Reasonable Authority Figure / Live-Action Films

Reasonable Authority Figures in live-action movies.

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• 2 Days in the Valley: 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.
• Captain George Stacy is a borderline example in The Amazing Spider-Man. He is antagonistic toward the hero, contrary to most examples, but he has good reason (Spider-Man screwed up a police investigation of an auto theft ring). He is established as an actual example when Peter rushes into the police department with 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.
• Appointment with Venus: Captain Weiss is an antagonist example. He is the Nazi officer in charge of the occupation of Armorel, and goes out of his way to be as reasonable as possible to the civilian population. This includes having all edicts translated into English and insisting that his troops only speak English when dealing the locals so can understand what is happening and why. He also delivers a Glove Slap to Sergeant Vogel when he learns Vogel struck Lionel Fallaize when Fallaize was not expecting it: telling Vogel that soldiers like him are the reason the German army is despised across Europe.
• In the Back to the Future series, while Principal Strickland shows some jerkass tendencies (mocks Marty for his musical ambitions, castigates George for being a victim of bullies), his grandfather in the Old West, Marshal Strickland, appears to be a fair-minded lawman.
• Senator June Finch in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While she has concerns both about Superman's power and that he doesn't answer to any authority besides his own, she's reasonable and rational, bluntly refusing to buy Lex's lies about Kryptonite weapons being just a "deterrent". Also, while she has Superman Hauled Before a Senate Subcommittee regarding the destruction caused during Superman's fight with Zod, it's about finding the truth of what happened, rather than being just a witchhunt.
• Blazing Saddles: Reverend Johnson tries to be this, advocating for peaceful solutions and tries to stop the townsfolk from lynching Bart when he shows up in Rock Ridge. Granted, he steps down when the townspeople shoot his bible and jam a gun in his face, but he tries.
• In 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 Bunny Lake Is Missing 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 4-year-old girl is missing. And thanks to this behavior he gets possibly the most understated, British Big Damn Heroes moment in cinematic history.
• The Burning Sea: In this Norwegian disaster movie, the authorities quickly realize the nature of the threat when shown evidence (potential underwater landslide + oil drilling rigs = bad) and take action to minimize the risk. However, this is a disaster movie, so nature moves faster than they do.
• Michelle Bradley from 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 unwieldly 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).
• Cold Turkey:
  • Mayor Wappler is out to save the town's economy even though it doesn't benefit him much directly, doesn't ask the townspeople to undertake any stress he won't face himself in the cold turkey challenge, and plays a big role in helping Reverend Brooks gain and enforce pledges for the challenge.
  • Local archconservative Amos Bush is recruited to enforce the ban on cigarettes for the thirty-day period and is thorough without bullying or intruding on anyone more than necessary, even though, visually, he has some Putting on the Reich moments. That being said, he does want a couple million dollars from the prize to be used to build an institute for "Americanism."
• In Color Out of Space (2020), this is played straight with Sheriff Pierce who respects Ward's expertise, especially since he has seen what the titular Eldritch Abomination 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.
• The Crazies (1973): Colonel Peckem and Major Ryder, who enforce the Quarantine with Extreme Prejudice, are intelligent, decent men trying to keep the awful situation they have been forced into without any preparation from turning worse. They try to cut the local authorities some slack early on, work hard to round up the infected townspeople without killing any more of them than necessary, show contempt for the original creation of the bio-weapon, and try to give Dr. Watts the equipment he needs to look for a cure.
• Cyclone (1978):
  • Andrés the tour boat captain assumes leadership of the others and does so fairly well. He is mindful of conserving resources but also eventually acquiesces to sharing with the other survivors the tour boat picks up. He insists on votes for the most important decisions (like the No Party Like the Donner Party debate), and when it becomes clear the group is ready to engage in cannibalism, he says that if anyone else dies, then there will be no eating the body unless the person's companion or family (if any) consent.
  • The Mexican authorities respond efficiently in preparing for the storm, are honest with the relatives of the missing people, and allocate search resources the best they can to help everyone. However, they Gave Up Too Soon before finding the survivors Lost at Sea.
