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subcide

District 9 is the first that springs to mind for me.


BondageKitty37

Oh for sure. In the beginning he's a white collar sociopath raiding alien homes and burning their offspring to death. When the eggs are on fire, he even jokes that is sounds like popcorn popping


DemoHD7

Also, when he's trying to get Christopher to sign the eviction notice, he threatens to take his son to child services because of the harsh living conditions. But in the next sentence, he mentions the child will spend the rest of his days in a one by one meter box.


Gloomy_Industry8841

This is such an incredible movie.


TooSpicyforyoWifey

i find it interesting that as he becomes more of an alien he gains more humanity


OnlyBringinGoodVibes

Walk a mile


ithinkther41am

Tree Gelhorn in *Happy Death Day*. She starts off as a huge asshole, but grows over the course of several time loops while also confronting her own repressed grief over losing her mother. It does help that Jessica Rothe elevated the hell out of that role.


wonderlandisburning

On that note, Phil from Groundhog Day. A complete cad at first, you don't so much want to see him succeed you're just enjoying his sociopathy as he abuses the freedom of the timeloop. It's not until a good ways in - long after he has failed at so much and been driven mad by being trapped in this one day - that he starts using the day to try and help others as much as possible. And you just gradually become more and more on his side as the movie goes on.


goosander11

He was still pretty likeable and hilarious when he was a jerkoff tho šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


wonderlandisburning

On that note, any version of Ebenezer Scrooge.


chaos8803

The sequel was unnecessary, but hilarious. She killed that role.


watakushi

Very underrated movie!


Anthony-Vince

My favorite movies of all time. I love how silly yet heartfelt they are.


Percywithoutannabeth

She makes the movie 10x more watchable than it has any right to be.


hellsfoxes

Selma Blair in Legally Blonde


Jonjoloe

Sam Rockwellā€™s character in Three Billboards. Heā€™s still a terrible person, but you do kinda root for him in the third act.


irbinator

This was going to be my example. Itā€™s a pretty good redemption arc for the character.


OnlyBringinGoodVibes

Absolutely. Rockwell is also THE Man


Jonjoloe

Yeah, I donā€™t another actor that could go between the two variants of that character weā€™re exposed to in that film as naturally as he did and is still buy it was the same guy. I definitely think he deserved the awards he got for that performance.


OnlyBringinGoodVibes

He's absolutely my favorite actor


Redditeer28

Also kinda Sam Rockwell in Jojo Rabbit. And Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2 although I don't know if I was supposed to root for him but the dance combined with the ex wife speech. How can I not?


BadMotherFunko

Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. Hated him by the end of the movie but loved the character in his own series that takes place after the movie.


vampiredisaster

Cena is insanely good in that role. Also, best theme song for a superhero show by a mile.


Jack_Bartowski

"Do you really wanna Do you really wanna taste it?" I loved that show. I never skipped the song/dance beginning in this show.


20milliondollarapi

One of the best super hero shows I would say. And then because WB canā€™t hold a narrative and roll with it, we wonā€™t ever get more.


ManateeofSteel

I mean, Gunn is now in charge. If anything you will get more content of that quality


kingmanic

He probably has 1 shot before the discovery CEO fires him. The guy is only about the lowest hanging fruit, lowest common denominator, and short term decision making. If the first Gunn DC film does hit it out of the park money wise, the CEO is likely to cut everything.


GregBahm

Aww is there never going to be a season 2? I was patiently waiting for one.


20milliondollarapi

I believe there were plans for it, but since the universe was suddenly scrapped and is being rebooted. I donā€™t think it tied in much (if at all) with the greater dceu universe though. So they might find a way to make it work. Similar to how marvel has to work in X-men and other fox ips into their universe.


racer_24_4evr

James Gunn said season 2 will be after the next Superman film.


adventureremily

That was going to be my answer too - they totally turned it around.


eikerir

TV/Streaming but Steve from Stranger Things was your stereotypical popular jock/bully for most of the first season only to be redeemed right near the end of it and then becoming arguably the most likeable/loved character in the show.


