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* TheSheriff of the small upstate town in ''Film/{{Wendigo}}'' is willing to overlook Otis taking potshots at the empty Stuckey house because of the bad hand Otis has been dealt. However, as soon as he learns that Otis has actually shot George, he goes out to Otis' place to arrest. His attempt to be reasonable and allow Otis to come along on his own terms gets him killed.
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** Odin and (in a rare villainous example) Laufey in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. Odin wants to avoid war with the Frost Giants and preserve their peace. Laufey was prepared to let Thor and his friends go for violating the truce and invading their nation.
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** Odin and (in a rare villainous example) Laufey in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. Odin wants to avoid war with the Frost Giants and preserve their peace. Laufey was prepared to let Thor and his friends go for violating the truce and invading their nation. Of course, with Laufey it's a bit hard to tell whether he was genuine or if he was arranging matters to look like the more reasonable party (which the HotBlooded Thor made quite easy), given that he'd given the order to steal the Casket that led to Thor's arrival in Jotunheim in the first place.
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** Nick Fury throughout the entire series, but especially in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', shows a good instinct of when to reign in his RagtagBunchOfMisfits, and when to stand back and let them do their jobs.
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust.
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust.
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** Nick Fury throughout the entire series, but especially in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', shows a good instinct of when to reign rein in his RagtagBunchOfMisfits, and when to stand back and let them do their jobs.
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust. Likewise, he stuck his neck out for Peggy Carter, recognising her potential and supporting her as a high-ranking Agent in the SSR. He mostly just seems resigned and disappointed when it appears that she got Steve killed and risked Howard (a major military contractor) on a suicide mission based on what he assumed was a crush (she retorted "faith") and he's telling her that she's basically fired. When Steve arrives with 400 men in tow, his response to her is a wry smile and, "faith, huh?"
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust. Likewise, he stuck his neck out for Peggy Carter, recognising her potential and supporting her as a high-ranking Agent in the SSR. He mostly just seems resigned and disappointed when it appears that she got Steve killed and risked Howard (a major military contractor) on a suicide mission based on what he assumed was a crush (she retorted "faith") and he's telling her that she's basically fired. When Steve arrives with 400 men in tow, his response to her is a wry smile and, "faith, huh?"
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* ''Film/TwoDaysInTheValley:'' Teddy's landlady lets him go four months without paying his rent before reluctantly putting her foot down, and tries to suggest other ways for him to get the rent money.
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*** Thorin hears out his kinsmen and will listen to reason from others when he can see past his {{Pride}} and his old grudges, which is mercifully quite often.
*** While the film version of King Thranduil is not obviously this at first, he actually gives Legolas a remarkable amount of latitude. He also seems to genuinely respect Bard, letting him try and talk Thorin round despite being certain that it would fail, and casually pouring him a glass of wine. Since Bard, though of noble lineage, is basically a fisherman, and Thranduil is an immortal king with an ego the size of the Lonely Mountain, this speaks volumes.
*** {{Averted}} by the film incarnation of the Master of Lake-town. He actually didn't want anything to do with the dwarves, but after Thorin promises the people of Lake-town riches and prosperity once he reclaims his city, the Master is only more than happy to lend them a helping hand, and wins approval from his people. When Smaug attacks, he only thinks of himself and tries to escape with as much gold as his boat can carry, while claiming he wishes he could save more people "but they're hardly worth it".
*** In the [[Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies final film]], Bard proves to be this after becoming the de-facto leader of the Laketown survivors. He hears out King Thranduil and Gandalf on the matter of the dwarves refusing to aid the displaced Lakemen after causing Smaug's attack, he's respectful and tries to reasonably get through to Thorin with diplomacy (without success) partly in an attempt to avert bloodshed even though he knows his and Thranduil's people would surely win such a conflict, and he happily takes up Bilbo Baggins' idea to [[spoiler:barter the Arkenstone with Thorin in exchange for what Thorin owes the people of Lake-town]] in a second attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
*** While the film version of King Thranduil is not obviously this at first, he actually gives Legolas a remarkable amount of latitude. He also seems to genuinely respect Bard, letting him try and talk Thorin round despite being certain that it would fail, and casually pouring him a glass of wine. Since Bard, though of noble lineage, is basically a fisherman, and Thranduil is an immortal king with an ego the size of the Lonely Mountain, this speaks volumes.
*** {{Averted}} by the film incarnation of the Master of Lake-town. He actually didn't want anything to do with the dwarves, but after Thorin promises the people of Lake-town riches and prosperity once he reclaims his city, the Master is only more than happy to lend them a helping hand, and wins approval from his people. When Smaug attacks, he only thinks of himself and tries to escape with as much gold as his boat can carry, while claiming he wishes he could save more people "but they're hardly worth it".
*** In the [[Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies final film]], Bard proves to be this after becoming the de-facto leader of the Laketown survivors. He hears out King Thranduil and Gandalf on the matter of the dwarves refusing to aid the displaced Lakemen after causing Smaug's attack, he's respectful and tries to reasonably get through to Thorin with diplomacy (without success) partly in an attempt to avert bloodshed even though he knows his and Thranduil's people would surely win such a conflict, and he happily takes up Bilbo Baggins' idea to [[spoiler:barter the Arkenstone with Thorin in exchange for what Thorin owes the people of Lake-town]] in a second attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
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* ''Film/TheHobbit'':
*** Thorin hears out his kinsmen and will listen to reason from others when he can see past his {{Pride}} and his old grudges, which is mercifully quite often.
*** While the film version of King Thranduil is not obviously this at first, he actually gives Legolas a remarkable amount of latitude. He also seems to genuinely respect Bard, letting him try and talk Thorin round despite being certain that it would fail, and casually pouring him a glass of wine. Since Bard, though of noble lineage, is basically a fisherman, and Thranduil is an immortal king with an ego the size of the Lonely Mountain, this speaks volumes.
*** {{Averted}} by the film incarnation of the Master of Lake-town. He actually didn't want anything to do with the dwarves, but after Thorin promises the people of Lake-town riches and prosperity once he reclaims his city, the Master is only more than happy to lend them a helping hand, and wins approval from his people. When Smaug attacks, he only thinks of himself and tries to escape with as much gold as his boat can carry, while claiming he wishes he could save more people "but they're hardly worth it".
*** In the [[Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies final film]], Bard proves to be this after becoming the de-facto leader of the Laketown survivors. He hears out King Thranduil and Gandalf on the matter of the dwarves refusing to aid the displaced Lakemen after causing Smaug's attack, he's respectful and tries to reasonably get through to Thorin with diplomacy (without success) partly in an attempt to avert bloodshed even though he knows his and Thranduil's people would surely win such a conflict, and he happily takes up Bilbo Baggins' idea to [[spoiler:barter the Arkenstone with Thorin in exchange for what Thorin owes the people of Lake-town]] in a second attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
*** Thorin hears out his kinsmen and will listen to reason from others when he can see past his {{Pride}} and his old grudges, which is mercifully quite often.
*** While the film version of King Thranduil is not obviously this at first, he actually gives Legolas a remarkable amount of latitude. He also seems to genuinely respect Bard, letting him try and talk Thorin round despite being certain that it would fail, and casually pouring him a glass of wine. Since Bard, though of noble lineage, is basically a fisherman, and Thranduil is an immortal king with an ego the size of the Lonely Mountain, this speaks volumes.
*** {{Averted}} by the film incarnation of the Master of Lake-town. He actually didn't want anything to do with the dwarves, but after Thorin promises the people of Lake-town riches and prosperity once he reclaims his city, the Master is only more than happy to lend them a helping hand, and wins approval from his people. When Smaug attacks, he only thinks of himself and tries to escape with as much gold as his boat can carry, while claiming he wishes he could save more people "but they're hardly worth it".
*** In the [[Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies final film]], Bard proves to be this after becoming the de-facto leader of the Laketown survivors. He hears out King Thranduil and Gandalf on the matter of the dwarves refusing to aid the displaced Lakemen after causing Smaug's attack, he's respectful and tries to reasonably get through to Thorin with diplomacy (without success) partly in an attempt to avert bloodshed even though he knows his and Thranduil's people would surely win such a conflict, and he happily takes up Bilbo Baggins' idea to [[spoiler:barter the Arkenstone with Thorin in exchange for what Thorin owes the people of Lake-town]] in a second attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
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* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
** ''Film/JurassicPark'': In contrast to his book counterpart, when everything goes wrong, John Hammond does eventually takes responsibility for this major blunder that even puts his grandchildren in danger and is willing to listen to others' advise on how to to get everyone out of Jurassic Park alive.
**
** ''Film/JurassicWorld'': Misrani is very reasonable in judgment and is willing to listen to his employees even if there are problems.
** ''Film/JurassicPark'': In contrast to his book counterpart, when everything goes wrong, John Hammond does eventually takes responsibility for this major blunder that even puts his grandchildren in danger and is willing to listen to others' advise on how to to get everyone out of Jurassic Park alive.
**
** ''Film/JurassicWorld'': Misrani is very reasonable in judgment and is willing to listen to his employees even if there are problems.
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* ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'':
** While Admiral Stenz treats Godzilla as a threat for a good reason, he doesn't go out of his way like many military characters in these type of movies would and is always open to suggestions from civilian experts. Also, related to the above plan of using a nuke, he points out that they are pretty much out of other options and have to do all they can to protect the civilians on the coast, and despite that genuinely empathizes with Serizawa's perspective on the matter.
** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony. But then he looks at the papers Joe had on him, and notices the patterns perfectly match the ones they're seeing now. When the US Navy picks him up, he also has them bring both Brody's along. He realizes too late that Joe had indeed predicted that something wasn't right about those readings he was examining for the last 15 years. And though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out that Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.
** While Admiral Stenz treats Godzilla as a threat for a good reason, he doesn't go out of his way like many military characters in these type of movies would and is always open to suggestions from civilian experts. Also, related to the above plan of using a nuke, he points out that they are pretty much out of other options and have to do all they can to protect the civilians on the coast, and despite that genuinely empathizes with Serizawa's perspective on the matter.
** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony. But then he looks at the papers Joe had on him, and notices the patterns perfectly match the ones they're seeing now. When the US Navy picks him up, he also has them bring both Brody's along. He realizes too late that Joe had indeed predicted that something wasn't right about those readings he was examining for the last 15 years. And though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out that Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.
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* ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'':
''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'':
**While Admiral Stenz treats Godzilla as a threat for a good reason, ''Film/Godzilla1998'': From the moment he first meets Nick, Philippe Roche (the leader of the French secret service task force) doesn't go out of underestimates Nick or his way like many theories. All of the action in the third act happens because Roche takes the initiative to find Godzilla's eggs with Nick's help while the American military characters treats it like a literal afterthought.
** ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'': Taizo Tachibana is one of the few to consider the guardian monsters allies.
** Franchise/MonsterVerse:
*** Joe Brody inthese type ''Film/Godzilla2014'', before the death of movies would his wife at least. He pushes for an emergency meeting because he's concerned about ''unexplained'' seismic reading near the nuclear power plant's vicinity, and is always open to suggestions from civilian experts. Also, related to before the above plan of using a nuke, meeting can happen, when supposed quakes start striking the plant, he points out rightfully orders that they are pretty much out of other options and have to do all they can to protect the civilians on the coast, and despite that genuinely empathizes with Serizawa's perspective on the matter.
**entire plant be taken offline without hesitation. Lastly there's his tragic ShootTheDog.
*** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony.But then Then he looks at the papers Joe had on him, and notices the patterns perfectly match the ones they're seeing now. When the US Navy picks him up, he also has them bring both Brody's Brodys along. He realizes too late that Joe had indeed predicted that something wasn't right about those readings he was examining for the last 15 years. And though Though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out that Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.as.
*** Admiral Stenz is who displays ConsummateProfessional shades aims to be this trope, but it's arguably ZigZagged by his narrow mindset affecting his decisions. He treats the Kaiju as a threat for a good reason, but he persistently displays enough respect for the Monarch experts he's provided to not just brush them off without first hearing what they have to say, and he can honestly be credited with considering the safety of civilians' lives first and foremost. He also seems to have serious second thoughts about his nuclear plan in the 2014 film after he authorizes it, although he doesn't back down, and after this plan horribly backfires and leaves the military with their hands tied, he concedes to holding out hope that Serizawa is right that Godzilla will destroy the threat of the MUTOs for them. On the other hand, ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' shows that Stenz has a habit of ignoring Monarch's advice to ''not'' try killing the Kaiju with manmade means which could make things worse, [[GeneralRipper and he remains persistently skeptical of both Godzilla's benevolence and the idea of humans seeking coexistence with Titans]]. He only contacts Monarch just ''after'' [[spoiler:the Oxygen Destroyer]] has been launched against Ghidorah and Rodan, meaning they're unable to advise him against it or even inform him and the military what precisely is going on at the location and whether or not such a drastic move is really necessary.
*** {{Downplayed}} in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' with Mark Russell, who is now the new director of Monarch. Although he's seemingly no longer vengeful over his son's death, he's still as HotBlooded and judgmental as he was in ''King of the Monsters'', and he refuses to even ''try'' working out why Godzilla has seemingly made a FaceHeelTurn when the latter's attacks begin, instead jumping to a conclusion. That being said, he's sensible enough when Godzilla approaches Hong Kong to know Monarch should prioritize getting citizens out of his way instead of trying to engage the Titan.
**
** ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'': Taizo Tachibana is one of the few to consider the guardian monsters allies.
** Franchise/MonsterVerse:
*** Joe Brody in
**
*** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony.
*** Admiral Stenz is who displays ConsummateProfessional shades aims to be this trope, but it's arguably ZigZagged by his narrow mindset affecting his decisions. He treats the Kaiju as a threat for a good reason, but he persistently displays enough respect for the Monarch experts he's provided to not just brush them off without first hearing what they have to say, and he can honestly be credited with considering the safety of civilians' lives first and foremost. He also seems to have serious second thoughts about his nuclear plan in the 2014 film after he authorizes it, although he doesn't back down, and after this plan horribly backfires and leaves the military with their hands tied, he concedes to holding out hope that Serizawa is right that Godzilla will destroy the threat of the MUTOs for them. On the other hand, ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' shows that Stenz has a habit of ignoring Monarch's advice to ''not'' try killing the Kaiju with manmade means which could make things worse, [[GeneralRipper and he remains persistently skeptical of both Godzilla's benevolence and the idea of humans seeking coexistence with Titans]]. He only contacts Monarch just ''after'' [[spoiler:the Oxygen Destroyer]] has been launched against Ghidorah and Rodan, meaning they're unable to advise him against it or even inform him and the military what precisely is going on at the location and whether or not such a drastic move is really necessary.
*** {{Downplayed}} in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' with Mark Russell, who is now the new director of Monarch. Although he's seemingly no longer vengeful over his son's death, he's still as HotBlooded and judgmental as he was in ''King of the Monsters'', and he refuses to even ''try'' working out why Godzilla has seemingly made a FaceHeelTurn when the latter's attacks begin, instead jumping to a conclusion. That being said, he's sensible enough when Godzilla approaches Hong Kong to know Monarch should prioritize getting citizens out of his way instead of trying to engage the Titan.
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* ''Film/TowerHeist'': FBI Director Mazin is committed to putting Shaw away and is willing to make a fair deal with the heroes to get that, but at the same time won't let their theft go ''completely'' unpunished.
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** [=McKittrick=] isn't too far off this trope either. He doesn't seem to buy the FBI profiler's assertion that David was turned by the Soviets, and tries chatting with David to find out what's going on. His only problem is that [[CassandraTruth he can't buy David's story that WOPR is running a game of its own]]. He's willing to go a ways down the path with David... until David tries to contact the WOPR while he's alone to find out if it's really playing the game so he can avert the catastrophe if possible —- this "suspicious" behavior is what pushes [=McKittrick=] over the edge as far as trusting David.
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** [=McKittrick=] isn't too far off this trope either. He doesn't seem to buy the FBI profiler's assertion that David was turned by the Soviets, and tries chatting with David to find out what's going on. His only problem is that [[CassandraTruth he can't buy David's story that WOPR is running a game of its own]]. He's willing to go a ways down the path with David... until David tries to contact the WOPR while he's alone to find out if it's really playing the game so he can avert the catastrophe if possible —- -- this "suspicious" behavior is what pushes [=McKittrick=] over the edge as far as trusting David.
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* ''Film/TheReport'': Senator Feinstein serves as this for Jones. Only a couple people from the intelligence community oppose torture by the CIA. She's dedicated to both stopping it and exposing the truth when Jones delivers his report to her, in spite of the CIA's protests. Most members of her committee also count to a lesser degree, along with Senator [=McCain=] (himself having endured torture as a POW in North Vietnam), though he only appears in real stock news footage.
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** Carol Lynn, one of the only adults in her life who does everything she can to help Alex. [[spoiler:She eventually gets Alex sanctuary at the local Youth Crisis Center.]]
** Special shout out to the bus driver [[spoiler:who takes Alex away from the Simms and to school in the middle of the night no questions asked.]]
** Special shout out to the bus driver [[spoiler:who takes Alex away from the Simms and to school in the middle of the night no questions asked.]]
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** Carol Lynn, Lynn is one of the only few adults in her life who does everything she can to help Alex.rescue Alex, a lesbian teenager, from [[HeteronormativeCrusader the Simms]] and their brutal [[CureYourGays conversion therapy camp]]. [[spoiler:She eventually gets Alex sanctuary at the local Youth Crisis Center.]]
** Special shout out to the bus driver [[spoiler:who takes Alex away from the Simms andto their school in the middle of the night night, no questions asked.]]
** Special shout out to the bus driver [[spoiler:who takes Alex away from the Simms and
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* ''Film/TrappedTheStoryOfAlexCooper'':
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* ''Film/TrappedTheStoryOfAlexCooper'': ''Film/TrappedTheAlexCooperStory'':
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* ''Film/TrappedTheStoryOfAlexCooper'':
** Carol Lynn, one of the only adults in her life who does everything she can to help Alex. [[spoiler:She eventually gets Alex sanctuary at the local Youth Crisis Center.]]
** Special shout out to the bus driver [[spoiler:who takes Alex away from the Simms and to school in the middle of the night no questions asked.]]
** Carol Lynn, one of the only adults in her life who does everything she can to help Alex. [[spoiler:She eventually gets Alex sanctuary at the local Youth Crisis Center.]]
** Special shout out to the bus driver [[spoiler:who takes Alex away from the Simms and to school in the middle of the night no questions asked.]]
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* ''Film/MrJones2019'': William Randolph Hearst. [[spoiler:He's understandably pissed off when Gareth trespasses in his house to meet him, but gives Gareth "30 seconds" to explain what he exactly wants. Which is enough to catch his attention when Gareth tells he witnessed first-hand what happens in Ukraine and that the famine isn't a mere rumor. Hearst then publishes articles about the traged, but it doesn't do much to influence the audience.]]
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* ''Film/DarkWaters:'' Tom Terp ultimately turns into one. He carefully listening to evidence for most of the story, while holding his cards close to his chest, but then shuts down an attempt by some of the other partners to keep Robert from taking the case, pressing for it to go to trial.
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* ''Film/StrangeNature'': Mayor Paulson of Kim's hometown. When Kim first comes to him about deformed frogs discovered near the river, and a possible link to pesticides, he refuses to look into it until she gives him real evidence. He's also uneasy about any possible links it might have to American Patriot, the pesticide company who opened up a factory that spring, since it's one of the town's most important sources of employment and income. However, once real evidence starts cropping up, he agrees to have the Environmental Protection Agency look into it. That said, he [=DOES=] take credit for starting the investigation.