• Dr. Paul Dreyfus in Dante's Peak. He's skeptical of Dr. Dalton's claims that the volcano is going to erupt, not because he's a Suit with Vested Interests or because he thinks there's a Million to One Chance, 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 (contaminated water), he agrees to issue a warning and helps plan an evacuation. He still ends up being a Doomed Contrarian.
• Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight 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. This changes as soon as he becomes Two Face.

• Dark Waters: 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.
• Dead Birds: 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.
• President Tom Beck in Deep Impact. 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.
• Dr. Strangelove: President Merkin Muffley acts like a wimp, but he's also quick to call out the military's failures and reject all-out nuclear 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.
• Earthquake: Dr. Stockle at the seismology institute is a patient man who hears out Russell's claims of a major earthquake. While he refuses to publicize the earthquake warnings, he has good reasons for this (there is no evacuation plan in place so they don't know where to send anyone, and a panic could get people hurt) and he does convince the mayor to mobilize National Guardsmen and other resources and responders to be ready to help earthquake victims.
• The police chief in Edward Scissorhands who, after arresting Edward, seems genuinely concerned for his wellbeing and later tries to protect him from the mob.
• Eight Legged Freaks. Nobody quite believed the stories of rampaging man-eating spiders in the far-off, isolated town. But the authorities sent in backup to investigate the screaming that resulted when a giant spider attacked the crowded radio station.

• Escape from the Planet of the Apes:
  • The President extends a great deal of courtesy to the apes. He opposes a motion to abort Zira's pregnancy and then sterilize her, only going along with it when he's forced to by the democratic process. When the apes go on the run after accidentally killing a civilian, he also orders that they be taken alive and allowed to tell their side of what happened.
  • General Winthrop is quick to recognize that the apes have some kind of humanlike intelligence and treats them respectfully as a result.
• Two films from director Roland Emmerich show such characters.
  • The president in the The Day After Tomorrow became convinced of the meteorologists' prediction of impending doom and ordered the evacuation of the southern United States. Unfortunately, he is killed in the storm, allowing his disagreeable Vice President to come to power. But the Vice President seems to have been humbled by what he witnessed.
  • In Independence Day, General Grey trusts his friend, the President, but is all too aware of his Technical Pacifist nature that slows his decision making and 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 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 for the final battle.
• Samuel Gerard and his team of US Marshals in The Fugitive. 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 when it becomes clear that there's more to it.
• Colonel Wayne from 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 Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II, 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 Evil Chancellor he immediately has them released and him fired respectively.
• 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. 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.

• Godzilla:
  • Godzilla (1998): From the moment he first meets Nick, Philippe Roche (the leader of the French secret service task force) doesn't underestimates Nick or his 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 treats it like a literal afterthought.
  • Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!: Taizo Tachibana is one of the few to consider the guardian monsters allies.
  • MonsterVerse:
    • Joe Brody in Godzilla (2014), before the death of 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 before the meeting can happen, when supposed quakes start striking the plant, he rightfully orders that the plant be taken offline without hesitation. Lastly there's his tragic Shoot the Dog.
    • Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony. 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 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. Though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.
    • Admiral Stenz is who displays Consummate Professional shades aims to be this trope, but it's arguably Zig-Zagged 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 MUT Os for them. On the other hand, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) 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, 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 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 Godzilla vs. Kong 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 Hot-Blooded and judgmental as he was in King of the Monsters, and he refuses to even try working out why Godzilla has seemingly made a Face–Heel Turn 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.
    • See the Comic Books folder and Live-Action TV page for more examples.
• The general in Good Morning, Vietnam, as opposed to the Obstructive Bureaucrat 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.
• Guilt by Association: Judge Markam openly disagrees with the law that he has to give Susan twenty years under. He later resigned over being forced to. Other judges are mentioned as even refusing to hear such cases at all so they won't have to pass such sentences. President Clinton too commutes the sentences of some prisoners serving time under these laws, which includes Susan.
• 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.
• Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers:
  • Carrying over from the last film, Sheriff Meeker works hard and intelligently to protect people from Michael and listens to civilians whenever they contribute anything important.