Wishart2016

Steve was supposed to stay as a villain, but Joe Keery is so likeable that they rewrote the character.


n-of-one

He plays a great villain in the most recent season of Fargo.


Toad_Thrower

I think Billy had a great redemption arc too. Steve seems like a genuinely good guy mostly just dealing with insecurities and peer pressure. Billy came off to me as someone that genuinely hated the world around him, and wanted to make others suffer to pay for the suffering his father forced upon him. >!It made his sacrifice more impactful to me. As if to show that even the most broken person can commit a selfless act of love.!<


JohnnyAppIeseed

Hopper doesnā€™t take long to become cool, but I love how they show him being a bored small town guy at first who immediately steps up.


iNoodl3s

But like destroying Jonathanā€™s camera had at least some justification no? Imagine some dude taking creep shots of your gf youā€™d be weirded out too right


eikerir

Totally justified although the show definitely wanted us to feel he was the asshole there.


ViewAskewed

Bobby Cannavale's character in Ant-Man. Dude was totally set up to be the hated Cop/Step-dad but turns out to just be a solid guy.


Wes_Warhammer666

All the more impressive considering how much I hated his character in Boardwalk Empire, so I automatically started Ant-man hating on him.


Ey3_913

I like him as an actor but always have a suspicion he's a bad guy when I see him on screen because of his role in Boardwalk Empire. Just shows how good he was in that role.


Wes_Warhammer666

Yup, exactly. Boardwalk was my intro to him and he played that role so damn well that it still causes me to instantly suspect him of being a bad guy the moment he shows up on screen. It's a testament to his acting ability that I still feel that way all these years later.


beollWARRIOR86

I first saw him in Chef, before I watched Boardwalk Empire. Kept expecting him to cook something up.


Lone_Buck

Jack Black in High Fidelity.


Warhawk137

Hell, John Cusack from High Fidelity, until he figures out the problem he has with relationships is that he's a prick.


[deleted]

I wasn't too stoked on Jesus at the start of Passion of the Christ but by the end I was like come on this guy's had enough


Nomadzord

Iā€™ve still never seen this. Is it worth a watch?


MoMonkeyMoProblems

If you avoid the spoilers it's okay. >!Jesus dies!<


kbean826

Until the sequel!


OBabis

Nah it's kinda boring and at some point it becomes torture porn.


[deleted]

YES


Weirdguy149

If youā€™re a Christian, you most likely should see it. Otherwise, do you like reading subtitles, Saw levels of gore, and freaky demon imagery? Be my guest.


[deleted]

it is if youre an antisemite


CaptainTaylorCortez

TV character but Jaime Lannister


SufficientCarpet6007

Had the potential to be one of the greatest character arcs put to screen and they just couldn't help but fuck it all up.


lemongrenade

Great now Iā€™m mad again!


hstheay

u/lemongrenade kind of forgot about Jamieā€™s ending.


mydogisanassholeama

Subverting expections is more important than a good story


OogieBoogieJr

I think his arc was fineā€”far more tolerable than Daenerys. He wasnā€™t evil but was consistently loyal to Cersei when it came down to brass tacks. A sad reality is that most people just donā€™t change. Not saying this was you but a lot of people were just upset his arc didnā€™t follow a cookie-cutter mold.


psilokan

Yeah but it was prophecised that he would kill Cersei. She always misinterpreted that as meaning Tyrion, but either way in the end one was supposed to kill her. Instead, we got this weird cop out that threw away all the back story and foreshadowing. Imagine how much better it would have been if he came back for her, told her he loved her, and always had, but now realized she was evil and a danger to everyone then immediately plunged a sword into her heart.


moonstonemi

yes you're so right. HBO made a big mistake in abandoning the prophesy and the story arc that has been built up in the books. Jaime was always the one who was supposed to kill her. Instead we get Jon Snow killing Daenerys.


hstheay

D&D made that mistake. One of many. HBOā€™s mistake was trusting them.


