"I'll never turn to the Dark Side!"

December 5, 2005 8:54 PM

I'm looking for movies where the hero finally has the opportunity to kill the villain, but chooses to "do the right thing" and to spare him instead.

A classic example would be Luke not killing Vader, lest he fall to the Dark Side.

posted by roaring beast to media & arts (68 comments total)

Interestingly, I see a number of movies lately where the "hero" does not kill the "villain", but lets the villain die as a consequence of his or her own behavior (Batman Begins and Bourne Conspiracy being two recent examples). Apologies if this might not directly answer your question.
posted by Rothko at 9:02 PM on December 5, 2005

Spiderman and Spiderman Two, both are very recent and feature the "let live" attitude. Of course, well, the villains still die, but through actions all their own.
posted by Atreides at 9:09 PM on December 5, 2005

The first two that come to mind are The Incredibles, and Star Wars Episode 3, though I guess whether Anakin is the hero could...be...debated.
posted by odinsdream at 9:09 PM on December 5, 2005

The Princess Bride. Wesley decides to let Humperdinck live a long life "with his cowardice."
posted by web-goddess at 9:10 PM on December 5, 2005

I'm pretty sure in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame that Quasimodo spares Frollo, who then pulls a knife on him and ends up falling off the cathedral. Pretty much the exact same thing happens between the Beast and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.
posted by web-goddess at 9:12 PM on December 5, 2005

Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.
I hate that cop-out crap, Rothko: "My enemy's dead but my hands have never been cleaner! Thanks gravity!"
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:12 PM on December 5, 2005

Kung Fu Hustle: "I will teach you."
posted by SPrintF at 9:15 PM on December 5, 2005

I hate that cop-out crap, Rothko: "My enemy's dead but my hands have never been cleaner! Thanks gravity!"

Heh. Yeah, I agree. I think it satisifies the audience's primal need for bloody revenge while letting them uphold their sense of upright morality at the same time. I wonder what the threshold was for film studios, where test marketing caused the scripts to be changed in this direction.
posted by Rothko at 9:18 PM on December 5, 2005

Gandalf v Saruman in the Return of the King. In the regular edition Gandalf merely instructs Treebeard to leave Saruman unharmed since "he has no power now." In the extended edition, they bicker a bit, Gandal breaks Saruman's staff (but leaves Saruman unharmed), and Wormtongue murders Saruman.
posted by gsteff at 9:19 PM on December 5, 2005

Frodo and Gollum, too, in Fellowship of the Ring.
posted by BackwardsCity at 9:20 PM on December 5, 2005

You gotta ask yourself one question.. do I feel lucky? Well? Do ya, punk?
posted by kcm at 9:21 PM on December 5, 2005

Hero's ending pivots on exactly this, with the Hero sparing the King, who he's been trying very hard to kill throughout the entire film. He does so after being convinced of the King's political motives, though, rather than mercy.

More similar to the Luke/Darth moment (very, very similar in fact, as they both hinge on the hero recognizing how close they are to becoming that they wish to destroy), is the sparing of Gollum in The Return Of The King.

On preview: Hmm, yeah, was kind of an obvious one, that. Darnit.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:22 PM on December 5, 2005

As far as Disney examples go, Beauty and the Beast is another good one. IIRC, Beast spares Gaston's life because of his love for Belle.
posted by kosher_jenny at 9:31 PM on December 5, 2005

I believe something like this happens in the Banderas-Stallone flick Assassins. Stalone is totally going to let Banderas live, like he's through with killin'. But then in the reflection of this lady's sunglasses he sees that Bandaras is gonna shoot him, so Stallone is all like *blam* through the back of his coat as he's walking away. He tried to do the right thing, though.
posted by Espy Gillespie at 9:32 PM on December 5, 2005

The Limey.
posted by dobbs at 9:39 PM on December 5, 2005

SPOILER WARNING!!

Mr. Miyagi could have easily killed that guy at the end of The Karate Kid if he had karate chopped him in the face, which would have been totally sweet, but instead he showed the true heart of a warrior by honking the guy's nose.
posted by mragreeable at 9:45 PM on December 5, 2005

Robot Jox is a powerful example of this.

"We can both live!"