  • Despite being comic relief figures who view themselves as poor cops, Deputies Tom Farrah and Nick Allen display fairly good judgment. They are understanding about being called on an apparent false alarm and while they do fail to find Michael in the ensuing search, he is notoriously elusive and may not have been in the house the whole time. When Loomis demands that they stop Tina from leaving the hospital, the deputies point out that as a civilian, he has no authority to order the detention of a girl who hasn’t done anything wrong. Nonetheless, they understand that Loomis is right to he worried and do agree to follow Tina to the party and protect her. When Tina and her friends prank the deputies by faking a Michael Myers attack, the deputies rightfully point out that this could have turned into a Deadly Prank and got someone shot. They only overlook Michael later on due to justifiably thinking the teenagers are pranking them again.
  • Deputy Charlie Bloch puts guarding Jamie above his own safety and rebukes Loomis for taking a course of action that endangers the girl.
  • Doctor Hart and Nurse Patsy at the children’s clinic are patient, caring and reasonable medical professionals who try to take care of Jamie and take her worries seriously.
• The Hobbit:
  • 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 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 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 barter the Arkenstone with Thorin in exchange for what Thorin owes the people of Lake-town in a second attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
• Frank Butterman, Chief of Police in Hot Fuzz. 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. 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.
• Hussar Ballad: 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.
• 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 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. Cracked goes even further with 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."
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
  • Dean Stanforth defends Indy against accusations that he's a communist and is willing to sacrifice his own career to protect Indy's.
  • General Ross shows up when the FBI are accusing Indy of being a Communist spy to talk about how he's a trustworthy war hero and dedicated archeologist.
• Iron Man 3: When the sheriff of Rose Hills sees a Mook accosting Tony and she tries to brush him off by Impersonating an Officer, he professionally but firmly asks her for either an explanation for what he's supposed to have done or to make a call to her superiors to confirm that she has authorization for what she's doing. When she won't give either, he seems inclined to side with Tony, before getting a lethal reminder that Police Are Useless against anyone with Extremis-enhanced abilities.
• The King from Jack the Giant Slayer he's a good leader who handles himself well, deals with his subjects fairly, and isn't above hard labor right alongside the common soldiers when necessary. He also shows remarkable restraint when dealing with Jack, refraining from trying to intimidate him once it's clear there's some chemistry between him and the Princess. 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 James Bond films, especially with the Daniel Craig reboot. She might have problems with his methods, but once he proves himself she'll back him up.
  • In Skyfall, Gareth Mallory becomes a Reasonable Authority Figure after being swayed by M's defense of "the old ways", and helps Q and Tanner with their off-the-books plan to help Bond and M. By the end of the film, he succeeds Judi Dench's character and becomes the new M.
• Chief Martin Brody in 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.
• Jurassic Park:
  • Jurassic Park: 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' advice on how to to get everyone out of Jurassic Park alive.
  • Jurassic World: Misrani is very reasonable in judgment and is willing to listen to his employees even if there are problems.
• O-Ren from Kill Bill has no problem with her subordinates questioning her logic or pointing out flaws in her plan, so long as they're respectful about it. She actively encourages it! Just don't insult her heritage. Seriously, don't.
• All the authority figures in The Killer That Stalked New York, a 1950 film Very Loosely Based on the 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 realizes 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.
• Mayor Wells from The Last Shark, like Mayor Vaughn, refuses to close the beaches in response to the shark attacks. Unlike Vaughn, Wells does take precautions, such as installing safety barriers and hiring patrol boats. He even tries to take on the shark himself in the climax!
• A League of Their Own: League official Ira Lowenstein lectures Jimmy for his poor behavior, tries to accommodate Dottie when she feels being on the same team as Kit is hurting their relationship (although his methods aren't perfect), and really goes to bat to keep the league going on multiple occasions when it looks doomed, feeling that the women deserve to keep pursuing their dream.
• Professor Kirk from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 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 Agent Mulder position and arguing that the story may be true. The more usual dynamic is for The Protagonist to be playing Mulder and the authority figure to be Scully, but this dynamic is Inverted here. 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 wardrobe that he begins to suggest she's telling the truth.
• Lock Up: 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. 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 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is (possibly) a villainous example. Unlike every other villain up to that point, he is only after the oil rig and says he is perfectly willing to let Papagallo's tribe leave peacefully if they let him have the refinery.
  • He does tell his leading henchman Wez "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, but it is not clear whether he means it or is just trying to calm his Ax-Crazy underling.
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • Odin and (in a rare villainous example) Laufey in 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. 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 Hot-Blooded 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.