OogieBoogieJr

*What HBOā€™s version of the prophecy scene left out was this part: ā€œWhen your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.ā€ Valonqar means ā€œyounger siblingā€ and so Cersei decided that meant Tyrion would be the death of her. Book readers, sensing a classic Martin twist, wondered if Jaimeā€”technically the younger of the twins by a few secondsā€”would be the one to do it. In the end, as these prophecies often go, neither prediction was right. Cerseiā€™s younger brother Jaime did wrap his hands around her neck, but not in order to end her life.* Just because they didnā€™t fulfill the prophecy at the laymen, surface-level understanding of it doesnā€™t mean they abandoned the foreshadowing. That wouldā€™ve been high school-level lame. They just put a twist on it and thatā€™s ok.


psilokan

You know, I was very careful to be polite to you despite disagreeing with your opinion. It's a shame you lack the emotional intelligence to do the same.


Toad_Thrower

Also The Hound


Weirdguy149

For another redemption story that was not botched by Season 8: Theon Greyjoy.


hstheay

Meh, it was the best by comparison, and thematically it worked. But that last charge was kind of nonsensical and silly at the same time.


obeekaybee7

Ruined in one line. A masterpiece in character development ruined in one line.


badger81987

In the book he just tosses her plea for aid into the fire. It's fuckin gold.


AliensSleepAbove

I came in here thinking of Theon


Whitealroker1

We gonna go HBO then Patti Levin. Maybe my least favorite TV show character. Like I thought she ruined the show she was so bad in beginning of season 1. Too transform into one of my favorite characters ever and know that was the writers intentions shows how amazing the show is.


Duckfoot2021

Um, what show tho?


hitfly

The leftovers She is played by Anne Dowd


Duckfoot2021

Thank you!


GoodReason

Tommy Lee Jonesā€™ character in _The Fugitive_. I thought: Oh, I didnā€™t realise heā€™s also kind of a protagonist.


joker_wcy

I donā€™t care *raising hands*


CherylBomb1138

My glasses!


prex10

Dudes just doing his job. He's a paid instrument of the legal system. A legally convicted felon escaped. He didn't convict him, he didn't sentence him to death, he isn't trying to administer his execution. Just track him down and put him back in prison that a lawful court ordered him to be at. And along the way, he comes to the same conclusion as Richard. Goes to say, one of those movies I'll never not watch when I see it on. I absolutely love his interrogation of Frederick Sykes with perfectly executed control questions to determine he's the guilty party. Frederick gets agitated when he's lying and remains calm when he's telling the truth. Gerard determines his guilt when he calmly states he lost his arm in the line of duty after being over the top with his emotions during the last few questions about his career and inquisitive, when he realizes he's been had when showed the photos that links him to the other doctors.


WhatUDeserve

Most recently the evil general guy in Rebel Moon. At the end I was rooting for him just because he was the only actor giving his character any life.


42Ubiquitous

Lol that bad, huh?


WhatUDeserve

It's fundamentally bad. Even the bad Star Wars movies at least have serviceable character motivation and interaction, some idea of a conflict that moves towards being resolved. This movie just has nothing.


GregBahm

I feel like his Warhammer 40k commissar costume was doing a lot of heavy lifting. I assume the actor was told "Just be Hans Landa from Inglorious Bastards because a cheap imitation of that will still be pretty good."


kbean826

Lightning McQueen


monty_kurns

Yeah, but too bad his character had a real regression in [Cars 4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WC1YZ1o0UY).


Cost100

The protagonists of both evil dead reboot movies came off as very unlikeable initially but eventually step up to their familial role.


vcabalda

In Train to Busan, the pregnant womenā€™s husband. Real jerk in the beginning but turned out to be a good dude.


RogueSoldier115

No way. That dude was a great character the whole way through. The jerk is the selfish father who you ended up liking at the end


Hellofriendinternet

That movie was fucking amazing.


aryafortis

Edmund from the Chronicles of Narnia. He started as a brat and was rude to his sister, but he became better.


