The Wild Bunch doesn't present heroes; instead, we see characters who are simply less bad or worse than others. The group known as the Bunch are thieves and killers, though they maintain a principle of not robbing the deceased – a contrast to the posse pursuing them, led by Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), acting on behalf of the railroad company with orders to bring them in dead or alive. Deke, once part of the Bunch himself, seems more principled than the mercenaries Harrigan (Albert Dekker) has assigned to assist him (“chicken-stealing gutter trash,” as Deke puts it). There's a clear animosity between Deke and Pike Bishop (William Holden), the leader of the Bunch, but Deke accepted the task of capturing Pike because doing so would secure his own freedom (he’s been temporarily released from prison to track them down, with the threat of returning if he fails – “Thirty days to get Pike or 30 days back to Yuma”). Conversely, Pike doesn't harbor resentment toward Deke, suggesting that he would reciprocate the action if their roles were reversed. This is significant because, as Roger Ebert noted, men like Pike and Deke operate according to a code; however, “The men provided to [Deke] by a railroad mogul are shifty and unreliable; they don't understand the code of the bunch” – though even the rest of the Bunch doesn’t consistently adhere to it. Pike respects Deke’s commitment to pursue them relentlessly, regardless of who issued the directive to the railroad company. But Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine), Pike’s second-in-command, believes that “That ain't what counts! It's who you give [your word] to.” Therefore, the code is vague even among the Bunch members, and perhaps only Pike and Deke truly understand it – though given their history of conflict, it seems likely one of them has violated it. Despite this ambiguity, a code does exist; perhaps just in name, but it's present nonetheless—it must be, otherwise what justification do aging gunfighters like Pike, Deke, Dutch, Lyle (Warren Oates), and Tector (Ben Johnson) have for believing they are at least the bad guys rather than something even worse? The only character clinging to genuine ideals is Angel (Jaime Sánchez), a younger man who wants to provide some of the guns intended for the sadistic General Mapache (Emilio Fernández) to supporters of Pancho Villa (Pike and the others reluctantly agree, but only after ensuring Angel forfeits his share of their earnings). While Angel holds onto ideals, the others are driven by dreams—primarily a desire to “quit” after one final job—but it ultimately doesn't matter; they all suffer consequences for their aspirations because they’ve approached them incorrectly. If any film exemplifies the saying "he who lives by the sword dies by the sword," this is it. Still, those characters deemed bad… perhaps they weren't so terrible after all?

Source on TMDB