History TheUnfettered / Film

* Vampire Overlord [[BigBad Eli Damaskinos]] from ''{{Film/BadeII}}'', When asked by a subordinate how many of his people he was willing to sacrifice for his goals, he replies "Everyone." [[spoiler: As it turns out, even his own family isn't safe.]]

* [[MegaCorp Weyland-Yutani]] from the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}''. The company wants to control the xenomorph for profit and to increase their wealth/influence. To this end, they sacrifice their own employees, doom an entire squadron of soldier or destroy entire civilizations. One only need look at their agents/executives (Ash, Burke, Bishop...etc).

** Interestingly enough, true Gray Jedi, make use of [[CombatPragmatist both Force abilities]]. Since they aren't restricted to one teaching or another, this potentially could grant mastery and insight into the Force, beyond any normal Jedi or Sith? However it is rare to encounter such individuals that is, since they're an [[ImpartialPurposeDrivenFaction extremely reclusive faction]].
** Mandalorians are especially [[TheDreaded feared]] for this trope alone. Other than the Sith, the Mandalorians were another of the Jedi's greatest rival organizations. However in the more recent lore, most Mandalorian clans were purged to near-extinction. Though this makes them even less common than the Sith, a few surviving clans managed to escape.

*** The Dark Side itself is very often [[DarkIsNotEvil misunderstood]] in this way. Yes it can and has been used for evil purposes, but at it's core, it is merely a direct and destructive power. But abusing it comes at a cost of both [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide sanity]] and [[EvilMakesYouUgly grim deformation]].
** Many typical Bounty Hunters (most famously Boba Fett and Cad Bane) are as [[OnlyInItForTheMoney unfettered]] as one can get in this universe. Since they can be bought off (most of the time), it's rare to see these types fully invested in their employer. This can spell big trouble, for anyone willing to cross them, friend or foe.

* Mattie Ross in both versions of ''Film/TrueGrit'', but played harder in the new adaption. Offputting because she's just a teenage girl, but she is utterly obsessed with killing [[DirtyCoward Tom Chaney]].
* "[[NoNameGiven H]]," an interrogator who specializes in ColdBloodedTorture, in ''Film/{{Unthinkable}}''. After he is set to work on a terrorist who claims to have planted nuclear bombs in several American cities, he at several points tells his handlers that it is important that his subject believe that he "has no limits." As it turns out, he [[MoralEventHorizon really doesn't]].

** Most typical Bounty Hunters (most famously Boba Fett and Cad Bane) are as [[OnlyInItForTheMoney unfettered]] as one can get in this universe. Since they can be bought off (most of the time), it's rare to see these types fully invested in their employer. This can spell big trouble, for anyone willing to cross them, friend or foe.

* In ''Film/TheHustler'', Eddie wants to beat Minnesota Fats at pool and be recognized as the best player ever. But the only way he can do that is to become The Unfettered, no matter what he has to sacrifice along the way.

* Pick any villain in the ''Film/JamesBond'' franchise. Many of them are first-rate sociopathic {{Diabolical Mastermind}}s and/or {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, and they're determined to achieve their EvilPlan by any means necessary, be it murder, kidnapping, or in more extreme OmnicidalManiac cases like Ernst Blofeld, Karl Stromberg, or Hugo Drax, ''[[TakeOverTheWorld hold the entire world at gunpoint]]''. To them, the ends justify the means in succeeding at their goals, and they'll do anything ''and'' everything to get the job done, even if it's underhanded.

** Mandalorians are especially [[TheDreaded feared]] for this trope alone. Other than the Sith, the Mandalorians were another of the Jedis greatest rival organizations. However in the more recent lore, most Mandalorian clans were purged to near-extinction. Though this makes them even less common than the Sith, a few surviving clans managed to escape.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Unlike Metro Man, Titan/Tighten has absolutely zero qualms against trying to kill Megamind outright. It's only the first sign of the monster Megamind has created.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': [[spoiler:Ernesto de la Cruz]] will resort to murder if it means being able to [[spoiler:seize his moment.]]