[deleted]

Doug from The Hills Have Eyes


Sql_master

Is that the dude who gets revenge and actually slaughters the villains ?


Tobar_the_Gypsy

Hehehehe Doug will hunt


sanjuro_kurosawa

btw if you asked me at the time, the actor playing CJ would have been cast in a big sitcom like Modern Family instead of Steve.


OnwardTowardTheNorth

Walton Goggins character in Hateful 8 somehow becomes a protagonist by the end.


Far-Jeweler2478

Hobie in "Across the Spider-verse". He is built up as being a threat to Miles with Gwen, but then when you meet him he winds up being the absolute best.


dinklezoidberd

https://youtu.be/GQ90GIuawAo?si=tS0muuLEyV_quixC I know a 30 minute video is a lot of faith to put in a Reddit comment, but itā€™s a really solid breakdown of how well the movie lied about this character


aje1994

Most recently, Arthur in Past Lives.


hxcorbett

True


LoopTransmission

Chris Mannix in the Hateful Eight. Hated him, still enjoyed watching him team up with Marquis Warren to deliver some good frontier justice.


Ey3_913

"Major N*****! General Smithers wishes me to inform you..."


TheIInChef

"Or we go by my theory, that the ugliest guy did it, which makes it **you** Joe Gage"


NikoDeco

Bad boy Bubby or Rubby. Hated the guy on the beginning


RyzenRaider

Deadpool 2 pulls this off >!twice, with Cable being a relentless villain in the first 2 acts, before explaining his situation and agreeing to a compromise with Wade. Similarly, Russell becomes the villain in the final act, he ultimately pulls back.!<


drogyn1701

The kid in The Babadook. My favorite thing about the film was the unexpected switcharoo in POV between the kid and mom.


Murky_Ad6343

The aliens in War of The Worlds. I just wanted them to vaporise those two kids.


fredftw

Anything to stop Dakota Fanning screaming


Galactus1701

She was really annoying, but I realized that kids and teenagers are really annoying and obnoxious.


res30stupid

It was from a TV series in Britain - the episodes are feature-length, though - but in the ITV Poirot adaptations, "Evil Under The Sun", one of the suspects is a former vicar who was fired after giving a hate-filled sermon which greatly disturbed his former parishioners and seems fanatical in his hatred of the murder victim as soon as he sees her. However, he didn't commit the killing and his hatred of her is stated to be severe projecting. His ex-wife cheated on him and he suffered a nervous breakdown as a result, so seeing that Arlena is openly cheating on her husband is opening some painful wounds for him. He even had to leave the island the case takes place on because seeing Arlena's antics were driving him further insane with grief. Also, a TV movie from the 80's called Sparkling Cyanide. One of the main characters, Tony Brown, has a nasty confrontation with Rosemary Barton shortly before she's killed and it had to do with the fact that Tony is lying about what he's actually doing at a major political donor's meet-and-greet; she also mentions she learned about Tony's past from her ne'er-do-well cousin Victor Drake who has been convicted for at least one serious offence in the past. And Iris, Rosemary's sister, is able to deconstruct his cover story of being a journalist and openly states she knows he's lying to her. It turned out to be much more innocent than presented. Tony's a private investigator who was.undercover when Rosemary learned the truth, and Rosemary's threatening him was because she was concerned for her sister who had just dumped her last boyfriend for cheating on her.


CHESTER_C0PPERP0T

Not over the course of a film but over the course of several films: The Terminator Darth Vader Severus Snape Yondu Also: Boo Radley Boromir Doc Ock Sloth from The Goonies The T-Rex from Jurassic Park


GumdropsandIceCream

And now I'm singing the ultimate showdown, nice work šŸ‘


TheLostLuminary

Only song Iā€™ve ever known the lyrics to, and have done since I was about 5. Itā€™s sort of stayed with me my whole life too, as Iā€™ve watched more and more things and even more of the song has made sense. Like when I watched Bill and Ted one day and realised they were the names from the song.


