Hero Antagonist / Live-Action Films

• Abduction: While CIA Agent Frank Burton is wanting to protect Martin Price's son Nathan while wanting to also track him down as he's on the run, he's revealed as somewhat of an inversion as he's also wanting to avoid exposure as a spy who sold American secrets at the same time too. Both his partner Agent Burns and their superior Tom Shealy on the other hand are not corrupt like Burton is. Burns most of the time is helping to find Nathan and his Love Interest Karen Murphy while having no knowledge of what Burton did and Shealy when informed by Martin of what Burton was trying to hide lets Nathan go and tells him he's happy to help him if he ever needs anything, departing after the two shake hands.
• Absolute Power (1997): DC Detective Seth Frank is investigating when Christy Sullivan ends up killed and because he comes close to determining career thief Luther Whitney was robbing her home, is investigating him to find out if he's the one who did it. In truth, Whitney only witnessed her murder at the hands of the US Secret Service agents working for her abusive lover, President Alan Richmond. Frank eventually uncovers the truth for himself through his investigating skills and even develops a relationship with Whitney's grown daughter Kate during the case too.
• American Gangster: With Frank Lucas having most of the movie's focus, federal agent Richie Roberts leading the investigation against him would fulfill this role in that situation.
• Anatomy of a Fall: Whether or not Sandra Voyter is actually guilty of killing husband Samuel Maleski or she actually wasn't involved at all, the prosecutor and others involved in the case against her either do believe she did it or think the evidence leans that way and thus have to act upon that—and to a lesser degree, the court appointed Marge Berger would also count as she's making sure Sandra and Samuel's son Daniel is protected during the trial.
• Angel Has Fallen: FBI Special Agent Helen Thompson is the lead on both the investigation and manhunt into Secret Service Agent Mike Banning when he's framed for trying to have President Allan Trumbull assassinated.
• AR Hosspack from Animal Factory. He's antagonistic towards the prisoners and a condescending Jerkass, but he's ultimately only trying to preserve order in the prison and he shows some (admittedly incredibly misguided and backhanded) concern for Ronnie.
• Bad Education (2019): Rachel Bhargava is the one investigating the budget on the skywalk and discovers the long-term conspiracy wherein $11.2 million was stolen from the school district by Frank Tassone and others as a result.
• Pamela Landy in The Bourne Supremacy. In the next film, The Bourne Ultimatum, however, she helps blow the whistle on Operation Blackbriar. Heather Lee from Jason Bourne is a shady variation.
• It may be hard to notice because he's an alcoholic Jerkass but Osbourne Cox of Burn After Reading is consistently the one being wronged and hurt by the protagonists, without him ever having hurt any of them.
• Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can is the federal agent attempting to apprehend the Con Man main character.
• The title character of the old western film Chato's Land, played by Charles Bronson. He is also The Voiceless, having only two speaking scenes in the entire movie -– one, extremely brief, at the beginning, and one later in the film, shot entirely in the Comanche language, with no subtitles.
• Deep Cover: Taft is an LAPD narcotics detective who believes that Russell (an undercover cop working for the DEA) is just some ordinary drug dealer recently moved into town who's spreading that crap to get rich off it. He continues to pursue Russell and his associates and endangers Russell's own investigation into the Gallegos Cartel at several points.
• Disturbia: While Officer Gutierrez is a cop abusing his power to further punish Kale Brecht for punching his cousin—Kale's teacher who crossed a personal line by bringing up his late father, Detective Parker who oversees when Kale is put on three month house arrest is a very Reasonable Authority Figure wanting to make sure he follows the rules. The Judge who oversaw Kale's case and is sympathetic to his actions being the result of losing his father rather than giving him jail time also passes the sentence as a means of giving him a break too. Even Kale's own mother Julie by taking away recreational perks from him as a means of reminding him that what's happening is not for his own relaxation and amusement would also qualify.
• Downfall (2004): In a movie centered around Hitler, his direct entourage and other Nazi Protagonists, of course the Allies, specifically the Red Army surrounding Berlin, fighting to put an end to the Third Reich, will be this.
• The bearded monk in Dracula Untold abhors Dracula's nature as a vampire and begs to allow to give him a Mercy Kill, not realizing that Dracula needs his powers to defend his people from the Turks. By the end, the monk and Dracula take the same side against the evil vampire army.