* In ''Film/FightClub'', Tyler Durden (and eventually [[spoiler:the narrator]]) count.
* The Operative from ''Film/{{Serenity}}''.
** Interestingly played in that Mal defeats the Operative by fettering him: [[spoiler:showing the man the recording from Miranda broke his conviction and put him up against a moral objection he couldn't overcome]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Qui-Gon Jinn is the OldMaster kind of unfettered: 'I do what I must.' Without remorse, without regret. Not coincidentally, many Star Wars fans consider Qui-Gon to be a good movie example of a Gray Jedi--that is to say, [[GreyAndGrayMorality a Force-user that doesn't necessarily believe in the Light/Dark duality of the Force]]. The fact that he serves the Jedi as opposed to the Sith is inconsequential.
** Interestingly enough, true Gray Jedi, make use of [[CombatPragmatist both Force abilities]]. Since they aren't restricted to one teaching or another, this potentially could grant mastery and insight into the Force, beyond any normal Jedi or Sith? However it is rare to encounter such individuals that is, since they're an [[ImpartialPurposeDrivenFaction extremely reclusive faction]].
** Mandalorians are especially [[TheDreaded feared]] for this trope alone. Other than the Sith, the Mandalorians were another of the Jedis greatest rival organizations. However in the more recent lore, most Mandalorian clans were purged to near-extinction. Though this makes them even less common than the Sith, a few surviving clans managed to escape.
** The Sith are always The Unfettered, to contrast the Jedi being TheFettered.
--->'''The Code of the Sith:''' Peace is a Lie, there is only Passion.\\
Through Passion, I gain Strength.\\
Through Strength, I gain Power.\\
Through Power, I gain Victory.\\
Through Victory, My Chains are Broken.\\
The Force shall free me.
* Clyde Shelton in ''Film/LawAbidingCitizen''. After his family is murdered and the D.A. cuts an insanely inadequate deal with the culprit, he becomes singularly focused on the goal of not only getting justice, but bringing down the broken, flawed, and corrupt justice system that he believes failed his family.
* A heroic example is Neo from ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' series. In becoming [[EnlightenmentSuperpowers The One]], Neo was, effectively, Choice Incarnate, able to do what he wanted in the Matrix. Being the One and being Neo were different things, however. [[spoiler:While the Architect was able to limit the choices of his predecessors]], it was Neo's specific love for Trinity that allowed him to TakeAThirdOption throughout the series and not constrain himself fully to what the Matrix, its machine denizens, or even the humans of Zion wanted or expected him to do--[[spoiler:even at the risk of genocide of the human race if he were to fail]].
* Denzel Washington in ''Film/ManOnFire''. To save one young girl and get revenge for her kidnapping, he kills dozens of people. He gives no regard to his own life or that of anyone around him. He tortures and kills anyone who has a connection to the kidnapping and kills anyone who gets in the way, at one point blowing up a whole building-- possibly with many innocents inside-- without any remorse. Finally, he [[spoiler:sacrifices himself in a trade for the girl]]. Admittedly, he was already suicidal, but he used his suicidal feelings to strip himself of all remaining inhibitions.
* In ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' we have Anton Chigurh, a ruthless and nearly emotionless PsychoForHire, with a set of rules that only he understands.
--> '''Anton Chigurh''': (About to kill a fellow hit man) Let me ask you something. If the rule you followed, brought you to this, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech of what use was the rule?]]
* In ''Film/{{Taken}}'' we have the father (who happens to be a CombatPragmatist) to boot) who will go to any length, including torture and shooting his friend's wife, in a frighteningly unhesitating fashion, to get his daughter back.