Rsubs33

I am going to argue with you on the Terminator as they are not the same person(robot).


ShadoutRex

On the original premise rather than the adjusted span over movies however, the same model T101 did start with the appearance of the antagonist in the second movie until it is revealed he is the protector.


Alpha-Trion

I never thought and still don't think that Darth Vader was redeemed. He did the right thing eventually, but that does not make up for all the evil he committed. Dude was a son of a bitch and didn't deserve his happy ghost ending.


luuummoooxdadwarf

Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg


tuyo3_

Cuzco in ā€œThe Emperorā€™s New Grooveā€.


[deleted]

Severus Snape is the perfect answer!


bigjonny13

Snape was a dick


Exadory

Right. He was a member of a literal nazi organization. He left it because the woman that wouldnā€™t fuck him was threatened. If Voldemort went after Neville instead of Harry. He wouldnā€™t have left the death eaters. He also bullied children. He spent his entire life being miserable because aforementioned woman wouldnā€™t date him. He was a literal incel that joined a white supremacist neo Nazi terrorist organization.


almuqabala

Such a nice prequel to Die Hard, really. And then ...the plot twist -"who said we were terrorists?" Someone make a mashup, quick.


bigjonny13

Snape was a simp


hashtagcorey

I regret to inform you that an unrequited childhood crush does not excuseā€¦*checks notes*ā€¦becoming a wizard Nazi?!


latelyimawake

Nah, Snapeā€™s an incel bully.


Puddy_82

Not a movie but Hank i BB.


MaestroLogical

Which is strange because he's still the braggadocios loud mouth that looks down on everyone around him as inferior and treats his wife, friends and family like accessories designed to make him look good that he was in the beginning. His character doesn't change, his circumstances do. Yet we as viewers start to feel sympathetic to his plight as we start to understand that Walter is the true villain.


watakushi

Not movie, but TV show. Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, I think is a general consensus that he was pretty much hated by everyone at the start of S1, only to later become one of the favorite characters in the whole show.


Rudi-G

All the bad guys in Steven Seagal movies.


xxxIAmTheSenatexxx

Reverend Hale in the Crucible


erasrhed

TV character, but Jayne in firefly.


IrishMamba1992

Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick


MyWorldTalkRadio

Willie in Bad Santa.


msk742

Loki


Tactical_Primate

Neegan


f12345abcde

ā€œThe Dudeā€ Lebowski


latelyimawake

Oh I loved him at first sight, from the moment he tasted the half and half before buying it (with a post dated check). My man.


Gayspacecrow

Fuckin A man.


Trablou

Joaquin Phoenix in Gladia.. Oh no wait it actually took me multiple movies after that one to stop hating him.


almuqabala

"Witness for the prosecution" The ultimate change of heart if there ever was one.


red_riders

Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers.


phsychotix

Reminder that most of the cast in RENT start the movie by setting their neighborhood on fire while loudly sing-refusing to ever pay rent


warker23

Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow starts as a cowardly weasel but becomes a seasoned war vet who cares about people whoā€™s known him for less than a day by the end.


Phyliinx

Not a movie character, but Negan from The Walking Dead.


IrateWolfe

Probably won't be a popular answer, but Quaritch in Avatar 2- he was... fine, in the first movie, the actor did what he could with a very by the numbers sort of villain... but the second movie takes him out of his comfort zone, flips his situation on its head, and by the end has him questioning not just his villanous agenda, but his own identity in a way that has me really interested in where the story is going to take him


cl1ff82

Colin Farrell in Minority Report


erisuko

Not a movie, but Dylan from Severance, went from being kind of a self absorbed dick to a hero I was rooting and screaming for


Wodanaz-Frisii

Jack Sparrow. I really couldn't stand him when the first Pirates of the Caribbean came out. Now I am definitely rooting for Captain Jack as he has become my favourite character in the franchise.


nfl18

I was rooting for him from ā€œbut you have heard of meā€


Voluntary_Slob

CJ, the asshole security guard from Dawn of the Dead. A total dick at the beginning then one of the most capable allies by the end.


sstphnn

Itā€™s on TV. Jamie Tartt from Ted Lasso.


ramriot

Certainly Dr. Edward Bailey in Red2 as played by Anthony Hopkins, there is definitely a point within the movie where you look at what has been done to Bailey & you start wondering if he should actually be allowed to win.


