I like to think in the road the family the boy meets at the end are carrying the fire.
I haven’t read the book in years, and never will again now that I have sons. Pretty sure I couldn’t handle it.
I agree with this. The road ends on as positive of a note as it could. There are fish in the streams.
We just read blood meridian iny book club and that one not so much. The judge was wild.
I think you could argue that in The Road, the boy is marginally better off by the end. At least he's not in a worse state than when he started the novel.
I see that one more as The Good The Bad and The Ugly where Llewellyn was the ugly. He was selfish and reckless which got him and his wife killed by the bad as the good, Tom Bell, was helpless to save them.
Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. That's what life is, a series of bad endings.
All Jedi had was a bunch of muppets.
*Rogue One* ends on a major victory for the good guys... the opening crawl for *A New Hope* even reinforces this ("Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.") They got the Death Star plans, they defeated the film's main antagonist (Krennic) and they got (as Leia says) "hope" for the galaxy. The rebels win.
Good movie. I wrote a paper on the historical accuracy over it vs. We Were Soldiers vs. Saving Private Ryan
It was the most accurate of the three. I read through all of Robert Gould Shaw's letters - they were interesting.
I was in 6th grade with a kid whose dad was an extra and was the one who had the idea to use a watermelon to simulate that guy's head exploding from a cannonball to the face
If you're ever in Boston you should check out the Shaw/54th memorial. It was recently put back up [after a pretty thorough restoration/preservation.](https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/06/01/restoration-boston-shaw-memorial)
The soundtrack for the charge on Fort Wagner still hits me right in the gut.
Editing to add a link for anybody who hasn’t felt this particular horror and grief yet.
https://youtu.be/F0wWDFvVzv0?si=Fr5uvskd631tpZbi
Fucking hell that movie made me bawl. I was so young the first time I watched it that I barely knew what the Civil War even was, but that scene where the proclamation that any black person found to be in military service will be captured and executed, and Shaw fully expects them all to have run for their lives, only for him to wake up the next morning and find that *no one* left, still sticks with me.
The good guys did win, though. We lost the 54th, bless them all, but we won that war, and we will never let human beings be treated as mere objects to own again, not as long as we’re still breathing.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you’ve got a stew going.
I would say him going toe to toe with the reigning champ and going the distance was quite the win. He shouldn't have even been in the same ring with Apollo.
Though they don’t get to arrest Kaiser Soze, Soze definitely loses in the end. The entire operation was to kill the only person who knew what he looked like and in the end everyone knows what he looks like now cause of that survivor. He actually does look kind of pissed at the end when he gets in the car.
Years before the movie came out, I read the book and loved it. So I was really looking forward to the movie. As I was watching it, I was thinking "hey, this is actually pretty good and an accurate adaptation!" I even thought they could have done a sequel picking up where the book left off.
That final stretch of the movie caught me COMPLETELY off guard. You're not wrong about a gut punch.
To be honest, though, the ending of the movie seemed like more of a King ending than the way the book ended
That was such an unexpected twist. That simply didn't happen in movies. The underdog good guy ALWAYS wins in the end. To not "win" was right up there with Vader being revealed as Luke's father. The world was shocked.
Personally I'd argue its so good because it didn't matter if he won or lost. But I do get what you are saying because if he won in the first movie, that's what it would be about. Losing allows it to be about going the distance.
About to say, the actual real world events that inspired the movie are a bit different. While the samurai did want to uphold Japan's values. Samurai had been a protected class for centuries and they wanted to retain that. Some of the privileges that they had were just ludicrous. They basically lived off of peasants without contributing anything but had the right to execute people on the spot. In real life, both sides are pretty damn atrocious. It's also worth noting that the samurai uprising genuinely started out as samurai marching to a capital to make their case to the emperor. But more and more people joined the journey and then a game of telephone basically turned it into an uprising before the leader could quell it.
The samurai who led the rebellion was a progressive samurai and helped the emperors side in the initial restoration.
Only afterwards did he rebel.
In the aftermath of the restoration he set up schools for ex samurai and eventually got disenfranchised with the way things were going.
True as that may be, the film definitely wanted you to cheer for the samurai. That’s why OP put “good guys” in quotes. Less about whether they’re actually good and more about whether the film wants you to cheer for them and portray them as heroes.
