10 Movie Villains Who Became Heroes In The Sequel

In the biographical martial arts film Ip Man, we meet the highly skilled fighter Jin Shanzhao (Fan Siu-wong), who while facing tough times has become the leader of a fierce bandit gang. 

He's eventually defeated by the heroic Ip Man (Donnie Yen) in a fight, who then runs him out of the city of Foshan for good measure.

That seemed to be all she wrote for the character, then, but Jin makes a surprise reappearance in Ip Man 2 when Ip and his student Wong (Huang Xiaoming) are overwhelmed by a rabble of rival martial arts students.

Jin shows up with his gang and helps rescue Ip and Wong, redeeming himself in the process.

Fun fact, though: Jin was originally shot dead by a Japanese colonel in the first Ip Man movie, but the filmmakers ultimately decided to cut his demise, leaving the door open for him to make his triumphant return in the sequel.