• Dune: Part Two: Chani takes on this role due to vehemently not believing in the Bene Gesserit's Chosen One prophecy since she thinks it was conceived to try to manipulate control over the Fremen and thus while she loves Paul Atreides, she can't resolve and support his decision to embrace that role to achieve victory—regardless of what he himself really believes.
• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: The Absolution Council who hear out Edgin in the opening act. They send out a warrant for the arrest of Edgin and Holga following their prison escape, something that dogs them for the rest of the story, and Torbo in particular draws the attention of several guards to Doric during the climactic heist. But this is only because they're trying to uphold the rule of law, and the fact that they pardoned Edgin and Holga shows that they would have been fine letting the duo go free if they hadn't broken the law once again to escape.
• Eagle Eye: Captain Zoë Perez, a special Agent of the AF OSI, and FBI Supervisory Special Agent Tom Morgan both lead the charge in the manhunt to capture Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman when they're forcibly "activated" and framed as terrorists. Perez having served with Jerry's twin brother Ethan is wanting to question Jerry about what's going on while Morgan is definitely more skeptical about the idea that any further investigation is necessary. They both on their own then end up discovering the true culprit is the super computer ARIIA with Perez having to personally deal with the true threat herself while Morgan rescues Jerry, gives him his credentials to get into the White House to prevent the planned attack—as well as his gun too—and then goes out in a Heroic Sacrifice to buy him more time too.
• The guards in Escape from Alcatraz, who are simply trying to contain a prison full of dangerous criminals. The only completely unsympathetic "good" character in the film is the Warden.
• Exam: Going by the general definition of the word, White is The Protagonist, making mostly everyone else fall into this category.
• Martin Prendergast in Falling Down. Unlike Bill Foster, who is on his violent rampage against the petty frustrations of modern society, Det. Prendergast tracks him down while constructively dealing with his own annoyances with empathy and maturity.
• A Few Good Men: USMC Judge Advocate Captain Jack Ross is the prosecutor for the case overseeing the death of Private William Santiago when both Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey are accused of murdering him. Ross while being unwilling to give them the benefit of the doubt pretty much all but says though that he doubts evidence that proves both Colonel Nathan R. Jessup and First Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick were the ones responsible for Dawson and Downey carrying out the dangerous disciplinary measure that accidentally got Santiago killed could be presented and is more interested in assuring that the case he has goes through. When Jessup is spited into confessing though, Ross is willing to carry out an arrest on him by reading him his rights personally and then when Dawson and Downey are both vindicated of murder, Ross happily heads off to make sure he arrests Kendrick for his part in it too.
• The policeman Mitch from First Blood. Unlike the other cops he didn't bully Rambo, but still participated in the hunt for him. To a lesser degree, Col. Trautman, who knows and understands Rambo, and wants him brought in without bloodshed (partly because he alone knows just how much bloodshed will result).
• US Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones in the role that made him famous): The Fugitive. His quest is to capture the hero, who is a fugitive from justice, whether or not he's innocent of the charge; as Sam investigates further, he grows visibly convinced of the man's innocence, to the extent that he's shown reassuring him and pretty much taking him under his wing at the end. The character was popular enough to warrant a spin-off sequel, U.S. Marshals, which goes through a similar premise, but with Gerard's as the main POV. That film also has Gerard's superior Catherine Walsh as a Reasonable Authority Figure and DSS Director Bertrum Lamb who's an Obstructive Bureaucrat—though he's not involved in the cover-up that frames Mark Sheridan as the traitor and murderer he's wrongly suspected to be.
• The police chasing Maindrian Pace in Gone in 60 Seconds (1974). They're only trying to put a stop to a recent rash of high end car thefts.
  • Likewise, Detectives Castlebeck and Drycoff fill this role in the remake.
• In GoodFellas, while Jimmy Conway and Tommy are the Big Bad Duumvirate, the police and the law are the true main antagonists, and as standard are more heroic than the gangsters they're trying to apprehend.