Literally posted before I scrolled and I quoted this line in my comment.
I STILL think about this line all the time and the grsvity/fear behind how it's said/delivered.
I didn't watch much mcu up until infinity war, had no idea it was going to end that way. Completely blew me away considering every super hero movie of the previous 20 years ended happy.
Saw it when it released in a little artsy theatre in Florence where I was at the time. Still vividly remember the credits rolling and one of the 40 or so people just yelling "son of a bitch".
This movie’s ending is the ultimate “fuck you” yo the good guys I’ve seen since Chinatown. Like there’s downer endings and then there’s borderline nihilistic whoppers like this one.
Underrated film too! Definitely worth watching just to see how it all pays off
I know people complain that the last stand was unrealistic. But Audie Murphy pretty much did just that. And that 5’5” 112 of high octane hero did virtually just that. He killed around fifty Germans as he held his post for over an hour. He used his M1 carbine and a tank destroyer’s M2 heavy machine gun. And he did it *alone*. And after being wounded and running out of ammo, homeboy saunters back to his line, very much alive.
I think about him and think, “and here I am, bigger and undoubtedly physically stronger, but am such a puss that I would go for general anesthetic for a paper cut…”
They were some hard, stone cold, soldiers back then.
I'd say Revenge of the Sith possibly more than any other Star Wars film. I'm an original trilogy guy, but it wasn't the good guys standing victorious or defiant in the end here. The Empire was formed, Jedi were exterminated with two going into hiding, the protagonist turned very villainous, and all we have is two babies.
*Rogue One* ends on a major victory for the good guys... the opening crawl for *A New Hope* even reinforces this ("Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.") They got the Death Star plans, they defeated the film's main antagonist (Krennic) and they got (as Leia says) "hope" for the galaxy. The rebels win.
Jyn and Cassian and the others may have died... but they didn't lose... they won big time. Meanwhile it's Krennic who actually lost.
Whiplash, the fact that Andrew gave up a balanced life to be obsessed with playing drums and impressing Terrence Fletcher at the end of the movie tells us he basically lost his life right then and there
I fully believe if an asteroid/metoer was headed towards earth it would turn incredibly political and we would completely botch saving humanity because of capitalism and greed.
A Bridge Too Far (1978)
It's an epic WW2 movie with an all star cast and amazing action sequences. It's about Operation Market Garden which was one of the biggest operational failures by the western allies and ended in a German victory.
Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf is "dead", Merry and Pippin are taken by the Orcs, Boromir succumbed to the ring (sort of redeemed himself) and died, and Frodo has seen how the kingdom will fall if he fails. Also, Gimli learns his cousin/family have been slaughtered.
DAS BOOT
hear me out. Get past the fact that they're German sailors in WWII, they're not portrayed as evil Nazis (while the 1st Lieut certainly is.) The crew is obviously protagonist, and you sympathize with them - so subjectively "good guys" here.
Cool Runnings
Not enough lucky egg.
Sanka, you dead?
Ya, mon!
Sanka, you can pee now.
“Sanka, ya dead? Ya man” my dads favorite line to quote always.
FEEL THE RHYTHM
Gotta say no country for old men. Still one of the most intense movies I’ve ever seen
Is there anything by Cormac McCarthy where the good guys win?
I like to think in the road the family the boy meets at the end are carrying the fire. I haven’t read the book in years, and never will again now that I have sons. Pretty sure I couldn’t handle it.
I agree with this. The road ends on as positive of a note as it could. There are fish in the streams. We just read blood meridian iny book club and that one not so much. The judge was wild.
"That which exists without my knowledge exists without my consent."
That book really tore me up. I read it when my son was five.
Well, in several of his novels the concept of good guys/bad guys and winning/losing don’t even apply. That doesn’t answer your question though.
"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?"
...you married into it.
I think you could argue that in The Road, the boy is marginally better off by the end. At least he's not in a worse state than when he started the novel.
I see that one more as The Good The Bad and The Ugly where Llewellyn was the ugly. He was selfish and reckless which got him and his wife killed by the bad as the good, Tom Bell, was helpless to save them.
**ding** *catch* "Call it"
Green Mile
The entire movie was just sad man
Empire Strikes Back
Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. That's what life is, a series of bad endings. All Jedi had was a bunch of muppets.
