10 Best Movie Good Guys
Spoiler alert: I give away details of some of the movies listed below, so if there's one that you haven't yet seen, read only the underlined part, and then go rent it. Once you've seen it, come back and finish reading the rest of the commentary. You're welcome.
10- Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in Dirty Harry (1971): He does what it takes to get the bad guys. Yeah, he doesn't follow the rules, but there's a reason: The rules are too restrictive and would allow some of the bad guys to get away.
9- Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) in Rocky (1976): He's known and liked in his neighbourhood, has a good heart…and he likes turtles. Despite not winning the final fight, he shows us a "never give up your dreams" attitude, and we leave the film inspired by his courage.
8- Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca (1942): During World War 2, if you're in Casablanca, Rick's the man to see to get an exit visa to get to America. When an old flame (Ingrid Bergman) comes to town and he has a chance to leave with her, he instead gives up his letter of transit to the man she's with, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). He does this because he knows she'd be better off with Laszlo than with him…despite the fact that he still loves her. What a guy.
8- Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) in The Fugitive (1993): Despite being on the run from the law, he never kills or hurts any cops, even when he had a chance to do so. He even takes time and risks capture to save a sick child in a hospital, all the while trying to prove his innocence.
7- Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) in The Shawshank Redemption (1994): He never lets prison life get the better of him or compromise his integrity. In the end, he makes sure the warden gets what's coming to him, and even takes care of his friend Red (Morgan Freeman).
6- Juror #8, Mr. Davis (Henry Fonda) in 12 Angry Men (1957): The hardest thing to do is stand up against peer pressure, and that's exactly what Juror #8 does. When all the other jurors are ready to convict an accused murderer, he stands up for what he believes is right and eventually convinces them that the man is innocent.
5- The Terminator T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992): The Terminator is the perfect guardian: Indestructible, fearless, reliable, and obedient. It will kill to protect, or not kill when ordered to show more restraint. It won't run away, it won't let you down, and in the end, will give up its life to save yours.
4- Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994): Not the brightest good guy, but very likeable nonetheless. He was totally altruistic, never said a bad thing about anyone, and only had good intentions in everything he did.
3- Marshal Will Kane (Gary Cooper) in High Noon (1952): Marshal Kane tries in vain to get people in town to help when he finds out that three hit men are coming to kill him. Despite the fact that no one, not even his own deputies, offers to help, and despite the fact that he could easily have left town, he stays to fight off the bad guys. Why? He's the law, and it's his duty.
2- Mr. Incredible (Voice of Craig T. Nelson) from The Incredibles (2004): Despite having been forcibly retired from Superhero work by the government and forced to get a job working in insurance, he can't resist helping people. If he's not giving them tips on how to bypass the red tape when making an insurance claim, he's listening to his police scanner for situations where he could save someone. When he's beaten by the villain's evil robot at his secret island fortress, does he run away? No, he runs right back into the fight. Now that's a hero.
1- Superman in Superman (1978): C'mon…who else could be number one? He's indestructible, never lies, and will help anyone, anywhere. He'll fly around the planet to turn back time in order to save the whole world…or just one person. The ultimate good guy.