• Hannibal Lecter film series: As the overall Villain Protagonist of the whole series (sans the separate continuity film in which he's an unrepentant jerkass), Dr. Hannibal Lecter being an empathetic Anti-Villain despite his cannibalistic Serial Killer motif still has major enemies on the side of good—who got their own enemies on the same side too:
  • Clarice Starling begins as an FBI trainee sent to discuss the "Buffalo Bill" cases with Lecter in which he does for a time end up helping her more than expected before he then escapes and she succeeds while becoming a full agent—during which he assures her she'll never be a target while she tells him she can't promise she won't pursue him if she has to. A decade later, Starling is reassigned to look into his case again to try to figure out where he is and while obligated to recapture him and bring him in, still puts herself on the line both literally and professionally to save him when he's nearly tortured to death by the vengeful and cruel Mason Verger as well. She even not long after that nearly succeeds in recapturing him too despite her own begrudging affection towards him.
  • Jack Crawford is a major player in the FBI who apparently knew Lecter professionally at least before he was exposed as the "Chesapeake Ripper". Crawford first coaxes former agent Will Graham to come back to the agency to investigate the recent "Tooth Fairy" cases with Crawford knowing he'll also try to get Lecter's help too despite Lecter holding a grudge for Graham capturing him and years later in Silence Crawford is more weary of protecting Starling against Lecter having seen what pushing Graham too far resulted in: Graham and his family all nearly getting killed. Crawford while he gives Starling flimsy pretext going in the first time she questions Lecter also gives more of a warning—and he also signs off on Starling offering a fake transfer deal to Lecter as well so as to further get his cooperation too.
  • Barney Matthews is a kind and gentle orderly who's worked at the Baltimore State Hospital for years watching over Lecter as far back as Red Dragon and despite knowing both Lecter's reputation and his M.O., Barney always treats him with the same kind of courtesy and respect he does anyone else. Barney figures that it's because he was always so genuine and polite to Lecter that Lecter never had any reason whatsoever to want to target him and probably considered him a friend too who even when Barney broke his arm during a struggle was just doing his job. Barney also is put-off by how nasty Dr. Frederick Chilton acts towards Lecter too and while he does later sell Lecter's items to Verger due to money being tight in Hannibal, Barney also gives up the recordings of Lecter and Starling of his own accord too.
  • The Silence of the Lambs: Senator Ruth Martin of Tennessee while reluctant to arrange for Lecter's transfer to a less-strict prison there still is willing to make the deal provided it helps rescue her daughter Catherine from Buffalo Bill. Lecter does provide Senator Martin with details while also insulting and instigating her though, which results in Senator Martin nearly sending him back instantly. Lecter however relents and gives up almost all his information to the Senator while then offering the parting words that he "[loves her] suit".
  • Hannibal: FBI Assistant Director Noonan is not an outright Obstructive Bureaucrat who has it in for Starling unlike everyone else. While he's judging her harshly for the way the drug bust went wrong and putting the blame for it on her, he's also not totally willing to write her off either. When she's put on administrative leave after being framed by both Verger and Paul Krendler, Noonan hears her out on insisting that they're in cahoots against Lecter and says that she'll be reinstated if she's right.
  • Red Dragon: Will Graham is an FBI profiler who developed both a personal and professional relationship with Lecter before discovering he was the man he was looking for and the two nearly kill each other in the process, with Graham being forced to retire due to the trauma of the situation and reluctant to both come back to try to find the Tooth Fairy while also asking Lecter's help again too. Graham and his family also end up targets because of Lecter who while still kind of liking him also holds a grudge against Graham for getting him locked up and Graham reluctantly sees him again to try to push for his help while also not being willing to be victimized by him anymore too. While Graham and his family survive the ordeal and start moving on with their lives, Lecter while still kind of resentful holds the man who captured him with the highest of respect no less.
  • Hannibal Rising:
    • Inspector Pascal Popil is the most straightforward example with Lecter being the outright protagonist here. He investigates war crimes and can both relate and empathize very much with the young Hannibal for being horribly victimized and tormented by Vladis Grutas's despicable actions toward him and his sister Mischa—with Popil having lost his own family during WWII as well. Popil while he's willing to let Hannibal's killing of a Nazi butcher go, due to both lack of evidence and the man being an Asshole Victim with no shortage of enemies, warns that when Hannibal starts tracking the war criminals who murdered Mischa to Paris that if he catches him there, he'll be executed—and having become horrified by Hannibal's vicious pathology, Popil is hoping that he can stop him.