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* All the authority figures in ''Film/TheKillerThatStalkedNewYork'', a 1950 film {{Very Loosely Based|OnATrueStory}} on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_New_York_City_smallpox_outbreak 1947 New York City smallpox outbreak]], are helpful in containing the smallpox outbreak. The Commissioner of Health of the City of New York immediately takes the threat of a widespread epidemic seriously and launches an intense investigation to track down the source of spread, and as soon as he realises that the situation is getting out of control, he goes to the Mayor ("No one told smallpox it's Sunday!"). The Mayor, in turn, provides all resources the Health Commissioner asks for, including the half-million dollars needed to cover the cost of vaccines for eight million people ("At six cents a life, that's a buy."), and makes sure to be the first one to get vaccinated in front of a room full of reporters to get publicity for the vaccination campaign.
* The Operative from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' is a KnightTemplar wholly dedicated to the Alliance's cause, but he's a [[AffablyEvil genuinely pleasant]] and reasonable fellow, even towards his targets. His EstablishingCharacterMoment had him submit himself for clearance check, revealing that he's been given ''carte blanche'' to do whatever he wanted for his mission. When the doctor in charge of the lab had to explain himself for River's breakout, he was totally understanding, as her brother spent so much time and resource and planning that her breakout was [[DidntSeeThatComing totally unprecedented]]. He still killed the doctor in charge afterwards, but that was due to the doctor legitimately dropping the ball, ''big time''. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, when the Alliance's dirty laundry had been aired and broke his belief in the cause, he ordered his men to stand down as there's nothing else they can do to prevent the leak, and he'd rather avoid more bloodshed.]]
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* The Operative from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' is a KnightTemplar wholly dedicated to the Alliance's cause, but he's a [[AffablyEvil genuinely pleasant]] and reasonable fellow, even towards his targets. His EstablishingCharacterMoment had him submit himself for clearance check, revealing that he's been given ''carte blanche'' to do whatever he wanted for his mission. When the doctor in charge of the lab had to explain himself for River's breakout, he was totally understanding, as her brother spent so much time and resource and planning that her breakout was [[DidntSeeThatComing totally unprecedented]]. He still killed the doctor in charge afterwards, but that was due to the doctor legitimately dropping the ball, ''big time''. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, when the Alliance's dirty laundry had been aired and broke his belief in the cause, he ordered his men to stand down as there's nothing else they can do to prevent the leak, and he'd rather avoid more bloodshed.]]
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* The Operative from ''Film/{{Serenity}}'' is a KnightTemplar wholly dedicated to the Alliance's cause, but he's a [[AffablyEvil genuinely pleasant]] and reasonable fellow, even towards his targets. His EstablishingCharacterMoment had him submit himself for clearance check, revealing that he's been given ''carte blanche'' to do whatever he wanted for his mission. When the doctor in charge of the lab had to explain himself for River's breakout, he was totally understanding, as her brother spent so much time and resource and planning that her breakout was [[DidntSeeThatComing totally unprecedented]]. He still killed the doctor in charge afterwards, but that was due to the doctor legitimately dropping the ball, ''big time''. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, when the Alliance's dirty laundry had been aired and broke his belief in the cause, he ordered his men to stand down as there's nothing else they can do to prevent the leak, and he'd rather avoid more bloodshed.]]
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* ''Film/{{Gunless}}'': Two examples, one from Corporal Jonathan Kent of the Northwest Mounted Police who helps Sean despite them liking the same woman, and another that comes surprisingly from the leader of the bounty hunters, who agrees to not kill anyone if Sean comes willingly.
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* In ''Film/ColorOutOfSpace2020'', this is played straight with Sheriff Pierce who respects Ward's expertise, especially since he has seen what the titular EldritchAbomination is capable of up close, and eventually agree rides to the attempted rescue of the unfortunate Gardner family with him as soon as he learns what's going on. But at the same time, it averted with the mayor who will not let the possibility of extraterrestrial contamination stand in the way of the new water reservoir.
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* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': President [[MeaningfulName Merkin Muffley]] acts like a wimp, but isn't gung ho about nuclear annihilation, keeps a level head in spite of the event that spiraled out of his control, and tries to be as diplomatic as possible.
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* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': President [[MeaningfulName Merkin Muffley]] acts like a wimp, but isn't gung ho about he's also quick to call out the military's failures and [[OnlySaneMan reject all-out nuclear annihilation, war, when his generals are calling for it]], he keeps a level head in spite of the event that spiraled out of his control, and tries to be as diplomatic as possible.
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* In ''Film/SilverLode'', all the local authority figures--Sheriff Wooley, Judge Cranston, and Reverend Field--are helpful and willing to listen to reason. Wooley and Field go the extra mile in protecting Ballard from extrajudicial killing by respectively swearing in a {{posse}} and granting him [[SeekingSanctuary refuge in the church]]. It's the townspeople and [=McCarty=] and his men who cause trouble for Ballard.
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** While most of the Alliance treats Han as a deserter when he wants to leave to pay of his debt to Jabba, General Rieekan recognizes that Han essentially has a death sentence hanging over his head until he pays his debts, and lets him go on good terms.
-->'''Rieekan''': A death mark's not an easy thing to live with. You're a good fighter, Solo. I hate to lose you.
-->'''Rieekan''': A death mark's not an easy thing to live with. You're a good fighter, Solo. I hate to lose you.
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* In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'', Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Vukovich take the situation seriously, and do their best to save Sarah Connor when they realize she's the "Phone Book Killer's" most likely next target. Face-to-face with our protagonists, they're not so apt to believe Kyle Reese's wild descriptions of a "Terminator" in human flesh sent back to their time from AfterTheEnd, but — more than the unfortunately sneering condescension of Dr. Silberman — recognize a situation bad enough to rattle anyone and make a very respectable go at DoingInTheWizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is ''right.'' In a deleted scene, Vulkovich even gives Reese a gun when the Terminator comes back.
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* In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'', ''Film/TheTerminator'', Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Vukovich take the situation seriously, and do their best to save Sarah Connor when they realize she's the "Phone Book Killer's" most likely next target. Face-to-face with our protagonists, they're not so apt to believe Kyle Reese's wild descriptions of a "Terminator" in human flesh sent back to their time from AfterTheEnd, but — more than the unfortunately sneering condescension of Dr. Silberman — recognize a situation bad enough to rattle anyone and make a very respectable go at DoingInTheWizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is ''right.'' In a deleted scene, Vulkovich even gives Reese a gun when the Terminator comes back.
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* ''Film/DeadBirds'': William, at least when the group first got to the house. He was going to divide the gold up so everyone would get the same share. Subverted in the end when he decides to take the gold for himself once Todd and Annabelle opt out.
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* ''Film/NoGodNoMaster'': Flynn does his damnedest to track down the bombers. He also understands their grievances however, sympathizing with the way many workers are treated, and is against government abuses.
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* Samuel Gerard and his team of US Marshals in ''Film/TheFugitive''. Their goal from the start is to bring Richard in alive (as opposed to the Chicago cops, who try to shoot him down), and they refuse to take the cops' word that he's guilty, choosing to conduct their own investigation instead.
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* Samuel Gerard and his team of US Marshals in ''Film/TheFugitive''. Their goal from the start is to bring Richard in alive (as opposed to the Chicago cops, who try to shoot him down), and they (eventually) refuse to take the cops' word that he's guilty, choosing to conduct their own investigation instead.instead when it becomes clear that there's more to it.
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* Shan-guo's governor in ''Film/MortalEngines'', who [[spoiler:forgoes revenge on the now-citiless Londoners at the end to extend the hand of friendship, despite the horrific damage done by Valentine's attack]].
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* Shan-guo's Shan Guo's governor in ''Film/MortalEngines'', who [[spoiler:forgoes revenge on the now-citiless Londoners at the end to extend the hand of friendship, despite the horrific damage done by Valentine's attack]].
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* Shan-guo's governor in ''Film/MortalEngines'', who [[spoiler:forgoes revenge on the now-citiless Londoners at the end to extend the hand of friendship, despite the horrific damage done by Valentine's attack]].
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{{Reasonable Authority Figure}}s in live-action movies.
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* Captain Gordon Stacy is a borderline example in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. He ''is'' antagonistic toward the hero, contrary to most examples, but he has good reason ([[spoiler:Spider-Man screwed up a police investigation of an auto theft ring]]). He is established as an actual example when [[spoiler:Peter rushes into the police department with [[YouHaveToBelieveMe wild and unsubstantiated accusations]] that Dr. Curt Connors is a giant lizard monster who is responsible for recent violence in the city. Stacy is dismissive but, as soon as Parker leaves, he orders his men to check on Dr. Connors just to be sure.]]
* Senator June Finch in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. While she has concerns both about Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s [[FlyingBrick power]] and that he doesn't answer to any authority besides his own, she's reasonable and rational, bluntly refusing to buy [[Comicbook/LexLuthor Lex's]] lies about Kryptonite weapons being just a "deterrent". Also, while she has Superman HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee regarding the destruction caused during Superman's [[Film/ManOfSteel fight with Zod]], it's about finding the truth of what happened, rather than being just a [[FantasticRacism witchhunt]].
* In ''Film/{{Blockers}}'', Kayla's mother Marcie berates the other parents for not trusting their daughters to make their own decisions, and points out the double standard of their actions compared to if their girls were boys.
* The detective in ''Film/BunnyLakeIsMissing'' embodies this trope. Despite the fact that every piece of evidence suggests that Ann Lake never really had a daughter, he continues to investigate zealously because after all, if she's not crazy then a four-year-old girl is missing. And thanks to this behavior [[spoiler: he gets possibly the most understated, British BigDamnHeroes moment in cinematic history]].
* Michelle Bradley from ''Film/{{Chappie}}''. Not only does she treat her employees decently, she also has legitimate reasons for cutting funding for Moore's Moose project (the police aren't willing to pay for such an overpowered and unweildly mech, and adding more features isn't going to help), and not allowing Dion to experiment with Scout 22 (there's an incredible amount of red tape involved, plus Tetravaal is, y'know, ''a weapons manufacturer'', so a smart AI that can for example, paint, isn't really useful to their interests).