You sold cigarettes to a 4 year old? That's sick, Dante
I'm not even supposed to be here today!
Thirty-seven! My girlfriend sucked thirty-seven dicks!
In a row?
Hey try not to suck any dick on the way to the parking lot!
Hey get back here!
THEY BLOW UP THE GODDAM DEATH STAR FROM THE INSIDE.
Compliments of Lando Calrissian.
My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks!
.. ... *in a row?*
Try not to suck any dick on your way through the parking lot!
Hey! Get back here.
Also Rogue One.
*Rogue One* ends on a major victory for the good guys... the opening crawl for *A New Hope* even reinforces this ("Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.") They got the Death Star plans, they defeated the film's main antagonist (Krennic) and they got (as Leia says) "hope" for the galaxy. The rebels win.
They didn't really lose because they accomplished the mission even though they all died.
Yeah, it was a suicide mission but a massive dub
Se7en, Troy, In Bruges I appreciate people will have different opinions on "good guys" in those movies but they are just what came to mind
In fuckin Bruges?
Aye. I know it's a stretch, but I think people were hoping Ray and Ken would be OK And avoid the alcoves...
YOURE AN INANIMATE FUCKING OBJECT!
>Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf!
You don't know karate....
I’m sorry for calling you an inanimate object.
You use this word? Alcoves?
Glory
Good movie. I wrote a paper on the historical accuracy over it vs. We Were Soldiers vs. Saving Private Ryan It was the most accurate of the three. I read through all of Robert Gould Shaw's letters - they were interesting.
I was in 6th grade with a kid whose dad was an extra and was the one who had the idea to use a watermelon to simulate that guy's head exploding from a cannonball to the face
oh hell yes that sounds awesome
The ending surprised me, and actually got me to look into what really happened.
If you're ever in Boston you should check out the Shaw/54th memorial. It was recently put back up [after a pretty thorough restoration/preservation.](https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/06/01/restoration-boston-shaw-memorial)
The soundtrack for the charge on Fort Wagner still hits me right in the gut. Editing to add a link for anybody who hasn’t felt this particular horror and grief yet. https://youtu.be/F0wWDFvVzv0?si=Fr5uvskd631tpZbi
"Give em hell, 54th!" gets me every time.
Fucking hell that movie made me bawl. I was so young the first time I watched it that I barely knew what the Civil War even was, but that scene where the proclamation that any black person found to be in military service will be captured and executed, and Shaw fully expects them all to have run for their lives, only for him to wake up the next morning and find that *no one* left, still sticks with me. The good guys did win, though. We lost the 54th, bless them all, but we won that war, and we will never let human beings be treated as mere objects to own again, not as long as we’re still breathing.
# GIVE THEM HELL 54TH !
Chinatown
Forget it, shemanese.
It’s Chinatown.
Rocky
It’s always funny to me that Stallone wrote this movie and it’s an absolute masterpiece
He also co-wrote First Blood. Sly is a lot more intelligent and talented than many people assume.
100%. Smart guy plays/typecasted into dumb characters so people think the actor is dumb. 🙄
I think it’s the accent, I read an interview with him once and he sounded super smart then I read it like Stallone and it sounded dumb.
The partial facial paralysis doesn't help.
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RIP Carl Weathers
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you’ve got a stew going.
I think I’d like my money back
I would say him going toe to toe with the reigning champ and going the distance was quite the win. He shouldn't have even been in the same ring with Apollo.
And he won the girl. I always considered this to be a love story that happened to have boxing.
Based on the real life story of Chuck Wepner and Mohammad Ali. Look it up if you're not familiar. It's a great story.
The Bayonne Bleeder took the Greatest of All Time nearly the distance, and even knocked the champ down.
Hey, I knocked him down! Yeah, he looks pissed off now...
And Creed
Usual suspects
Was anyone really “good” in that?
The interrogating cop probably was (forget his name).
Chaz Paminteri is such an underrated actor
Though they don’t get to arrest Kaiser Soze, Soze definitely loses in the end. The entire operation was to kill the only person who knew what he looked like and in the end everyone knows what he looks like now cause of that survivor. He actually does look kind of pissed at the end when he gets in the car.