    • Lecter's aunt Lady Murasaki while she's assisting him in his revenge scheme most of the movie also wants to guide him toward a better and brighter future where he can leave it all behind. She early on tells him he should forget about it only for him to reject that because he feels he owes it to Mischa to see it through in the end. His own viciousness as well as the reveal that he also ate Mischa makes Lecter ultimately refuse altogether to allow himself to ever move on and stop eating people and that's when Lady Murasaki leaves him thinking he can't be saved anymore.
• The House That Jack Built: By initially holding Jack at gunpoint to turn him over to the police, S.P. came to be the closest the film has for Jack before Jack manipulated him to put it down before knifing him. Verge however is definitely this, when it's revealed he came for Jack to ferry him to Hell for his sins. The black military veteran as well manages to delay Jack by noting that the bullets he got aren't actually full metal jackets, thus sparing them as he goes off for some, by which time the police arrive.
• Hugo: Station Inspector Gustave Dasté while strict and kind of a jerk is not really a bad guy, he just takes his job seriously; knows Hugo Cabret's been stealing stuff and also knows as an orphan that he shouldn't be there either too. That's reflected in his learning of Hugo's uncle's death after Hugo has for the time being been living by himself and pretending he's not alone. That the Inspector saves Hugo from an incoming train and then turns him over to Papa Georges when he takes responsibility for him shows on both accounts that despite how rigid he can be, he's ultimately not totally unreasonable either—and even attends the screening in the end too.
• The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes:
  • Lucy Gray Baird, female Tribute of District 12 and the eventual Victor of the 10th Hunger Games, is the love interest and Mentee of Coriolanus Snow the majority of the film and while the two are mostly on the same page, she's clearly not for the Capitol and their stronghold on everything while he is—or he at least is more uncertain about it. Lucy Gray immediately begins to realize how dangerous their connection is the moment that she suspects Coriolanus got Sejanus Plinth executed. It's once she confirms this suspicion that she tricks him into getting bitten by a snake and then attempts to make a run for it.
  • Dean Casca Highbottom despite being "the creator of the Hunger Games" is revealed to have conceived of them ironically while drunk, thinking the idea was so insane, it wouldn't possibly be implemented. However, he didn't count on his friend Crassus, Coriolanus's father, actually submitting the idea to Dr. Volumnia Gaul and Gaul loving the idea so much that she actually made it a horrifying reality. Since then, Highbottom's tried to find a means of stopping the Hunger Games ever since and believing that Coriolanus would end up like his father, tried to undermine and push him away from success at every chance he got as well.
• In the Line of Fire: Secret Service Agent Bill Watts—in contrast to pompous Chief of Staff Harry Sargent—while he doesn't personally like Frank Horrigan is still very professional and reasonable to the point that while he does kick Frank off the detail for being insubordinate, he also lets him continue his investigation into the planned Presidential assassination; lets him see the seating chart later on when he's kicked off again and then acts quickly in helping to get the President out when Mitch Leary takes his shot.
• Ditto for Kazim in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He doesn't know Indy's intentions and just wants to protect the grail from falling into the wrong hands, and when the misunderstanding is cleared up, he helps out.
• Inside Man's Detective Frazier is a cop just trying to do his job: stop a robbery and apprehend the criminals. He has no way of knowing that the robbers are actually the good guys, trying to achieve a greater justice.
• I Shot Jesse James features the character John Kelley, who spends his time as The Rival to main character Robert Ford. However, he's a decent and friendly person, eventually becoming Town Marshal for the town of Creede. It's only when he gets into a Love Triangle with Ford's girlfriend Cynthy Waters that Ford starts to see him as an enemy.
• Killers of the Flower Moon: With Ernest Burkhart being the conflicted but pathetic Villain Protagonist and acting in service of the agenda of Big Bad William King Hale—his uncle, Tom White—the BOI agent leading the investigation into the Osage Murders (who was actually planned to originally be the main focus of the film)—and anybody else working with him, especially Native American BOI agent John Wren—would be in direct conflict as a result of that. White's role is paramount to taking in the culprits while also trying to get Ernest to flip on Hale too—as well as even offering condolences when he informs Ernest that his sick daughter died as well. The prosecutor in the trial Peter Leaward would also qualify too.