Oh, you have to see it.
posted by johngoren at 9:47 PM on December 5, 2005

Barry Lyndon.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 9:55 PM on December 5, 2005

Three Kings has a bit where Mark Wahlberg is handed the opportunity to kill his torturer but chooses not to. Also, last weekend I watched an episode of the newer Battlestar Galactica series on DVD (season one, episode three, "Bastille Day") with a sequence where an officer not only chooses not to kill the man who took him hostage, but actively saves his life and secures his freedom.
posted by Acetylene at 10:08 PM on December 5, 2005

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock also features the "gravity cop-out." (Great name, Alvy)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:19 PM on December 5, 2005

Batman, the first one with Michael Keaton, where he tries to save the Joker after kicking his ass. Actually, I seem to recall Batman did this right at the beginning AND at the very end...Batman is sweet.
posted by johnsmith415 at 10:20 PM on December 5, 2005

It happens so often. Though not what your looking for, I thought the movie se7en had an interesting ending. The whole movie builds up to that ending that you think they are going to play out traditionally, but are sort of hoping they dont.
posted by phyle at 10:20 PM on December 5, 2005

In Best of the Best, the hero forfeits his gold medal taekwondo match rather than dealing a presumably fatal blow to the "evil" Korean opponent. I guess he was down to his last hit point or something.
posted by Galvatron at 10:23 PM on December 5, 2005

Batman, the first one with Michael Keaton, where he tries to save the Joker after kicking his ass. Actually, I seem to recall Batman did this right at the beginning AND at the very end...Batman is sweet.

Ah, the memories. [cries]
posted by gsteff at 10:29 PM on December 5, 2005

Minor correction to my earlier post: Bilbo spares Gollum in The Hobbit, Frodo and Gandalf discuss it in Fellowship, and then Frodo makes the same decision in The Two Towers.
posted by BackwardsCity at 10:32 PM on December 5, 2005

It's funny, I've always wondered whether the movie industry reflects something about the American psyche in the predictability of "Hero gives villain last chance because he's morally superior, villain inevitably blows last chance by going for the gun (or knife, or button marked 'nuclear holocaust', or whatever) and Pays For Stupidity With Life".

It's almost as if there's a pre-packaged hero ideal where the hero can't want to kill the villain, no matter what horrible things he or she has done, but will always be forced into a situation where he or she has to kill the villain, because, well, villains simply aren't capable of taking that last chance to limp away.

Was it Mission Impossible 2 where Tom Cruise's character gives the villain 2 or 3 consecutive chances to accept defeat and leave, before finally having to Accept The Inevitable Need To Kill The Villain?

Another example was the movie adaption of Shaft, where Jackson's character pursues the murderer to 'bring him to justice because murder isn't acceptable', while calmly blowing away dozens of henchmen without a 2nd thought, only to have the villain killed by the dead boy's mother on the steps of the courthouse? And the look of sadness on Jackson's face at the end, given the wholesale carnage his character had been responsible for throughout the movie, tells a story in and of itself.
posted by planetthoughtful at 10:38 PM on December 5, 2005

Batman, the first one with Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton was the only Batman, in the same way that Sean Connery was the only 007.
posted by planetthoughtful at 10:40 PM on December 5, 2005

Devils:

You're right about the "gravity copout" in Trek III but a sub-villain gets the mercy treatment.

Klingon: "I thought you said you would kill me!"
Kirk: "I lied."
posted by johngoren at 10:42 PM on December 5, 2005

How about the villian sparing the hero in Blade Runner.
posted by xammerboy at 10:44 PM on December 5, 2005

If we're including sub-villains, Bond really should rub out Nick Nack at the end of The Man With The Golden Gun, but chooses to lock him in the crows nest instead.
posted by forallmankind at 10:48 PM on December 5, 2005

Pricess Bride is an interesting example, because you get one of each with Wesley/Humperdink and Inigo/Ruben. Seven also has a twist on this.

I think this happens in at least one or two of the Superman movies.

I'm surprised I can't think of more off the top of my head.
posted by ontic at 10:49 PM on December 5, 2005

Indiana Jones tries to save Elsa at the end of Last Crusade, but she takes the "gravity cop-out".

Ziyi Zhang's charcter (the young princess) is spared several times by the heroes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
posted by falconred at 11:07 PM on December 5, 2005

SPOILER:
In Les Misérables -- at least the book and the play; I've not seen the movie(s), but it's a major plot point so I bet it's there -- the hero lets the villain go and breaks the villain's mind, as he has spent his life hunting the hero thinking that the hero is a bad guy.
It's a great book, and I recommend it to everyone -- get an abridged version, though, preferably the translation by Charles Wilbour. I suspect the movie adaptations will only disappoint and make you think mean things about the story, but don't! Get the book!
posted by librarina at 11:08 PM on December 5, 2005

first to come to mind is Blade Runner... Harrison Ford as BR Deckard... decides not to kill the bad guy...

then the nexus 6 ( Rutger Hauer ) dies / expires anyway.
posted by dawdle at 11:25 PM on December 5, 2005

I remember watching an Italian movie once (and dangit, I wish I'd written down the title) where right up until the very last seconds it was playing out as a traditional Hollywood-esque "Hero gives villain last chance, villain gets it in the end" storyline, when suddenly the hero is momentarily distracted and the villain uses the opportunity to kill the hero. It may just be me, but European cinema seems to be more willing to explore non-traditional storylines and themes.