    Laufey: You have no idea what you would unleash. (Beat). I do.
  • Nick Fury throughout the series, but especially in The Avengers, shows a good instinct of when to rein in his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits, and when to stand back and let them do their jobs.
  • Colonel Phillips in Captain America: The First Avenger 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 Super-Soldier 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, recognizing 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 fired. When Steve arrives with 400 men in tow, his response to her is a wry smile and, "faith, huh?"
  • Rhomann Dey in Guardians of the Galaxy 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 before the climax affirms, without reservation, his belief in the sincerity of Quill's message warning of an impending invasion by the Big Bad, 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.
• The McKenzie Break: Colonel Perry doesn't get along well with Captain Connor and he makes some bad decision, but he's able to logically explain why he makes those decisions and does help Connor at times. Furthermore, in the film but not the book, Perry is absolutely right when it comes to his biggest argument with Connor (whether or not to stop the prisoners before they escape, regardless of the intelligence loss), and O'Connor eventually admits it.
• In The Monster Squad, 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 Brick Joke.
• Shan Guo's governor in Mortal Engines, who 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.
• Mr. Jones (2019): William Randolph Hearst. 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 tragedy, but it doesn't do much to influence the audience.
• My Cousin Vinny
  • The prosecutor 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.
  • Judge Haller. He is very frustrated with Vinny's ignorance of basic courtroom procedure, but when Vinny shapes up, he proves to be impartial.
• Sheriff Farley is also clearly in the anti-Vinny camp, but still checks out one of Vinny's hunches with no objection.
• Every authority figure in Night of the Lepus 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!?"
• No God, No Master: 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.
• The doctor from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, considering that he's dealing with a load of crazy people, is very kind and agreeable with them.
• Only the Brave: 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.
• Paycheck: The two FBI agents are quick to decide that Jennings doesn't show signs of guilt. They are equally quick to accept that Jennings' actions indicate he has knowledge of the future, and they are Properly Paranoid about how their own government might abuse that technology.
• Prom Wars:
  • Meg, Tess, and Alex act as the main referees for the competition, are good at finding rule violations, and penalize them regardless of whether they favor the Selby or Lancaster boys.
  • Selby Head Boy Geoffrey is a calm voice of reason who reminds the lovable underdogs of his school that there are alternatives to participating in the Prom Wars, but is supportive of their efforts once they get involved.
• Reap The Wild Wind:
  • Judge Marvin runs a tough but fair courtroom. He is considerate of people's feelings, but values truth and justice more. He also will only allow delays and continuances under reasonable circumstances, but is unhappy when a lack of reasonable circumstances threaten to let Cutler and Jack escape justice.
  • Downplayed with Commodore Devereaux and his board members (save Steve, who plays it straighter). They wrongly blame Jack for the loss of the Jubilee. When Steve makes a strong argument that Jack is innocent, they agree to promote Jack if his innocence is proven, although they also decide to let Jack think he's not getting a second chance until his guilt or innocence is established.
• Rebel Without a Cause — 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).
• Red Rock West: Deputy Matt Greytack recognizes Michael has no reason to kill Kurt and try to save his life. He quickly discovers the sheriff's embezzlement scam and catches onto Lyle's We Need a Distraction scheme just as fast. Unfortunately, he's just not fast enough to catch anyone until the chaos has already settled.
• Reform School Girls: 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.
• Relative Fear: Adam's pre-school teacher is quick to race up and show concern when other kids bully him by smearing paint on his face, informs his parents about what happened, and discusses the merits of private tutoring with them.
• The Report: 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.
• The CEO of the MegaCorp OCP in RoboCop (1987) 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 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, anyone in a position immediately below him seems to have their basic human morality surgically removed.
• Safety Patrol:
  • Three of Scout's teachers are forgiving of his screw-ups and support his desire to be on the safety patrol while telling Tromp that the rules favor letting Scout fulfill his dream.
  • Security Chief Penn is The Klutz, but he treats the amount of stealing at the school with appropriate seriousness and publicly recognizes Scout's heroism at the end of the movie.
• Evelyn Salt's superior Ted Winter in 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. 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.
• In Salvador, set during The Salvadoran Civil War, Thomas Kelly, the US Ambassador in El Salvador, is a good man who is doing his best to rein in the violence that is tearing the country apart.