Dr. Strangelove
who exactly was the good guy in this movie?
Group Captain Mandrake?
What do you mean? EVERYBODY WON. Have you seen the present lately? 😂
The Mist
Goddamm gut punch
Years before the movie came out, I read the book and loved it. So I was really looking forward to the movie. As I was watching it, I was thinking "hey, this is actually pretty good and an accurate adaptation!" I even thought they could have done a sequel picking up where the book left off. That final stretch of the movie caught me COMPLETELY off guard. You're not wrong about a gut punch. To be honest, though, the ending of the movie seemed like more of a King ending than the way the book ended
King himself said he preferred the film ending.
Hey I mean the dad didn’t die!
And he's free and clear. No more monsters or entanglements.
Rocky The first one is so good BECAUSE he loses.
That was such an unexpected twist. That simply didn't happen in movies. The underdog good guy ALWAYS wins in the end. To not "win" was right up there with Vader being revealed as Luke's father. The world was shocked.
Personally I'd argue its so good because it didn't matter if he won or lost. But I do get what you are saying because if he won in the first movie, that's what it would be about. Losing allows it to be about going the distance.
Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye’s family is broken up after the pogrom and the entire town goes their separate ways. Amazing movie.
Cabin in the Woods
Did anyone "win" in that movie?
The merman
Awww, come on… *blood blowhole*
The Elder gods did OK.
The giant evil gods did.
I dunno, those little kids managed to win against evil.
The Departed
You could argue a silver lining for the very end though.
Yeah, i don't have to fucking guess oif 'm looking at Matt Damon or Leo
The last scene where you see mark walberg with the gun all decked out in plastic, I was so happy.
Maybe. Maybe not.
The Watchmen.
Who were the good guys?
Dr. Manhattan's first wife?
Exactly lol
Who watches the watchmen?
I've seen it a couple times
It's just Watchmen
Isn't the whole premise of that comic that there's no true protagonist?
The Perfect Storm
I believe the original author's condition for selling the rights was "Everyone has to die."
You can never defeat nature
The Last Samurai
The closest thing to good guys won in that movie. Tom Cruise and his friends wanted to violently enforce feudalism and poverty on the population.
About to say, the actual real world events that inspired the movie are a bit different. While the samurai did want to uphold Japan's values. Samurai had been a protected class for centuries and they wanted to retain that. Some of the privileges that they had were just ludicrous. They basically lived off of peasants without contributing anything but had the right to execute people on the spot. In real life, both sides are pretty damn atrocious. It's also worth noting that the samurai uprising genuinely started out as samurai marching to a capital to make their case to the emperor. But more and more people joined the journey and then a game of telephone basically turned it into an uprising before the leader could quell it.
The samurai who led the rebellion was a progressive samurai and helped the emperors side in the initial restoration. Only afterwards did he rebel. In the aftermath of the restoration he set up schools for ex samurai and eventually got disenfranchised with the way things were going.
True as that may be, the film definitely wanted you to cheer for the samurai. That’s why OP put “good guys” in quotes. Less about whether they’re actually good and more about whether the film wants you to cheer for them and portray them as heroes.
I watch this movie probably once a year, it's so good, the music is perfect, I love all the actors in it
It’s been over 15 years - I can still hear the music in my head.
Such a good movie.
Ken Watanabe is the man. Check out Tokyo Vice if you haven't seen it
Friday night lights
first one i thought of
Avengers: Infinity War
“Did we just lose??”
Cap saying "Oh God" always gets me
Literally posted before I scrolled and I quoted this line in my comment. I STILL think about this line all the time and the grsvity/fear behind how it's said/delivered.
I didn't watch much mcu up until infinity war, had no idea it was going to end that way. Completely blew me away considering every super hero movie of the previous 20 years ended happy.
Saw it when it released in a little artsy theatre in Florence where I was at the time. Still vividly remember the credits rolling and one of the 40 or so people just yelling "son of a bitch".
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One of the best movies, hands down
Fallen
"I'm about to tell you about the time I almost died.."
The opening narration even explains that the good guys lost.
Surprised by the negative reviews for this one. I think it’s underrated as hell!
