At the core of the movie, we have our 5 brat pack teenagers from wildly different cliques, the brain, the athlete, the basketcase, the princess, and the criminal, who would otherwise never socialize with one-another, forced to spend a Saturday detention together. Out of sheer boredom, and with a common authoritarian foe, they begin to interact with each other, eventually, over the course of the day, breaking down the barriers of fear, hatred, prejudice, and ignorance they first walked in with to learn that their similarities actually far outweigh their differences.

At first glance, one might see all their grief as mere teenage angst, but that’s bullshit. Most people, fundamentally, at least morally, become who they’re going to be for the rest of their lives pretty early on. What some might consider childish, immature, bratty behavior or teenage drama, I witness from the average adult every single day. No matter what age, these same boundaries of classism, racism, sexism, ageism, and prejudice exist in each of us, at least to some extent.

With that said, I believe the messages in The Breakfast Club hold a certain universality. We all have a certain shell or facade, that once gotten past, you’ll usually find just another person who’s insecure, struggling, and that generally wants all the same things in life that we all want: happiness, love, respect, financial security, and so on. If we could only stop judging each other so harshly all the time and concern ourselves more with improving our own selves instead of the defense mechanism that is putting each other down. If we could just be locked in a room together more often to be forced to get to the root of what our perceived differences are really all about.

Personally, as someone that never belonged to any clique, I always had a unique perspective, from day one. While I’ve certainly been a loner throughout different times in my life and certainly always a weirdo, in school, I was actually friends with pretty much everyone. It didn’t matter, goth kids, jocks, musicians, skaters, nerds, whatever. I probably didn’t understand it in the deeper psychological way I might analyze it now, but it just made sense to me. If I like this person and they’re fun and they’re nice to me, I want to hang out with them. What do I care how they dress, what music they like, etc.?

But, we’re certainly not going to get out of this article without first discussing just how cruel school can be too. I’ve been bullied and I’m also guilty of having been a bully. It’s all just fear and everyone’s feeling it, even the cool kids. But, to the unfortunate poor few that get it the worst, that never make it out because they kill themselves, it’s just so stupid. I wish I could talk to them and let them know it’s not the end of the world, if they only knew that everyone in high school is an asshole and that it gets better. I mean, most people are still assholes the rest of their lives, but the difference is, you grow out of caring, out of giving weak people the power to put you down. In the end, everything is pretty much okay.

That’s the deeper meaning I take away from the film. It’s almost an examination of the basic id, ego, and super-ego in all of us. That, and The Breakfast Club also has a pretty cool theme song:

However, I’m not here to simply ramble on and on about why I love Tai Lung as a character. Believe me, I certainly could, but I really want to dive into this idea that he actually succeeded in what he was trying to accomplish in the film. It’s not often that villains come out on top, but when they do, it’s usually in a more psychological way.

When it comes to Tai Lung, that wasn’t the case. Let me break this down and explain why I believe Tai Lung actually succeeded in Kung Fu Panda, even though he was defeated in the end.

It Was Always About One Thing

When the film begins to explain the origin of Tai Lung and how he became more of a darker personality, it becomes clear that he coveted the power of the dragon scroll. Now, Master Shifu openly admits that he blames himself for transforming Tai Lung into a hungry, outraged animal. Yet, that’s what ultimately happens and because of it, all Tai Lung wants is to be the Dragon Warrior.

His Path Back to the Valley

Once Tai Lung breaks out of prison, which is one of the coolest movie scenes I’ve ever seen, he begins to make his way back to where his journey began. During the path, the Furious Five decide that they believe that they can defeat Tai Lung. Of course, they go and try to fight him in spite of Shifu declaring that it’s not their destiny to do so.

The Furious Five and Tai Lung eventually cross paths, and then we find out quickly that they’re no match for him. Sure, they used some nice teamwork to get him down for a second, but then he quickly disposed of them with his lethal nerve attack.

