Top 10 Good Guys Gone Bad in Film

Top 10 Good Guys Gone Bad in Film

Also in:

Top 10 Good Boy/Bad Girl Movie Couples

Everyone has their breaking point, but most of us don’t go this far. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 good guys gone bad in film. For this list, we’re taking a look at those feature film characters who start out as pretty decent folks, but through some twist of fate end up being not that nice. In this case, it’s not “nice guys finishing last;” it’s more like “nice guys becoming homicidal.” And while this might seem ovious, there are spoilers ahead so SPOILER ALERT.

#10: Harry Osborn “Spider-Man” franchise (2002-07)

Also in:

Top 10 Most Evil Harry Potter Villains

If anyone is proof that money can’t buy happiness, it’s this guy. Although he may have had some daddy issues, Harry was pretty likeable for a rich kid and became fast friends with Peter Parker. All it took to push him over the edge was witnessing his father’s death during a fight with Spider-Man. Well, that is pretty brutal. But brutal enough to don a Green Goblin costume?

The world of ballet has a dark side, and we’re not just talking broken toes and split nails. The unyielding pressure put on these dancers can trigger some pretty…disturbing behavior. Unfortunately for this initially sweet, innocent dancer, that behavior comes in the form of hallucinations, finally culminating in attempted murder. Well, more like an attempted murder that turns out to be an attempted suicide. But at least she danced her butt off.

Warden Lopeman had his work cut out for him rehabilitating a criminal like Paris Pitman, Jr. And so when Pitman escapes prison, Lopeman takes it upon himself to track him down. However when he finds Pitman’s dead body on top of a pile of cash, the temptation proves too great: he ditches his do-gooder ways for a life on the lam, but not before sending Pitman’s dead body riding through town on a donkey.

#7: Carrie White “Carrie” (1976)

Also in:

Carrie Fisher’s Death, the New Alien: Covenant Trailer & Dunkirk’s New Star ­– The CineFiles Ep. 1

This poor girl couldn’t catch a break. She was a quiet recluse who was the target of a lot of bullying for no discernable reason. And her crackpot, hyper-religious mom wasn’t making things easy on the home front, either. After having pigs’ blood dumped on her as part of a cruel joke, Carrie’s had enough. Unfortunately, for pretty much everyone attending prom, “enough” for this telekinetic teenager means everyone must die.

After watching his mother die at the hands of Nazis, this young mutant dedicates his life to avenging her death. Along the way, he takes up with Professor X and the benevolent bunch of mutants who just want world peace and happiness. But by the end of the film, it becomes clear that he could care less about peace – what he wants is liberation for mutants by any means necessary, and he recruits other mutants like Mystique to see his plans come to life.

#5: Jean Grey “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)

Also in:

Top 10 Jean-Claude Van Damme Splits

She started out as a good girl. Really, she was one of the best. Using her powers to thwart Magneto’s dastardly plans or to help her mutant compatriots, she was a top-notch lady and a leader among the X-Men. That is, until she died and came back as the Phoenix. And her comeback was deadly. With enough power to destroy the world, she went on a rampage that probably would’ve ended Earth had she not been stopped.

#4: Jack Torrance “The Shining” (1980)

Also in:

Top 10 Jack Nicholson Performances

Sometimes a writer just needs some peace and quiet to get his work done. Sometimes, that means going to the library; other times, that means going to a haunted hotel during the winter and slowly descending into madness. Jack’s eventually convinced by ghosts to “correct” his family, which seems pretty shady if you ask us. Never trust ghosts that are looking for company.

#3: Michael Corleone “The Godfather” (1972)

Also in:

Top 10 Michael B. Jordan Performances

What distinguished young Mike from the rest of his relatives is that he wanted nothing to do with the family “business.” He was a good kid and even became a marine. But after an attempted hit on his father, he just can’t avoid the inevitable any longer. By the time his father kicks the bucket, he’s fully emerged in the life, eventually becoming the “Don” himself.

He was a precocious, if not slightly annoying child who grew into an angsty, lovelorn teen. Pretty standard stuff. Of course, the death of his mother probably planted a few seeds of darkness in his mind, but the death of his beloved Padme is what finally sent him over the edge into Darth Vader territory. Oh, and getting burned to a pulp in some lava probably didn’t help either. Before we unmask our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - Katherine “Kissin’ Kate” Barlow “Holes” (2003) - Capt. T. G. Culpeper “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963) - The Narrator “Fight Club” (1999)

#1: Harvey Dent “The Dark Knight” (2008)

Also in:

The Harvey Weinstein Scandal! - The CineFiles Ep. 42

He was the hero who wanted to clean up Gotham City through litigation. As Gotham’s newly elected District Attorney, Dent is a good guy through and through – he’s even labelled the city’s White Knight. He’s on a mission to do away with the organized crime in Gotham, and that clearly comes at a price, resulting in the death of his girlfriend and his own facial disfigurement. Dent then goes all the way bad, using a coin toss to determine the fate of his victims. Do you agree with our list? Who’s your favorite good guy gone bad? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.