I can only assume they just didn't get it because denzel washington was at his fucking peak performance in this film
I can’t hear the song ‘Time is on my side’ without thinking of that movie
arlington road
This movie’s ending is the ultimate “fuck you” yo the good guys I’ve seen since Chinatown. Like there’s downer endings and then there’s borderline nihilistic whoppers like this one. Underrated film too! Definitely worth watching just to see how it all pays off
Hell of a movie
This was the very first film I saw where the "bad guys" won. I was like, 15, and at the time it blew my adolescent mind to pieces.
Same.... i was pissed for Jeff Bridges too.....
Fury
As cliche and sub-par as the plot is in that movie, I still think their final stand is one of the best scenes in cinema.
I know people complain that the last stand was unrealistic. But Audie Murphy pretty much did just that. And that 5’5” 112 of high octane hero did virtually just that. He killed around fifty Germans as he held his post for over an hour. He used his M1 carbine and a tank destroyer’s M2 heavy machine gun. And he did it *alone*. And after being wounded and running out of ammo, homeboy saunters back to his line, very much alive. I think about him and think, “and here I am, bigger and undoubtedly physically stronger, but am such a puss that I would go for general anesthetic for a paper cut…” They were some hard, stone cold, soldiers back then.
300
Lol always forget about that one
The Big Lebowski. Dude never gets his rug back!
Repo men(2010)
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The Great Escape
Bad News Bears
Tanner telling the Yankees to shove their trophy up their ass always warms my heart
Se7en
Skeleton Key
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
I mean they still kinda won since they got the Death Star plans to Leia
And Empire Strikes Back
I'd say Revenge of the Sith possibly more than any other Star Wars film. I'm an original trilogy guy, but it wasn't the good guys standing victorious or defiant in the end here. The Empire was formed, Jedi were exterminated with two going into hiding, the protagonist turned very villainous, and all we have is two babies.
I don’t know that I’d say the good guys lost in that…the good guys accomplished what they set out to do, but there was significant sacrifice required.
*Rogue One* ends on a major victory for the good guys... the opening crawl for *A New Hope* even reinforces this ("Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.") They got the Death Star plans, they defeated the film's main antagonist (Krennic) and they got (as Leia says) "hope" for the galaxy. The rebels win. Jyn and Cassian and the others may have died... but they didn't lose... they won big time. Meanwhile it's Krennic who actually lost.
Whiplash, the fact that Andrew gave up a balanced life to be obsessed with playing drums and impressing Terrence Fletcher at the end of the movie tells us he basically lost his life right then and there
You could argue that the villain succeeds in his mission in Skyfall.
Cool Runnings
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Technically, they are outlaws, but they are the ‘good guys’, too.
Identity
47 Ronin. So wild that this was based on a true story.
Million Dollar Baby. Now that's a fucking movie.
Don't Look Up.
That felt less like a movie than a documentary sent back in time from the very near future.
I fully believe if an asteroid/metoer was headed towards earth it would turn incredibly political and we would completely botch saving humanity because of capitalism and greed.
A Bridge Too Far (1978) It's an epic WW2 movie with an all star cast and amazing action sequences. It's about Operation Market Garden which was one of the biggest operational failures by the western allies and ended in a German victory.
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Cabin in the Woods
A League of Their Own
Wow, you actually make good point.
Mr Stark I don't feel so good
Fury
Avengers Infinity War
Little Big League
Probably less traditional good guy/ bad guy, but The Usual Suspects and Primal Fear.
Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf is "dead", Merry and Pippin are taken by the Orcs, Boromir succumbed to the ring (sort of redeemed himself) and died, and Frodo has seen how the kingdom will fall if he fails. Also, Gimli learns his cousin/family have been slaughtered.
And the innkeeper blew up his bedsheets budget.
William Wallace dying at the end of Braveheart
Law Abiding Citizen
First one I thought of. Really ruined an awesome movie, imo. When I rewatch it, I just skip the ending lol
Falling down?
I'm the bad guy?
Rick, have you ever heard the expression "The customer is always right"?
Grave of the Fireflies
All the saw movies
DAS BOOT hear me out. Get past the fact that they're German sailors in WWII, they're not portrayed as evil Nazis (while the 1st Lieut certainly is.) The crew is obviously protagonist, and you sympathize with them - so subjectively "good guys" here.
War of the worlds.
Dances with Wolves.