• Jack Valentine of the movie Lord of War. He's a good, idealistic Interpol agent opposed to the amoral arms-dealer Villain Protagonist.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • In Thor, S.H.I.E.L.D. is up until the end only screwing up things for both Jane's team and Thor himself—which includes Hawkeye/Clint Barton as he's tasked with getting a clear shot as Thor has made his way to Mjölnir+. The audience knows they're good guys due to the comics and Iron Man movies, but for the protagonists they seem only like a bunch of intrusive jerks. Thankfully, once Thor gets his powers back, he states the agents were only misunderstood, and then they decide to help Jane's research.
  • In Ant-Man, Sam Wilson/The Falcon, a notable superhero in previous Marvel Cinematic Universe films, gets into a fight with Ant-Man when the latter breaks into Avengers HQ to steal a piece of technology to stop the Big Bad Darren Cross. Also, there is police officer Jim Paxton—Scott's daughter Cassie's stepfather, who tries to arrest Ant-Man due to his criminal background and having escaped incarceration in the film after being arrested for allegedly relapsing to his criminal ways. In the sequel, Agent Jimmy Woo takes the role while trying to prove Scott is violating his house arrest throughout the film.
  • In Captain America: Civil War, Tony Stark, Peter Parker, T'Challa, and the Pro-Registration superheroes end up fighting against the main protagonist Steve Rogers and his friends for protecting Bucky, who was blamed for a terrorist bombing that killed T'Challa's father. The biggest example would be Peter Parker (Spider-Man) who hero-worships Steve and doesn't harbor any negative feelings towards the Anti-Registration heroes. On a more personal level, T'Challa (Black Panther) wants to have his vengeance on Bucky for the death of his father, though he does relent upon learning that Bucky was wrongly framed and even offers him refuge in Wakanda.
• The Mask: Lt. Mitch Kellaway, while a cynical stick in the mud constantly annoyed with his dumb partner Doyle, still very much has an active interest in doing his job and arresting criminals. Since Stanley Ipkiss as The Mask has committed crimes like assault and bank robbery, Kellaway is unshakeable in trying to capture him even when he breaks out to stop Big Bad Dorian Tyrell from doing evil. Kellaway still remains determined to capture Stanley even after all that too.
• Mission: Impossible Film Series: Most of the movies have at least one seeking out Ethan Hunt in one way or another.
  • Eugene Kittridge, introduced in the first film, is the IMF Director and spends most of the movie chasing Ethan down believing he's "Job"^note Pronounced "Jobe". the mole who murdered his whole team for the NOC List on behalf of arms dealer "Max". He goes as far as to frame Ethan's mother and uncle to try to lure Ethan out, but eventually the truth is revealed that it's Jim Phelps and Kittridge drops the charges against all three of them and even offers Ethan the chance to return to IMF—while also offering Max a deal for all her information too. The seventh film has Kittridge return where he's seeking the Key to the dangerous AI "the Entity" and willing to pay Max's daughter "the White Widow" to achieve it for the American government while also having Ethan hunted yet again when he goes rogue—though when Ethan eventually escapes with the key, he still accepts "Grace" to the IMF regardless. Kittridge is expected back for the eighth film as well.
  • Mission: Impossible III: Head of IMF Theodore Brassel, given his hard ass and relentless demeanor, seemed like he was an obvious traitor helping Owen Davian when the evidence suggested it. In actuality, he was just an overbearing good guy and the real silent partner to Davian was Operations Director John Musgrave.
  • Ghost Protocol: Anatoly Sidorov is an Inspector Javert Russian agent who continues to tail Ethan throughout the movie after the Kremlin bombing. He gradually is realizing that more is going on than it seems while Ethan is trying to prevent the planned attack over the course of the mission though and eventually puts it all together by the end once catching up to him.
  • Rogue Nation: CIA Director Alan Hunley is extremely skeptical of the IMF's actions and while trying to seek out Ethan throughout the movie manages to get the IMF shut down until the end. He eventually realizes their importance though and ironically, becomes the new Secretary.