* Dr. Paul Dreyfus in ''Film/DantesPeak''. He's skeptical of Dr. Dalton's claims that the volcano is going to erupt, not because he's a SuitWithVestedInterests or because he thinks there's a MillionToOneChance, but because he wants absolute proof as a scientist and he's seen how premature warnings can cause unnecessary panic and cause people to disregard real warnings. But as soon as Dr. Dalton has real proof, he agrees to issue a warning and helps plan an evacuation. Of course [[spoiler: he still ends up being a DoomedContrarian.]]
* Harvey Dent in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' fits the trope by leading the crusade against corruption in Gotham. He styles himself as the 'white knight' to contrast the vigilante 'Dark Knight' Batman. [[spoiler: This changes as soon as he becomes Two Face.]]
%%** James Gordon plays this as straight as it gets. John Blake in ''Rises'' could also qualify, though he starts at a low rank.
* President Tom Beck in ''Film/DeepImpact''. When MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner stumbles onto the story about the impending comet impact, which she actually thinks is an extramarital affair, he moves forward with informing the public, as it could only be a matter of time before other networks report on it. He also freezes all wages and prices, to prevent a sudden rise in profiteering, once news of the comet has been released, and is very open and honest with the public even when he has to do reluctant things like declare martial law as society begins to break down.
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': President [[MeaningfulName Merkin Muffley]] acts like a wimp, but isn't gung ho about nuclear annihilation, keeps a level head in spite of the event that spiraled out of his control, and tries to be as diplomatic as possible.
* The police chief in ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' who, after arresting Edward, seems genuinely concerned for his wellbeing and later tries to protect him from the mob.
* ''Film/EightLeggedFreaks''. Nobody quite believed the stories of rampaging man-eating spiders in the far-off, isolated town. But the authorities [[spoiler:sent in backup to investigate the screaming that resulted when a giant spider attacked the crowded radio station]].
%%* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': President Patel is considerably less reactionary than Delacourt.
* Two films from director Creator/RolandEmmerich show such characters.
** The president in the ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'' became convinced of the meteorologists' prediction of impending doom and ordered the evacuation of the southern United States. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he is killed in the storm, allowing his disagreeable Vice President to come to power. But the Vice President seems to have been [[BreakTheHaughty humbled]] by what he witnessed]].
** In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', General Grey trusts his friend, the President, but is all too aware of his TechnicalPacifist nature that slows his decision making and [[spoiler:almost dooms his command staff in the White House when the aliens attack]]. He is quick to defend the President and advise him, and attacks the inept security adviser that made a bad situation worse. When the President decides to join [[spoiler:the other pilots at the climax of the film]], Grey realized that his friend couldn't be talked down from the idea, and settles into leading the command center himself [[spoiler:for the final battle]].
* Samuel Gerard and his team of US Marshals in ''Film/TheFugitive''. Their goal from the start is to bring Richard in alive (as opposed to the Chicago cops, who try to shoot him down), and they refuse to take the cops' word that he's guilty, choosing to conduct their own investigation instead.
* Colonel Wayne from ''Film/{{Gargantua}}'' apparently didn't read the manual on how to be the head military figure in a monster movie. Not only does he unfailingly listen to the experts on hand and follow their advice, but after hearing that the titular creatures could be the last of their kind; he immediately agrees that they shouldn't be killed, solely because he doesn't want to wipe out a species. He only orders his forces to fire upon one of the monsters after it had killed several of his men and was putting the rest at risk.
* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' and ''Film/GhostbustersII'', the mayor is willing to listen to the characters about the bizarre events in his city. In the first one, Venkman gets his cooperation by appealing to his political ambition ("If we can stop this thing, ''you'' will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters"). In the sequel, when he realizes the eponymous characters have been thrown into the loony bin by his EvilChancellor he immediately has them released and him fired respectively.
* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}}'': The mayor and his assistant immediately recruit the Ghostbusters when they realize the supernatural events are real. Unfortunately, they also want to prevent mass panic, so while they provide support privately, publicly they denounce the Ghostbusters as attention-seeking nutjobs. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, the coverup has fallen apart. While the mayor is publicly still making a token effort to keep it going, privately his assistant thanks the Ghostbusters for going along with it (even though it didn't work), and offers them whatever they want as thanks for saving the city]].
%%* General Hawk from ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra''. Also Sergeant Stone who surprisingly seems much more pleasant than most iterations of the Joe's Drill Sergeant.
* ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'':
** While Admiral Stenz treats Godzilla as a threat for a good reason, he doesn't go out of his way like many military characters in these type of movies would and is always open to suggestions from civilian experts. Also, related to the above plan of using a nuke, he points out that they are pretty much out of other options and have to do all they can to protect the civilians on the coast, and despite that genuinely empathizes with Serizawa's perspective on the matter.
** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony. But then he looks at the papers Joe had on him, and notices the patterns perfectly match the ones they're seeing now. When the US Navy picks him up, he also has them bring both Brody's along. He realizes too late that Joe had indeed predicted that something wasn't right about those readings he was examining for the last 15 years. And though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out that Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.
* The general in ''Film/GoodMorningVietnam,'' as opposed to the ObstructiveBureaucrat Sergeant Major Dickerson.
-->'''Gen. Taylor:''' Dick, I've covered for you a lot of times 'cause I thought you were a little crazy. But you're not crazy, you're mean. And this is just radio.
* Frank Butterman, Chief of Police in ''Film/HotFuzz''. Whenever Sergeant Angel suggests that an accident might have been a murder, the rest of the squad mocks the notion, however Butterman calmly listens to Angel's suspicions, and then orders the squad to treat the situation according to Angel's theory. [[spoiler:Subverted in that Butterman is actually behind the rash of murders, with the backing of most of the town elders and leaders, and he merely goes along with Angel in order to try to make him seem irrational and less credible.]]
* ''Film/HussarBallad'': Field Marshal Kutuzov makes a bad decision, blinded by common prejudices of that time, but is quick to admit his mistake and correct it. All the time nobody is willing to violate his orders, as this guy commands too much respect.
** General Balmashov as well. He is willing to throw all his considerable weight to make Kutuzov reconsider.
* ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'': President Dwayne Camacho. Despite being as crass as the average citizen of 2505, when he learns about Joe's (relatively) phenomenal intelligence, he's willing to pardon him if [[spoiler: he can solve the famine crisis. When Joe is able to get a garden growing again, Camacho picks Joe as his successor]]. Plus, the guy is pretty captivating. ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' goes even further with [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-3-fictional-presidents-we-could-use-right-now_p2/ how exceptional the Camacho is]].
-->President Camacho. Former pro wrestler turned porn star turned president. He dresses in American flag pants, he addresses the nation by dancing, singing, and firing a gun into the air and rallying them with his aggressively patriotic (if completely empty) rhetoric. He's energetic, likable, and absolutely captivating... it's not just President Camacho's patriotism that makes him a great leader. Eventually, Joe is brought to the attention of President Camacho. This weird-talking time traveler with his fancy ideas made it all the way to the White House, because an IQ test claimed he was the smartest man alive. And when that happened, President Camacho did a remarkable thing. He recognized that Joe was smarter, and he bowed to his wisdom. Everyone — everyone — in the world of ''Idiocracy'' resented Joe, because he talked differently and because his ideas, to them, sounded crazy. They turned against him out of their fear, their pride, and their inability to understand him. Everyone else, when faced with Joe's unconventional ideas, immediately went on the defensive and resented Joe. He didn't fit in with their weird hive mind of delusion and idiocy. Yet for all of his pomposity and ridiculousness, Camacho had the clarity of mind to look beyond all that. What he saw was a man who was smarter than himself, and he had no problem humbling himself and saying "Let's trust the smart guy."
* The King from ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' he's a good leader who handles himself well, deals with his subjects fairly, [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and isn't above hard labor right alongside the common soldiers]] when necessary. He also shows remarkable restraint when dealing with Jack, refraining from [[CleaningThisGun trying to intimidate him]] once it's clear there's some chemistry between him and the Princess. Not to mention he insists on fighting alongside the guards when the Giants attack, and gives Elmont a "Hell no!" when asked to leave.
** Also Elmont, the captain of the Guardians. He'll put a good scare in Jack for not kneeling when he's supposed to--but when the Princess goes missing, Elmont remembers that Jack was the peasant who'd stand up to bullies to protect a strange girl whom he didn't even ''know'' was the princess. He vouches for Jack with the King when it counts.
* Judi Dench's portrayal of M in the ''Film/JamesBond'' films, especially with the Creator/DanielCraig reboot. She might have problems with his methods, but once he proves himself she'll back him up.
** In ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', Gareth Mallory becomes a Reasonable Authority Figure after being swayed by M's defence of "the old ways", and helps Q and Tanner with their off-the-books plan to help Bond and M. [[spoiler:By the end of the film, he succeeds Judi Dench's character and becomes the new M.]]
* Chief Martin Brody in ''{{Film/Jaws}}''. As soon as he learns the likely cause of death for a swimmer was a shark attack, he drops everything and tries to close the beaches. Even as the town business owners and especially the Mayor try to keep the beaches open, Brody's the only one who continues to take the threat seriously. In fact, Mr. Quint addresses Brody directly when giving his price to kill the shark because he's this.
* O-Ren from ''Film/KillBill'' has no problem with her subordinates questioning her logic or pointing out flaws in her plan, so long as they're respectful about it. Hell, she actively encourages it! Just don't insult her heritage. [[OffWithHisHead Seriously,]] ''[[BerserkButton don't]]''.
* Professor Kirk from ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' is an interesting variation. Peter and Susan, since they disbelieve in Lucy's stories about visiting the world of Narnia, are beginning to worry about her sanity. They bring their concerns to the Professor, and he surprises them by taking the AgentMulder position and arguing that the story may be true. The more usual dynamic is for TheProtagonist to be playing Mulder and the authority figure to be Scully, but this dynamic is {{Inverted|Trope}} here. [[spoiler:It's because the Professor once visited Narnia himself (''The Magician's Nephew'')]].