* "[[NoNameGiven H]]," an interrogator who specializes in ColdBloodedTorture, in ''Film/{{Unthinkable}}''. After he is set to work on a terrorist who claims to have planted nuclear bombs in several American cities, he at several points tells his handlers that it is important that his subject believe that he "has no limits." As it turns out, he [[MoralEventHorizon really doesn't]].
* Standard in [[ExploitationFilm revenge films]]: ''Film/DeathWish'', ''Film/MadMax'', ''Film/RollingThunder'', ''Film/HighPlainsDrifter'', ''Film/OrcaTheKillerWhale'' (that's right, [[WrongGenreSavvy to us it's]] a ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' ripoff, but the Orca thinks he's in ''Film/{{Irreversible}}'', and his rampage [[HumansAreBastards is justified]]), ''Film/ISpitOnYourGrave'', etc. etc., all feature a protagonist who is singlemindedly bent on revenge to the exclusion of all else. And that "revenge" can be assumed to mean "death", which may be disproportionate to the original offense, ''Film/MassacreAtCentralHigh'' being a notable example. Presumably, they bother to eat because they need to so they can gain revenge, but a character on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge will not often be seen doing any basic daily maintenance activities, much less enjoying themselves at anything. Unless it's [[Literature/VenusInFurs a Jess Franco film]], in which case RuleOfSexy applies, and may even play into the revenge.
* Colonel Jessep from ''Film/AFewGoodMen''. Don't believe it? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGvQtumNAY Just listen to his speech]] and see for yourself.
* Mattie Ross in both versions of ''Film/TrueGrit'', but played harder in the new adaption. Offputting because she's just a teenage girl, but she is utterly obsessed with killing [[DirtyCoward Tom Chaney]].
* The antagonist Kurt Hendricks from ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' is willing to go to any lengths to ignite a global nuclear war for the sake of "peace." This includes destroying the Kremlin in Russia to make off with the nuclear launch codes and putting the blame on the IMF, kidnapping the family of a nuclear code expert so he would cooperate with their schemes before dying when he was [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer useful]], and even jumping out of the top floor of a vehicle assembly factory and mortally wounding himself to keep the launch control device from Hunt's hands.

* [[spoiler: Sentinel Prime]] in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' is revealed to be one of these. Over the course of the film and the events preceding it, he [[spoiler: betrays the Autobots who trusted and followed him, makes a pact with Megatron, brutally murders Ironhide, attempts to enslave the human race, murders countless innocent people, and nearly kills Optimus, to whom he had been a mentor and father figure. All of which proves that there was no depth that Sentinel was unwilling to sink to for the sake of restoring Cybertron and returning to a time where he was revered as a god]].
* Robert Angier in ''Film/ThePrestige'' will do anything to destroy Alfred Borden and expose the secret for his "Transported Man" trick, from [[spoiler:shooting Borden's fingers off, to throwing his fortune at lightning experiments, to framing Borden for murder]]. At first, it seems to be retribution for Borden accidentally killing Angier's wife, but it eventually goes way beyond that:
-->'''Olivia (his mistress):''' It won't bring your wife back.
-->'''Angier:''' I don't care about my wife. I care about his secret.

* In ''Film/TheWolverine'', none of Shingen’s evil acts really faze him. Not once does he take a step back and think that maybe, just maybe, trying to [[spoiler:murder your daughter]] is a bit evil.

* Pick any villain in the ''Film/JamesBond'' franchise. Many of them are first-rate sociopathic {{Diabolical Mastermind}}s and/or {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, and they're determined to achieve their EvilPlan by any means necessary, be it murder, kidnapping, or in more extreme OmnicidalManiac cases like Ernst Blofeld, Karl Stromberg, or Hugo Drax, ''[[TakeOverTheWorld hold the entire world at gunpoint]]''. To them, the ends justify the means in succeeding at their goals, and they'll do anything ''and'' everything to get the job done, even if it's underhanded.

* ''{{Film/Interstellar}}'': NASA deliberately seeks out people like this for the mission; people with no connection to Earth or a willingness to make any sacrifice if it means getting the job done. [[spoiler:This backfires horribly with Dr. Mann, as it turns out that the reason he's unfettered is because he has no priority higher than ''keeping himself alive''. He proceeds to jeopardize the whole mission by falsifying data and betraying the ''Endurance'' crew in a desperate attempt to [[DirtyCoward save his own skin]] after the planet he was supposed to explore turned out to be inhospitable.]]
* Thanos turns out to be this in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. Following the loss of all life on his homeworld due to overpopulation, he becomes capable of doing ''anything'', no matter how monstrous, to prevent other worlds from suffering a similar fate. His pursuit of the Infinity Stones is entirely because being able to do so everywhere at once with the snap of a finger is far more efficient than having to go from world to world. [[spoiler:He eventually murders his daughter Gamora to acquire the Soul Stone.]]

* [[BigBad The Kurgan]] from ''Film/{{Highlander}}'', an ancient Immortal from the Russian steppes who only cares about one thing: claiming the Prize. He will attack any Immortal, anytime and nearly anywhere. The [[TruceZone tradition of not fighting on]] HolyGround is just about the only law he respects. Apart from that, he is a deranged savage.

* ''Film/SodomAndGomorrah'': It's made clear that Queen Bera and other Sodomites see no limits placed on gaining pleasure. Whether it be killing people, incest or whatever else, anything goes in their eyes.