  • Fallout: Erica Sloane, Hunley's successor in the CIA, is far less idealistic about the IMF to the point that she demands CIA assassin August Walker be on board to watch Ethan and the IMF closely while they seek out Syndicate Apostle leader John Lark. However, Sloane doesn't count on Walker having been Lark all along and finds it best not to trust anyone until she is absolutely certain they're on the right side. Eventually it's proven to her that Ethan and his team are indeed trustworthy.
  • Dead Reckoning: Aside from Kittridge, Jasper Briggs is the US Intelligence agent leading the search for Ethan along with his more idealistic partner Degas—seeming to have both a history and distrust of the IMF as he goes. While his relentless desire to only track down Ethan eventually results in Gabriel getting away, Briggs puts that aside to help save the passengers onboard the train after Gabriel blows the bridge out—even telling Kittridge off at another point as well—before then going right back to try to take Ethan in too. He's also slated to return in the eighth film, but in what capacity remains to be seen though.
• MonsterVerse:
  • Admiral Stenz has shades of this, particularly in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). He's a high-ranking naval Reasonable Authority Figure who's committed to trying to save people from the Kaiju, and he acts professional about it to a fault; but not only is he out of his depth because the military simply doesn't know how to handle Kaiju, he also ignores Dr. Serizawa's esoteric Green Aesop advice about Godzilla because wrapping his head around such a thing frankly isn't his job department; unwittingly causing things to go From Bad to Worse. Besides ordering the Nuke 'em attempt against both Godzilla and the MUTOs in the 2014 movie, it's implied in King of the Monsters that Stenz has sided with the overconfident government's "destroy all monsters" plan and that he might have been behind the Oxygen Destroyer's launch against the Kaiju (which ultimately almost kills Godzilla and in doing so enables King Ghidorah to reign supreme).
  • Godzilla himself becomes one in Godzilla vs. Kong, with Kong as the more protagonistic of the two Titans. Godzilla is out to maintain his global territory's balance like always, and he's actively trying to hunt down and destroy the Apex-made Mechagodzilla which has been made using Ghidorah's undead remains; but he can't stand any rival Alpha Titan to his dominance, and this (coupled implicitly with an antagonistic past with Kong's kind) brings Godzilla into conflict with Kong once the latter is removed from Skull Island. The feud escalates when Godzilla becomes enraged by Kong and his human allies disturbing the Hollow Earth element (which was utilized by Kong's ancestors against Godzilla's kindred) and he destroys the temple of Kong's ancestors. More to this trope, pretty much every human except Team Godzilla regards Godzilla as a villain during this story because they have no idea why Godzilla is suddenly storming into human population centers, annihilating Apex's facilities, and then leaving (and because all of them would rather jump to finding a solution to a problem whose cause they don't have even the remotest understanding of than address the crisis' core sensibly).
• My Cousin Vinny: Judge Chamberlin Haller, prosecutor Jim Trotter III, and Sheriff Dean Farley are the film's primary examples, as they handle the case against Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein who are wrongly accused of robbing and shooting a store clerk. Later on, automotive expert George Wilbur is called in to testify for the plaintiff that Bill and Stan's car matched the one used by the robbers. Once the defense attorney, Bill's cousin Vinny, is able to prove that the car didn't match, and (with the Sheriff's help) that two robbery suspects in custody in another state are the actual culprits, the prosecutor dismisses the charges and all parties on the legal side more than willingly accept the results.
• The Negotiator: Kevin Spacey plays Chris Sabian, a negotiator who tries to negotiate another (rogue) negotiator Danny Roman (protagonist Samuel L Jackson) out of doing something dumb after he holds up some hostages because he was framed for murdering his partner. As far as Chris is concerned, Danny is armed, has hostages, and is therefore the villain.
• New York Minute: Inspector Javert truant officer Max Lomax, while trying desperately to become an actual cop, is constantly struggling to catch troublemaking Roxy Ryan in the act. Lomax ends up tracking her down to New York when she skips school to go to a Simple Plan concert— and then ends up also setting his sights on her twin sister Jane just for getting roped into it too. By the end of the movie, though, Lomax (with Jane and Roxy's help) is able to bust a Chinese crime racket, and once he becomes a real cop, he backs off from that point forward.