Silence Of The Lambs ends with Clarice appearing almost glad (or maybe I misinterpreted it that way?) that Hannibal Lecter had managed to escape. Of course, he wasn't the central villain of the story, but his role as a villainous archetype had been well-established by that point.

The Pledge sees Jack Nicholson's anti-hero character destroyed by his obsession with a serial killer. It's implied that the villain died before Nicholson could find out his identity, but you could read that aspect of the movie in different ways.
posted by planetthoughtful at 11:42 PM on December 5, 2005

Batman, the first one with Michael Keaton, where he tries to save the Joker after kicking his ass. Actually, I seem to recall Batman did this right at the beginning AND at the very end...Batman is sweet

Um, perhaps my 80s trivia matrix is all corrupt, but didn't 1986's Batman end with the Joker about to get away on a rope ladder attached to a helicopter, Batman snagging him with the grapple, and then attaching the other end of the grapple to a large piece of rock?

I mean, gravity plays it's role, but Batman pretty much knew what he was doing (angering the fan boys for years to come)
posted by alan at 11:45 PM on December 5, 2005

Serenity, where it was more effective to undo the villain's worldview than literally kill him.
posted by theonetruebix at 1:32 AM on December 6, 2005

Nearly all of the Disney animated films of the 90's feature the Gravity Cop-Out. By contrast, the films of Hayao Miyazaki either don't have villains, or they become friends at the end.
posted by Loudmax at 1:47 AM on December 6, 2005

Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach in The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

That doesn't count. Eastwood didn't spare Wallach in order to do the right thing. He never wanted to kill him in the first place. He just wanted to play a practical joke. Besides, he had plenty of opportunities to kill Wallach before that.
posted by epimorph at 3:05 AM on December 6, 2005

Gladiator. One of the bouts before the final showdown.
posted by captainscared at 3:37 AM on December 6, 2005

The Duellists, with Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine.
posted by bricoleur at 4:23 AM on December 6, 2005

Hey! What about Beauty and the Beast, with the climactic fight with Gaston!
posted by toastchee at 5:05 AM on December 6, 2005

first to come to mind is Blade Runner... Harrison Ford as BR Deckard... decides not to kill the bad guy...

No, no, Roy Batty decides not to kill the bad guy, having decided that life -- any life -- is too precious.

The Big Lebowski, when they put him back in his chair.

The fine anime Trigun has an interesting reversal, where Vash the Stampede tries very very very very hard never to kill anyone, and does battle with a nihilist who can't be stopped, can only be killed, and goes happily to his grave knowing he's breaking Vash's heart by dying.
posted by Aknaton at 5:38 AM on December 6, 2005

This theme enters the game world too. There are multiple places in the XBOX game Fable where the hero (that's you!) has a choice to spare the opponent or deal the death blow. These weigh heavily on whether you grow horns or not.
posted by jimfl at 6:16 AM on December 6, 2005

Aeon Flux sort of does this by avoiding killing the villan at the begining because of... well, stuff.
posted by blue_beetle at 6:40 AM on December 6, 2005

Daredevil

(well, you didn't say it had to be a good movie)
posted by SlappyPeterson at 6:43 AM on December 6, 2005

Pulp Fiction. After Jules "God experience", he chooses to quite literally redeem Ringo/Pumpkin/Tim Roth instead of killing him.

Fittingly, his partner, Vincent Vega, continues down the path of violence and ends up dead.
posted by MasonDixon at 6:49 AM on December 6, 2005

In Battlefield Earth, Barry Pepper's character doesn't kill Terl (Travolta), opting to leave him in a cage in a room full of gold. Some years later, Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah's couch.
posted by bachelor#3 at 6:54 AM on December 6, 2005

The shitty live-action remake of the totally sweet supermarionation series Thunderbirds.

ps-I'm not the only person who's noticed that supermarionation also spells SUPER MARIO NATION, am I?
posted by Juliet Banana at 8:58 AM on December 6, 2005

How about the villian [sic] sparing the hero in Blade Runner.

Hello, can you say "I missed the point" any louder? This is the reveal point in the movie where you learn who the hero of the piece actually is.

Or not, apparently.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:05 AM on December 6, 2005

Die Hard
posted by kirkaracha at 9:53 AM on December 6, 2005

Point Break!
posted by forallmankind at 9:53 AM on December 6, 2005

Um, perhaps my 80s trivia matrix is all corrupt, but didn't 1986's Batman end with the Joker about to get away on a rope ladder attached to a helicopter, Batman snagging him with the grapple, and then attaching the other end of the grapple to a large piece of rock?

