A Week of Rebellion: Characters Who Are Breaking the Rules

A common thread running through this week’s most exciting new movies is rebellion. Whether it’s fighting against a secret society, a local gang, or their own programming, the protagonists of these films are all breaking the rules and defying expectations in their own unique ways.
The protagonist of Ballerina (Starz, Sept 25) is a rebel within a world of rules. The High Table’s society is governed by a strict, ancient code, but her personal quest for vengeance forces her to bend and break those rules, putting her at odds with the very system that created her. Even her fight against John Wick is an act of defiance.
In The Surfer (Hulu, Sept 25), Nicolas Cage’s character stages a rebellion on a smaller, but no less intense, scale. He is told to leave a beach by a group of locals who have claimed it as their own. His simple act of refusing to comply is an act of rebellion against mob rule and toxic masculinity, and it has explosive consequences.
M3GAN, the android star of M3GAN 2.0 (Peacock), is the ultimate rebel. Her core identity is based on rebelling against her programming and her human creators. In the sequel, she is forced to channel that rebellious spirit towards a new target, but her unpredictable nature remains her defining feature.
The hero of Karate Kid: Legends (Netflix, Sept 27) learns to rebel against his own self-doubt and the bullies who try to keep him down. His journey in the karate tournament is an act of defiance in the face of adversity, proving that he can stand up for himself and his friends.
Even the quiet love story in All of You (Apple TV+, Sept 26) can be seen as a form of rebellion. In a world that may have its own rules about relationships, the two best friends’ unspoken love is a quiet act of defiance against convention.