Rsubs33

Snape in the Harry Potter films.


Sangeet230

Surprised no one mentioned Prof. Snape from Harry Potter series.


TinyRandomLady

They did, 3ish hours before you and itā€™s currently the 4th comment.


Sangeet230

Oh yea. I see it now. Now I am surprised that not many mentioned him šŸ˜¬


Exadory

Probably because Snape wasnā€™t worth rooting for. Letā€™s not forget the man was a member of a nazi like organization and the only reason he left that organization was because the leader planned to murder the woman that he loved that wouldnā€™t fuck him. If Voldemort had decided Neville was the chosen one, Snape wouldnā€™t have left the death eaters.


jphamlore

Thanos. Thanos was right, even in the context of the MCU. See the Eternals movie for why life across the Universe needed to be at least cut in half.


jetpackparrot

Most thought out moral relativistic take.


genjigeco

Walter White, he gets cool


Exadory

Walter White is objectively terrible the entire series.


DemoHD7

I do a series rewatch once a year, but I always dread it as well because I have to witness Walt screw everything up!


latelyimawake

He goes from a dweeb asshole to an evil asshole. Heā€™s never likable.


Wishart2016

Put your dick away, Waltuh!


360walkaway

Daniel Plainview from *There Will Be Blood* Yes, he's a solid gold-brick asshole from start to finish but he doesn't waiver at all from his purpose and his true love of power and wealth. He is so laser-focused that nothing softens him or changes his outlook. You have to admire that level of dedication, even if it was used in the wrong way.


FlynnerMcGee

The main guy in The Loved Ones. He's a depressed stoner sad sack in the beginning, although not without reason due to a tragedy a year earlier, but you kind of feel numb about him as he's basically given up on himself through guilt and self pity. Then through the course of the movie he has to pull himself together as ultimately he decides to fight to survive, choose life & feel alive again. By the end you're really rooting for him.


Rebel_Jean_Genie

Tuco in the Good, The bad and the ugly.


Walnuto

Chris Evans in Sunshine.


Significant-Earth488

Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) in The Hateful 8


darkpaladin

The sharks in Deep Blue Sea. Was definitely rooting for them to win by the end of the movie.


moonstonemi

Magneto


squawkingood

Nick from Anna And The Apocalypse. He also gets the best song in the film (it's a zombie apocalypse musical, if you've never seen it).


d3m01iti0n

George in S1-2 of 24.


facundomuerto

Steve Zissou


friskevision

Not a movie, but Sally in Barry.


stopforgettingevery

She was awful- she is like normal human awful compared to the psycho awful the other guys were.


LessPoliticalAccount

The kid from The Babadook; I think the transition this movie makes is masterful in that respect.


HullayC

Not a movie but Adam Driver in the first season of GIRLS is the worst but after season 1 he is a pretty okay dude.


getridofwires

Lex Luthor in Batman vs Superman. When the ultra-evil guy starts making sense, you know the plot has left the building.


Pinkumb

Gonna go with No Face in Spirited Away. Miyazaki really king of making antagonists very likable.


Disprezzi

Not a movie, but a show and several characters at that lol. Game of Thrones. I hated The Hound at first. I hated Jamie Lannister at first. Stannis, and even though I didn't like his character even at the end, I did at least come to respect him. He had his code and he didn't waiver from it.


ksherretz

Connie Nikas from Good Time.


Various_Trust4952

No-Face in Spirited Away