** Interestingly enough, true Gray Jedi, make use of [[CombatPragmatist both Force abilities]]. Since they aren't restricted to one teaching or another, this potentially could grant mastery and insight into the Force, beyond any normal Jedi or Sith? However it is rare to encounter any true Gray Jedi that is.

* [[Franchise/StarWars Qui-Gon Jinn]] is the OldMaster kind of unfettered: 'I do what I must.' Without remorse, without regret.
** Not coincidentally, many Star Wars fans consider Qui-Gon to be a good movie example of a Gray Jedi--that is to say, [[GreyAndGrayMorality a Force-user that doesn't necessarily believe in the Light/Dark duality of the Force]]. The fact that he serves the Jedi as opposed to the Sith is inconsequential.

--->Peace is a Lie, there is only Passion.\\

---->-- '''The Code of the Sith'''

* Thanos turns out to be this in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. Following the loss of all life on his homeworld due to overpopulation, he becomes capable of doing ''anything'', no matter how monstrous, to prevent other worlds from suffering a similar fate. His pursuit of the Infinity Stones is entirely because being able to do so everywhere at once with the snap of a finger is far more efficient than having to go from world to world. [[spoiler:He eventually murders his daughter Gamora to acquire the Soul Stone.]]

* Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in ''Film/ApocalypseNow''. He gives a monologue to Captain Williard as to why he admires the Vietnamese enemy. He speaks of how when he was with the US Special Forces he went on numerous humanitarian aid missions to foster good will towards the common people of Vietnam. When things changed for him was when during one of these aid missions the enemy came into the village after they left and massacred everyone, especially disturbing was that they mutilated the arms of the children and threw them into a pile as a trophy mocking the Americans. At first Kurtz was traumatized but given time to think about it he marveled at the genius of tactics like that, the enemy was going to win the war not because they had a superior military but because they were willing to do '''whatever''' it took to win. If America had that much dedication he said as few as 10 divisions could win the war.

* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': [[spoiler:Prince Hans of the Southern Isles]] turns out to be an evil, manipulative and remorseless fiend who shows no moral qualms regarding his goal to become king of Arendelle, even if he has to resort to ''murder''.

** Palpatine.

* In ''Film/TheWolverine'', none of Shingen’s evil acts really phase him. Not once does he take a step back and think that maybe, just maybe, trying to [[spoiler:murder your daughter]] is a bit evil.

* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': [[spoiler:Prince Hans]] turns out to be an evil, manipulative and remorseless fiend who shows no moral qualms regarding his goal to become king of Arendelle, even if he has to resort to ''murder''.

* [[StarWars Qui-Gon Jinn]] is the OldMaster kind of unfettered: 'I do what I must.' Without remorse, without regret.

* ''Film/TheOne'': The [[FallenHero former interdimensional law enforcer]] Gabriel Yulaw has devoted himself to becoming [[AGodIAm the One]] by killing all alternate versions of himself and gaining power through their energies. He isn't bothered by the fact that there's more than one hundred of them, what kind of collateral damage he causes (like fighting [[spoiler:and killing]] his [[WeUsedToBeFriends former friend Roedecker]]), or that it's not even sure if he actually becomes the most powerful being in existence or causes the entire multiverse's destruction if he kills Gabe, the last version of himself. He's that single-minded in his goal. [[spoiler:Once he's imprisoned in a PrisonDimension, he merely decides to become the one most powerful fighter around.]] [[TellMeHowYouFight His fighting style (Xing Yi Quan) even reflects this trope]]; he prefers attacking with straightforward punches even when there's plenty of room around. [[spoiler:This proves to be his undoing against the Baguazhang style his GoodCounterpart Gabe utilizes.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Unlike Metro Man, Titan/Tighten has absolutely zero qualms against trying to kill Megamind outright. It's only the first sign of the monster Megamind has created.

* Pick any villain in the ''Film/JamesBond'' franchise. Many of them are first-rate sociopathic {{Diabolical Mastermind}}s and/or {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, and they're determined to achieve their EvilPlan by any means necessary, be it murder, kidnapping, or in more extreme OmnicidalManiac cases like Ernst Blofeld, Karl Stromberg, or Hugo Drax, ''[[WorldDomination hold the entire world at gunpoint]]''. To them, the ends justify the means in succeeding at their goals, and they'll do anything ''and'' everything to get the job done, even if it's underhanded.