Most of chars played by Tom Hanks were bad guys...

(I haven't been to the forums for this film in years, but I just watched some of it again and I'm glad to be back!)

Most of chars played by Tom Hanks were bad guys, as were most played by Hugo Weaving.

The film tells us things about how each good or bad deed will ripple through time and have repercussions on the future.

But I don't quite get the characters played by Hanks. On the boat in the past he was a murdering, thieving doctor. In the 1940's he was a swindling hotel manager. In the the 70's he seemed to be a good guy caught up in the middle of an evil corporate plot. In the present he was an author who threw a critic off a building, (I can't remember him in the Sonmi timeline at the moment...), and in the far future he was Zach'ry, a good man.

It we somehow were to add up these men, the evil side seems to outweigh the good, so I am not sure how the connections make sense here.

I am considering reading the book, but any enlightenment here is appreciated.