• Antoine Richis, in Perfume, played by Alan Rickman. Richis is an intelligent nobleman and loving father who tries to protect the city and his beautiful daughter from the protagonist, a serial killer who preys on virginal girls.
• Most of the colonial officers and men (such as Commodore Norrington) that oppose Jack Sparrow throughout the Pirates of the Caribbean films, since they are trying to bring a wanted criminal to justice. Cutler Beckett is a total bastard though.
• Presumed Innocent: Nico Della Guardia and Tommy Molto both act as the prosecutors when Rozat "Rusty" Sabich is accused of killing colleague and former lover Carolyn Polhemus. While they're shady in that Molto—a former colleague— was jealous of Sabich's affair with Carolyn and that Della Guardia is the successful political rival to Sabich's boss Raymond Horgan, they both do seem to legit believe Sabich is still the killer. When the case against Sabich—who didn't do it—eventually gets dropped due to lack of evidence, while Molto is not happy about it, Della Guardia respectfully and publicly accepts the results.
• Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis in Public Enemies spends the whole movie trying to stop Villain Protagonist John Dillinger. Interestingly, the film undercuts Purvis' competence and implies that Charles Winstead was the agent really responsible for taking Dillinger down. (According to some sources, Winstead may very well have been the agent who actually shot Dillinger.)
• Raw Deal (1986): Detective Baker—unlike Agent Baxter who's the mole—is a very straightforward cop investigating the Patrovita crime family when former fed Mark Kaminski goes undercover as "Brenner". Baker is suspicious of Brenner while also knowing something else is going on when a war between the Patrovitas and another crime family is escalated significantly by some unknown force. By the end when the mole is exposed and the Patrovitas are wiped out, Baker puts together that Kaminski was responsible and tracks him down to commend him for it.
  Baker: Ten years of police work all in one night! I had a feeling you were one of us!
• Apollo Creed in Rocky, who is just an athlete trying to put on a good show for his fans, and, beyond being cocky and looking down on Rocky a little, he's not depicted as being a bad guy. He becomes more morally gray in Rocky II as he becomes more obsessed with definitively proving himself better than Rocky, but he ultimately proves himself to be a good guy by losing gracefully and becoming Rocky's friend.
• Savannah Smiles: Harland Dobbs is rigorous in his pursuit of the kidnappers, and while he doesn't necessarily belie the worst of them, he is willing to consider it, and prefers to err on the side of caution in those assumptions and is quick to point out that whether they intentionally took her or not, their legally guilty of kidnapping for refusing to give her back without being paid. He is trying to recover a kidnapped child though, seems to view Savannah's predicament as more than just a job, and does show some softer sentiments towards Alvie and Boots by the end of the movie.
• Scream:
  • Scream 3: Detective Mark Kincaid begins as this as he insists on Sidney Prescott coming out of hiding and putting herself at risk when a new series of Ghostface killings begins in LA—and to a certain degree, he suspects her too. Mark ends up developing a strong connection with Sidney thanks to the fact that they've each faced demons and traumas in their lives no one else could get though and it helps them to eventually be more trusting of each other as well. In fact, they end up Happily Married with three kids later too.
  • Scream (2022): Sheriff Judy Hicks remains as uptight as she was as a deputy years ago. She has a history of animosity with heroine Samantha Carpenter in that Sam was a troublemaker always having run-ins with the law when she was younger. In their one scene together—before Judy is later killed, Judy expresses to Sam how she believes her coming back to town is only gonna cause more problems than actually solve them.
  Sam: She remains as pleasant as ever…
• The Sentinel (2006): Secret Service Agents David Breckinridge and Jill Marin are the ones leading both the investigation and pursuit when fellow agent Pete Garrison is wrongly accused of being a mole to terrorists plotting a Presidential assassination.
• Shattered Glass depicts how Stephen Glass was found out to have fabricated several of his article in The New Republic, with Glass as the main character. Chuck Lane, the editor of the magazine, is the one who unraveled the web of lies bit by bit over the course of the movie. Not only is he the antagonist to Glass, the other journalists at the magazine don't like Lane much either and they refuse to believe that what he's saying about Glass is true.
• In Short Circuit, Captain Schroeder may be a Jerkass and is hunting down what the viewers know to be a Technical Pacifist robot that has attained intelligence. However, from NOVA's point of view, Number 5 is a rogue Killer Robot with a laser cannon that needs to be stopped by any means necessary. In that light, Schroeder is just doing his job.