** One clever thing the movie adds, that wasn't in the book, is that for the early part of the conversation, Kirk takes a indulgent, kids-will-be-kids attitude. It's only when he hears that Lucy's magical world is in the ''[[ContinuityNod wardrobe]]'' that he begins to suggest she's telling the truth.
* ''Film/LockUp'': The Captain of the Guard is a much more reasonable figure than the sadistic Warden. He'll follow his orders and treat the prisoners as roughly as he thinks is necessary, but he does not believe in punishing someone beyond their sentence. [[spoiler:When Frank ultimately takes Drumgoole hostage and exposes his corruption, he orders his men to arrest the Warden and makes sure Frank will be able to sit out the rest of his sentence in peace.]]
* Lord Humungus from ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'' is a villainous example. Unlike every other villain up to that point, he is only after the oil rig and is perfectly willing to let the tribe leave peacefully instead of massacring them.
** He tells his underling "The gasoline will be ours. Then, you shall have your revenge." implying that he plans on betraying and massacring the tribe the second they leave their defenses.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** Odin and (in a rare villainous example) Laufey in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. Odin wants to avoid war with the Frost Giants and preserve their peace. Laufey was prepared to let Thor and his friends go for violating the truce and invading their nation.
--->'''Laufey''': You have no idea what you would unleash. (''{{Beat}}''). [[WarIsHell I do.]]
** Nick Fury throughout the entire series, but especially in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', shows a good instinct of when to reign in his RagtagBunchOfMisfits, and when to stand back and let them do their jobs.
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust.
** Rhomann Dey in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is a Nova Corps officer who has had a few antagonistic run-ins with protagonist (and petty thief) Peter Quill. Nonetheless, he is never an outright jerk to Quill and [[spoiler:before the climax affirms, without reservation, his belief in the sincerity of Quill's message warning of an impending invasion by the BigBad, resulting in the Nova Corps giving Quill's team much-needed backup.]]
*** Likewise, Nova Prime. She listens to Rhomann Dey's story over his superior's objection and acts on his judgement of the situation. Even Garthan Saal is fairly reasonable. He has perfectly good reasons not to trust Quill and simply states his opinion to Nova Prime. He never tries to stop her from hearing the message, is fully willing to follow orders once she's made a decision, and develops respect for the Guardians during the battle.
* In ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'', when most local authority figures don't take them seriously, one of the cast sends a note written in crayon to the army asking for help against the monster invasion. The army responds by sending in tanks and infantry at the end of the film, in an extended BrickJoke.
* The prosecutor in ''Film/MyCousinVinny'' is a good-natured, by-the-book, down-home country lawyer. He's dead set on getting the kids convicted and executed, but the evidence does look pretty damning. When Vinny succeeds in knocking a big hole in the case, he immediately moves to have the case dismissed and congratulates Vinny on doing such a good job. To be fair, there was no way for him to win the case at that point (the evidence exonerated the defendants). Having the case dismissed was his best move.
** He does skirt the rules at one point, by refusing to let Vinny know ahead of time that he's bringing in an expert witness (the prosecution must disclose all witnesses and evidence to the defense). Vinny comes up with a convincing and proper objection (the judge praises him for that), but it get overruled.
** Judge Haller. He is very frustrated with Vinny's ignorance of basic courtroom procedure, but when Vinny shapes up, he proves to be very impartial.
* Every authority figure in ''Film/NightOfTheLepus'' accepts that monsters are rampaging without question, and all immediately spring into action. Which is rather unreasonable in and of itself - not a single person ever stops and says "Giant Man Eating Rabbits? You can't be serious!?"
* The doctor from ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', while bearing in mind that he's dealing with a load of crazy people, is very kind and agreeable with them.
* ''Film/OnlyTheBrave'': Though he seems dubious about the feasibility of basing a Hotshot crew in the city of Prescott, AZ, the mayor gives them the time they need to prove themselves and get certified.
* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' - the police officer played by Ed Platt. He lets Jim know that he's there to talk to when things are driving him crazy (and things ''are'' driving him crazy).
* ''Film/ReformSchoolGirls'': Psychologist Dr. Norton seems to be the only authority figure at the school who is not a megalomaniac or a sadist. When she gets proof of what is going on at the school, she goes straight to the board to expose it. At the end of the film — after Edna has been killed and Sutter removed — she is shown as the new warden.
* The CEO of the MegaCorp OCP in ''Film/RoboCop1987'' seems a kindly and reasonable man, if a bit "out of it". However, one of his assistants is a treacherous villain. Once the CEO realizes the evil of what's going on, he does what he can to stop it (to great effect in medio).
** And kept up in [[Series/RoboCopTheSeries the series]], where he has both intent and capability to fix a lot of bad situations... as long as he finds out about it in the first place, something his cadre of corrupt execs prevents as much as possible. Diane even convinces him at one point to sneak out and see the city for himself. On the other hand, just about anyone in a position immediately below him seems to have their basic human morality surgically removed.
* Evenlyn Salt's superior Ted Winter in ''Film/{{Salt}}'' was at least trying to understand why Salt was acting the way she was and acted more calmly, in contrast to the more rash, frantic Peabody. [[spoiler: Winter was in fact a Russian spy, so he took Salt's side because he wanted her succeed. And in the end, when Salt was arrested, Peabody, after receiving certain information to get him to trust Salt, he lets her escape.]]
* The Attorney-General in ''Film/{{Shooter}}''. [[spoiler:He agrees to talk to the guy who everybody "knows" tried to kill the President on the request of a junior FBI agent, releases him instantly when confronted with evidence exonerating him, and then basically tells him to go murder the rogue intelligence operative who set the whole thing up.]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' reboot films (Kelvinverse):
** Captain Pike in ''Film/StarTrek2009'' is surprisingly reasonable and willing to listen. It helps that he has a soft spot for Kirk.
** [[Creator/PeterWeller Admiral Marcus]], Carol's father and the chief of Starfleet Command, in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''. [[spoiler:He's really [[BigBadEnsemble evil]], and attempts to destroy the ''Enterprise'' to cover up Section 31's actions and start a war with the Klingons. As a few of the crew try to convince Kirk, even the "reasonable" parts are major crimes and massively immoral]].
** Commodore Paris from ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' is understanding of Kirk's temporary uncertainty about sitting in the big chair, and isn't surprised when the events of the film help Kirk rediscover himself and his love for exploration.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Senator Palpatine is a villainous subversion of an eminently Reasonable Authority Figure. He's on the ball in terms of Senate politics in ''Episode I'' and [[TreacherousAdvisor advises]] Queen Amidala on how to shake up the Senate to help Naboo. In ''Episode II'' he's [[TheChessmaster clued in enough]] to send Senator Amidala to safety, and in ''III'' he's [[EvilMentor very supportive]] of Anakin's [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitions]], all while helping lead [[TheFederation the Republic]] in a war [[RightHandVersusLeftHand against the clearly evil]] Confederacy. It's thanks to his [[ManipulativeBastard timely wisdom]] that the [[HeroWithBadPublicity treacherous]] Jedi rebellion was put down so easily, and in reward [[GullibleLemmings the Senate]] made him the first emperor of [[TheEmpire the Galactic Empire]].
*** This is largely undercut when you remember that we're not even that far into ''Episode III'' before Anakin figures out that Palpatine is most definitely a Sith Lord and clearly no stranger to the Dark Side. He even sees Palpatine openly firing bolts of Force lightning at Mace Windu, an unambiguous Sith characteristic (though it could be argued that this was self-defence). For Anakin this could all be a case of AtLeastIAdmitIt.
*** The web comic ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' seem to be playing this trope straighter (or at least more NeutralGood) than Star Wars did. He's actually shocked and a little horrified by Jar-Jar's suggestion for him to assume emergency powers. [[spoiler:Even Palpatine's killing of Mace Windu and order to wipe out the Jedi are due to him trying to ''protect'' the Republic while being manipulated by Anakin.]]
*** PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketches, where Palpatine is astonishingly lenient with his troops in spite of his underlying stress with their incompetence. He barks and whines at Vader only for his genuine botches, otherwise having something of VillainousFriendship with him, and at one point tries to get bounty hunters to assist with things (even offering his secretary's husband a first audition despite his skepticism). Given the parody tone of course, he's still a PointyHairedBoss.
** Although he had very little screen time, Captain Needa appears unusually reasonable for an Imperial officer, even willing to accept the blame for losing the ''Falcon'' after Han carries out a desperate attack on the Star Destroyer ''Avenger'', and chooses to apologize to Vader ''personally'' for the ''Falcon's'' escape. [[YouHaveFailedMe Not that it helped his case...]]
* In ''Film/SuckerPunch'', Mrs. Gorski really does want to help the girls at the asylum recover, and even in the brothel fantasies tries to protect and care for them. Exactly how authoritative she is is difficult to pinpoint. In the brothel fantasy, she is the dance instructor, but Blue makes it clear that she doesn't have the power to challenge him. [[spoiler:In the final scenes, after Babydoll was lobotomized, Mrs. Gorski is clearly ''much'' higher in authority than the orderly Blue, bringing in the police to arrest him when she learns about his crimes.]]
* ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' gives us Pharaoh Seti, who, when presented with a dilemma, always listens to both sides of the argument, gives praise to Moses when his unconventional tactics conquer Ethiopia near bloodlessly, welcomes the Ethiopian King with open arms, and build a city in record time. [[spoiler: Even when Moses is revealed to be a Hebrew, he remarks that he will believe Moses if he promises not to raise the slaves in revolt.]] He also is unafraid to verbally smack down priests and his own son.
-->'''Seti:''' The one best suited to rule Egypt shall follow me. I owe that to my fathers. Not to my sons.