• The Sapphires: The leader of the soldiers escorting the band says that if it was his call, he would stay with them all the way through the tour rather than have them journey alone at times. He also gives them his sidearm for protection after they part ways.
• The Operative from Serenity is a Knight Templar wholly dedicated to the Alliance's cause, but he's a genuinely pleasant and reasonable fellow, even towards his targets. His Establishing Character Moment 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 understanding, as her brother spent so much time and resource and planning that her breakout was unprecedented. He still killed the doctor in charge afterwards, but that was due to the doctor legitimately dropping the ball, big time. 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.
• Shoot to Kill:
  • Stantin's boss at the FBI doesn't criticize him over the failed hostage negotiations at the beginning and tells him to get some rest so he can be at his best when he resumes work.
  • Sheriff Arnett in Washington and Superintendent Hsu in Vancouver are both meticulous law enforcement professionals who are unfailingly accommodating to the heroes. Hsu even aids in Stantin and Knox's Cowboy Cop antics.
• The Attorney-General in Shooter. 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 tells him to go murder the rogue intelligence operative who set the whole thing up.
• In Silver Lode, 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 refuge in the church. It's the townspeople and McCarty and his men who cause trouble for Ballard.
• Small Town Santa: When Deputy Tom brings Sean and Evan to his office for egging Mr. Harold's house, they beg him not to lock them up. Evan explains that his father lost his job, and his paper route is now their only source of income. Sheriff Rick decides not to lock them up, instead having them go back to Mr. Harold's house and clean it, and ordering them to spend the month making sure his pathway to his house is clear of snow. He also warns them that he will have them locked up if he goes to Mr. Harold's house and discovers they're slacking off on their assignment.
• Solarbabies: The warden doesn't discipline the orphans under his care unless he's forced to by his bosses and lets them go outside the facility's walls on occasion. When disciplining the Solarbabies for going outside without permission to play a game, he says that he would have allowed them to play at the prison if they'd asked. He also pleads with Strictor not to kill Jason and the others after they escape.
  The Warden: This orphanage is dedicated to producing useful members of the E-Protectorate. I will not run it as a prison.
• Star Trek
  • Original Series Films
    • In Star Trek: The Motion Picture Admiral Nogura, finding Admiral Kirk's reasoning sound, returns command of the Enterprise to Kirk. Given the first name of Heihachiro in various expanded universe works, the character is explored further. These works established Nogura as a no-nonsense authority figure who was able to get things done and after a series of scandals involving more than one Insane Admiral helped restore the Federation's faith in Starfleet as an institution. Having served in the field himself Nogura was portrayed as sympathetic to Kirk and his senior officers.
    • However, in the novel The Autobiography of James T. Kirk - which takes place in an alternate continuity from other licensed works - Nogura himself becomes an Insane Admiral who has to be forced from his job when it was discovered he was actively plotting a preemptive invasion of the Klingon Empire.
  • Reboot films (Kelvinverse):
    • Captain Pike in Star Trek (2009) is surprisingly reasonable and willing to listen. It helps that he has a soft spot for Kirk.
    • Admiral Marcus, Carol's father and the chief of Starfleet Command, in Star Trek Into Darkness. He's really 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 Star Trek Beyond 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.
• Star Wars:
  • 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 advises Queen Amidala on how to shake up the Senate to help Naboo. In Episode II he's clued in enough to send Senator Amidala to safety, and in III he's very supportive of Anakin's ambitions, all while helping lead the Republic in a war against the clearly evil Confederacy. It's thanks to his timely wisdom that the treacherous Jedi rebellion was put down so easily, and in reward the Senate made him the first emperor of 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 At Least I Admit It.
    • The web comic Darths & Droids seem to be playing this trope straighter (or at least more Neutral Good) than Star Wars did. He's actually shocked and a little horrified by Jar-Jar's suggestion for him to assume emergency powers. 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.
    • Played for Laughs in the Robot Chicken 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 Villainous Friendship 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, he's still a Pointy-Haired Boss.
  • 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. Not that it helped his case...
  • 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.
• Strange Nature: 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.
• In Sucker Punch, Mrs. Gorski really does want to help the girls at the asylum recover, and 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. 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.
