willing to do harsh things in order to win then the Vietnam War could be won with alarming speed.

*** Though in this last case, Bill's being armed with a handgun isn't the typically "unfair" case of Combat Pragmatist as the Bride opts to enter Bill's place with an uncharacteristic and hitherto unseen pistol of her own.

** ''The Dark Knight'' sees TheJoker sucker punch, use a knife [[HiddenWeapons hidden in his boot]], trick an entire gang of robbers into killing each other, pull off the [[EyeScream now famous 'magic trick']], violate MookChivalry, use a cop as a HumanShield, use a bomb [[spoiler: inside a guy's stomach, triggered by a cellphone]], [[spoiler: disguise hostages as the hostage takers and vice versa]] and sic dogs on Batman before going in on him with a lead pipe. However, it's slightly averted at one point with the Joker telling a cop that he prefers to kill people with knives than guns since guns do it too quick and don't allow him to savor their final moments.

* One of the [[TropeCodifier most famous examples]] in all of film; Indiana Jones, in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', after going through a lengthy fight and chase sequence, is approached by a [[MasterSwordsman villainous swordsman]] who proceeds to show off a few fancy sword moves with his {{BFS}}. Indy opts to simply pull out his gun and shoot the swordsman. This wasn't in the original script and was a ThrowItIn by HarrisonFord who had dysentery at the time of the scene and wasn't up for the scripted fight. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anEuw8F8cpE Watch it here.]]

* ''Film/TheBourneSeries'''s Jason Bourne is a definite and obvious example - hitting foes with [[ImprovisedWeapon literally everything]] [[KitchenSinkIncluded including the kitchen sink (... sort of, the sink was not in the kitchen)]], preparing traps and ambushes {{MacGyver}} style in the heat of combat, and lulling foes into a false sense of security whenever possible (see his escape from the customs officials in the second movie).
* Liam Neeson from ''{{Film/Taken}}''. He only fights "fair" if he needs you alive for questioning. [[GroinAttack Attacking other people's nuts]]? Check. [[TortureAlwaysWorks Torturing someone for information]]? Check. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Killing him AFTER receiving the information]]? Check. [[spoiler:[[KilledMidSentence Shooting someone in mid-sentence]] while the guy tried to negotiate?]] Check. [[AssholeVictim And]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch it's]] [[CompleteMonster hilarious]]. The movie probably should have been named "Combat Pragmatism - The Movie".

* Used ironically in ''{{Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}}''. When challenged to a knife fight by a mutinous crew member, Butch insists that they first go over the rules. As the other man scoffs, "There are no rules in a knife fight," Butch delivers a swift GroinAttack.

* The One-Armed Boxer from ''{{Master of the Flying Guillotine}}'' is not above tricking other martial arts masters into ambushes and booby traps to survive. He lures the barefoot Muay Thai fighter into a hut with a metal floor. His entire martial arts school arrives to lock them inside the hut and light a fire beneath it so the Thai boxer roasts from the feet up. For the blind Flying Guillotine, however, One-Armed Boxer first manufactures a field of bamboo targets to destroy the master's signature weapon. Then he lures him into a coffin shop that he has booby trapped with birds to deafen the master, and axe-throwers to chop him down to size.

--> Billy Ray Smith: You just shot that man [[InTheBack in the back]]!

* During the climactic battle in the ''{{Film/Transformers}}: Dark Side of the Moon'', [[spoiler:Sentinel Prime has no problem calling for an air attack on Optimus when he starts losing the fight. Shortly therafter, he is shot in the back by Megatron.]] Throughout the series, both sides tend to be absolutely ruthless, bringing guns into melee fights as their baseline. Also in the third film is [[spoiler:effectively taking America--yes, ''all of it''--hostage in order to force the Autobots off Earth. And while they're leaving, they shoot their ship with a missile, just to be sure.]]

* ''TheRundown'' The film's protagonist, Beck, (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) {{does not like guns}}, on account of his past. When asked about his not wanting to use guns, he says, "I pick up guns; bad things happen". He fits this for just about everything else though, including using a herd of cows on the villains. He resists shooting guns for the whole movie (though he's more than willing to use them as blunt weapons) [[spoiler: however, at the film's climax, he's up against way too many armed bad guys and finally gives in and uses guns to defeat them and isn't shown having any regrets about it.]]

** ''The Dark Knight'' sees TheJoker sucker punch, use a knife [[HiddenWeapons hidden in his boot]], trick an entire gang of robbers into killing each other, pull off the [[EyeScream now famous 'magic trick']], violate MookChivalry, use a cop as a HumanShield, use a bomb [[spoiler: inside a cell phone inside a guy's stomach]], [[spoiler: disguise hostages as the hostage takers and vice versa]] and sic dogs on Batman before going in on him with a lead pipe. However, it's slightly averted at one point with the Joker telling a cop that he prefers to kill people with knives than guns since guns do it too quick and don't allow him to savor their final moments.
*** Shortly after the Joker is arrested, it's rather comical as to how many knives the police take off of him. What's even more comical is that in the shot where they're laying the knives out on the table, the last one is a ''POTATO PEELER''..., and the cop handling it clearly takes a second look as if to say "wtf?"