* In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'', Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Vukovich take the situation seriously, and do their best to save Sarah Connor when they realize she's the "Phone Book Killer's" most likely next target. Face-to-face with our protagonists, they're not so apt to believe Kyle Reese's wild descriptions of a "Terminator" in human flesh sent back to their time from AfterTheEnd, but — more than the unfortunately sneering condescension of Dr. Silberman — recognize a situation bad enough to rattle anyone and make a very respectable go at DoingInTheWizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is ''right.'' In a deleted scene, Vulkovich even gives Reese a gun when the Terminator comes back.
%%* Every layer of the US government in the classic mutant-ant movie ''Film/{{Them}}''.
* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'':
** In ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', the Secretary of Defense, when he's informed of what is happening, quite reasonably backs up the soldiers who have actually fought (and beat, let alone survived) a Decepticon attack and the teenage kid who obviously has a handle on what is happening. Earlier in the movie, he demonstrates how such a figure can be authoritative while still being reasonable: when a young civilian contractor intrudes on his emergency meeting with some high-ranking officers, all the while making wild conjectures about extraterrestrial computer viruses, he ushers her out quickly and with no undue fuss, saying that he'd be glad to listen if she finds any proof, but that she needs to learn some manners if she wants to work at this level. Later, when proof is presented, he not only listens but appoints her as his advisor.
** In ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Morshower, is presented as being 100 percent supportive of his combined team of Autobots and military operatives. That doesn't stop the ObstructiveBureaucrat from messing things up, though.
** In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', the new head of NEST points out, correctly, that Sam is a civilian, and bars him from entering the base all willy-nilly like he used to. [[spoiler:Then when he investigates what's going on and is proven right, she calmly admits she was wrong about him, without any sort of coercion or request. In fact, it's the very first thing she says to him when they meet.]]
* General Berringer in ''Film/WarGames'', who not only turned out to be right on every significant point, but was one of the very few people in the movie who had a rational, well-thought out reason for every decision he made (even the incorrect ones).
** [=McKittrick=] isn't too far off this trope either. He doesn't seem to buy the FBI profiler's assertion that David was turned by the Soviets, and tries chatting with David to find out what's going on. His only problem is that [[CassandraTruth he can't buy David's story that WOPR is running a game of its own]]. He's willing to go a ways down the path with David... until David tries to contact the WOPR while he's alone to find out if it's really playing the game so he can avert the catastrophe if possible —- this "suspicious" behavior is what pushes [=McKittrick=] over the edge as far as trusting David.
* Mejor Fedotov in ''Film/WhiteTiger'' pays close attention to what Naydenov (a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who believes tanks talk to him) says, unlike everyone else who dismisses him as insane.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': The Man in Black; for a G-Man, he's quite a NiceGuy.
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':
*** The head Congressman who's against Trask's Sentinel project. The [[WhoShotJFK incident from ten years ago]] notwithstanding, mutants are a very small portion of the population and haven't been causing trouble.
*** Richard Nixon himself gets this treatment, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade unlike most examples]]. While he does go along with the Sentinel Program, it's out of a desire to protect the nation from super powered beings than any genuine malice. [[spoiler:When Mystique saves his life from Magneto, it's implied he gave her a pardon and jailed Trask for trying to sell secrets to America's enemies.]]
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'':
*** The Polish cops who try to arrest Erik early in the film are genuine peace keepers, not bigots with badges. They target Erik simply because he's an internationally wanted man, and not out of anti-mutant prejudice or hysteria. Moreover, they do not wish to harm his family and simply want to take him in alive. When [[spoiler:one of them accidentally kills Erik's wife and daughter]] they are all horrified and remorseful at what they'd done in the brief moments before [[spoiler:Erik kills them]].
*** ''Stryker'' of all people is presented as one compared to his previous depictions in the franchise. He only abducts Raven, Peter, Moira and Hank so that he could question them about a cataclysmic psychic event that seemingly originated from the X-Mansion, and leaves behind the innocent students of the school (unlike his visit in ''X2''). [[spoiler:Then again, he did torture and brainwash Logan into becoming Weapon X in this continuity as well.]]
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* Captain Gordon Stacy is a borderline example in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. He ''is'' antagonistic toward the hero, contrary to most examples, but he has good reason ([[spoiler:Spider-Man screwed up a police investigation of an auto theft ring]]). He is established as an actual example when [[spoiler:Peter rushes into the police department with [[YouHaveToBelieveMe wild and unsubstantiated accusations]] that Dr. Curt Connors is a giant lizard monster who is responsible for recent violence in the city. Stacy is dismissive but, as soon as Parker leaves, he orders his men to check on Dr. Connors just to be sure.]]
* Senator June Finch in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. While she has concerns both about Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s [[FlyingBrick power]] and that he doesn't answer to any authority besides his own, she's reasonable and rational, bluntly refusing to buy [[Comicbook/LexLuthor Lex's]] lies about Kryptonite weapons being just a "deterrent". Also, while she has Superman HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee regarding the destruction caused during Superman's [[Film/ManOfSteel fight with Zod]], it's about finding the truth of what happened, rather than being just a [[FantasticRacism witchhunt]].
* In ''Film/{{Blockers}}'', Kayla's mother Marcie berates the other parents for not trusting their daughters to make their own decisions, and points out the double standard of their actions compared to if their girls were boys.
* The detective in ''Film/BunnyLakeIsMissing'' embodies this trope. Despite the fact that every piece of evidence suggests that Ann Lake never really had a daughter, he continues to investigate zealously because after all, if she's not crazy then a four-year-old girl is missing. And thanks to this behavior [[spoiler: he gets possibly the most understated, British BigDamnHeroes moment in cinematic history]].
* Michelle Bradley from ''Film/{{Chappie}}''. Not only does she treat her employees decently, she also has legitimate reasons for cutting funding for Moore's Moose project (the police aren't willing to pay for such an overpowered and unweildly mech, and adding more features isn't going to help), and not allowing Dion to experiment with Scout 22 (there's an incredible amount of red tape involved, plus Tetravaal is, y'know, ''a weapons manufacturer'', so a smart AI that can for example, paint, isn't really useful to their interests).
* Dr. Paul Dreyfus in ''Film/DantesPeak''. He's skeptical of Dr. Dalton's claims that the volcano is going to erupt, not because he's a SuitWithVestedInterests or because he thinks there's a MillionToOneChance, but because he wants absolute proof as a scientist and he's seen how premature warnings can cause unnecessary panic and cause people to disregard real warnings. But as soon as Dr. Dalton has real proof, he agrees to issue a warning and helps plan an evacuation. Of course [[spoiler: he still ends up being a DoomedContrarian.]]
* Harvey Dent in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' fits the trope by leading the crusade against corruption in Gotham. He styles himself as the 'white knight' to contrast the vigilante 'Dark Knight' Batman. [[spoiler: This changes as soon as he becomes Two Face.]]
%%** James Gordon plays this as straight as it gets. John Blake in ''Rises'' could also qualify, though he starts at a low rank.
* President Tom Beck in ''Film/DeepImpact''. When MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner stumbles onto the story about the impending comet impact, which she actually thinks is an extramarital affair, he moves forward with informing the public, as it could only be a matter of time before other networks report on it. He also freezes all wages and prices, to prevent a sudden rise in profiteering, once news of the comet has been released, and is very open and honest with the public even when he has to do reluctant things like declare martial law as society begins to break down.
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': President [[MeaningfulName Merkin Muffley]] acts like a wimp, but isn't gung ho about nuclear annihilation, keeps a level head in spite of the event that spiraled out of his control, and tries to be as diplomatic as possible.
* The police chief in ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' who, after arresting Edward, seems genuinely concerned for his wellbeing and later tries to protect him from the mob.
* ''Film/EightLeggedFreaks''. Nobody quite believed the stories of rampaging man-eating spiders in the far-off, isolated town. But the authorities [[spoiler:sent in backup to investigate the screaming that resulted when a giant spider attacked the crowded radio station]].
%%* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': President Patel is considerably less reactionary than Delacourt.
* Two films from director Creator/RolandEmmerich show such characters.
** The president in the ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'' became convinced of the meteorologists' prediction of impending doom and ordered the evacuation of the southern United States. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he is killed in the storm, allowing his disagreeable Vice President to come to power. But the Vice President seems to have been [[BreakTheHaughty humbled]] by what he witnessed]].
** In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', General Grey trusts his friend, the President, but is all too aware of his TechnicalPacifist nature that slows his decision making and [[spoiler:almost dooms his command staff in the White House when the aliens attack]]. He is quick to defend the President and advise him, and attacks the inept security adviser that made a bad situation worse. When the President decides to join [[spoiler:the other pilots at the climax of the film]], Grey realized that his friend couldn't be talked down from the idea, and settles into leading the command center himself [[spoiler:for the final battle]].
* Samuel Gerard and his team of US Marshals in ''Film/TheFugitive''. Their goal from the start is to bring Richard in alive (as opposed to the Chicago cops, who try to shoot him down), and they refuse to take the cops' word that he's guilty, choosing to conduct their own investigation instead.
* Colonel Wayne from ''Film/{{Gargantua}}'' apparently didn't read the manual on how to be the head military figure in a monster movie. Not only does he unfailingly listen to the experts on hand and follow their advice, but after hearing that the titular creatures could be the last of their kind; he immediately agrees that they shouldn't be killed, solely because he doesn't want to wipe out a species. He only orders his forces to fire upon one of the monsters after it had killed several of his men and was putting the rest at risk.
* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' and ''Film/GhostbustersII'', the mayor is willing to listen to the characters about the bizarre events in his city. In the first one, Venkman gets his cooperation by appealing to his political ambition ("If we can stop this thing, ''you'' will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters"). In the sequel, when he realizes the eponymous characters have been thrown into the loony bin by his EvilChancellor he immediately has them released and him fired respectively.
* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}}'': The mayor and his assistant immediately recruit the Ghostbusters when they realize the supernatural events are real. Unfortunately, they also want to prevent mass panic, so while they provide support privately, publicly they denounce the Ghostbusters as attention-seeking nutjobs. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, the coverup has fallen apart. While the mayor is publicly still making a token effort to keep it going, privately his assistant thanks the Ghostbusters for going along with it (even though it didn't work), and offers them whatever they want as thanks for saving the city]].
%%* General Hawk from ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra''. Also Sergeant Stone who surprisingly seems much more pleasant than most iterations of the Joe's Drill Sergeant.
* ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'':
** While Admiral Stenz treats Godzilla as a threat for a good reason, he doesn't go out of his way like many military characters in these type of movies would and is always open to suggestions from civilian experts. Also, related to the above plan of using a nuke, he points out that they are pretty much out of other options and have to do all they can to protect the civilians on the coast, and despite that genuinely empathizes with Serizawa's perspective on the matter.
** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony. But then he looks at the papers Joe had on him, and notices the patterns perfectly match the ones they're seeing now. When the US Navy picks him up, he also has them bring both Brody's along. He realizes too late that Joe had indeed predicted that something wasn't right about those readings he was examining for the last 15 years. And though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out that Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.
* The general in ''Film/GoodMorningVietnam,'' as opposed to the ObstructiveBureaucrat Sergeant Major Dickerson.
-->'''Gen. Taylor:''' Dick, I've covered for you a lot of times 'cause I thought you were a little crazy. But you're not crazy, you're mean. And this is just radio.
* Frank Butterman, Chief of Police in ''Film/HotFuzz''. Whenever Sergeant Angel suggests that an accident might have been a murder, the rest of the squad mocks the notion, however Butterman calmly listens to Angel's suspicions, and then orders the squad to treat the situation according to Angel's theory. [[spoiler:Subverted in that Butterman is actually behind the rash of murders, with the backing of most of the town elders and leaders, and he merely goes along with Angel in order to try to make him seem irrational and less credible.]]
* ''Film/HussarBallad'': Field Marshal Kutuzov makes a bad decision, blinded by common prejudices of that time, but is quick to admit his mistake and correct it. All the time nobody is willing to violate his orders, as this guy commands too much respect.
** General Balmashov as well. He is willing to throw all his considerable weight to make Kutuzov reconsider.
* ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'': President Dwayne Camacho. Despite being as crass as the average citizen of 2505, when he learns about Joe's (relatively) phenomenal intelligence, he's willing to pardon him if [[spoiler: he can solve the famine crisis. When Joe is able to get a garden growing again, Camacho picks Joe as his successor]]. Plus, the guy is pretty captivating. ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' goes even further with [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-3-fictional-presidents-we-could-use-right-now_p2/ how exceptional the Camacho is]].
-->President Camacho. Former pro wrestler turned porn star turned president. He dresses in American flag pants, he addresses the nation by dancing, singing, and firing a gun into the air and rallying them with his aggressively patriotic (if completely empty) rhetoric. He's energetic, likable, and absolutely captivating... it's not just President Camacho's patriotism that makes him a great leader. Eventually, Joe is brought to the attention of President Camacho. This weird-talking time traveler with his fancy ideas made it all the way to the White House, because an IQ test claimed he was the smartest man alive. And when that happened, President Camacho did a remarkable thing. He recognized that Joe was smarter, and he bowed to his wisdom. Everyone — everyone — in the world of ''Idiocracy'' resented Joe, because he talked differently and because his ideas, to them, sounded crazy. They turned against him out of their fear, their pride, and their inability to understand him. Everyone else, when faced with Joe's unconventional ideas, immediately went on the defensive and resented Joe. He didn't fit in with their weird hive mind of delusion and idiocy. Yet for all of his pomposity and ridiculousness, Camacho had the clarity of mind to look beyond all that. What he saw was a man who was smarter than himself, and he had no problem humbling himself and saying "Let's trust the smart guy."
* The King from ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' he's a good leader who handles himself well, deals with his subjects fairly, [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and isn't above hard labor right alongside the common soldiers]] when necessary. He also shows remarkable restraint when dealing with Jack, refraining from [[CleaningThisGun trying to intimidate him]] once it's clear there's some chemistry between him and the Princess. Not to mention he insists on fighting alongside the guards when the Giants attack, and gives Elmont a "Hell no!" when asked to leave.
** Also Elmont, the captain of the Guardians. He'll put a good scare in Jack for not kneeling when he's supposed to--but when the Princess goes missing, Elmont remembers that Jack was the peasant who'd stand up to bullies to protect a strange girl whom he didn't even ''know'' was the princess. He vouches for Jack with the King when it counts.
* Judi Dench's portrayal of M in the ''Film/JamesBond'' films, especially with the Creator/DanielCraig reboot. She might have problems with his methods, but once he proves himself she'll back him up.
** In ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', Gareth Mallory becomes a Reasonable Authority Figure after being swayed by M's defence of "the old ways", and helps Q and Tanner with their off-the-books plan to help Bond and M. [[spoiler:By the end of the film, he succeeds Judi Dench's character and becomes the new M.]]
* Chief Martin Brody in ''{{Film/Jaws}}''. As soon as he learns the likely cause of death for a swimmer was a shark attack, he drops everything and tries to close the beaches. Even as the town business owners and especially the Mayor try to keep the beaches open, Brody's the only one who continues to take the threat seriously. In fact, Mr. Quint addresses Brody directly when giving his price to kill the shark because he's this.
* O-Ren from ''Film/KillBill'' has no problem with her subordinates questioning her logic or pointing out flaws in her plan, so long as they're respectful about it. Hell, she actively encourages it! Just don't insult her heritage. [[OffWithHisHead Seriously,]] ''[[BerserkButton don't]]''.
* Professor Kirk from ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' is an interesting variation. Peter and Susan, since they disbelieve in Lucy's stories about visiting the world of Narnia, are beginning to worry about her sanity. They bring their concerns to the Professor, and he surprises them by taking the AgentMulder position and arguing that the story may be true. The more usual dynamic is for TheProtagonist to be playing Mulder and the authority figure to be Scully, but this dynamic is {{Inverted|Trope}} here. [[spoiler:It's because the Professor once visited Narnia himself (''The Magician's Nephew'')]].
** One clever thing the movie adds, that wasn't in the book, is that for the early part of the conversation, Kirk takes a indulgent, kids-will-be-kids attitude. It's only when he hears that Lucy's magical world is in the ''[[ContinuityNod wardrobe]]'' that he begins to suggest she's telling the truth.
* ''Film/LockUp'': The Captain of the Guard is a much more reasonable figure than the sadistic Warden. He'll follow his orders and treat the prisoners as roughly as he thinks is necessary, but he does not believe in punishing someone beyond their sentence. [[spoiler:When Frank ultimately takes Drumgoole hostage and exposes his corruption, he orders his men to arrest the Warden and makes sure Frank will be able to sit out the rest of his sentence in peace.]]
* Lord Humungus from ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'' is a villainous example. Unlike every other villain up to that point, he is only after the oil rig and is perfectly willing to let the tribe leave peacefully instead of massacring them.
** He tells his underling "The gasoline will be ours. Then, you shall have your revenge." implying that he plans on betraying and massacring the tribe the second they leave their defenses.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** Odin and (in a rare villainous example) Laufey in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. Odin wants to avoid war with the Frost Giants and preserve their peace. Laufey was prepared to let Thor and his friends go for violating the truce and invading their nation.
--->'''Laufey''': You have no idea what you would unleash. (''{{Beat}}''). [[WarIsHell I do.]]
** Nick Fury throughout the entire series, but especially in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', shows a good instinct of when to reign in his RagtagBunchOfMisfits, and when to stand back and let them do their jobs.
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust.
** Rhomann Dey in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is a Nova Corps officer who has had a few antagonistic run-ins with protagonist (and petty thief) Peter Quill. Nonetheless, he is never an outright jerk to Quill and [[spoiler:before the climax affirms, without reservation, his belief in the sincerity of Quill's message warning of an impending invasion by the BigBad, resulting in the Nova Corps giving Quill's team much-needed backup.]]
*** Likewise, Nova Prime. She listens to Rhomann Dey's story over his superior's objection and acts on his judgement of the situation. Even Garthan Saal is fairly reasonable. He has perfectly good reasons not to trust Quill and simply states his opinion to Nova Prime. He never tries to stop her from hearing the message, is fully willing to follow orders once she's made a decision, and develops respect for the Guardians during the battle.
* In ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'', when most local authority figures don't take them seriously, one of the cast sends a note written in crayon to the army asking for help against the monster invasion. The army responds by sending in tanks and infantry at the end of the film, in an extended BrickJoke.
* The prosecutor in ''Film/MyCousinVinny'' is a good-natured, by-the-book, down-home country lawyer. He's dead set on getting the kids convicted and executed, but the evidence does look pretty damning. When Vinny succeeds in knocking a big hole in the case, he immediately moves to have the case dismissed and congratulates Vinny on doing such a good job. To be fair, there was no way for him to win the case at that point (the evidence exonerated the defendants). Having the case dismissed was his best move.
** He does skirt the rules at one point, by refusing to let Vinny know ahead of time that he's bringing in an expert witness (the prosecution must disclose all witnesses and evidence to the defense). Vinny comes up with a convincing and proper objection (the judge praises him for that), but it get overruled.
** Judge Haller. He is very frustrated with Vinny's ignorance of basic courtroom procedure, but when Vinny shapes up, he proves to be very impartial.
* Every authority figure in ''Film/NightOfTheLepus'' accepts that monsters are rampaging without question, and all immediately spring into action. Which is rather unreasonable in and of itself - not a single person ever stops and says "Giant Man Eating Rabbits? You can't be serious!?"
* The doctor from ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', while bearing in mind that he's dealing with a load of crazy people, is very kind and agreeable with them.
* ''Film/OnlyTheBrave'': Though he seems dubious about the feasibility of basing a Hotshot crew in the city of Prescott, AZ, the mayor gives them the time they need to prove themselves and get certified.
* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' - the police officer played by Ed Platt. He lets Jim know that he's there to talk to when things are driving him crazy (and things ''are'' driving him crazy).
* ''Film/ReformSchoolGirls'': Psychologist Dr. Norton seems to be the only authority figure at the school who is not a megalomaniac or a sadist. When she gets proof of what is going on at the school, she goes straight to the board to expose it. At the end of the film — after Edna has been killed and Sutter removed — she is shown as the new warden.
* The CEO of the MegaCorp OCP in ''Film/RoboCop1987'' seems a kindly and reasonable man, if a bit "out of it". However, one of his assistants is a treacherous villain. Once the CEO realizes the evil of what's going on, he does what he can to stop it (to great effect in medio).
** And kept up in [[Series/RoboCopTheSeries the series]], where he has both intent and capability to fix a lot of bad situations... as long as he finds out about it in the first place, something his cadre of corrupt execs prevents as much as possible. Diane even convinces him at one point to sneak out and see the city for himself. On the other hand, just about anyone in a position immediately below him seems to have their basic human morality surgically removed.
* Evenlyn Salt's superior Ted Winter in ''Film/{{Salt}}'' was at least trying to understand why Salt was acting the way she was and acted more calmly, in contrast to the more rash, frantic Peabody. [[spoiler: Winter was in fact a Russian spy, so he took Salt's side because he wanted her succeed. And in the end, when Salt was arrested, Peabody, after receiving certain information to get him to trust Salt, he lets her escape.]]
* The Attorney-General in ''Film/{{Shooter}}''. [[spoiler:He agrees to talk to the guy who everybody "knows" tried to kill the President on the request of a junior FBI agent, releases him instantly when confronted with evidence exonerating him, and then basically tells him to go murder the rogue intelligence operative who set the whole thing up.]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' reboot films (Kelvinverse):
** Captain Pike in ''Film/StarTrek2009'' is surprisingly reasonable and willing to listen. It helps that he has a soft spot for Kirk.
** [[Creator/PeterWeller Admiral Marcus]], Carol's father and the chief of Starfleet Command, in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''. [[spoiler:He's really [[BigBadEnsemble evil]], and attempts to destroy the ''Enterprise'' to cover up Section 31's actions and start a war with the Klingons. As a few of the crew try to convince Kirk, even the "reasonable" parts are major crimes and massively immoral]].
** Commodore Paris from ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' is understanding of Kirk's temporary uncertainty about sitting in the big chair, and isn't surprised when the events of the film help Kirk rediscover himself and his love for exploration.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Senator Palpatine is a villainous subversion of an eminently Reasonable Authority Figure. He's on the ball in terms of Senate politics in ''Episode I'' and [[TreacherousAdvisor advises]] Queen Amidala on how to shake up the Senate to help Naboo. In ''Episode II'' he's [[TheChessmaster clued in enough]] to send Senator Amidala to safety, and in ''III'' he's [[EvilMentor very supportive]] of Anakin's [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitions]], all while helping lead [[TheFederation the Republic]] in a war [[RightHandVersusLeftHand against the clearly evil]] Confederacy. It's thanks to his [[ManipulativeBastard timely wisdom]] that the [[HeroWithBadPublicity treacherous]] Jedi rebellion was put down so easily, and in reward [[GullibleLemmings the Senate]] made him the first emperor of [[TheEmpire the Galactic Empire]].
*** This is largely undercut when you remember that we're not even that far into ''Episode III'' before Anakin figures out that Palpatine is most definitely a Sith Lord and clearly no stranger to the Dark Side. He even sees Palpatine openly firing bolts of Force lightning at Mace Windu, an unambiguous Sith characteristic (though it could be argued that this was self-defence). For Anakin this could all be a case of AtLeastIAdmitIt.
*** The web comic ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' seem to be playing this trope straighter (or at least more NeutralGood) than Star Wars did. He's actually shocked and a little horrified by Jar-Jar's suggestion for him to assume emergency powers. [[spoiler:Even Palpatine's killing of Mace Windu and order to wipe out the Jedi are due to him trying to ''protect'' the Republic while being manipulated by Anakin.]]
*** PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketches, where Palpatine is astonishingly lenient with his troops in spite of his underlying stress with their incompetence. He barks and whines at Vader only for his genuine botches, otherwise having something of VillainousFriendship with him, and at one point tries to get bounty hunters to assist with things (even offering his secretary's husband a first audition despite his skepticism). Given the parody tone of course, he's still a PointyHairedBoss.
** Although he had very little screen time, Captain Needa appears unusually reasonable for an Imperial officer, even willing to accept the blame for losing the ''Falcon'' after Han carries out a desperate attack on the Star Destroyer ''Avenger'', and chooses to apologize to Vader ''personally'' for the ''Falcon's'' escape. [[YouHaveFailedMe Not that it helped his case...]]
* In ''Film/SuckerPunch'', Mrs. Gorski really does want to help the girls at the asylum recover, and even in the brothel fantasies tries to protect and care for them. Exactly how authoritative she is is difficult to pinpoint. In the brothel fantasy, she is the dance instructor, but Blue makes it clear that she doesn't have the power to challenge him. [[spoiler:In the final scenes, after Babydoll was lobotomized, Mrs. Gorski is clearly ''much'' higher in authority than the orderly Blue, bringing in the police to arrest him when she learns about his crimes.]]
* ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' gives us Pharaoh Seti, who, when presented with a dilemma, always listens to both sides of the argument, gives praise to Moses when his unconventional tactics conquer Ethiopia near bloodlessly, welcomes the Ethiopian King with open arms, and build a city in record time. [[spoiler: Even when Moses is revealed to be a Hebrew, he remarks that he will believe Moses if he promises not to raise the slaves in revolt.]] He also is unafraid to verbally smack down priests and his own son.
-->'''Seti:''' The one best suited to rule Egypt shall follow me. I owe that to my fathers. Not to my sons.
* In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'', Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Vukovich take the situation seriously, and do their best to save Sarah Connor when they realize she's the "Phone Book Killer's" most likely next target. Face-to-face with our protagonists, they're not so apt to believe Kyle Reese's wild descriptions of a "Terminator" in human flesh sent back to their time from AfterTheEnd, but — more than the unfortunately sneering condescension of Dr. Silberman — recognize a situation bad enough to rattle anyone and make a very respectable go at DoingInTheWizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is ''right.'' In a deleted scene, Vulkovich even gives Reese a gun when the Terminator comes back.
%%* Every layer of the US government in the classic mutant-ant movie ''Film/{{Them}}''.
* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'':
** In ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', the Secretary of Defense, when he's informed of what is happening, quite reasonably backs up the soldiers who have actually fought (and beat, let alone survived) a Decepticon attack and the teenage kid who obviously has a handle on what is happening. Earlier in the movie, he demonstrates how such a figure can be authoritative while still being reasonable: when a young civilian contractor intrudes on his emergency meeting with some high-ranking officers, all the while making wild conjectures about extraterrestrial computer viruses, he ushers her out quickly and with no undue fuss, saying that he'd be glad to listen if she finds any proof, but that she needs to learn some manners if she wants to work at this level. Later, when proof is presented, he not only listens but appoints her as his advisor.
** In ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Morshower, is presented as being 100 percent supportive of his combined team of Autobots and military operatives. That doesn't stop the ObstructiveBureaucrat from messing things up, though.
** In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', the new head of NEST points out, correctly, that Sam is a civilian, and bars him from entering the base all willy-nilly like he used to. [[spoiler:Then when he investigates what's going on and is proven right, she calmly admits she was wrong about him, without any sort of coercion or request. In fact, it's the very first thing she says to him when they meet.]]
* General Berringer in ''Film/WarGames'', who not only turned out to be right on every significant point, but was one of the very few people in the movie who had a rational, well-thought out reason for every decision he made (even the incorrect ones).
** [=McKittrick=] isn't too far off this trope either. He doesn't seem to buy the FBI profiler's assertion that David was turned by the Soviets, and tries chatting with David to find out what's going on. His only problem is that [[CassandraTruth he can't buy David's story that WOPR is running a game of its own]]. He's willing to go a ways down the path with David... until David tries to contact the WOPR while he's alone to find out if it's really playing the game so he can avert the catastrophe if possible —- this "suspicious" behavior is what pushes [=McKittrick=] over the edge as far as trusting David.
* Mejor Fedotov in ''Film/WhiteTiger'' pays close attention to what Naydenov (a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who believes tanks talk to him) says, unlike everyone else who dismisses him as insane.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': The Man in Black; for a G-Man, he's quite a NiceGuy.
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':
*** The head Congressman who's against Trask's Sentinel project. The [[WhoShotJFK incident from ten years ago]] notwithstanding, mutants are a very small portion of the population and haven't been causing trouble.
*** Richard Nixon himself gets this treatment, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade unlike most examples]]. While he does go along with the Sentinel Program, it's out of a desire to protect the nation from super powered beings than any genuine malice. [[spoiler:When Mystique saves his life from Magneto, it's implied he gave her a pardon and jailed Trask for trying to sell secrets to America's enemies.]]
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'':
*** The Polish cops who try to arrest Erik early in the film are genuine peace keepers, not bigots with badges. They target Erik simply because he's an internationally wanted man, and not out of anti-mutant prejudice or hysteria. Moreover, they do not wish to harm his family and simply want to take him in alive. When [[spoiler:one of them accidentally kills Erik's wife and daughter]] they are all horrified and remorseful at what they'd done in the brief moments before [[spoiler:Erik kills them]].
*** ''Stryker'' of all people is presented as one compared to his previous depictions in the franchise. He only abducts Raven, Peter, Moira and Hank so that he could question them about a cataclysmic psychic event that seemingly originated from the X-Mansion, and leaves behind the innocent students of the school (unlike his visit in ''X2''). [[spoiler:Then again, he did torture and brainwash Logan into becoming Weapon X in this continuity as well.]]
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