• The Ten Commandments (1956) 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. 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 The 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 After the End, 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 Doing In the Wizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is right. In a deleted scene, the mortally-wounded Traxler even gives Reese a gun after the Terminator attacks the police station.
• Every layer of the US government in the classic mutant-ant movie Them! listens to the experts and recognizes that they really, really need to do what's necessary to save the world from the giant ants. It helps that the evidence is pretty unarguable from early on.
• Thirteen Lives has Governor Narongsak, who is in charge of the Thai province where thirteen people, twelve of them kids, have been trapped in the depths of a flooded cave. He listens to experts and clearly does his best to decide what is most likely to succeed. He is obviously under a lot of pressure and occasionally struggles with decisions, but he fits the trope — which is especially impressive given that he has probably been put in charge of the rescue effort in order to act as The Scapegoat if and when it all goes horribly wrong.
• To Be or Not to Be: The military intelligence leaders who Stanislav tells his suspicions about the professor immediately believe him once he reveals that the professor told the Polish pilots about his supposedly top secret mission and then got a list of the names and addresses all of their families back in Poland.
• Tower Heist: 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.
• In Tower of London, Queen Elyzabeth comes off as this, especially concerning Alice and Wyatt.
• Toy Soldiers:
  • Dean Parker and the headmaster impose discipline where it's necessary but don't go for the maximum punishment and want to help their students rather than push them away. They also work hard to keep them calm and safe during the hostage standoff.
  • General Kramer plans a successful rescue operation, cares about saving the hostages, doesn't overestimate his abilities, and isn't too proud to accept input from the information Billy smuggles out of the school.
  • Deputy Director Brown is respectful to Kramer, Parker, and the local cops, strives to avoid unnecessary bloodshed through negotiation as well as planning the commando raid, and only argues against relying on Billy for the understandable reason that Billy is an inexperienced kid with known authority issues.
• Traffic (2000): Wakefield's processor on the anti-drugs task force, General Landry. He's done a lot of good work, but is open about believing that his actions have had no lasting impact. He's willing to give some advice to his successor, while offering himself up as a Scapegoat in the event that's necessary.
• Transformers Film Series:
  • In 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 Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, 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 Obstructive Bureaucrat from messing things up, though.
  • In Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 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. 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.
• Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story:
  • Carol Lynn is one of the few adults who does everything she can to rescue Alex, a lesbian teenager, from the Simms and their brutal conversion therapy camp. She eventually gets Alex sanctuary at the local Youth Crisis Center.
  • Special shout out to the bus driver who takes Alex away from the Simms and their school in the middle of the night, no questions asked.
• In Unknown (2011), Herr Strauss and some of the senior cops. When Martin is trying to persuade them that he really is Martin, and that the other Martin is an imposter, they give him every chance to prove his claim, and try to verify what they can. They review CCTV, check immigration records, and his university website. They're remarkably sympathetic and reasonable to what appear to be crazy and outlandish claims:
  Martin: He [the other Martin] must be forcing her [his wife not to recognize him]
  Herr Strauss: But why? Help me, why?
• General Berringer in 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 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.
• The Sheriff of the small upstate town in 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.
• We're No Angels (1989): In contrast to the warden, the sheriff is a competent but compassionate lawman. He takes the hunt for the escaped convicts seriously, but he's reluctant to harass the townspeople during the search and allows a wounded Bobby to see a priest.
• Major Fedotov in White Tiger pays close attention to what Naydenov (a Cloudcuckoolander who believes tanks talk to him) says, unlike everyone else who dismisses him as insane.
• Wild River: The local mayor provides some aid and advice to Chuck about how to expedite building the dam and doesn't seem personally opposed to hiring black workers, although he warns him that it might cause trouble with the local bigots.
• X-Men Film Series:
  • X-Men: First Class: The Man in Black; for a G-Man, he's quite a Nice Guy.
  • X-Men: In the DVD special feature “The Mutant Watch”, Senators Connie Kasamatsu and Howard Fulwood oppose Robert Kelly’s proposed Mutant Registration Act as paranoid and discriminatory. Fulwood even says the X-Men are heroes for risking their lives to protect humans.
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past:
    • The head Congressman who's against Trask's Sentinel project. The 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, 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. 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.

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