* In ApocalypseNow Colonel Kurtz discusses this extensively in his monologue to Captain Willard. He talks about how there is a deep moral terror in the hearts of men that hold them back in a war from doing what is necessary to achieve victory, and that you must make a friend of that terror and overcome it if you are to succeed in a war. He then lists an example of how one time on a humanitarian aid mission the Vietnamese enemy came into the village and massacred all the villagers the Americans had just helped simply to spite them, this demoralized Kurtz deeply and is the turning point that led him to reconsider the way the Vietnam War was being fought. Kurtz realized that the enemy was [[TheUnfettered willing to do whatever it took to win because they wanted the Americans out of their country that badly,]] and that there was a genius simplicity to war in that you can have men who are moral and show love to their friends, family and community, and yet when it comes time to fight they have the strength to do cruel things in order to win. He then says that America's problem is that we let judgment defeat us, we care too much about how people would view us if we did cruel things to win, if there were as few as 10 divisions of men like that willing to do harsh things in order to win then the Vietnam War could be won with alarming speed.

* ''LastActionHero'' parodies this. In school, Danny is watching a film version of the scene in ''{{Hamlet}}'' where Hamlet has an opportunity to kill Claudius but refuses due to Claudius being in prayer. Danny starts whispering to himself, "Just do it", and then has a fantasy sequence of an action movie version of ''Hamlet'' with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. In the scene where Hamlet discovers Polonius hiding behind a curtain, Polonius says "Stay thy hand, fair prince" to which Hamlet replies "Who said I was fair?" and shoots him with an Uzi, then mows down several palace guards with it.

* In Apocalypse Now Colonel Kurtz discusses this extensively in his monologue to Captain Willard. He talks about how there is a deep moral terror in the hearts of men that hold them back in a war from doing what is necessary to achieve victory, and that you must make a friend of that terror and overcome it if you are to succeed in a war. He then lists an example of how one time on a humanitarian aid mission the Vietnamese enemy came into the village and massacred all the villagers the Americans had just helped simply to spite them, this demoralized Kurtz deeply and is the turning point that led him to reconsider the way the Vietnam War was being fought. Kurtz realized that the enemy was [[TheUnfettered willing to do whatever it took to win because they wanted the Americans out of their country that badly,]] and that there was a genius simplicity to war in that you can have men who are moral and show love to their friends, family and community, and yet when it comes time to fight they have the strength to do cruel things in order to win. He then says that America's problem is that we let judgment defeat us, we care too much about how people would view us if we did cruel things to win, if there were as few as 10 divisions of men like that willing to do harsh things in order to win then the Vietnam War could be won with alarming speed.

* In ''LettersFromIwoJima'', the senior commander, Kuribayashi, directly orders his troops to stay alive as is practical in their course of their duties to inflict as much damage to the American invaders as possible and not throw away their lives in honorable suicide at setbacks, as was traditionally encouraged in the Imperial Japanese military.

** Most notably, in ''TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' Bond faces a trained martial artist in a karate match. When the other man bows, Bond kicks him in the throat. The next opponent comes and bows while keeping a careful eye on Bond to prevent getting sucker kicked himself.

* Gideon, Pierce Brosnan's character from ''Seraphim Falls'' doles out pragmatism and damage throughout the movie.

* ''LastActionHero'' parodies this. In school, Danny is watching a film version of the scene in ''{{Hamlet}}'' where Hamlet has an opportunity to kill Claudius but refuses due to Claudius being in prayer. Danny starts whispering to himself, "Just do it", and then has a fantasy sequence of an action movie version of ''Hamlet'' with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role. In the scene where Hamlet discovers Palonius hiding behind a curtain, Palonius says "Stay thy hand, fair prince" to which Hamlet replies "Who said I was fair?" and shoots him with an uzi, then mows down several palace guards with it.

* One of the [[TropeCodifier most famous examples]] in all of film; IndianaJones, in ''Raiders Of The Lost Ark'', after going through a lengthy fight and chase sequence, is approached by a [[MasterSwordsman villainous swordsman]] who proceeds to show off a few fancy sword moves with his {{BFS}}. Indy opts to simply pull out his gun and shoot the swordsman. This wasn't in the original script and was a ThrowItIn by HarrisonFord who had dysentery at the time of the scene and wasn't up for the scripted fight. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anEuw8F8cpE Watch it here.]]

* Long before IndianaJones there was Paul Newman's ''Judge Roy Bean'' who dealt with one challenger by shooting him in the back with a buffalo rifle from a decently long range.

* One of the [[TropeCodifier most famous examples]] in all of film; IndianaJones, in ''Raiders Of The Lost Ark'', after going through a lengthy fight and chase sequence, is approached by a [[MasterSwordsman villainous swordsman]] who proceeds to show off a few fancy sword moves. Indy opts to simply pull out his gun and shoot the swordsman. This wasn't in the original script and was a ThrowItIn by HarrisonFord who had dysentery at the time of the scene and wasn't up for the scripted fight. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anEuw8F8cpE Watch it here.]]