The Battle with Shifu

To me, Tai Lung versus Shifu is the ultimate climax of the film. It’s not the final fight, but it’s without a doubt the most intense and emotional moment of the entire movie. The fight is back-and-forth for a while, but then Tai Lung gains the advantage near the end. Near the end, however, Tai Lung realizes that the dragon scroll is no longer where it used to rest. This is when Po, the actual Dragon Warrior, shows up to engage in a fight with Tai Lung.

The Final Battle

Okay, this is where things get interesting. Everyone who’s watched this movie knows that Po does end up defeating Tai Lung with the Wuxi Finger Hold. Before this ever happens, though, Tai Lung and Po begin a cat-and-mouse game for the dragon scroll. Remember, all Tai Lung has ever wanted is the power of said scroll.

That chasing game goes on for a little while, and then Tai Lung pummels Po into the ground, literally. Then, he grabs the dragon scroll and realizes that it doesn’t have any secret powers or anything like that. The classic line from Po goes, “There is no secret ingredient.” It’s at that very moment where Tai Lung realized his life dream was literally nothing.

Up until that point, however, nobody and nothing stopped him from obtaining the dragon scroll. Not Shifu, the Furious Five, or even Po were able to prevent that. After all that occurs, in my opinion, the will for Tai Lung to move forward was little to nothing. To me, it’s the only reason why Po even had the chance to defeat him.

Well, that’s my two cents. Maybe I’m just biased because of how much I love Tai Lung, but it honestly makes sense to me. But, it’s just a theory and you may happen to feel differently. Perhaps Po would’ve defeated him no matter what, but I respectfully disagree.

But, when you look back at the first two, you remember just how amazing the franchise was. You also remember just how many epic characters were introduced. Today, I want to check out what I feel are the five best. I will also say which movie they were portrayed the best in. This is all my opinion, though, and it’s fair game if you feel differently.

5. Miles Dyson

Miles Dyson is not an ultra-popular character in the franchise, but he is one of my personal favorites. His portrayal in Terminator 2: Judgment Day by actor Joe Morton was awesome. Dyson was introduced as an elite-level computer engineer. However, later in the movie, it becomes known that his microprocessor will lead to the development of Skynet. While he ultimately is responsible for the creation of the system that will destroy humanity, you still can’t help but feel for him when you watch the movie.

4. Sarah Connor

Let’s just be honest right now; Linda Hamilton is the only Sarah Connor that matters. She is the true OG and seeing her return in Terminator: Dark Fate was amazing. But, it’s her character in the first two films that makes everyone fall in love with her (specifically the second one). Seeing her transformation from a happy-go-lucky girl to a take-no-prisoners fighter is truly something else.

3. The T-800

For those wondering, the T-800 is the terminator that Arnold Schwarzenegger plays in virtually every film in the franchise. Once again, though, the T-800 is the best in the first two films. Now, in the first, it’s programmed to kill Sarah Connor. Yet, in the sequel, it’s programmed to save John Connor (Sarah’s son). Both machines are portrayed by Schwarzenegger, but they are programmed differently. Honestly, I don’t know which one is my favorite between the two. It’s too close to decide!

2. The T-1000

The original T-1000, played by Robert Patrick, will always be my favorite antagonist from the series. Given that this model is made of liquid metal, it’s quite diverse in its actions throughout the film. Its ability to sample anything it physically touches (of equal size and not complex machines) and morph into stabbing weapons makes for creative dynamics. Oh yeah, the sucker can also flat-out run. Patrick is also perfect with his facial expressions throughout the film; it’s just pure gold.

1. Kyle Reese

Can we just finally admit how good of an actor Michael Biehn is? No, I’m not talking about Jai Courtney’s horrendous Kyle Reese in Terminator: Genisys (which actually may be the worst movie I have ever seen in my life). I am referring to the original Reese who was played by Biehn. This version could be my favorite movie protagonist ever. Yeah, that may be a stretch, but man is it close. Words can’t do this one justice; just go see his performance if you haven’t already.

Well, there you have it? You may be wondering where John Connor is on this list as he’s such an important character in the series. But, I have never really been that big of a fan of any of the character’s iterations. That’s just me, though. Anyway, that’s my five best! What’s yours?