Things in real life are rarely black and white.; there’s always a little bit of grey to make things confusing. In film, however, the great battle between Good and Evil can be scripted and fought with clear sides and opposing forces. To celebrate the Jan. 22 release of the new Sony film Legion, we’ve compiled a list of the best Good Vs. Evil Battles in recent film history!
Transformers
The eternal war between the Autobots (good) and Decepticons (evil) crash lands on Earth, launching the careers of Megan Fox and Shia LeBouf in the process. With more big-budget explosions and pre-pubescent humor than any kid could dream of, Transformers boils the battle between good and evil down to a war between alien machines.
Star Wars
It doesn’t get much more clearly defined than a battle between the Dark Side and the Jedi code of honor. With Christ themes a’plenty, George Lucas’ space opera centers on a three-film struggle between Luke Skywalker and his father, Darth Vader, before exploring Vader’s origin story. The prequels find a young Anakin Skywalker fighting an inner war between good and evil, ultimately succumbing to the Dark Side. He eventually redeems himself and makes amends with his son before his death, tying up a biblical space story with a nice, tidy bow. If only they’d left Jar Jar Binks out of it.
Lord of The Rings
The Lord of the Rings tells an epic tale of good against evil, spanning three volumes and centering on a young hobbit’s quest to destroy the all-powerful Ring. Pursued by all the dark forces of the world and led astray by a conniving creature called Gollum, Frodo faces biblical dilemmas and predicaments every step of the way. Orcs and tree-people are only the beginning of his troubles; this evil has no face, but rather an all-seeing, hypnotic, giant red burning eye.
Constantine
Constantine tells the story of supernatural detective John Constantine (Reeves), who has literally been to hell and back. In trying to solve a woman’s mysterious suicide, Constantine is pulled into a world of demons and angels that thrives on the underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in an apocalyptic series of otherworldy events, Constantine and the dead girl’s twin sister join forces in a desperate bid to save humanity from biblical evil.
Terminator
Robots with glowing eyes and Austrian accents wreak havoc with a time machine and a mission to wipe out mankind, but are thwarted by a former diner waitress who realizes her kid is the savior of all mankind – because some bug-eyed dude in a trenchcoat got her pregnant and told her so. Before getting killed by the robots, of course. Good (humanity) is about to unleash the worst evil of all (Skynet), putting mankind on the brink of extinction.
Schindler’s List
One man chose to use his political and economic advantages to save the lives of more than a thousand Jews – right under the noses of the Nazi regime. Czech born Oskar Schindler, a flashy, greedy German businessman, becomes an unlikely humanitarian when he feels compelled to turn his weapons factory into a refuge for Jews.
Based on a true story, Oskar Schindler represented a unique face of good, while the Nazi empire was murderous evil incarnate. Schindler’s acts were a testament for the good in all of us, and a reminder that there’s always more we can do to help one another.
Harry Potter
A wizard like his murdered parents, the young Harry Potter – and most of his fellow students at Howart’s – represent the good, while the dark wizard Voldemort embodies all that is evil. As Harry comes to learn more about his own magic abilities and Voldemort’s sinister plans, danger sucks the air out of all safe corners and threatens everything he knows. Harry, Ron and Hermione must defeat the evil forces of Voldemort and the Slytherin to keep evil from ruling forever more… but first, a game of Quidditch.
