10 Movie Heroes Who Won By Dumb Luck

It's basically expected that the hero will triumph over the villain in a solid 98% of movies, and it's incredibly satisfying to see a protagonist overcome tremendous adversity to topple the bad guy, especially if they find a devilishly smart or inspired way to do it.

But not all heroes are necessarily blessed with outstanding intelligence or incredible combat aptitude: sometimes their success is a result of having an overwhelming amount of luck on their side.

Sometimes the difference between victory and defeat is down to the most seemingly insignificant factor which ultimately changes the entire tide of the final clash.

These 10 movie heroes, largely the unconventional and unassuming type, stumbled upon the win by accident, with circumstances falling firmly in their favour through little direct action of their own.

For some, the answer literally fell in their lap, while others actually benefitted from their ignorance, and a few took a blind, stupid stab in the dark which inexplicably paid off.

In each case, it's easy to see how these heroes could and probably should have lost, but as ever, there's no accounting for the tides of fate...

Let's kick things off with a movie that makes no bones at all about the stupidity of its protagonists, whose thunderous obliviousness is ultimately what keeps them alive.

After Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) intercept what they believe to be lost luggage belonging to Lloyd's crush Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), they're pursued by two kidnappers, because the luggage was actually ransom money for Mary's kidnapped husband.

One of the kidnappers, Mental (Mike Starr), then poses as a hitchhiker who Lloyd and Harry pick up, and believing the pair to be ill-intentioned thieves, plots to kill them by dosing their next meal with rat poison.

But at the diner where they eat, Lloyd and Harry place chili peppers in his burger without his knowledge, causing a severe reaction with Mental's stomach ulcer. As he doubles over in pain and asks them to find his pills, they accidentally shove rat poison pellets into his mouth, killing him.

From there, the cops believe Harry and Lloyd to be murderers and plot to catch them, but Lloyd takes a wrong turn while driving and unknowingly avoids their trap.

Next, they only find out the briefcase has money in it after accidentally breaking it open during a fight, and when they're eventually caught by the kidnappers again, Harry is only saved from death because the FBI approached him in the hotel lobby and gave him a bullet-proof vest and gun.

Hilariously, when considering what would've happened if he'd been shot in the face, FBI Agent Jordan (Victoria Rowell) tells him, "That was a risk we were willing to take." Dumb luck indeed.

Though Lloyd ultimately doesn't get the girl - what with Mary being married and all - the pair clearly still came out on top, all things considered.