• Shot Caller: Ed Kutcher is a parole officer investigating Jacob and the Aryan Brotherhood and is trying to bust their weapons deal with the Sonora cartel.
• The Winkelvoss twins and Divya Narenda in The Social Network. They're both snobs (Narenda being the Token Good Teammate), but the film depicts them as being in the right, since Mark Zuckerberg did steal their idea.
• Tobias Ragg from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He distrusted Sweeney Todd and killed him at the end of the movie. Unfortunately, he Failed a Spot Check and trusted Mrs. Lovett completely. Lucy also qualifies, but she suspects Mrs. Lovett and tries to warn Todd.
• Taken 3: Franck Dotzler is an extremely observant and methodical detective who notices the bagels Bryan Mills left at the scene were still warm, meaning he'd just arrived when he found Lenore dead. Since the evidence says Bryan did it however, Dotzler until he can prove otherwise still has to search for Bryan despite the belief in his innocence though.
• Jack Welles from Takers. While the bank robbers were the Villain Protagonists, he's a cop trying to stop them.
• Iceman from Top Gun. He's a git, but he's on our side. He even has a point regarding Maverick being too dangerous. Really, all he wants is what's best for the Navy.
• Torque: FBI Agent Jay McPherson is a subversion because it turns out he was secretly in league with Henry James all along, but his partner Tehya Henderson is not as she is legit on the side of the law and helps the heroes in the end too. Also, while Trey Wallace is more of an Anti-Hero because he's the leader of the biker gang the Rippers, he legit believes Cary Ford is the actual killer of his brother Junior and is wanting revenge for it. Once learning Henry did it and framed Ford, Trey becomes a valuable ally instead.
• FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley in The Town is very much a Jerkass and not quite as personally sympathetic as the Villain Protagonists, but he is ultimately an FBI agent trying to shut down a ruthless and dangerous gang of bank robbers.
• The Villain Protagonists of Tragedy Girls are two teenage Serial Killers who terrorize their small town. Naturally, they have a couple of these to contend with. Specifically, Sheriff Welch, who is a concerned father and an honest lawman, and Big Al, who, while hotheaded and foolhardy, is a fire marshal who's determined to protect his community at all costs.
• In Troy, Hector is pulled into the war by default as his city is attacked by the Greeks. While his little brother, Paris, is far from innocent, Hector himself is the mirror image of our protagonist, Achilles, who is also motivated to duel to defend his younger brother's honor.
• In Utu the Villain Protagonist Te Wheke holds a personal grudge against one young British Cavalry Officer. Despite working for The Empire, Lt. Scott is a fairly decent character who wants to suppress the Maori rebellion and end the bloodshed. Pet the Dog moments include Scott's love for Kura and friendship with her older brother Wiremu, a Noble Savage.
• The NYPD in The Warriors, who, unlike the rival gangs, aren't trying to kill the Warriors for money, they're just trying to apprehend dangerous gang members.
• The Wolf of Wall Street: With Jordan Belfort as the movie's Villain Protagonist, logically FBI Agent Frank Denham who leads the investigation against him—and naturally is the one to bring him in too—would be his main enemy on the side of the law.
• Inspector Aberline from The Wolfman (2010). He's just a cop doing his job and trying to stop Lawrence from killing again.
• Wonka: Officer Affable is a legit good cop, unlike the Chief who's in the pocket of the Chocolate Cartel. Affable only opposes Willy Wonka's efforts to sell his chocolate on the street—as well as confiscates the money he makes on the first go at it—because it's illegal to do so. He shows though that he still strictly has morals when he does things like allows Wonka to keep one sovereign so he can pay his rent and later leads the charge in busting the Cartel, the Chief, Scrubbit and Bleacher when their criminal actions all end up exposed too.
• X-Men: Apocalypse: Unlike most authority figures in previous X-Men movies, the cops who attempt to bring Magneto in show little malice towards mutants as a whole, and seem solely interested in arresting a terrorist. The death of Erik's daughter is accidental; the result of a cop getting distracted and losing his grip on his bow, and all the cops react with appropriate horror.

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