All true, but immediately before this, Batman knocks the Joker off a ledge, then reaches down to save him (I think), and the Joker, somehow, instead yanks Batman and Vicki off the ledge and (somehow) climbs back up. Then, while dangling, Batman fire the grapple, etc.
posted by gsteff at 10:16 AM on December 6, 2005

Silence Of The Lambs ends with Clarice appearing almost glad (or maybe I misinterpreted it that way?) that Hannibal Lecter had managed to escape.

I totally read that differently. In Silence, Clarice was an absolute straight-arrow; she'd never be glad that Lecter was loose.

Of course, he wasn't the central villain of the story

Blasphemy!
posted by gsteff at 10:18 AM on December 6, 2005

I agree with planetthoughtful - Clarice was an absolute straight-arrow, but Lecter was the only one who extracted and empathized with her extremely powerful childhood story about the lambs, so it's not unreasonable that she should feel compelled to reciprocate some degree of compassion.
posted by forallmankind at 10:30 AM on December 6, 2005

bachelor: hilarious
posted by johngoren at 10:52 AM on December 6, 2005

Lord of the rings. Golumn is spared through the novel (and the movie :).

'No, and I don't want to,' said Frodo. I can't understand you. Do you mean to say that you, and the Elves, have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death.'
[Gandalf says:] 'Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some
that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to
deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I
have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a
chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells
me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and
when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many - yours not
least. In any case we did not kill him: he is very old and very wretched.
The Wood-elves have him in prison, but they treat him with such kindness as
they can find in their wise hearts.'
posted by about_time at 11:08 AM on December 6, 2005

"Unbreakable" dir. by M.Night Shyamalan.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217869/
posted by Radio7 at 11:11 AM on December 6, 2005

I watched Unleashed yesterday. Jet Li can (kind of) act - who knew? Good flick, and he lets the bad guy live.
posted by mike9322 at 11:13 AM on December 6, 2005

wow, great recommendations everyone, thanks!
posted by roaring beast at 11:25 AM on December 6, 2005

Bad Boys
posted by AJaffe at 11:32 AM on December 6, 2005

I have to put in my bit for Full Metal Jacket, which is the exact opposite of what you describe but still fits in some ways. Joker ends up killing the sniper, who was already shot, to prevent her from suffering, believing it was the humane thing to do. It was meant to be ironic in a 'war is backwards and fucked up' sort of way, but I think most people would agree it was the right decision for him morally.
posted by devilsbrigade at 12:00 PM on December 6, 2005

I recommend To Live And Die In L.A. if you want a good turnaround to the usual Hollywood rubbish.
posted by longbaugh at 12:30 PM on December 6, 2005

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Max refuses to kill Blaster in the Thunderdome when he realises that Blaster has Downs Syndrome. Not sure if Blaster counts as a villain, though - more of an unwitting henchman.

Similarly, Allan Quartermaine (played by Patrick Swayze) refuses to kill his opponent in a battle to the death near the end of the 2004 miniseries King Solomon's Mines. Another henchman, though, rather than the Big Boss. Did Swayze spare the guy at the end of Roadhouse, or rip out his throat? I can't remember.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:55 PM on December 6, 2005

They aren't movies, but this seems to be 90% of what Terry Pratchett's writing about nowadays. Thud's his most recent on this theme, but also see any of the other Night Watch Discworld books.
posted by booksandlibretti at 4:43 PM on December 6, 2005

Bad Boys
posted by AJaffe at 11:32 AM PST on December 6 [!]

great one ! loved that movie, early Sean Penn. I have since kept a few soda cans and a jean jacket in my car for protection...
posted by dawdle at 7:43 PM on December 6, 2005

mragreeable, that actually was The Karate Kid, Part II. They had to show Mr. Miyagi doing it to the Cobra Kai sensei at the beginning so that they could SPOILER WARNING!! show Daniel doing it to Chozen at their end-of-the-movie fight.
posted by blueberry at 2:24 AM on December 8, 2005

In Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban (both the book and the film) Peter Pettigrew, who turns out to be the guy that killed Harry's father, is about to be killed by Sirius and Remus - then Harry pardons him, saying that he knew his dad wouldn't want his best friends to do such a thing. (Harry's dad James, Sirius, Remus, and Pettigrew were all best friends in school.)

However, Harry wanted to bring Pettigrew to the Ministry of Magic for a trial. Before he's able to do that, though, Pettigrew turns into a rat and disappears.

This seems to be an important plot point, as it is said by Dumbledore that Pettigrew (who is now Voldemort's sidekick) has a debt towards Harry, and it's implied that he may be crucial to the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort, possibly helping Harry out.
posted by divabat at 5:21 AM on March 30, 2006